Dear Watchers: an omniversal comic book podcast

>> Rob: Faster than a speeding chew toy. More powerful than a belly rub. It's time to unleash Deer Watchers and Omniversal comic book podcast where we do a deep dive into the multiverse.

>> Guido: We are traveling with you through the stories and the worlds that make up an omniverse of fictional realities we all love. And roof. Roof. Your watchers on this journey are me, Guido, and me, Bit.

>> Rob: Good boy. It's me, Rob. And before we begin our trip today on our leashes. I don't know what's new. Our little section of the multiverse. Keido.

>> Guido: In our. In our. In our dog carrier. Our pet carrier.

>> Rob: Exactly.

>> Guido: To the vet. There's so many places to go with. No, not the vet story. Well, Crypto wouldn't care about the vec.

>> Rob: Yes, that's true. Well, they could't. His needle. Their needles couldn't even penetrate him. He can't go for blood.

>> Guido: That's true. I'm sure they've found some other way. But if not, then that should be a comic. We want that to be a comic. Yeah. I don't think there's too much new. We're probablynna enter a season of Superman starting with this episode for a little bit. Maybe, maybe not. We haven't totally planned one, but it's on all of our minds with the trailer, and we should. People know we've not watched the trailer.

>> Rob: No.

>> Guido: So we're not spoiling the trailer at all with what is about to be discussed.

>> Rob: Yeah. We're going to be sending up an so's a season of Superman.

>> Guido: Yes. But then we have to quickly pivot to a season of Fantastic Four.

>> Rob: A soft so that one doesn't roll off the tongue nearly as well. There's a song with that one in the title.

>> Guido: We have a lot to do. And make sure you spay and neuter your cats and dogses. That's, the important message. No, but it's fun talking about dogs. We're both pet owners. Obviously we have dogs. If we rescues want to bark at the right time, they are rescue dogs. Everyone should rescue dogs.

>> Rob: And one of them is sitting in the room where I'm recording this right now. Well, there.

>> Guido: And that one is destructive. We've named our dogs on based on today's characters. So we'll tell you more when we get into them.

>> Rob: Yes. But if you're joining us for the first time, we have three parts of our journey through the multiverse today. Origins of the story, exploring multiversity, and pondering possibility. So thanks for coming along.

>> Guido: And remember, leave us a five star review where you're listening, spread the word, tell people about us, find us on social media at Deer Watchers.

>> Rob: And with that, welcome to episode 160 and let's check out what's happening in the Omniverse with our travels, today's alternate universe. And today we are begging and sitting, staying and rolling over to answer the question, what if Superman's dog, Crypto, had an arch nemesis? Destructo, the super hound of hate.

>> Guido: I love that phrase. The Superhound of Hate.

>> Rob: That my nickname in high school.

>> Guido: So good. It really, I don't know, there's something about it that just works for me.

>> Rob: Yes.

>> Guido: So this Earth is sort of that weird in between imaginary Earth, the DC imaginary tales. But it's not quite an imaginary tale because it's during the era of the Silver Age when they're trying to tell canonical backstories for Superman. But let's assume it's not canonical because if it was, it'd be weird. Yes, and we'll highlight a few things as we always share with Superman and DC in general, but especially Superman episodes. While we both are big fans, we don't know all the ins and outs of the lore. Frankly, I don't think anyone can know all the ins and outs because it's so lengthy and been retconned so many times. So we'll see. But we can call this Earth. Earth Destructo. And we have talked crypto briefly on a few episodes pretty recently when we covered Supergirls, Cat and horse in episode 156. The horse that of course, Lois Lane falls.

>> Rob: Horse, of course.

>> Guido: The horse, of course, that Lois Lane falls in love with Mr. Ed. Yes, a horse is HS, of course. And then on episode 152, Superman used crypto to pretend to die to in some lowest Lane hijinkx.

>> Rob: And if you haven't listened to that one or read that issue, please do yourself a favor and check that out.

>> Guido: So Those are episodes 152 and 156. And here we are a few episodes later and it is time to focus in on everyone's favorite part of the Superman trailer. It sounds like Crypto.

>> Rob: Sokito, what is your background with Superman's best friend? I guess that's not Jimmy, but Crypto.

>> Guido: No, Superman's pal is Jimmy. So Superman's best friend is Crypto. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. He's got a girlfriend, a best friend and a pal.

>> Rob: Yeah.

>> Guido: So I think that Crypto. We talked about this a little bit with all the super pets, crypto was absent for the vast majority of comics. And really only the last 20 years, I think have creators tried to reintroduce him. So he shows up a bit in like the early 90s comics that I would have been reading of Superman, but really on the periphery and I wasn't going back.

>> Rob: And maybe we'll talk about this in a moment, but that's not the crypto that we will be.

