Kryptonite

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Kryptonite
Kryptonite (DC Comics).jpg
Green kryptonite as seen in Superman: Secret Origin #1
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance
In story information
TypeElement/compound
Element of stories featuring

Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous radiation that can weaken and even kill Kryptonians. Kryptonite radiation can be transmitted through any element except lead. Thus, Superman has a special lead suit to protect himself from the radiation. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects.

Contents

Batman, Lex Luthor, Metallo, and Titano are four notable characters often presented as using kryptonite — the first carrying the substance as a last-ditch method to stop his ally (often at Superman's urging to take such precautions) if he is subject to mind control or otherwise compromised, the next two using the mineral to ward off Superman or incorporating it into weapons, and the fourth being able to project rays of kryptonite radiation from his eyes after being altered by simultaneous exposure to kryptonite and uranium. [1]

Due to Superman's popularity, kryptonite has become a byword for an extraordinary exploitable weakness, synonymous with "Achilles' heel".

History

Superman suffering from green kryptonite poisoning, courtesy of foes Metallo and Titano, in Action Comics Annual #10 (March 2007), art by Art Adams and Alex Sinclair. Kryptonite poisoning.jpg
Superman suffering from green kryptonite poisoning, courtesy of foes Metallo and Titano, in Action Comics Annual #10 (March 2007), art by Art Adams and Alex Sinclair.

An unpublished 1940 story titled "The K-Metal from Krypton", written by Superman creator Jerry Siegel, featured a prototype of kryptonite. It is a mineral from the planet Krypton that drains Superman of his strength and gives superhuman powers to humans. This story was rejected because Superman reveals his identity to Lois Lane. [2]

The mineral kryptonite, not to be confused with the real element krypton, was first officially introduced in the radio serial The Adventures of Superman , in the story "The Meteor from Krypton", broadcast in June 1943. [3] An apocryphal story claims that kryptonite was introduced to give Superman's voice actor Bud Collyer time off. This tale was recounted by Julius Schwartz in his memoir. [4] However, the historian Michael J. Hayde disputes this: in "The Meteor From Krypton", Superman is never exposed to kryptonite. If kryptonite allowed Collyer to take vacations, that was a fringe benefit discovered later. More likely, kryptonite was introduced as a plot device for Superman to discover his origin. [5] On the other hand, Hayde might have mistaken 1945's "The Meteor of Kryptonite" for 1943's "The Meteor from Krypton", as Superman was exposed in the former but not in the latter. [6]

In the radio serial, Krypton is located in the same solar system as Earth, in the same orbit, but on the opposite side of the Sun. This provided an easy explanation for how kryptonite found its way to Earth. In the comics' Silver Age, which places Krypton in a distant solar system, much of the kryptonite that came to Earth was transported by the same "space warp" that baby Kal-El's rocket traversed.

Kryptonite was incorporated into the comic mythos with Superman #61 (November 1949). [7] Editor Dorothy Woolfolk stated in an interview with Florida Today in August 1993 that she felt Superman's invulnerability was "boring". [8]

Long said to be an element in the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age comics, Kryptonite became a compound post-Crisis as revealed in Action Comics #591.

Forms, effects, and other media

Various forms of the fictional material have been created over the years in Superman publications and programs. [9]

