Lifespan of Kryptonians (and Superman)

In DC Comics, Kryptonians are the native people of the planet Krypton. Superman is the most famous Kryptonian.

We all know Superman has been around a long time, and he seems practically impervious to injury, disease, and the natural effects of aging.

For this reason, many fans have wondered: what is the average lifespan of Kryptonians? How long can Superman live?

Kryptonians learned to extend their life expectancies to 1,000 years or more through technologies such as nutrient baths and bio suits. Superman has the potential to live for billions of years thanks to the effects of yellow sun radiation.

Do Kryptonians Age Slower?

The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. Thanks to the many alternate versions and timelines of Superman, details about his native race have changed over time.

What’s more, we never get an exact answer to how long Kryptonians can live. There are only hints throughout the comics and movies.

The general consensus among fans is that Kryptonians living on Krypton had an average lifespan similar to humans, but this may not be the case.

It’s true that the radiation from their red sun did not slow their aging as Earth’s yellow sun did for Superman.

In fact, because of the red sun, their powers were limited, rendering their strength, stamina, and other physical factors similar to those of humans. As such, they did not have any natural longevity.

Can Kryptonians Die of Old Age?

The Kryptonians were a highly intelligent race of people. Due to their advanced technologies, they were able to extend their lives for as long as they wanted to.

They did this in various ways in different comics.

In the World of Krypton comics, for example, they would clone themselves. Their clones would be kept in suspended animation and they would “harvest” body parts from the clones to replace their own failing organs.

Later on, they created regenerative nutrient baths which could heal injuries and reverse cell death and damage, greatly extending their lives.

Using these nutrient baths, the average Kryptonian could live for a thousand years or more.

Even later, they developed bio suits which greatly slowed the aging process. A Kryptonian wearing a bio suit would almost never die of natural causes. They were not immortal, but deaths were highly uncommon in their society.

Of course, no amount of technology could save them from Krypton’s destruction. Everyone on the planet was killed from the force when it exploded due to core instability.

How Long Can Superman Live?

Since Kal-El, or Superman, grew up on Earth, he spent his childhood absorbing the radiation of a yellow sun. This gave him innate superhuman abilities which his race did not have access to on Krypton.

Longevity is among these abilities.

Superman has never needed technology to extend his life; the sun’s radiation stops cellular death and decay more effectively than any Kryptonian nutrient bath or bio suit ever could.

As such, he is basically immortal; he can be killed, but he is extremely unlikely to die of old age or disease.

There is evidence of this throughout the comics, though again, different continuities and timelines have different explanations regarding Superman’s lifespan.

In some comics, he avoids getting into a relationship with Lois Lane because she will grow old and die before him.

In another comic, they marry and she does die long before he does, and he recognizes that this is how it is with humans– “[they] die; they grow old.”

In the Superman Prime One Million comics, set in the year one million, Superman is still alive and seemingly in excellent physical condition. He would be many thousands of years old at this point.

Finally, in Action Comics #1000, Superman is visiting Earth presumably for the last time before the sun goes supernova and consumes the planet.

Since this event takes place around five billion years in the future, which by extension makes Superman several billion years old.

Again, these examples are from alternate timeline versions of Superman; it’s unclear whether the superhero from the main timeline will live that long.

There is some thought that, as he ages, he will begin losing his ability to absorb the yellow sun’s radiation, which in turn will cause him to weaken and age.

Do Kryptonians Get Stronger As They Age?

It isn’t age that gives them their strength; it is exposure to radiation from a yellow sun.

There is some thought that, the longer they live, the more radiation they could absorb and the stronger they would get. But there has been no specific evidence of this.

In fact, there is also the school of thought that, as they age, their ability to absorb the yellow sun radiation diminishes. This, in turn, would cause them to grow weaker with age.

Do Superpowered Kryptonians Age Faster Than Human Beings?

For clarification, “superpowered Kryptonians” means those like Superman and Supergirl–those who have received superhuman abilities thanks to radiation from a yellow sun. Average Kryptonians living on Krypton had no superpowers.

We’ve established that average Kryptonians extended their lives through technology. But superpowered Kryptonians living elsewhere don’t have access to that same technology.

Does this cause them to age faster than the average human?

On the contrary–superpowered Kryptonians live longer and age much more slowly than human beings.

Rather than draining their life and causing them to age faster, the same radiation that gives them their powers also extends their life expectancy.

So, in addition to Superman living longer than the average human, other Kryptonians would do so as well–as long as they had access to a yellow star and continued absorbing its radiation.

Oldest Kryptonians

According to one source, Superman’s father, Jor-El, was the oldest Kryptonian to ever live. In some versions of the comics, he is well over four billion years old at the time of his death.

Aside from Jor-El, Superman is most likely the oldest Kryptonian, having spent his life absorbing the yellow sun radiation and, thus, experiencing the near-immortality it grants him.

As mentioned, in the Action Comics timeline, he is at least five billion years old and, unlike his father, he achieved this longevity from the natural effects of the sun–not through technology.

Conclusion

Kryptonians were a highly advanced race of people who used technology to extend their lives. Without this technology, their average lifespan on their planet would have been roughly similar to that of humans.

However, superpowered Kryptonians living in the presence of a yellow sun, such as Superman, had greatly extended lifespans. The radiation from the yellow sun would negate the effects of aging and give them superhuman abilities, making them nearly immortal.