THE BOTTLED CITY OF KANDOR
Brigid Cotter
ICE 100: Creating the Comic Book City
Due: April 17th, 2015
Comic book cities provide an elaborate background for the development of the
superheroes and super villains associated with them. The city of Kandor is an urban
metropolis of comic book culture. The city of Kandor was introduced as a setting for
Superman and his arch nemesis, Brainiac, in which they quarreled for many issues of the
Superman chronicles. The complex backdrop that Kandor provides is perfect for the
evolution and growth of the Superman comic book series.
The city of Kandor was first revealed to the comic book world in Action Comics
Volume One Number Two Hundred and Fourty-Two, “The Super-Duel in Space” in
August of 1979.1 In this issue, Superman battles Brainiac, who is arguably Superman’s
greatest foe, in order to try to save Kandor2. Brainiac was originally designed as a hero in
order to protect the ruling class of the distant planet Colu from rebel citizens. He was a
super-computer who was capable of obtaining and retaining massive amounts of
information.3 This information could be anything from catalogues of codes to an entire
planet’s circuitry. In the right hands, these powers could be beneficial to planets and
those who live on them; in the wrong hands, though, these powers could be lethal.
Brainiac soon learned to use his cataloguing abilities to overthrow his masters and
become a toxic and destructive threat to all of the universes.4
Brainiac combs through the universes and secures the powers that are available to
him, one of which is the ability to shrink and re-enlarge objects, including entire cities.5
Throughout his existence in comics, Brainiac shrinks many cities and their residents. He
houses these miniature cities within bottles on his Skull Ship, with plans to expand them
in the future. One of the most popular cities that Brainiac was able to bottle up and hide
in his ship was Kandor.6 Debuting in “The Super-Duel in Space”, the capital city of
Kandor is located on the comic-born planet Krypton.7 This encapsulating event is most
definitely what defines the city, and many of the city’s appearances occur inside the
bottle, especially during the comic’s Silver Age.8
Kandor is ruled by the Science Council of Krypton, on which Jor-El, Superman’s
biological father and Krypton’s leading scientist, occupies a seat.9 The Science Council
of Krypton is essentially the governing body of Kandor’s technocratic bureaucracy, and it
consists of the planet’s most prominent scientists, innovators, and other such brilliant
minds.10
Kandor is an extremely large urban area with just over six million residents.11
These residents call themselves Kandorians, and are employed over a wide variety of
disciplines, though the leading source of employment is the book publishing industry.
This industry leads the Kandorian economy, though other sources of revenue come from
automobile manufacturing, gambling, and information technology.12
Kandorians make their money through employment at these industries. The
inhabitants make on average just below ninety-five thousand Kryptons, which is their
monetary currency.13 They are known to be hard working, democratic, and independent
people with a goal of accomplishing a high level of productivity. They wish to be
productive just as Americans wish to be productive: for monetary gain and status in the
society. Those involved in business affairs as well as the wealthy are viewed
suspiciously14, which, in a way, parallels the United States’ lower class view of affluent
individuals.
The Kandorian perspective on productivity does not fluctuate very much through
the course of its appearances in Silver Age and Modern Age comics. Before and during
the encapsulation of the city by Brainiac, the citizens of Kandor were able to continue
their day-to-day activities. Despite their obvious wishes to return to normal sizes15, life
went as usual in the Bottled City, even as Superman shrank himself and made visits to the
city.16 However, when Superman contracted his size to visit, he lost all powers that he
had on Earth, making him vulnerable to villains.17 The Kandorians, on Earth, had the
same strength as Superman, though these powers were not available to them in the bottle.
CM Houghton, a fan of Superman, states that “Kandorians aren’t any better than humans:
they have the same weaknesses, the same frailities, as humanity despite also having
extraordinary strength.”18
Superman has many personal ties to Kandor; it is the city from which he was
allegedly created before he was sent to Earth. The abduction of Kandor and it’s shrinking
by Brainiac is a direct blow to Superman’s roots:
“You’ve got this most powerful human being on the planet,
but that inside, is always searching for who he is, what kind
of connection to his roots he can have. And Kandor fits
right into that.”19
Throughout the narrative that includes the Bottled City of Kandor, Superman makes
several references toward the personal ties that he has with the city and the people that
are stuck within the enclosure. The fact that the city was captured by Brainiac and taken
away from Superman is, in essence, a request to become Superman’s rival.
Kandor, like many developed urban areas, has a complex infrastructure. The city
is run by scientists and brilliant minds, which, due to their innovations, allow the
inhabitants access to top-notch amenities. Citizens pay a flat income tax of just under
eight percent, which is filtered toward paying for care of preventable illnesses and other
such government programs.20. This parallels the United States’ tax program and state
involvement in the well-being of their citizens.
Oddly enough, there are a lack of prisons in the City of Kandor, which helps to
describe the high-level of crime associated with the metropolis.21 Much of the crime is
youth-related, though freedom from incarceration is widespread due to this lack of crimepreventing structure.22
The privatization of industry in Kandor aids not only in flourishing the
city’s economy by giving jobs to its residents, but also by creating a sharp divide between
the classes of Kandorians. Around ten percent of the population have the title of the
wealthy elite and have an average yearly income that is about twelve times the average
yearly income of the lower class.23 This inequality between classes provides an
atmosphere for hostility, which is also seen in America as class and income disparity
increases.
The Kandorian population in many ways reflects the United States’ population at
the time of the comic’s release and popularity. Cultural assimilation is a motif in these
plots24, though Superman is anti-assimilation in his character and nature. The bottled city
is also perfect setting for Brainiac’s anti-heroic nature and the structure of the city and
Superman’s personal ties to it helps to develop the beloved action-filled narrative.
