Kryptonite
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- This article is about the fictional element kryptonite. For other meanings, see Kryptonite (disambiguation).
Kryptonite is a fictional element from the Superman comic book series. The element, usually shown as having been created from the remains of Superman's native planet of Krypton, generally has detrimental effects on Superman. The name "kryptonite" covers a variety of forms of the element, but usually refers to the most common form of kryptonite, Green Kryptonite.
(Note: According to DC's internal style guides of the past, kryptonite is capitalized only when used with a modifier ["Green Kryptonite," "Red Kryptonite," et al.].)
Superman's first encounter with kryptonite did not take place in his comic. It was actually introduced in 1943 on the Superman radio series, as both a plot device and to allow Superman's actor, Bud Collyer, to occasionally take time off. The episode in which it first briefly appeared now exists only as a script, but the substance played a part in at least one major plotline during the course of the program. It was not until 1949 that the comic book writers incorporated it into their stories, as both a convenient danger and weakness for Superman and to add an interesting element to his stories.
Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel did write a story in 1940 that involved a piece of Krypton, referred to as "K-Metal," which robbed Superman of his strength while giving Terrans superpowers, but the story was never published.
In the traditional comics, kryptonite and other materials from Krypton arriving on Earth were due to the experimental warp drive in the spaceship that brought Kal-El to Earth causing the ship to drag behind it all manner of debris, including a substantial amount of kryptonite. A similar explanation was also used in the 1990s television series Superman: The Animated Series and the 2000s television series Smallville.
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History
Original versions
Originally, the DC Universe was home to a variety of minerals collectively called kryptonite. The most commonly depicted variety of kryptonite is green, though it was colored red in its first appearance in Superman (1st series) #61 (November/December 1949). Other varieties of kryptonite began to show up frequently beginning in the late 1950s comics, reaching a peak in appearances in 1960s Superman stories.
Kryptonite was produced from the material of Superman's home planet Krypton, when it was destroyed in an explosion. Kryptonite is usually found in the form of a glowing green rock or metal, but crystalline forms have also made appearances (most notably Jewel Kryptonite; see Forms of Kryptonite below) along with different-colored variants such as Red Kryptonite.
It was possible to artificially create Green Kryptonite, which the rogue genius Lex Luthor performed on various occasions.
In a 1971 storyline, all known kryptonite on Earth was transmuted into iron, but kryptonite could still be synthetically manufactured by a variety of known and unknown means, and additional material left over from the destruction of Krypton would continue to fall from space. Still, this storyline had the effect of, and achieved its purpose of, greatly reducing the use of kryptonite in Superman storylines.
Kryptonite emitted a radiation that had an adverse effect on Kryptonian natives such as Superman, though different varieties of kryptonite had different effects. It was assumed for a long time that kryptonite radiation was harmless to non-Kryptonians, but occasional isolated incidents were reported where it had sporadic effects on humans. It is not known what the half-life of any of the forms of kryptonite are.
Modern versions
After the 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths and writer John Byrne's revision of the Superman mythos in 1986, the status of kryptonite was vastly changed. In the post-Crisis universe, only one form of Kryptonite was naturally occurring: the green variety. It was a mildly radioactive element that was formed in the crust of the planet Krypton as the result of an ancient Kryptonian war. As millennia passed, the radiation from this mineral began to kill Kryptonians; it became known as the "green plague." This eventually led to the planet's core becoming unstable, leading to the destruction of Krypton.
Two post-Crisis stories have featured artificially created Red Kryptonite. The first kind was a kryptonite-like, but non-radioactive rock that seemingly stripped Superman of his powers (although the source was actually Mr. Mxyzptlk's magic) in the story "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite".
The second, in the JLA story "Tower of Babel", was created by Batman as a way of stopping Superman without killing him, should this prove necessary. It was stolen by Ra's al Ghul, who quickly put it to use. It is a "relatively stable" isotope of kryptonite, which, like its pre-Crisis version, disrupts Kryptonian cells in an unpredictable way. In the story, it turned Superman's skin transparent, resulting in his "solar batteries" overloading.