TypeFirst appearanceOriginEffectsIn other media
KryptoniansEarthlingsBizarro
/Ultraman
FilmTelevisionVideo games
Live-actionAnimatedLive-actionAnimated
Green The Adventures of Superman radio serial, "The Meteor from Krypton" (June 1943) [3]
Action Comics #161 (August 1951)
Fragments from KryptonSevere, intensifying pain
Loss of superpowers [10]
Usual collapse
Severe muscular weakness
Fever
Eventual unconsciousness
Green blood or skin
Eventual fatality [11]
Non-accumulative [12]
Mitigation by long-term [13] or high short-term [14] yellow sunlight absorption
Blocked by lead
With extensive exposure: carcinogenesis
Possible cancer treatment [15]
Gene-dependent superpowers (Smallville)
Scientifically alterable (Smallville)
Bizarro: perfect health
Bizarro World humans: temporary superpowers (Superman & Lois)
Red Superman #61 (November 1949)Traversal through radiated spaceWanton behavior
Mutations
Unpredictable effects [20]
Same as green (prior to Adventure Comics #252, September 1958 only)
Justice League Action
  • Super Friends
  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold
  • Krypto the Superdog
  • DC Super Hero Girls (2019)
  • Superman (1987)
  • Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Anti-
Fool's
Slow
Hybrid
Action Comics #252 (May 1959)Created by Metallo ( The Brave and the Bold #175, June 1981)
Synthesized on Earth (Lois & Clark)
NoneSame as green on KryptoniansPerfect health [21]
  • Lois & Clark
Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Positive
X-
Orange
"All that Glitters", The Adventures of Superman (1958)
Action Comics #261 (January 1960)
Dream of Jimmy Olsen (The Adventures of Superman)
Failed experiment by Supergirl
Fragments from Krypton (Superman & Lois, DC League of Super-Pets )
None
Source of superpowers (The Adventures of Superman)
Temporary superpowers (when ingested, The Adventures of Superman, Superman & Lois)Bizarro: same as green on Kryptonians (Superman & Lois)Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
BlueSuperman #140 (October 1960)Bizarro WorldNone
Loss of superpowers (Smallville)
Counteracts red (Super Friends)
Perfect health (Smallville)Bizarro: same as green on Kryptonians
Ultraman: perfect health [23]
Blocked by "imperfect" lead
  • Smallville
  • Supergirl
  • Super Friends
Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
WhiteAdventure Comics #279 (December 1960)Fragments of KryptonPlants, bacteria, and viruses: deathScribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Red-greenAction Comics #275 (April 1961)Created by BrainiacMutation
Loss of superpowers (Superboy Comics #121, June 1965)
Negative
Gold
"All that Glitters", The Adventures of Superman (1958)
Adventure Comics #299 (August 1962)
Dream of Jimmy Olsen (The Adventures of Superman)
Green affected by "atomic radiation"
Permanent loss of superpowers
Temporary memory loss (Justice League Action)
  • The Adventures of Superman
  • Smallville
  • Super Friends
  • Justice League Action
  • Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
  • Injustice 2
Red-green-blue-goldSuperman #162 (July 1963)Invented by SupermanSplitting into red and blue beings
Enhanced intelligence
Silver Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #70 (July 1963)Hoax by Jimmy Olsen
Brainiac technology (Smallville, comics following Superman/Batman #46, April 2008)
Paranoid delusions
  • Smallville
  • Supergirl
Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Jewel
Purple
Action Comics #310 (March 1964)Kryptonian mountainsMind controlNightmares ( DC League of Super-Pets )DC League of Super-PetsSmallvilleDC Super Hero Girls
Bizarro-redSuperman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #80 (October 1964)Wanton behavior
Mutations
Unpredictable effects
Scribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Red-goldSuperman #178 (July 1965)Temporary memory loss
Magno-Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #92 (April 1966)Created by Mr. NeroMagnetic attractionScribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Red-green-goldSuperman #192 (January 1967)Permanent superpower loss
Permanent memory loss
Tar-based
Black
Harun-El
Superman III film (1983)
Supergirl (vol. 5) #2 (October 2005) (comics)
Synthesized on Earth (Superman III)
Superheated green (Smallville)
Fragments of Krypton
Kryptonian religion (Supergirl TV series)
Malevolence
Splitting from good self (Superman III, Smallville, Justice League Action, Supergirl TV series)
Splitting from good self (Smallville)
Temporary superpowers (Supergirl TV series)
Good beings: eventual fatality (Supergirl TV series)
Superman III (1983)
  • Smallville
  • Supergirl
Justice League ActionScribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Kryptisium
-X
The Adventures of Superman #511 (April 1994)Byproduct of EradicatorExcessive superpowersScribblenauts Unmasked [19]
Clear"Visage", Smallville (January 14, 2003)Green neutralized by Kryptonian technologyNoneNoneNoneSmallville
PinkSupergirl (vol. 4) #79 (April 2003)Inversion of gender-stereotyped traits
Reversed sex (Justice League Action)
Justice League Action
Periwinkle Superman Family Adventures #9 (March 2013)Joy
Skin and clothing: periwinkle transmutation
Bizarro: anger (DC Super Hero Girls)DC Super Hero Girls
PlatinumBatman Secret Files #1 (December 2018)Universe inside Phantom Zone Permanent superpowers
Turquoise Dark Nights: Death Metal #3 (August 2020)Dark MultiverseSimilar to green
Superman and Jimmy Olsen discuss the mineral kryptonite, with the jewel variant making its debut, in Action Comics #310 (March 1964), art by Curt Swan. Action Comics 310.jpg
Superman and Jimmy Olsen discuss the mineral kryptonite, with the jewel variant making its debut, in Action Comics #310 (March 1964), art by Curt Swan.

Music

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