>> Guido: Right? There's different versions. Of course there's different versions. It's dc.

>> Rob: So exly the.

>> Guido: My background though, it's. What's funny is it's the same with everything Superman. Who knows why we know this, right? Like everyone, I bet our parents, like, I bet your grandmother probably even knows crypto, right? And why, like, who knows? I have no idea why. I guess licensing and stuff. Because even crypto, obviously we know why Superman has proliferated and it has to do with having a 1950s TV show and a radio serial before that that people of all ages know Superman. But I don't know, like crypto obviously wasn't in the George Reeves television show. Crypto wasn't in the Christopher Reeves movies. Like I'm not sure why everyone would know who he is, but I think they do. And of course I'm a part of that. And so I love dogs. I grew up with dogs my whole life, but never felt a particular affinity for crypto because I never read a lot of good stories with him in them, nor did I go back and read some of the wacky stories with him in them like we did today. What is your background with crypto?

>> Rob: Well, I think its'much the same as you. I knew of who crypto was just through osmosis, as you were kind of describing. I wasn't a huge Superman reader, but when I was reading Superman around the death of Superman, the rebirth of Superman, all that era, yeah, I don't remember crypto even another crypto being in those comics.

>> Guido: So I remember Matt, the funeral, that's all I remember. Yeah, it might even be like art. Like maybe he wasn't even there. I don't remember. But I remember it in art that.

>> Rob: Like art of recall that. So yeah, I was just a character that I was aware of. And then I think I mostly was familiar with him from being a big collector and reader of DC who's who. And I think they would definitely talk about all the super animals. And also in my head I'm kind of combining some of those super animals with the Captain Marvel super animals. Because don't they also have a whole bunch of like super animals wearing suits and stuff like that too?

>> Guido: They do. And then there's like, you're a fan of I think like Wacky Racers and some of those ``a animals that are all also somewhat similar almost looking. So I think there's a lot of super pets that have gone through different 19, 50s, 1960s media.

>> Rob: And then it was that movie. If, we didn't know we talked about this on our recent episode. It was really that recent movie about the super pets that kind of, I think, like put him back into the forefront of my mind. Maybe in the forefront of James Gunn's mind because I feel like, oh, then he was kind of front and center for the first time that I can remember. Yeah, well, let's go.

>> Guido: And you grew up with dogs too?

>> Rob: And I grew up with dogs. And in fact the dog I had growing up was a white, like a medium sized white dog. So very crypto esque.

>> Guido: But you never put a cape on him and tried to dress him up as Crypto.

>> Rob: Not that I can recall. But maybe I've lost that memory over time. Well, let us go back to the 1950s and meet crypto for the first time. Time its origins of the story.

>> Guido: Right now on this very show, you're.

>> Rob: Going to get the answer to all your questions.

>> Guido: Our amazing story begins a few years ago.

>> Rob: So I know we have some actual crypto origin. And as, as Guido, you said we're not, we're not experts on, Superman. And everything has been rebooted. I was reading the Wikipedia. It said this is the final version. And then there was another section. It's like, no, this is the next version. Then it reverts back to that other version. It's like, oh, this is very complicated, but we'll go through some of that.

>> Guido: DC that's been around for at least 40 years. Complicated and'but I also have origin and creation. But before we do, I know there's some random trivia about his publication history, if you will, before we get into his origin issue.

>> Rob: It's a very fun crypto facts. I don't know if these will pop up in the movie. I doubt it. So according to the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals and I don't think we have this book, but we have to get this.

>> Guido: It sounds like a treasure.

>> Rob: It sounds like something we would definitely want. So while on Earth, Crypto poses as the Kent family dog, Skip. I'have never heard this. That he's also known as Skip hadu.

>> Guido: No, that was new information to me. Maybe it only exists in that encyclopedia Ex. Or maybe that was like on the radio serial or who knows who could be.

>> Rob: Well, because initially the Kents apply ah, a brown dye patch on his back for a disguise and Crypto burns it off with his heat vision when he goes into costume. That sounds very elaborate.

>> Guido: Well, it's really interesting about that too is that means he has a bald spot every time he goes out as Crypto. Well, maybe he pat the well then it looks like he shaved his fur in one spot on his I gu.

>> Rob: I don't doub.

>> Guido: Not the most well executed plan.

>> Rob: Well gu, that is exactly why later the Kents devise a pol cord activated die applicator and other don't even know what that means. No, which. Which crypto uses the switch from Skip and back and forth without human assistance. So I guess we can then see the dog like pulling a rope and like activating this DY somehow. Yeah, I don't know.

>> Guido: Very wacky.

>> Rob: And then I love this. In Super Boy issue 126 from 1966 it is we get a little bit of his family tree. So Crypto's father's name is given as Zipto, his grandfather is Nipto, and his great grandfather is ##pto, I guess that's all on 23 and Z somewhere.