In the 1990s, Jewel Kryptonite made its reappearance in modern continuity in DC's The Silver Age miniseries.
Recently in the comic Superman/Batman, a large cache of kryptonite of various hues, similar to the pre-Crisis varieties, was found on Earth, and most of it was collected and stored by the Justice League and Justice Society; what effects these varieties of kryptonite will have on future Superman stories remains uncertain.
The "science" behind kryptonite
Some issues of Superman have indicated the mechanism by which Green Kryptonite may hurt Superman. Like Hanna-Barbera's Birdman, Superman in some ways is a living solar battery; his cells absorb electromagnetic radiation from yellow stars (like Earth's sun). Kryptonite's radioactivity possibly interferes with this semi-photosynthetic process, driving the energy out of his cells in a painful fashion. Long term and high-level exposure to Green Kryptonite can be fatal to Superman. In post-Crisis comics, long-term exposure of kryptonite to human beings is known to have the same effect as exposure to Earth-born radioactive materials; these effects include cancer. Lex Luthor discovered this inadvertently after acquiring a ring with a Green Kryptonite fragment set in it to provide protection against Superman.
It is speculated that kryptonite may be located in a hypothetical "island of stability" high on the periodic table, beyond the currently known unstable elements, in the vicinity of atomic number 150. The transmutation of Earth's kryptonite could be explained by the acceleration of its natural atomic decay under this theory.
The different forms of kryptonite may represent multiple allotropes or isotopes of Green Kryptonite, or a more exotic variation in composition based on currently unknown particles.
Under normal chemical nomenclature the -ite suffix would denote a compound (e.g. the compound uranite contains the element uranium). Thus the name implies that kryptonite is a compound and not an element (something supported by the "tar" analysis in the third Superman movie). This issue is normally overlooked in the comic books, but a non-canonical game sourcebook did refer to Kryptonite as "the common ore of the super-actinide Kryptonium, an unsually stable transuranic element, whose atomic number is believed to be 126." The half-life of kryptonium is listed as 250,000 years. (Stern, Roger (1992) Superman: The Man of Steel Sourcebook Mayfair Games ISBN 0-923763-38-4)
The aforementioned atomic number was reinforced by the first season episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman entitled "The Green, Green Glow of Home," where it was stated that kryptonite was "periodic element 126" and that it "emits an extremely high band radiation that does not seem to affect humans". The substance itself had no formal designation until the very end of the episode, where Lois Lane's suggestion that it be named "kryptonium" was eschewed in favor of Clark Kent's "kryptonite" due to the fact that it initially appeared in the form of a meteorite.
Forms of kryptonite
Comics
The various known forms of kryptonite in the Superman comics include:
- Green Kryptonite: In superpowered Kryptonians, causes immediate physical pain and debilitation and kills within hours. Has no short-term effects on humans (though strictly in post-Crisis continuity, long-term exposure is apparently lethal to humans) or non-superpowered Kryptonians. In one early Silver Age story, Superboy built up immunity to specific chunks of Green Kryptonite through repeated non-fatal exposure, as seen in the story "The Great Kryptonite Mystery" (Superboy (1st series) #58, July 1957). The most common form of kryptonite.
- Red Kryptonite: Created from Green Kryptonite that passed through a mysterious red-hued cloud en route to Earth. Red Kryptonite inflicts random effects on Kryptonians, typically creating an initial "tingling effect" in those affected. Each specific chunk of Red Kryptonite has the same effect on all Kryptonians, but no two chunks have the same effect. Red Kryptonite effects typically last for 24–48 hours (though sometimes as long as 72), after which the Kryptonian in question is always immune to that specific chunk of Red Kryptonite. Superman has suffered the following effects upon exposure to various pieces of Red Kryptonite: being turned into a dragon, a non-powered giant, a midget, an ant-headed humanoid, a lunatic, or an amnesiac; growing incredibly long hair and beard; being rendered totally powerless; losing his invulnerability along the left side of his body; being split into an evil Superman and a good Clark Kent; rendered unable to speak or write anything but Kryptonese, the language used on Krypton; growing an extra set of arms; and rapid aging. In post-Crisis continuity, Red Kryptonite first appeared as an artificial construct of Mr. Mxyzptlk; a second variety was later revealed as a synthetic variant created by Ra's al Ghul, using notes he stole from Batman.
