Admittedly when it was announced that Krypton was coming to our screens, it wasn’t the most impressive of announcements. Originally, the news told us that the show would be focusing on Superman’s grandfather and to begin with, that was it. But after many months, several interviews and one very intriguing panel at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, we’re actually quite excited for Krypton. There are a whole host of elements in the show that completely change what a comic book show could be able to achieve. It might even be able to right some of the wrongs committed during Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Krypton will focus on Seg-El when Adam Strange travels through time to prevent Brainiac from stopping Superman from being born. With no Man of Steel to stop Brainiac (or any other villain in that matter) the universe would look radically different. Sure, it’s slightly confusing why they didn’t focus on Jor-El, but after discovering everything that the show has to offer, there’s bound to be a reason for everything. If you think you know the story of Krypton, think again because everything is about to change. Here are 8 things we’re excited for in Krypton (and 7 rumors we hope come true).

15 FACT: ADAM STRANGE

For those not familiar with Adam Strange, he’s a time travelling man from Earth who uses Zeta Beam technology to travel to the planet of Rann. Here he becomes a hero, donning some of their armor and using their technology. He’s the eyes of the audience in the show, experiencing and exploring Kryptonian culture in a new way.

But we’re interested to see what Strange does since he’s already familiar with Superman and presumably the rest of the heroes in the present day. It’s likely the writers will have some great easter eggs lined up for Strange to dish out that will set fans up in a frenzy or tease future appearances from heroes and villains. We’ve already seen Superman’s cape in the trailers, but what about Adam Strange’s costume? Surely that iconic helmet has been discussed…

14 RUMOR: THE LONG HAUL

Krypton has slowly crept up on us, but it seems like the team behind the show has huge plans in place for the series. At the TCA’s, David S. Goyer said that they already have the series mapped out for several seasons. More specifically, there is a “seven-to-eight-year plan”. If we take it as a season per year, that’s eight seasons worth of Krypton.

It’s an ambitious plan, and everyone involved seems fairly confident that it’ll be successful. But we just hope the writing is in place to support that. Eight seasons gives the writers plenty of scope to play with. Could this be the first comic book series to rival something like Game of Thrones? Complexity to a story like Krypton could be hugely fascinating. There’s so much potential for huge storylines, especially when there are some huge characters involved.

13 FACT: TIME TRAVEL

Everyone loves a good time-travel story -- Back to the Future, The Terminator, Looper… and it’s one of the reasons we’re most excited about Krypton. It means that it can step away from the ‘prequel’ label that’s been handed around the internet thanks to various articles and previews. Adam Strange’s time travelling capabilities mean that they could go forward in time as well as backwards.

Johns and Goyer have both previously said that the time travel aspect of the show means that it’s a ‘current’ series, rather than constantly set in the past of the DC Universe. Sure, they might be in Krypton 200 years in the past for some of the episodes, but not all. But what could they see in the future? Different heroes? Alternate versions of heroes and villains? Who knows.

12 RUMOR: PRESENT DAY

Time travel shows can have so much potential. Different characters, alternate interpretations and new timelines… the possibilities are endless. But the constant aspect of the show will most definitely be Adam Strange. He’s the catalyst travelling back with Superman’s cape to save his legacy. But what’s the state of the world like in his timeline? Is he in the present day or slightly forward in the future?

Well, since the show isn’t going to stay on Krypton constantly, it’s likely that they’ll travel to wherever in the timeline Adam Strange is from so that his grandfather can see the danger of not having Superman in the universe. But what could that show us? The present day DC Universe may include glimpses of other classic heroes and villains. Since Brainiac his the main villain, maybe he’s already made his assault on Earth thanks to Superman’s absence.

11 FACT: THE PHANTOM ZONE

Another key component of the Superman mythos is the Phantom Zone. It’s the place that General Zod was trapped in and also allows DC to explore the science fiction genre in a unique way. And it’s something that is no longer just restricted to the movies -- we’re going to see it on Krypton. Although time-travel might be the main catalyst of the show, the Phantom Zone is going to propel it forward.

David S. Goyer directly said at the Television Critics Association press tour; “It’s this gateway into the DC science fiction universe. Because the Phantom Zone figures into this show, it means we can definitely go into other times and other planets eventually.” It’s an exciting plot device that could introduce some unpredictable (but entertaining) elements to the show.

10 RUMOR: IT’S ALL CONNECTED

One of the most noticeable things about the Krypton trailers is that the show looks to share some visual DNA with the current DCEU. When we got our introduction to Kryptonian culture during Man of Steel, David S. Goyer was the one who wrote the film. And since the iconic ‘S’ emblem looks remarkably similar to the one used by Henry Cavill’s Kal-El, does that mean Krypton is part of the DCEU?

Well, Geoff Johns seems to be adamant that Krypton is its own entity away from any shared universe, including The CW’s Arrowverse. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t run parallel to the DCEU thanks to the time travel nature of the show. An alternate timeline thanks to Adam Strange returning to the past? Either way, it could be an excellent way of creating familiarity for fans and keeping the universe fresh.

9 FACT: KANDOR

If you’re familiar with Brainiac, you’re probably familiar with Kandor, the bottle city. Although it is protected by a huge dome over the top, Brainiac miniaturized the Kryptonian city and stole it, storing it aboard his iconic skull ship. Well, Krypton mainly takes place in Kandor itself. The series might be jumping back and forth in time, but Kandor is the main setting.

What’s interesting is that we all think we know the ending to the series, with the planet exploding and Brainiac stealing Kandor. During a recent interview, producer Damian Kindler explained that the story is flipped on its head so that everything we expect to happen won’t take place the way we think it does, meaning Kandor might be in for a surprise or two.