>> Guido: Well, and I guess the females of the family don't have the same ning conventions because it's all through the male lineage that he gets the Pau part of his name.

>> Rob: Yes, exactly. Their names are just like Dolores or something like that.

>> Guido: Does anyone have a dog named Dolores?

>> Rob: Someone.

>> Guido: I guess this is another planet. So I guess knows that's true. This original, the original Crypto though was removed from continuity like most of DC's silver age after a crisis on infinite Earth. So we do end up with a bunch of new versions throughout the last 40 years. One in 1993 that Bibbo adopted and named and this one had no superpowers, didn't appear after 2000. So then in 2001 there's another one introduced which is a fake Krypton that Brainiac created and had A dog was created in there and had the superpowers, but was standard dog intelligence. So I guess maybe that meant no thought bubbles. I don't know, I don't remember.

>> Rob: Well, the crypto we're going to talk about it a bit is definitely super intelligent as well. Yes, yes.

>> Guido: And then the I guess maybe laid it. I don't know. A later 1 is 2007 action comics that is a part of the El family on Krypton. And then, of course, Jeff Johns brings back a little bit of the origin of the Kryptonian canine of the House of El, who was eventually found and rescued by Clark as a boy. Which retcons Crypto to be a little bit more like the Silver Age version. Then you have the New 52 and some Phantom Zone connection. And now he might live with Clark, Lois and John and partner with Supergirl. But again, which version we have, it's some fusion of them. Whether or not it matches the origin we're about to read is. I'm not sure if it's to be determined or not. It's anyone's guess. But let's get into his origin.

>> Rob: Yes, this is Adventure Comics Volume 1, Issue 210 for 3-19-55, entitled the Super Dog from Krypton.

>> Guido: It's written by Otto Binder, penciled by Kurt Swan, inked by Seymour Barry, edited by Mort Weissinger. So you've got the real Silver Age Superman team here. Otto, of course, being a very prolific famous writer, wrote apparently almost 5,000 comic stories, co created Supergirl in the Phantom Zone. And relevant to this, Beppo the Super Monkey and Titano the Super Ape. He also is credited with the first imaginary tale for Lois Lane. So lots of DC legends come through Otto and Kurt Swan. We've discussed before, he is the Silver Age DC visionary. His art is dc. So great team here giving us the Superdog from Krypton. But how do we get introduced to Krypton? Give us a summary of this issue.

>> Rob: Yes. So Superboy finds a white dog that has power similar to his own and adopts him. But this dog is plenty of trouble chasing ##ing comets and ripping the steel off of bridges. Ultimately, Superboy discovers the spaceship the dog came to Earthen and realizes that this is his childhood dog, Crypto, that was launched from Krypton to find.

>> Guido: Well, he doesn't realize it. He reads about it.

>> Rob: Yeah, he reads it in a letter from his own father from Jo El. And it just basically describes that Crypto is sent to find a new place to live because Jorel knew that the planet was going to blow up. But Crypto spaceship gets knocked off course. I don't know why he doesn't see him until now, but he does. And then in the end, Crypto explores the big backyard of space, leaving Superboy sad as he awaits the return of.

>> Guido: His new best friend, which happens only four issues later. So clearly this was popular and worked out well. But most of this issue is Superboy trying to figure out like how to contain Crypto. Because no one can contain him, no one can chase after him, no one can leash him. So he like builds a whole doghouse out of stones and tries to keep him contained that way, but fails to do so. And that's why I think they had to sort of write him into space at the end because the whole issue is making out that he is so impossible to deal with. But this is a perfectly quintessential ridiculous Silver Age story.

>> Rob: Because there's no villain or adversary or anything like that. It's basically Superboy Clark dealing with like everyday Archie Andrew problems. Only instead of like having a rambunctious dog he's just adopted, it's one that can also chase after comets and like burrow into rocks and do all these different things.

>> Guido: No, I think the conflict in this, and this is probably pretty representative of these, this era. I mean they had villains obviously, but were in the post Seduction of the innocent era. She. He. Lana is.

>> Rob: Oh yes, Vilain love.

>> Guido: She's are. We've talked many times and we're gonna talk in the next issue about how the plotting sometimes on these Silver Age DC books, what makes them so good is it's not simple, but it's not logical either. So it's almost like people just, truly, I think we said this on a previous episode, had a dartboard and would throw things at it and decide that's the plot. And in this it's because Lana sees him carrying the steel girder that Crypto went to grab off the building. Lana sees Superboy carrying the steel girder and realizes you couldn't or seeize Clark carrying it and is like, you couldn't have carried that. Unless you're Superboy. You must be Superboy. So the conflict of the issue, if you will, in addition to trying to contain crypto, is that Lana now knows his secret. So he does two things before the end of the issue to make sure that Lana doesn't know the secret or questions it. One, he has this really light ladder he calls a magnesium ladder. I don't know, I guess it's like real things, right? I guess it's like an aluminum ladder like we have now. I guess it was a new thing. So he's carrying it as if to look like he's really strong, and then he tosses it her way. And then he has Crypto fly overhead chasing a boomerang, but so far away that she can't quite make out that it's not Superboy, and she thinks it's Superboy in the sky. And'like oh, sorry, I now realize I was wrong. You're not Superboy.