- Gold Kryptonite: Removes superpowers from Kryptonians permanently; however, in one story, a temporary antidote was developed that negated this effect for a short period of time. For obvious reasons, this variety was little used in Superman stories. It played key roles in both the 1982 miniseries "The Phantom Zone", and in the 1986 noncanon tale "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" As cited in World's Finest Comics #159 (1966), Gold Kryptonite has an effective range of two feet.
- White Kryptonite: Kills all plant life, whether Kryptonian or not. Induces decay immediately upon exposure, with a range of about 25 yards.
- Blue Kryptonite: The result of using Professor Potter's "duplicator ray" on some Green Kryptonite. Blue Kryptonite kills Bizarros, but has no effect on Kryptonians or humans.
- Anti-Kryptonite: Has no effect on superpowered Kryptonians, but has the same effects as Green Kryptonite on non-superpowered Kryptonians. This version of kryptonite is what killed most of the residents of Argo City in the pre-Crisis comics. It was likely introduced to cover a writer error, as the original Argo City story does not call it Anti-Kryptonite. Post-Crisis, it is the power source of Ultraman, Superman's evil counterpart who lives in an alternate antimatter universe.
- X-Kryptonite: Created by Supergirl while experimenting with Green Kryptonite in hopes of finding an antidote. It has no effect on Kryptonians, but bestows temporary superpowers on Earth lifeforms, most prominently Supergirl's pet cat, Streaky. Not to be confused with Kryptonite-X.
- Jewel Kryptonite: Jewel Kryptonite amplifies the psychic powers of Phantom Zone residents, allowing them to project illusions into the "real world" or perform mind control. It was made from what was left of a mountain range on Krypton called the Jewel Mountains.
- Slow Kryptonite: A modified variety of Green Kryptonite produced by a Terran scientist that decelerates the speed of nerve impulses and movements of both Kryptonians and Terrans. Appeared in The Brave and the Bold #177.
- Purple Kryptonite: Gives Kryptonians mental/psychic powers, allowing them to create matter out of thin air. This effect only lasts 12–24 hours and all matter created disappears with the powers.
- Magno-Kryptonite: A piece of kryptonite that is magnetically attracted to all substances originally from Krypton, according to Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #91.
- Bizarro Red Kryptonite: Affects humans the same way Red Kryptonite affects Kryptonians. Appeared in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #80.
- Pink Kryptonite: From an alternate timeline in a 2003 Supergirl storyline by Peter David, this variety of kryptonite apparently turned heterosexual Kryptonians into homosexuals; it was seen in just one panel, with Superman giving flattering complements to Jimmy Olsen about his wardrobe and decorative sense. It spoofs the many varieties of kryptonite introduced over the years, as well as the more "innocent times" of the Silver Age (Lois Lane is depicted in this story as not understanding what's gotten into Superman). This version of kryptonite has not been used in mainstream comics continuity.
- Kryptonite-X or Kryptisium: A form of filtered/purified kryptonite. Professor Emil Hamilton used the term "Kryptonite-X" (The Adventures of Superman #511, April 1994, page 13) to describe the substance that restored Superman's powers after a confrontation with the villain known as the Cyborg Superman in Engine City (Superman (volume 2) #82, part of the "Return of Superman" storyline). This substance was created when the Cyborg used a huge chunk of kryptonite in an attempt to finally kill the weak, powerless, recovering Superman. The Eradicator, who had fashioned a faux-Kryptonian body using a Kryptonian matrix, jumped in front of Superman before the release of the kryptonite energy could kill him. Despite the Eradicator's efforts, the kryptonite energy hit Superman, but instead of killing him, it transferred all of the characteristic Kryptonian powers from the Eradicator to Superman, as well as saturating Superman's body with a purified/filtered form of kryptonite. This substance eventually led to Superman becoming an over-muscled giant, due to his accelerated sunlight absorption and overstorage of energy. This kryptonite is not to be confused with X-Kryptonite.