8 RUMOR: NIGHTWING + FLAMEBIRD

Just before people get too excited, we’re not talking about Dick Grayson winding up on an alien planet 200 years before Superman is even born. We’re talking about the origin of the Nightwing name. One of the producers of the show, Damian Kindler, recently said that Kandor would have other superheroes living there. Two famous Kryptonian heroes that aren’t Superman or Supergirl? Nightwing and Flamebird.

They take their names from two old Kryptonian Gods, and when Superman tells their tale to Dick Grayson, that’s what inspires him to take up his Nightwing name. Since Nightwing is currently waiting for his live action film, it would be a great way of filling the Dick Grayson shaped void in live action at the moment. But since he is penned for a movie soon, it also wouldn’t be surprising if they leave the Nightwing name alone for a while.

7 FACT: HOUSE OF ZOD

Zod. It’s one of the most iconic names that is associated with Superman himself. The Kryptonian’s arch-enemy was a militaristic leader, with an extremely vicious nature and no mercy at all. We’ve seen a few versions of Zod from Terence Stamp, Callum Blue and Michael Shannon. But Krypton is taking the House of Zod in an entirely new direction.

Georgina Campbell is playing Lyta Zod, a cadet in the Kryptonian military. But even though she’s bound on the warrior path, she’s also in a secret relationship with Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather. Could General Zod and Superman be tied a little closer than just from the same planet? Regardless, the show is clearly looking to reinvent one of the most iconic names in the Superman mythos and develop the House of Zod in new ways.

6 RUMOR: RANN AND THANAGAR

A key aspect of Adam Strange’s origin story sees him transported to the planet Rann and that’s where he starts his journey as a superhero thanks to the technology they’ve developed. But since we know that Hawkwoman will be another major character helping him save the Superman legacy from Brainiac, it seems reasonable that the planet Thanagar could appear too.

Since David S. Goyer has previously mentioned that Krypton will explore other locations outside of Superman’s home planet, it would make sense to include Thanagar in that. Especially when you consider the history that Rann and Thanagar have together. We’re likely to explore the backstories of both Adam and Hawkwoman since they’ll be travelling into the past. Is it too early to ask for the Rann/Thanagar War anybody?

5 FACT: HAWKWOMAN

No, not Hawkgirl, Hawkwoman. This isn’t an older version of the Hawkgirl played by Ciara Renee on The CW. She’s going to partner up with Adam Strange to prevent Brainiac from destroying Krypton and stopping Superman before he was ever born. But since Adam Strange is intricately linked to the planet Rann, it’s almost safe to assume that this version of Hawkwoman will be from Thanagar.

If so, this means that Hawkwoman on Krypton will be Shayera Hol, the Silver Age version of the character. Whether we’ll see her iconic costume and wings remains to be seen, but it would be cruel to show us Shayera Hol without any of her powers or her iconic look. But we also have to ask whether Hawkman will appear too -- or maybe his death/absence is what’s driving Shayera to begin with. Either way, Hawkwoman is coming.

4 RUMOR: GREEN LANTERN/OMEGA MEN

Did you think that Krypton would stick to just giving us Kryptonian characters? Think again. Geoff Johns previously confirmed that the series will be expanding the horizons of who could appear on television. During a press event, he teased the audience with a few ideas of people/groups that could show up during the show’s run.

He specifically name dropped the Omega Men, and hinted at the Green Lanterns. That isn’t a direct confirmation that either of those teams are going to show up in the opening season of the show, but it’s obvious that DC are open to expanding the characters we see on television. Why not include the Green Lanterns? After all, it might explain why they didn’t intervene with Krypton’s destruction if they knew that Superman would help save the universe because of it…

3 FACT: DOOMSDAY

No, not the terrible orc-like CGI disappointment from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Krypton will be introducing its own version of Doomsday. It sounds like the show is going to bring on a comics accurate monster for the heroes of the show will battle. It’s an intriguing concept, especially since the last live action Doomsday didn’t exactly go so well.

There’s no word yet as to whether he’ll be brought to the screen using CGI or practical effects, but it’s most likely going to be CGI. But when speaking about the villain at the TCAs, Geoff Johns said he’ll be unique; “we get to do our own version of Doomsday untethered to anything else”. Is that a polite way of distancing the show from the disastrous Zack Snyder version? Sounds like it.

2 RUMOR: KAL-EL

The entire premise of Krypton is that Adam Strange is trying to prevent Brainiac from wiping Superman from existence before he was even born, but can you really do a show about saving Superman without the Man of Steel? Gotham has only just begun to bring in Bruce Wayne as a vigilante so maybe it’s possible. But since Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer seem to have conflicting views of whether he’ll appear or not, it makes us think that he’ll show up sooner or later.

Goyer said he wouldn’t show up to begin with, but would later on. Whilst Geoff Johns said he wouldn’t appear at all. Strange. The show could take us to the moment he’s shipped off from Krypton before it implodes, or it could bring the present day Supes into the story via Zeta Beam or time travel.

1 FACT: BRAINIAC

Because of course we’re most excited about Brainiac. He’s a villain we’ve never seen in his all of his green, cybernetic, skull ship controlling glory. Sure we’ve seen interpretations of him in TV before during Smallville, and Supergirl brought on Brainiac-5 as part of the Legion of Superheroes. But we recently received our first glimpse at the legendary villain, and he is chilling.

Many fans compared his look to that of the Injustice 2 version of the character, and there’s definitely some similarities. But it’s also the skull ship that was also very impressive considering this is a TV show. The tendrils were creepy, and Brainiac looks incredibly intimidating. They’ve got us very excited about what he’s going to bring to the series. Since his plan is the catalyst of the show, expect plenty of Brainiac when the show debuts.