>> Rob: Well, that actually is house. Crypto now gets the cape because up to that point he doesn't have the cape right now.

>> Guido: Right.

>> Rob: Superboy has put the cape on Crypto. And I guess that's kind of establishing, like, the crypto look that we have. But yeah, there's all these things where like, yeah, he throws her this, like, light ladder and but she doesn't even think that he was holding a ladder before. She then says, oh, they also make building material out of this super light material. So that must have been what you were holding. Where did that thing go when she. Where did the light magnesium girder go when she saw him before? We all never know.

>> Guido: But the, yeah, the, yeah, the plotting is just ridiculous. And then Crypto'antics are the other fun part. So again, that's kind of the conflict as Lana. But the fun part is the antics. I mean, I love at one point that he decides he needs like, they're trying to give us a sense of how different, if you will, crypto is. So in order to scrub him, like, he can't use a sponge, so he has to use barbed wire that he found in order to clean crypto. And he can't give him a bath in water, which that, this makes no sense. He gives him a bath in molten lava.

>> Rob: Yeah.

>> Guido: So it's just like all these ridiculous details to illustrate, I guess, how difficult this dog would be to manage for.

>> Rob: And you can't even. You have to be careful. Even when the dog, when Crypto wags its tail because its tail is capable of breaking a rock in two's like, strong. It is. So, so yeah, I get. And I guess they, yeah, they needed to have it good. Kind of. The ending really reads of like, okay, we're gonna introduce this idea. Maybe we just didn't have an idea for this issue, so we're gonna throw a dog into it. And then the ending, like, really reads of like, yes, as you said, like, we can't always have Superboy also worrying about this dog. I feel like we've seen so many sitcoms where suddenly they introduce a dog. It's like, we got to deal with this.

>> Guido: And they might mention it one other time, but theneah, so they wanted.

>> Rob: To get rid of it, but then I'm sure they were like, had letters pouring in. It's like oh my God. Crypto is the best thing ever. We need to have him back. And then, as you said, he comes back a few issues later.

>> Guido: Well, the other thing, as we've talked about that makes this so weird canonically and why we are looking at it all is they probably also, you know, all this weirdness of their fact that they're telling these stories of Superboy when we've already just. We've spent 30 years at this point in real our life with Superman. So they're going back and telling these stories of Superboy as if he was Superboy in Smallville, which just contradicts everything about Superman anyway. And so they probably were likeuse. I started thinking, how are they gonna explain that there's not a dog. Superman doesn't have a dog. So they're gonna have to explain crypto dying in the but in 1955. I also realize they're not gonna put that in a comic. So I wasn't sure how they deal with that. So I think that's the other aspect of having him like, be part time in space, part time on Earth. It could be the explanation for why we never met him until now.

>> Rob: M h, yeah. Yeah. I also love. I was just looking. Otto Binger was 44 when he wrote this. So I always loved picturing these guys becausee, you know, they were 44. He's probably wearing a full suit, writing this, chain smoking. Maybe he had like a cocktail there and he's like writing these stories about. Yeah, it'snna be, a. It's gonna be a super powered dog. Yeah, that's the one. Cause he's writing 5,000 stories. It's like he's gotta be knocking these things out.

>> Guido: He does, he does. It's true. So it's a fun. It's a fun introduction to crypto. It's a fun idea. I see why they brought him back. And it's cute. It gives for some clever twists on plots that were probably not things you could do without having a little dog around. Plus, people love dogs.

>> Rob: Yes, exactly. Well, let's see. The continuing adventures of crypto. It's time for exploring multiversity.

>> Rob: I am your guide through these vast new realities. Follow me and ponder the question. What if. So this is Superboy, volume one, issue number 92, from October 1961, entitled Crypto's Archenemy.

>> Guido: Yes, but I prefer the Superhound of Hate. Where that came from is that this was reprinted a few years later on an. In an annual. And on that cover, they call it the Superhound of Hate. So I'm gonna go with the Superhound of Hate for the title. So while this is six years later, no big surprise, we've still got Otto Binder writing.

>> Rob: I'm still writing these stories here, kids.

>> Guido: More dogs.

>> Rob: More dogs.