- Black Kryptonite: Black Kryptonite was first introduced in the Smallville television series, in the September 22, 2004 fourth season premiere, "Crusade," as kryptonite with the potential capacity to split a person or a person's personality into two separate entities. It later made its first appearance in a DC comic in September 2005's Supergirl #2. The Calculator seems to be interviewing Lex Luthor about a new gauntlet that Luthor has added to his power suit, which contains a kryptonite stone on four of his fingers. A green, red, blue, and black kryptonite stone is provided. The Calculator asks Lex what Black Kryptonite's effect on Kryptonians is, to which Lex simply smiles, implying that the answer to this may be in a future issue of the comic.
Simulated kryptonite
- Green Lantern Corps rings can be used to emit simulated Green Kryptonite radiation. This radiation is apparently just as powerful and painful to Superman and other Kryptonians as the genuine rays.
- Synthetic kryptonite (usually the green or red variety) has been successfully produced by Lex Luthor, Batman, and Ra's al Ghul in the comics.
- Magic: Users adept at the use of magic may be able to create kryptonite, such as Mr. Mxyzptlk did in the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite" storyline (though his version of Red Kryptonite differed from the traditional version in its workings).
Hoaxes
In the comics, several varieties of kryptonite that turned out to be hoaxes include:
- Silver Kryptonite: A fictional variety of kryptonite that was used in a hoax perpetrated by Superman's friends, in honor of the 25th (or "silver") anniversary of Superman's arrival on Earth.
- Yellow Kryptonite: Another fictional variety, this one was used in a hoax masterminded by Lex Luthor.
In other media
As noted above, kryptonite was originally created for the 1940s Superman radio series. Kryptonite has appeared in various forms in the various Superman media spinoffs, however.
Depictions of kryptonite in the various films and TV series of Superman have largely been limited to Green Kryptonite, with occasional appearances of Red Kryptonite and Blue Kryptonite.
Movies
Kryptonite was featured in Superman: The Movie. An imperfect synthesis of artificial kryptonite containing tar appeared in Superman III. Developed by Gus Gorman, it was intended to be a copy of Green Kryptonite. However, the substitution of tar for a crucial component resulted in the synthetic Kryptonite behaving like "Red Kryptonite"; in this case, the kryptonite turned Superman evil and eventually split him into two people.
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
In the 1990s television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a scientist created "Hybrid Kryptonite," which has no effect on Kryptonians, but hurts humans. Red Kryptonite also was featured in the series. In one episode, it made Superman apathetic; in another, it transferred his powers to Lois Lane.
Animated series
In the 1990s series, Superman: The Animated Series, a simple, blunt explanation is offered for the science of Kryptonite - Superman feels the detrimental effects of Kryptonite radiation quicker that normal humans because his body absorbs it more readily, as a result of sharing a common point of origin with the element. This makes it impossible for Superman to even touch the substance, as it would be the equivalent of a normal man touching radioactive rods from a nuclear reactor with his bare skin. Only the element of lead is able to block the radiation, and is therefore Superman's only protection. However, this does not mean that the radiation of Kryptonite can just be ignored by humans. While no specific episode within the DCAU has said so directly, it can be logically surmised that a human can be negatively affected by Kryptonite radiation over the course of constant exposure for two to three years. Two moments are evidence of this. First, the "Jade Dragon" from World's Finest (a three-part crossover between The New Batman Adventures and Superman: The Animated Series) is a statue of Kryptonite carved in the form of a Chinese dragon, said to be cursed because all of its owners all died within a few years of acquiring the piece. Secondly (and more obviously) is Lex Luthor's kryptonite poisoning/cancer as seen in Justice League, attributed to Lex's admitted habit of keeping a fist-sized chunk of kryponite in his pocket for years. The date of when he first started doing so in unknown (likely to be sometime during S:TAS), and there are about two surmised years between S:TAS and Justice League. This does bring up the question of Batman's habit of also carrying a piece of kryptonite in his own belt; however, since Batman has seen what the kryptonite did to Luthor, the famed methodicality of Batman may mean that he likely has the pouch lined with lead.