The lack of diversity in Kandor also is potential for antagonistic views toward
outsiders. Foreigners are not welcome anywhere on Krypton, mainly due to the fact that
Kandorians and Kryptonians are all the same.25 They all look to be of a Caucasian,
European background, which is similar to the population that the creators, Al Plastino
and Otto Binder, both experienced growing up.26
The absence of a diverse population represented in the city of Kandor can be seen
as a reflection of the attitudes of the American public toward foreigners following the
Cold War. The early 1980s marked the beginning of a new attitude toward immigrants
coming to American soil. Previously, Americans, for the most part, welcomed
immigrants into the States due to the fact that they helped to consume American goods
and provided the bodies that employers needed to produce goods on a mass scale.
Especially after the Cold War, Americans became increasingly more suspicious of
outsiders and feared an influx of communist attitudes.27
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, illegal immigration increased
dramatically. Most of the immigrants arriving in the States at this time were Mexicans
looking for employment. The 1980s was soon a time of reform, where the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986 discouraged immigrants from entering the United States
illegally by instituting employer sanctions.28 However, this act did not obstruct the ability
of illegal immigrants from coming into the States, which continued to create a hostile
attitude amongst U.S. citizens.
With the advance of technology in the 1950’s came explorations of outer space.
The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 caused “social panic” across the United
States.29 Then came the rush to be the first on the moon, and so forth. These events and
the United States’ desire to explore outer space and the universe also helped to cultivate
creative thoughts in the comic scene, later including the planet of Krypton.
The creation of the planet Krypton and, later, the bottled city of Kandor, stems
from the Atomic Age in United States and World history. The Atomic Age set the scene
for the destruction of cities and provided a backdrop that would cater to stories of
technological violence and mass devastation of communities and people. At this time in
American history, diplomats were starting to realize that “war, as a method for resolving
conflicts among industrially advanced great powers, had become inordinately costly,
dangerous and self-destructive.”30
In 1954, comic creators reinforced the Comics Code to mitigate the frequency and
violence of crime magazines, though the code “said nothing about atomic weapons.”31
This opened numerous opportunities for the creators of Superman to elaborate on the
planet Krypton and weave in kryptonic fragments and radiation into the comic narrative.
Kandor and the planet of Krypton are ideal examples of comic settings, which
reflect American society at the time that they were created. The qualities of the city help
mold a background that engages the readers with the narrative. The characteristics of
Kandor encompass several ideals that parallel current events at the time that the city was
created, which aid in capturing the interest of the audience.
Works Cited
1
Ellsworth, Whitney, ed. ""The Super-Duel in Space"" Action Comics. 242nd ed. Vol. 1.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
2
“Brainiac.” DC Database. Accessed April 16, 2015
3
“Brainiac (comics).” Wikpedia. Accessed April 16, 2015.
4
“Vril Dox (Earth-One).” DC Database. Accessed April 16, 2015.
5
Siegel, Jerry. ""Superman's Return to Krypton"" 141st ed. N.p.: DC Comics, 1960. Print.
Superman.
6
“Brainiac.” DC Database. Accessed April 16, 2015
7
Ellsworth, Whitney, ed. ""The Super-Duel in Space"" Action Comics. 242nd ed. Vol. 1.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
8
“Kandor.” – Supermanica. November 17, 2008. Accessed April 16, 2015
9
“Krypton: A Brief History of Superman’s Perpetually Doomed Home Planet.” The
Hollywood Reporter. Accessed April 16, 2015.
10
“Jor-El (New Earth).” DC Databas. Accessed April 16, 2015.
11
“How Many Kryptonians Survived the Destructin of Krypton?” Superman. December
6, 2014. Accessed April 16, 2015
12
Barry, Max. “NationStates | The Utopia in a Bottle of Kandor City.” NationStates | The
Utopia in a Bottle of Kandor City. Accessed April 17, 2015.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
“Kandor.” – Supermanica. November 17, 2008. Accessed April 16, 2015.
16
Wein, Len, ed. ""Let My People Grow!"" DC Comics. 338th ed. Vol. 1. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Print.
17
“DC Histories: The Bottle City of Kandor.” IFanboy. Accessed April 16, 2015.
18
“#9.7 “Kandor” Review.” KryptonSite 97 Kandor Review Comments. Accessed April
16, 2015.
19
Kandor History of the Bottled City. Performed by Mike Carlin, Bob Goodman, Heath
Corson, Geoff Johns, Marv Wolfman. USA, 2013. Film.
20
Barry, Max. “NationStates | The Utopia in a Bottle of Kandor City.” NationStates | The
Utopia in a Bottle of Kandor City. Accessed April 16, 2015.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
24
“1938: “Look! Up In The Sky!” | A New Literary History- Credo Reference.” 1938:
“Look! Up In The Sky!” | A New Literary History- Credo Reference. Accessed April 16,
2015.
25
Barry, Max. “NationStates | The Utopia in a Bottle of Kandor City.” NationStates | The
Utopia in a Bottle of Kandor City. Accessed April 16, 2015.
26
“Al Plastino Interview (Pt. 1).” Al Plastino Interview (Pt. 1). Accessed April 16, 2015.
27
"Making and Remaking America: Immigration into the United States." Hoover
Institution. Accessed April 16, 2015.
28
Ibid.
29
Darowski, Joseph J. The Ages of Superman Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing
times. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2012.
30
"After the Cold War." Global. Accessed April 16, 2015.
31
Darowski, Joseph J. The Ages of Superman Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing
times. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2012.