>> Guido: And this one, as we know, Silver Age DC did not put credits in their books, so credits are sometimes hard to come by. But we do know the artist on this, who was the penciler and the anchor is George Pap, who is best known for this series, this long running super boy series. And he also co created Green Arrow, Bizarro, General Zod and Congo Bill and Phantom Zone with Otto Binder. And his final comic was in 1968. So he was working on DC till.

>> Rob: The very end until he asked for, some benefits and they said, sorry, George, you're fired. That was.

>> Guido: Yeah, yeah. So not too different as a company. And this. Why don't you give us a very brief summary because I think we have a lot to talk about in terms of Destructo, the Superhound of Hate.

>> Rob: Hi, overview here. To take revenge on Superboy, Lex Luthor gives superpowers to his own dog, Wolf, transforming him into Destructo, the Superhound of Fate. With Superboy offwor, Destructo frames Crypto for various crimes, leading our beloved superdog to find out what is really going on and of course, ultimately save the day.

>> Guido: Okay, there's so much and all very good and fun to have, but again, this is like the last issue we read. This is supposed to be taking place in the past. We're reading a story of Lex and Clark growing up in Smallville. So let's start with why Lex wants revenge.

>> Rob: It's a shallow version to take revenge. So Lex was doing an experiment on kryptonite, and he's a, he's a. He's a friend of Superboys. He wants to help him. Superboy thinks that there's a fire. He, like, does his magic breath and makes the experiment go haywire and causes Lex to lose all.

>> Guido: But here's the thing. This is again the Dartard at the plot thing. He doesn't just make the experiment go haywire. It's that he gets the fire out or the smoke cleared. But by his super breath, his. The wind coming in smashed a bottle of acid against a bottle of kryptonite antidote that he was working on. And the two combined, created fumes that made all of his hair fall out. Yeah, and he knows he'll be bald for the rest of his life. So it's like, again, it's so convoluted. It couldn't just be something simple. It was like. No. Let's figure out the most complex, complicated way of expressing this ridiculous plot. Yeah. Superman fans can tell us if this is canon, But I don't think this ever became canon, that Lex's whole agenda is. You made me bald with your super.

>> Rob: Yeah. One of the greatest criminal minds of all time. and he's driven mad by the fact that he lost his hair. No, like, toupee hair transplant. You know, all those. That's out the window. No, no. So then, then, yeah. Lex wants to do is of course, as I feel like we see this plot, I think we've seen this plot with Lex. Whenever we've covered him, Lex wants to give himself superpower. So he creates a ray which, of course, very conveniently can only be used once ever.

>> Guido: Right. I love, I love that. his explanation is something like it was the superpower ARR machine was the result of a freak combination of adjustments I'll never be able to duplicate. One time.

>> Rob: You. Yes. Never. And of course, right when he triggers it, his dog Wolf, which we've never ever seen before and never will see again, has jumped in front of the ray. And now actually then Lex goes to hit the dog.

>> Guido: Uh-huh.

>> Rob: Because he's that kind of guy. He to hit the dog and hurts his hand and then realizes, ah, Wolf now has all these superpowers. He's basically like the evil crypto.

>> Guido: Yeah. And how does he train Wolf? Well, the most reasonable way to train a dog with superpowers, he projects images of bones into the sky to train him to fly. Ites is completely ridiculous. And then he fires cannonballs at him. Like, directly at him.

>> Rob: Yes.

>> Guido: I mean, it's just. It's just asinine.

>> Rob: And then they've conveniently worked out that super boys off world because there s another. There's a planet that'sn toa blow up and Superboy has to transport the entire population of this planet to another planet. So that's taking him quite a while. And in the meantime, he's left crypto on Earth to basically handle any accidents and crimes that happened there. So he's there. And this crypto, we should say now this isn't true of the crypto we just talked about in his origin issue. But now this crypto, not only does he have, like, Superman's powers, but he definitely is, like, much smarter than a dog. Like, he can really reason things out and we actually see his. His thought bubbles so he can't speak. But we. We know what he's thinking most of the time. And that's not true in his origin issue. He's much more like a regular dog in that first one. Like, he's chasing comets like they're cats here. Now, he's very smart.

>> Guido: Yes. And Destructo has the same power, so.

>> Rob: Desruct.

>> Guido: Same powers.

>> Rob: And we.

>> Guido: You're following a lot of Destructo'inner monologue as, the. As he embarks on his superhound of hate career. And then even. I mean, just the idea that he's written this issue to be really about the two dogs is hilarious enough. But then the fact that he's gonna frame Crypto is completely asinine. And one of the crimes he's committing to frame him is again, like, you just. I can't figure out how this was plotted by a sober human being.

>> Rob: And we don't know that. Not to be Spurch Otto's name, but.

