Shortly after the new Superman movie came out, the organizers of the dog meetups at Hudson Yards in Manhattan staged a Krypto look-a-like contest. Seeing all the different types of dogs entered had me wondering what breeds Krypto and his canine comic book colleagues actually are.

Scroll down to see what I found out.

Comic Book Dog Breeds — Sofia, the winner of the Hudson Yards Krypto Look-A-Like Contest

What Kind of Dog is Krypto the Superdog?

Krypto first appeared in Adventure Comics #210 way back in 1955. He was originally the household pet of toddler Kal-El (the future Superman) while they were on the doomed planet Krypton. Kal-El’s father knew that Krypton was going to explode and wanted to send his baby son via space ship to Earth where he would thrive because he’d have super-powers. Krypto was the pilot of an early test rocket that was knocked off course. Eventually Krypto’s ship made it to Earth where he was reunited with the now teenaged Kal-El, AKA Clark Kent! Krypto has the same powers as Superboy: super-strength, near invulnerability, flight, and super-senses.

Krypto has been traditionally drawn as a medium-sized, short-haired, white dog of generic pedigree. But over the years, he’s also looked like a Siberian Husky, some weird monster wolf-creature, a Pitt Bull, and most recently a wiry-haired dog with a crooked ear.

So, what type of dog is he?

Answer: This one is super tricky, as befits a super dog. Krypto has had so many incarnations. In his early appearances he looked like a Pit Bull of some sort: short fur, square head, muscular build… like a white version of Petey from the Little Rascals. Over the years, he’s resembled a Labrador Retriever, a Golden Retriever, a Husky, and some weird kind of vicious-looking wolf-thing. In his most recent iterations he looks like a mix of some sort.

Sorry, I know that’s not definitive. But it’s the best I’ve got.

Krypto is a mixed breed dog.

From another planet.

Read about Krypto’s viral media moment here.

What Kind of Dog is Ace the Bat-Hound?

Batman’s dog, Ace, soon followed on the heels (paw pads?) of Krypto, debuting a few months later in Batman #92.

Answer: Ace is a German Shepherd Dog. (I think based on his early appearances one could argue that Ace is a Belgian Malinois, but the consensus is that he’s a German Shepherd.)

What Kind of Dog is Titus?

In case you didn’t know, Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne, now has a son. His name is Damien Wayne and he is the latest Robin. Along with a super snarky attitude, Damien also brought a menagerie with him to stately Wayne Manor, starting with Titus.

What type of dog is Titus?

Answer: Titus is a Great Dane.

Bat-Cow

I realize that Bat-Cow isn’t a dog, but I just think he’s funny and wanted to include him. He’s part of Damien’s growing Bat-Zoo. In addition to Ace and Titus, Damian saved the cow below from slaughter. He’s also acquired a cat he’s named after the Waynes’ butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

(Make sure you look at the cow’s face, there’s the mark of The Bat there!)

What Kind of Dog is Bitewing?

Another “Bat-Dog” is Bitewing.

The first sidekick to accompany Batman in his war on crime was Dick Grayson, the original Boy Wonder: Robin. (depending on the time of day, I can rattle off about five or six different kids who’ve been Robin!)

Dick has gone out on his own and is now known as Nightwing. He adopted a tri-pawed and named her Haley.

She is also known by her superhero codename: Bitewing!

Apart from being cute, she really has no crime fighting skills or superpowers.

What type of dog is Bitewing?

Answer: Bitewing is square-head, mixed breed, probably with some Staffordshire Terrier-ish DNA in there.

What Kind of Dog is Pizza Dog (AKA Lucky)?

Clint Barton, also known as the Marvel superhero Hawkeye, met Pizza Dog in the first issue of his comic. He offered the dog a slice of pizza during an encounter with a criminal gang called the Tracksuit Mafia. During the inevitable, obligatory fight with the gang, Pizza Dog defends Clint, but loses an eye. Clint takes him to the vet and adopts him. The name on Pizza Dog’s collar says “Arrow” (a nod to DC superhero Green Arrow, an expert with a bow and arrow like Hawkeye) but Clint decides to rename him Lucky.

Lucky went on to star in an issue of Hawkeye told entirely from a dog’s eye view. This issue won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue of a comic.

What type of dog is Lucky?

Answer: Pizza Dog is a Golden Retriever. (Though I did see one reference that said he was a Red Shiba Inu. I’m like… “Uh. No.”)

What Kind of Dog is Lockjaw?

Lockjaw is a member of the Inhumans. The Inhumans are a group of super-powered people who live in the secret city Attilan on the moon. Created by comics legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 in 1965. Each Inhuman has their own, unique, special power. Lockjaw has super-canine strength in his jaw; super-canine durability; matter ingestion (what? he… eats?); precognition; and his best-known power: teleportation.

Lockjaw was often associated with his fellow Inhuman, Crystal.

What kind of dog is Lockjaw?

Answer: Lockjaw is a gigantic English Bulldog sort of creature with a tuning fork growing out of his forehead.

I don’t know why he has a tuning fork growing our of his forehead.

What Kind of Dog is Rex the Wonder Dog?

Rex’s origin is just like Captain America’s! He received a dose of a super serum. He has enhanced intellect, super-smelling powers, and stronger, sharper-than-normal fangs.

Another great comic book legend duo — Bob Kanigher and Alex Toth — created Rex.

Toth went on to also create the Super Friends, Space Ghost, and Birdman TV cartoons. He also did character designs for the Jonny Quest animated series, which means he was one of the creators of another great fictional canine: Bandit.

What kind of dog is Rex?

Answer: Rex is a German Shepherd Dog.

What Kind of Dog is Hot Dog?

Archie’s best friend Jughead has a best friend… and it’s a doggo named Hot Dog.

What kind of dog is Hot Dog?

Answer: Hot Dog is an English Sheepdog.

If you want to learn about dogs from cartoons (as opposed to comic books) check out our post Cartoon Dog Breeds.

What Kind of Dog is Dogpool?

Dogpool is canine version of Marvel’s Deadpool form an alternate universe. He was subjected to animal testing by a cosmetics company which left him horribly mutated. Like the original Deadpool, his powers include regeneration.

Answer: This one is a bit tricky. It’s hard to pin down what breed the comic book version of Dogpool is. He has many, many different looks. But the movie version of the character is a Pug / Chinese Crested mix.

If you want to learn about what breeds certain cartoon dogs are, check out our post, Cartoon Dog Breeds. We dive deep into the backgrounds of Scooby-Doo, Snoopy, Astro, Snowball, Pluto, Goofy, and more.

Comic Book Dog Breeds