Rao is a fictional star in the DC Comics Universe. It is the red giant (in some continuities, red dwarf) that the planet Krypton orbited. The title also refers to a supervillain of the same name and same Kryptonian etymology. He is also the ancestor of Superman in all continuities. "Rao" is also later written into the Superman mythology as the name of a Kryptonian deity, the personification of their sun, worshipped as a god of light and life. As such the name was sometimes invoked in the comics as a Kryptonian exclamation. For instance, 'By Rao, that curry is hot' or 'Thank Rao you're ok'.