>> Guido: You know, because's okay. He what? So his framing of Crypto depends on the fact that he'll commit crimes and be only seen from afar wearing a red cape. But he's a brown dog. Soes. There's a concern that if you see him too close, you're gonna realize it's not Crypto. So at one point, he's robbing the Superboy museum and he's too close. So. So I can't even explain this truly. He decides that in order to commit the crime and have people think he's Crypto, he will have to melt down a metal statue Superboy, and he'll have to dive into the molten metal so that he can become covered in metal, which I guess makes him look white enough close enough to Crypto. But also he happens to be stealing a magnet. And so he's able to attract the magnet by flying past the window. And therefore he doesn't have to even go into the museum where it'll be clear he's not actually Crypto. I mean, I really, like. I can't believe someone came up with that story. I can't believe it.

>> Rob: Yeah. Yeah. And then all this time, the real Crypto doesn't know what's going on. And then suddenly the real Crypto is like, landing back in and, like, sees the chief of police, and then everyone's scared of him and he's like, what's going on? I don't know. The real chief of police even tries to, like, incapacitate him with a piece of Kryptonite, but it's too small, which does come back later. And then Crypto actually escapes. He actually then like burrows into a little hide. He hol.

>> Guido: He digs a hole into a rock into so that he can go hide in it. And he's like depressed at this point because everyone hates him, but he's using.

>> Rob: Then his super hearing and stuff to hear what everyone is saying. And then it's realizing, oh, there's a dog that's committing these crimes. They think it's me. So now he's like, oh, I need to clear my doggie name.

>> Guido: Yeah. Which he does.

>> Rob: next, in a very absurd way.

>> Guido: You can oay this is. I know because it's. It just gets better. Like as if the I'm going to dip myself in molten metal to disguise myself and attract a magnet isn't good enough at this point we get an explanation that. So he ends up getting. So Lex ends up somehow being able to reconfigure this magical machine that he could only configure once, but he configures it to take away powers. So he takes away Crypto'powers and they end up going into Destructo. So Destructo has twice the amount of super dog powers and Crypto is now just a normal dog. And before I explain how Crypto defeats this doubly powerful superhound of hate, can you please describe Crypto, suffering of being a normal dog?

>> Rob: Yeah. So, well, the destructo like launches him in, luckily almost dies. Luckily he lands on some hay, which we know. So he's very happy about that. And then now he's of course forced to walk. And, and even then a bystander seeser along a farmer laugh at him, laughs at him. And Crypto is like, oh my gosh, I'm. How humiliating. I must have to walk now.

>> Guido: It's so crazy that this is an actual panel there where Farmer saying, haa, not fine walking like an ordinary dog. Like, like that's what he's making fun of him for. So anyway, this now humiliated Crypto has figured out that because Destructo is twice as strong, he will be twice as vulnerable to kryptonite, which I don't think also ever comes back again because that really makes no sense. But regardless, it's what it takes to make this story work. So he gets the small little pebble of Kryptonite that didn't affect a single strength dog. It starts to incapacitate Destructo. And so Lex realizes that in Order to save Destructo, he'll have to return Crypto's powers so that Destructo only has single level superpowers and therefore can resist the kryptonite. So that happens, Kryto gets his powers back and super boy arrives just in time to save the day.

>> Rob: Yes. Well, yeah, to put, Lex into juvenile hall.

>> Guido: Yes, he's returning him to juven. To reform school. To reform school. To reform school.

>> Rob: But I think you left out how Crypto, like is able to alert all the authorities of this because it is also very bizarre because he knows where Lex is hiding there. So what Crypto does again now without his superpowers is he breaks into the Kent family, Kent family general store ste a bag of money.

>> Guido: I did ignore this.

>> Rob: Steals a bag of money, rips a hole in the money so that some coins are falling out of it. And then the police chief sees, like, there's Crypto stealing this money. I'm gonna follow this trail of money. And then he leads with like those breadcrumbs to Lex's thing. Now why couldn't have Crypto done anything else? Why couldn't he haveieved literally anything else? Any police, anything have followed him like that's all he needed. He didn't need to like rob his own family store and like lead this money. Did someone then collect this money? Is the Kent family out of all this? This change now?

>> Guido: It is. You're right. I should have included it, but I had to choose the ridiculous plot twist. And that is another great one. And then it ends it with a panel where Superboy is so proud of Crypto, but he's wagging his tail too fast. And so Superboy is really worried that Crypto is goingna start a tornado and that's how the story ends. So this is perfect. Yeah, it's just perfect. I love every bit of it. I truly. I know I've said this when we've covered these ridiculous imaginary stories, but. But I truly can't believe someone wrote this. I think I have a new goal, which is to write a story like this because I just don't even know Again, you need a dartboard, I think, equipped with like 40 different plot twists. And that's what you use to guide the storyles.

