Look-alike contests have become a viral phenomenon in recent years. What started as local gags promoted with flyers posted near city crosswalks have spread to events that go viral online as they bring together everyday citizens who look vaguely like superstars. Timothée Chalamet and Pedro Pascal are just a couple of big names who have had contests in tribute to their image in New York City. Now, the latest celebrity to get a look-alike contest is the star of Superman. No, not David Corenswet wearing a blue-and-red suit; Krypto, the Man of Steel’s super-powered dog.
The furry menace that appears in the show is modeled after director James Gunn’s rescue mutt Ozu. Gunn says that Ozu was a rowdy, rough boy when he adopted the pup, which informed Krypto’s chaotic, unruly behavior in the film. The main difference between the two dogs (other than the superpowers) is Krypto’s pure-white fur. All of these disparate elements come together to form a character that is kind of hard to pin down as a specific dog breed. But he’s not from Earth, so why would he be exactly like any of the dogs we have here? As such, a look-alike contest is fair game for any white-haired, cape-wearing puppy, and a lot of them showed up for a competition in Manhattan on Friday, July 18, held by Pumpkin Pet Insurance. However, dogs are also colorblind, so dogs of different fur colors also showed up.
A good girl named Sofia from Brooklyn took home the $1000 prize in the contest. Her owner, Meredith Amspoker, told the New York Post that Sofia doesn’t just look like Krypto, but also has some of the dog’s heroic spirit.
“She’s always looking out for the other dogs, she’s never starting fights, she likes to make everyone feel included,” Amspoker said.
Since Superman premiered on July 11, there’s been a spike in interest in dog adoption and foster programs. I hope this leads to some dogs in need finding forever homes, but there’s also the legitimate fear that these kinds of spikes see some people adopting dogs without recognizing the long-term commitment, ultimately leading to them being returned to shelters. Advocacy groups often bring this up during the holidays when people buy pets for children as gifts, since after everyone comes down from the excitement and reality sets in, a lot of these dogs end up back where they started. So I hope all this interest Krypto has generated has a happy ending for a lot of dogs.
Superman is now in theaters. It’s pretty good and pissing off all the right people.