Smallville
In the 2000s television series Smallville, the show expands on the concept of the substance being harmful to humans, as well as making extensive use of the substance. On the show, not only is Green Kryptonite (referred to in the first two seasons of the series as "meteor rock") harmful to Clark Kent, but it can produce bizarre changes in humans, animals, and plants, typically turning them into powerful mutant menaces, commonly known by the denizens of Smallville as "Meteor Freaks," that Clark must oppose. These changes seem to be linked to the circumstances under which the subject was exposed to kryptonite. Groups of people have been shown to acquire the same powers from Kryptonite by exposing themselves to it in the same manner.
Red Kryptonite has also been shown in Smallville. Its effect on Clark Kent is to rid him of all inhibitions, making him rebellious and potentially dangerous if exposed to it for too long; however, it seems to have no effect on regular humans. Also created for the series was "Black Kryptonite" (first appearing in the episode "Crusade"), which is capable of separating certain entities within individual organisms, e.g., splitting a person's good and evil sides. In the series, after Clark's "reprogramming" by Jor-El in "the caves," Martha Kent used Black Kryptonite to reveal the two psyches of Clark, the militant Kal-El (not to be confused with the rebellious "Kal" alias caused by Red Kryptonite), and normal Clark. In a later episode, Lex Luthor was experimenting with a process to heat up Green Kryptonite and irradiate seeds, in order to separate the "weak" genes from the "strong" genes in the seeds. The result was hardy but rotten-tasting fruit, implying a yin and yang balance within fruit, as well as within humans. An accident with this process caused Lex to split into a good Lex and a bad Lex.
Silver Kryptonite made an appearance in the fifth season episode entitled "Splinter". Unlike the previous comics incarnation, this Silver Kryptonite was not a hoax. In the episode, Clark pricked his finger on a rock that was black and had silver-metallic clusters, and subsequently became increasingly paranoid, hallucinating that others were conspiring against him. In the episode's final scenes, it was revealed that a splinter of the element entered Clark's bloodstream. It was also shown that Silver Kryptonite was not naturally occuring, but instead created artificially from the liquid metal which forms Brainiac's body.
Size of Krypton?
Several sources have calculated the total mass of the planet Krypton based on the estimated mass of kryptonite that fell to Earth, based on the assumption that the initial explosive distribution of pieces of Krypton was isotropic, and determinations of the mean distance between Krypton and Earth derived from certain passages in the Essene New Testament. The results are confusing at best, as the estimated mass of Krypton is 107 times the mass of our own sun, which would imply that the creation of a black hole would be inevitable, and the existence of corporeal life on the planet beforehand being highly questionable. Most comic depictions of Krypton's destruction have shown, however, that its core was in a highly unstable state, and the key to the planet's death. It should be noted that in some sources Superman's escape rocket had an apparently sizeable amount of kryptonite in tow behind it when it reached Earth, and that kryptonite kept falling to Earth for years after Kal-El's crash landing in Smallville.
Cultural references
"Kryptonite" is sometimes used to refer to an Achilles' heel, which is a fatal weakness related to a particular object or area: "______ is my kryptonite." As a sly joke about this, on the animated series Justice League Unlimited, Supergirl's evil clone Galatea once quipped, "Boredom is my kryptonite... well, kryptonite is my kryptonite, but you know what I mean."
"Kryptonite" is also becoming a popular hip-hop expression for the drug marijuana, which, like kryptonite, is a green substance, except instead of making one feel abnormal, sluggish, or weak, it creates a wonderful feeling of elation. The Purple Ribbon All-Stars, a rap posse led by Big Boi of Outkast fame, are perhaps the most famous users of this expression and have a song entitled "Kryptonite."
The Spin Doctors, a band from Princeton, New Jersey, are best known for their 1992 album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite.
Three Doors Down had one of its first hits with the song "Kryptonite" from their album, "The Better Life" with references to Superman.
See also
- Unbihexium (Ubh) - a real-world element with atomic number 126 (the atomic number suggested for kryptonite)