>> Rob: And a lot of deadlines. The deadline is very important here.

>> Guido: Truemp 5000 stories. So you enjoyed this also very much.

>> Rob: Yes. Now you. I think you had said though, because of course we're not going to talk about the further advnures of Destructo. Yes. He also Loses his powers. But Destructo. I, believe Wolf never comes back, right? No, he's gone.

>> Guido: No, this is his only appearance. Which seems really strange because, yeah, this, I mean this series goes on for another 150 issues, so they could easily have found the chance to bring them back. But guess Otto only had one dog versus dog story in him.

>> Rob: Yeah. Well, let us wrap up by going into the future and pondering some possibilities. Will the future you describe be avertederttederted? So, Guido, what are we talking about for pondering possibilities?

>> Guido: Well, let's ponder the summer release of Superman and Crypto's role in it. Because again, we haven't watched a trailer. We did watch the teaser from a few months back. So we know Crypto was in that. We know people loved it, but we know Crypto is again in this trailer and people are loving every second of it. We also know that supposedly Crypto is in Supergirl, which just wrapped filming and comes out next year. So we are all in on Crypto in this new universe. And I'm just curious what we think Crypto'role will be and how important will it be should it align to this origin? Now we know Crypto's actual origin. So I don't know. Where do you want to start?

>> Rob: Well, let's start with the origin, because I think that's, Origins are always a good place to start. I think they are going to stick semi closely to the comic book origin. But I think the big difference here. So I think Crypto will be from Crryon and all that, but I think the big difference is going to be that Crypto will be traveling with baby Kyle L. In the pod. Maybe he's put in there because they don't want to separate him. Or maybe he's there to protect him once he gets to Earth, like be a protector. I could totally see that. But I think it makes a lot more sense for them to be together rather than like that he's introduced later, which is also very convenient. Like how else is this pod also landing on Earth, like with another, creature.

>> Guido: Ridiculous Silver Age stuff to the idea that like their're retconning. This dog was also sent and happen to be his own dog. Yeah, and I think that's. What do you think that. Yeah, I think. I think that has to be it. I think there's no other way, because there's no other way. Also, you need the superpowered dog. So unless it's a dog that's a product of like a science experiment which Seems like a ridiculous alternate history to provide. Like, there's no reason to go down that path when you could just have him be from Krypton. and I mean, I guess. I guess if you wanted. I don't think they're going to go into a scientific explanation, but I guess the same explanation we have for Superman, Right. He has this alien genetic structure where the yellow sun gives him superpowers. So I guess you could assume all mammals.

>> Rob: Yeah, I think so.

>> Guido: Had the same thing be true of them. And therefore, Crypto, the normal dog on Krypton, is Crypto, the super doog on Earth.

>> Rob: So it also establishes their relationship. So if Clark, as we know him, in most of the movie, is 30, then he's been. And Crypto, I'm sure, like, lives much longer than a normal dog. Right. Like, I think, like, then he's been with Clark for all those 30 years, so they. They had that chance to bond. It's not like, oh, I need to meet this other dog in the course of the film and establish another relationship. Like, this is a very shorthand like, oh, it's my dog. It's my best friend. They've always been together.

>> Guido: Yeah. So can he talk?

>> Rob: No, no, no, no. I mean, I don't.

>> Guido: Can we hear his thoughts in James?

>> Rob: Don't think so. But I think that hints on something that is kind of in the same vein, which is like, I think the very appearance of crypto. Yes. Even if you don't, like, hear his thoughts or he talks or anything like that. But the very fact that he is in here, to me, says that there is going to be some. Not maybe the Silver Age silliness, but some of that kind of Silver Age DNA. Because I think as soon as you put, like, a dog wearing a cape into a movie, it's like, oh, that's a certain tone. Like, that's that.

>> Guido: Yeah.

>> Rob: It makes it different than the Zack Snyder tones.

>> Guido: Totally. I. I wouldn't. I mean, I don't think there's. I don't think James Gunn needs to obsess over differentiating from Zack Snyder. I think it's going toa be differentiated regardless. But I do think that's part of it is. It's definitely a signal of, this is fun. This is comic bookie. This is faithful. It's a faithful adaptation. So I think that all of those things are indicated by his presence, which is really nice. And I think, of course, there's also the James Gunn heartstring piece of it. He's already said that he was really inspired by his own dog, who he was bonding with while writing this during the pandemic. And so, you know, even people who don't love dogs are generally love. Even people who don't have dogs generally love dogs. So, like, there's the. The piece that it pulls us in and humanizes Superman in. In a way, which is really key. So.

