Rao is an ancient red dwarf star from the Superman franchise. It once served as the sun of the now-destroyed planet Kyrpton while blocking the Kryptonian race of their true powers and full potentials.
History[]
Original Timeline[]
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Rao in the original comics
In the original comics, the Star was initially unnamed and depicted as a red supergiant before it was eventually changed to a red dwarf called Rao. The sun prevented Kryptonians' access to their supernatural abilities. Instead, the Rao sun affected them into giving the strength and durability of a normal human being. This was due to the star's red color due to its strong sense of radioactivity compared to the Earth's yellow sun.
Rao was also named after the diety of the same name and both were worshipped by in the Kryptonian faith and religion.
Adaptations[]
Live-action[]
Arrowverse[]
- Main article: Rao (Arrowverse)
DC Extended Universe[]
- Main article: Rao (DC Extended Universe)
Animated[]
Young Justice[]
- Main article: Rao (Young Justice)
Trivia[]
- In the comics, Rao was originally a red supergiant star, before being changed to a red dwarf.
- This is most likely because red dwarfs are far more likely to sustain planets with complex life due to their lifespans lasting trillions of years. Meanwhile, red supergiants can only last a few million years, which usually isn't enough for intelligent life like Kryptonians to emerge.
- In 2012, the Andromeda red dwarf star LHS-2025 was chosen by astrophysicist Neil Tyson, in cooperation with DC Comics, to be the star that Krypton orbited, thus making Rao a real star.
- In the comics, Rao (the Kryptonian deity) was revealed to be an actual Kryptonian individual who served as the main antagonist in the 2016 Justice League of America comic series (part of the Prime Earth continuity) created by writer-artist Bryan Hitch.