TEX THE WONDER DOG

TEX THE WONDER DOGHe is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by Comics

is a white German Shepherd Dog who spent his early years in the U.S. Army's K-9 Corps, alongside his brother, Pooch.The German Shepherd Dog (GSD, also known as an Alsatian), (German: Deutscher Schäferhund) is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany.[2] German Shepherds are a relatively new breed of dog, whose origins date to 1899. As part of the Herding group, the German Shepherd is a working dog developed originally for herding sheep. Because of their strength, intelligence and abilities in obedience training they are often employed in police and military roles, in forces around the world.[3] Due to their loyal and protective nature, the German Shepherd is one of the most registered of breeds.

As explained in his first appearance, Krypto was originally the toddler Kal-El's dog while they were on Krypton. Jor-El, testing prototypes for the rocket that would eventually send Kal-El to Earth, decided to use Krypto as a test subject. However, Krypto's rocket was knocked off-course; the rocket drifted through space for years until it eventually landed on Earth, where Krypto was reunited with the now-teenaged superhero, Superboy. Due to the environment (Earth's yellow sun and lower gravity), Krypto possessed the same powers and abilities as his master, although his physical abilities were proportionate to his smaller size and species, similar to an ordinary dog vs. a human. Certain sensory abilities of Krypto's (senses of smell and hearing) would be more acute than those of Superman, just as an ordinary dog's senses would be more acute than those of an ordinary human. Krypto also had super-canine intelligence (approximately human level, though with his canine traits and interests still present); the comics expressed this via the use of thought balloons indicating what Krypto was thinking.The current version indicates that Krypto was indeed the El family dog from the real Krypton (as in the Silver Age), showing an identical white dog present at Kal-El's birth. Although Action #850 does not deal with the specifics of how this dog was sent to Earth or when he arrived (Krypto is not clearly shown in any of the brief scenes of Clark's childhood), subsequent issues of the Superman title have contained references to Krypto being around when he was "young". Both inclusions retconned the origin of the current Krypto hailing from an ersatz Krypton and debuting during Superman's adulthood.

Krypto was drawn as a white dog of generic pedigree. The early appearances of the character in the comics usually featured exaggerated anthropomorphic facial expressions; these were replaced in later appearances by a more generic canine face. When fighting crime, Krypto usually wore a gold collar, a miniature facsimile of the famed Superman-"S" symbol for a dog tag, and a dog-sized version of Superman's cape.

When not accompanying Superboy/Superman, Krypto spent much of his time romping through space; while on Earth, however, he stayed with the Kent family, posing as their pet dog, "Skip". In that identity, his guardians applied a brown dye patch on his back for a disguise which Krypto could burn off with his heat vision when he went into costume.

Krypto had the distinction of belonging to not one but two organizations of super-animals: the 30th century Legion of Super-Pets, and the Space Canine Patrol Agents.

In the final (noncanonical) pre-Crisis Superman story, Alan Moore's Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow?, Krypto sacrificed his life to save Superman by biting the throat out of the Kryptonite Man. The villain died, but Krypto was irradiated by him and died as well.

In Superboy #126 (Jan 1966) "Krypto's Family Tree", Krypto's father's name was given as Zypto, his grandfather as Nypto, and his great-grandfather as Vypto.

Powers and abilities
Originally Army trained, Tex has augmented abilities far beyond those of normal dogs, with the ability to communicate to humans and all animals, together with exceptional strength, speed, stamina, and intelligence and an understanding of the world around him that is at least comparable to most humans. Rex has revitalized health and longevity stemming from a drink from the Fountain of Youth. He has also exhibited unspecified other enhanced powers as a result of this, and is acknowledged as a member of DC's magical and mystical community.