Watchmen Inspired Dog Names

As mentioned above, the “heroes” of the Watchmen series, as well as their Minutemen predecessors, were about as far from the traditional superheroes as one could get. Many of them had dark and difficult pasts that led to their desire to become superheroes, but many of their identities both with and without masks, drew more parallels to antiheroes than the standard cape-wearing likes of Superman or Batman. And outside of Bubastis, Ozymandias’ genetically-modified red and black striped lynx, none of them had the kinds of classic crimefighting companions by their sides. 

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t parallels between Watchmen and doggy do-gooders that existed in the past. In fact, there seem to be quite a few comparative values in the likes of Krypto, Superman’s dog. 

For starters, some of Krypto’s non-canonical pre-Crisis Superman story was actually written by Alan Moore, the brilliant writing mind behind Watchmen, as well. And much like much of Moore’s unapologetically dramatic other works, Krypto sacrifices himself to save Superman in Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

But outside of sharing a writer who created some of his story, Krypto also shared other similarities to the gritty 1980s cult classic comic legends. Much like Watchmen, Krypto was actually part of an off-beat group of seemingly marginal fellow characters as a member of the Legion of Super-Pets, one that included several iterations of animal companions Superman, Superboy and others befriended and employed over the years, such as Streaky the Supercat and Comet the Super-Horse. 

But quite possibly the biggest similarity that can be drawn was the evolution of his character. The members of Watchmen themselves were originally based on the Mighty Crusaders, a superhero team created in the 1960s, then reimagined to fit criteria of superhero characteristics DC Comics had acquired from Charlton Comics in the early 1980s, each a revised rendition of the last. Similarly, Krypto first appeared in Adventure Comics #210 in March of 1955, but saw numerous revisions throughout his existence, ranging from the canine version of Superman himself to a simple pet. Depending on who was approaching his story, much like the Crusaders to Charlton-based identities, Krypto was written to fit the mind that helped put his story to paper, carrying on only the strongest and most selective characteristics throughout his evolution. The results were a dynamic character who had a complex story with various versions that were crafted to fit the context of the story they were being used in.