Streaky the Supercat

"Streaky" redirects here. For the Death Grips song, see Year of the Snitch.

Streaky the Supercat is a fictional superhero cat that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Action Comics #261 (February 1960) and was created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney.^[1]

Streaky the Supercat
Streaky from the cover of Power Girl #5 (March 2024). Art by Gary Frank.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #261 (February 1960)
Created by	Jerry Siegel Jim Mooney
In-story information
Alter ego	Streaky
Species	Cat (With Kryptonian powers)
Team affiliations	Space Canine Patrol Agents Legion of Super-Pets Justice League
Supporting character of	Supergirl Krypto
Abilities	Kryptonian-like abilities, including flight and superhuman strength, durability, speed, and vision

He is Supergirl's pet cat who gained superpowers through exposure to X-Kryptonite; such as flight, super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability, and enhanced vision abilities, among other Kryptonian powers. His distinctive mark is a lightning bolt in his fur running along both sides. He is also a member of the Legion of Super-Pets, alongside other super-powered animals such as Krypto, Beppo, and Comet.

Publication history

Streaky the Supercat first appeared in Action Comics #261 (February 1960) and was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Jim Mooney. He was the pet of Supergirl, in her identity as Linda Lee.^[2]

Fictional character biography

Streaky. Art by Curt Swan.

In Action Comics #261 (February 1960), Supergirl experiments with green kryptonite in an attempt to neutralize its effects. When her experiment fails, Supergirl tosses the kryptonite out of her window. Her pet cat Streaky comes across the X-Kryptonite and is exposed to its radiation, gaining abilities similar to that of a Kryptonian. Streaky was part of a series of superpowered animals, including Krypto the Superdog, Comet the Super-Horse, and Beppo the Super-Monkey, who were introduced in the 1960s.^[3][4][5]

Streaky made sporadic appearances in comic stories through the 1960s, and even became a member of the Legion of Super-Pets, a group consisting of the aforementioned super-powered animals.^[6]

Streaky's last pre-Crisis appearance is in Adventure Comics #394 (June 1970). When all kryptonite on Earth is transformed into iron, Streaky's X-Kryptonite power source is eliminated as well, reverting him to a normal cat.^[7][8]

Post-Crisis

An alternate, grey-furred Streaky makes a brief appearance in Animal Man #23–24 (May–June 1990) as one of several pre-Crisis characters resurrected by the Psycho-Pirate. This alternate Streaky attacks Overman, an evil parallel universe version of Superman, with his heat vision before being hurled out of Arkham Asylum.^[9][10]

Various cats inspired by Streaky appear in the post-Crisis DC universe, but none of them possess superpowers.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} At the 2007 New York Comic Con, when asked if the original Streaky would return, writer Paul Dini said that the "cat’s out of the bag".^[16]

The original Streaky returns in Super Sons Annual #1 (2017). This version has traits of the pre- and post-Crisis versions, as Streaky is female but has the powers of the original. Streaky was a member of the Legion of Super-Pets (consisting of Krypto, Titus, Flexi the Plastic-Bird, Bat-Cow, and Clay Critter), but the group had a falling out when Clay Critter was killed in battle with Dex-Starr and Bud and Lou.^[17]

Other versions

• In pre-Crisis continuity, Streaky has a 30th-century descendant named Whizzy.^[18]
• Streaky appears in Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade.^[19][20]
• Streaky appears in Tiny Titans.
• Streaky appears in Superman Family Adventures #2.^[21]
• Streaky appears in Wednesday Comics.^[22][23][24]

In other media

Television

Streaky as he appeared in the animated series Krypto the Superdog

• Streaky appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU).
  • An animatronic toy of Streaky appears in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Deep Freeze".^[25]
  • Streaky appears in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League as Jonathan and Martha Kent's pet cat.^[26]
• Streaky appears in Krypto the Superdog, voiced by Brian Drummond.^[27] This version is the pet of Andrea, the neighbor of Krypto's owner Kevin Whitney, who acquires Kryptonian-like biology following a lab accident during which he is exposed to a duplicator laser's beam after it bounces off Krypto.^[28] Later in the series, he joins the Dog Star Patrol.
• An unnamed cat resembling Streaky appears in the Legion of Super Heroes episode "Message in a Bottle" as a resident of Kandor.^[29]
• Streaky makes a cameo appearance in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Rise of the Blue Beetle!".
• Streaky appears in the "DC Super-Pets!" segment of DC Nation Shorts, voiced by Debra Wilson.
• Streaky appears in the Justice League Action episode "Unleashed".^[27]
• Streaky appears in Supergirl as an ordinary black cat that Supergirl adopted following her arrival on Earth.^[30]

Miscellaneous

• Streaky appears in the Krypto the Superdog animated series tie-in comic book.^[31]
• Streaky appears in Super Friends #14.^[32]
• Streaky appears in Capstone Publishers' DC Super-Pets book Royal Rodent Rescue, written by John Sazaklis and drawn by Art Baltazar.^[33][34]