>> Rob: And that gives me also hope that they're not just gonna kill Crypto off in this movie. Because I think you and I liked Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but I think a lot of people, including myself, would say, like, there's a lot of manipulation while we're gonna put some cute animals in it and then kill them. Spoilerert for that movie. So I think. And yeah, it's like there's a famous screenwriting book called Save the Cat. It's like the way to establish a hero is have them save a cat. And it's like the way to establish a villain is like kill an animal. Right. So I think, like, it would be a lot and maybe going into that Snyder territory, if, like, someone snaps Crypto's neck in this.

>> Guido: Lex goes after Crypto.

>> Rob: Yeah, exactly.

>> Guido: Get Destructo. We're gonna have Destructo in this movie.

>> Rob: See, I love the idea that, like, you know, Crypto is not just going toa be used for, like, that emotional manipulation. And the fact that he's based on James Gunn's own dog makes me think, oh, no, that's not going to be the case here.

>> Guido: No, he's not going to be a storytelling device. He's gonna be a character. He's gonna be a dog, but he's gonna be a character. And I think. I don't know anything about Supergirl. I don't read rumors or anything, so could be a take place in the past. But the fact that Crypto is supposedly in it, that makes me hope he survives again. Maybe Supergirl takes place on Kryon, and so it gives us no indication about the future. But I'm just excited that we will see him a few times and get to see what's in store for the good boy.

>> Rob: And I think, like, there. We all know that with like. Well, like with Batman, there's like a tendency now to like, make it, like, feel realistic. Like, how could someone actually be this if they were a billionaire? But with Superman, there is always like this hurdle, I think, to overcome with a modern audience where it's like, how doesn't you put on glasses and everyone thinks you're somebody else? Like, it's, this like, ridiculous. And he can do basically anything. So I think, like, having the idea of, like, okay, then he also has a dog with a cape who follows him around. Like, it just.

>> Guido: You can suspend disbelief.

>> Rob: You suspend disbelief. Exactly.

>> Guido: Yeah, it's a good point. It turns it. It into a fantasy where you can suspend disbelief and, and just appreciate it and enjoy it. That's true. It also gives them a little bit of a family element. I don't. I don't think we'renna get a John Kent anytime soon. And so I think it gives Clark and Lois the chance to have a dog and be kind of a family. And that's cute.

>> Rob: No. And now, I mean, I know they're probably not going to be able to have cr. They. Well, crypto is gonna fly and do all these other things. And we, you and I have only seen like, the teaser there, but how do you feel about it being a CGI dog versus, like, the movies we grew up with where it was like airb Bud or something like that? Milo notice. Exactly. Milo notice. Where it's like a real dog. And of course, like, as a dog lover, an animal lover or human being, like, you just like, oh, my God, that's a dog on screen. Like, you bond with it here you, you go in knowing, okay, that's cgi. Do you think that's going to be a hurdle that you have to overcome as a viewer?

>> Guido: Not if it's well executed. And my guess is, and what tends to be true for all of these movies is that even the trailer effects are not the final effects. M. They've obviously polished the trailer to get it looking really good, but the movie will oftentimes look even better. And so I think the trailer looked good and I think the movie will look even better. So I think it's not going to matter even if you can tell obviously that it's CG and not real most of the time. Much of the time, some of the time, I think it's not going toa matter because I'm sure that what they're going to capture because James Gunn is the director and, has this. The visual sense of it is the things that dog people would be looking for, like the way the eyes work and connect to you and look up at you and, you know, all of that kind of stuff, I think they're, they're gonna capture and so it's gonna feel real even if it never is or looks completely real. Yeah. So I am very excited. I'm sure they're going to merchandise the hell out of it. Yes. And, I'm sure I'm gonna fall victim to that.

>> Rob: Yeah. Auto Binder's legacy lives on.

>> Guido: Yes.

>> Rob: And, you know, that was just making me think as we wrap up here, I have our dog Archie sitting next to me here. But do you remember Archie's original name was Otto?

>> Guido: Oh, my gosh.

>> Rob: His name was Otto.

>> Guido: Get out. I did not remember that during the course of this episode. And wow. It was Otto when we adopted him. And we did change it.

>> Rob: Maybe those other people. People were big supero fans named it out of bind.

>> Guido: I don't think the hoarding house he was living in with 35 other dogs in Texas where he was rescued. I don't think they were naming him after Auto Binder, but who knows? So, wow. All right, well, that's really fun and we are so excited for Superman coming up. And we're excited to see what probably Superman story we cover in our next episode. But for now, that is a wrap. Deer Watchers, thank you for listening. I've been Guo Roo RF and I.

>> Rob: Have been fromB the good boy.

>> Guido: The reading lists in the show notes follow us online and Deer Watchers and.

>> Rob: Leave us a five star review wherever you listen. We'll be back soon with another trip through the Multuliverse.

>> Guido: In the meantime, keep pondering the poss abilities.