Shelby (Smallville)

Shelby (previously named Einstein, formerly nicknamed Clarkie by Lois and Krypto by Clark), is a supporting character in the series Smallville, first appearing as the character of the episode "Krypto." 
He is a golden retriever who has superhuman powers due to kryptonite infused steroids.
Shelby was forced to help his previous owners, who were thieves and robbing convenience stores. However, Clark ended up adopting the dog after they each saved their lives.
He is based on Shelby, the Kents' dog, and Krypto from DC Comics. 
==Personality==
Shelby is, for the most part, a calm, collected and friendly dog. He is also a good judge of character, immediately taking a liking to Clark, Lois, Chloe, Martha and Jonathan. However, Shelby started softly growling and later aggressively barking at the Greenfield brothers. 
He also began growling when Lex Luthor got near him, heavily implying that Shelby could sense Lex's evil intentions. When Shelby met an orphaned girl Maddie Van Horn, he enjoyed being per by her. Despite Lois sneezing every time she went near him, Shelby still liked her and was not causing her discomfort intentionally.
Shelby is also quite playful, as he happily leaves the barn with Clark and enjoys playing Frisbee with him. 
==Comics==
Shelby is an amalgation of two characters. 
He is based on the character of the same name, Shelby, one of the dogs who lives on the Kent Farm. Clark suggests naming the dog "Skipper", which is referenced by Lois when she jokingly tells Clark to change his name when she nicknames dog "Clarkie."
In the original Superboy comics Shelby poses as the Kents' pet dog "Skip."
Shelby is also based on Krypto. On the planet, he was a dog owned by The House of El. He was created by Clark's biological father, Jor-El, who imbued the dog with his son's DNA so Clark wouldn't be alone. In some stories, Jor-El has Krypto test the rocket that will send Kal-El to Earh.During the planet's final moments Krypto is sucked into the Phantom Zone while protecting his family. Years later, Krypto holo projects his form from the Phantom Zone while protecting his mentor and best friend. Krypto was later rescued by Clark, but was severely injured in the process so Kal-El throw them into the Sun, healing Krypto. Gaming superpowers under the yellow sun, Krypto became a pet to the Kent family, while occasionally being cared for by Kal-El's cousin Kara and adoptive brother, Conner. He later becomes a member of the Legion of Super Pets, a superhero team comprised of JLA. He also has a rivalry with Kara's female pet cat, Streaky, who has a crush on him. 
Krypto has appeared in a variety of other media outside of Smallville. He is the protagonist of his own television series, Krypto the Superdog and the 2022 from League of Super Pets. Krypto has also appeared as Supergirl's dog in DC Super Hero Girls and as Connor Kent's dog in HBO Max's Titans.
==Trivia==
===Etymology===
*Martha Kent was the one who picked out Shelby's new name in honor of her childhood dog, Shelby I, who looked exactly like Shelby II. 
*Throughout the episode Shelby appears in, Clark and Lois debated on his name.
** Shelby used to be called Einstein, possibly a reference to the world famous scientist Albert Einstein or Doc Brown's pet dog from the Back to the Future franchise. 
** Lois nicknamed the dog "Clarkie" in order to spite Clark Kent after he mocked Lois about her sneezing whenever she was around the dog. 
** Clark considered naming the dog "Krypto" in honor of his heritage and the fact Shelby displayed Kryptonian like superpowers. However, he told everyone else he was naming him "Krypto" because his background was so cryptic.
===Character Notes===
*Whenever Lois is around Shelby, she starts sneezing. Shelby's debut episode reveals that Lois is allergic to dogs
Category:Science fantasy characters
Category:Dogs
Category:The CW characters
Category:Heroes
Category:Protagonists
Category:Pets
Category:Superman characters
Category:Smallville characters