Kryptonite

In the Pre-Crisis continuity, depending on the particular dimension, such as Earth-One, there were many forms and colors of Kryptonite, while others showed only one form, such as Earth-Two and Earth-Three. As far as Earth-One and its related alternate realities wer

Kryptonite is the name given to shards of matter that were cast off from the planet Krypton after its destruction.

History

In the Pre-Crisis continuity, depending on the particular dimension, such as Earth-One, there were many forms and colors of Kryptonite, while others showed only one form, such as Earth-Two and Earth-Three. As far as Earth-One and its related alternate realities were concerned, Kryptonite was a transuranium element that decayed into iron and did not chemically react with oxygen (which was used to explain why small pieces of Kryptonite did not burn up when they entered Earth's atmosphere).

In the Post-Crisis primary universe of New Earth, there was only one natural form of Kryptonite, Green, and it was a compound made up of various elements.

All of the other variants of Kryptonite in the universe of New Earth were artificially created from Green Kryptonite through certain techniques to produce them, such as radiation bombardments to accelerate Green Kryptonite's half-cycle into Red Kryptonite. Lex Luthor also successfully re-created Gold Kryptonite in the universe of New Earth, which stripped all power processing of Kryptonians' bodies, though seemingly it was only temporary in its effects and not permanent, unlike the Pre-Crisis Earth-One version of Gold Kryptonite.

The only substance in the universe that the radiation of any variant of Kryptonite cannot penetrate is lead, except for Blue Kryptonite, of which the only substance in the universe that its radiation cannot penetrate is imperfect lead.

Powers

Exposure to Kryptonite can have a wide variety of effects depending upon its color and present form; the majority of them are at least detrimental and at the most outright deadly.

Green Kryptonite

 Main article: Green Kryptonite

Easily the most abundant of all of the variants and the very first one to be discovered, Green Kryptonite sapped Kryptonians of their super-powers that were provided to them by a yellow sun. They initially got flu-like symptoms and slowly became weaker and weaker until they died unless they were actually, physically removed from the source of the radiation as soon as possible. As Kryptonians died from exposure to Green Kryptonite radiation, their skin and hair turned green. It was originally believed that the radiation emitted by Green Kryptonite was harmless to anyone except Kryptonians, but it was later discovered that longtime exposure to it was also carcinogenic to humans as well, as shown by Lex Luthor's constant use of a fragment of Green Kryponite that was in a ring that he wore to ward off Superman.

• In DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #3, Lex Luthor mistook the Green Chaos Emerald for Green Kryptonite and tried to use it on Knuckles the Echidna, believing that he had Kryptonian super-powers as well. It had no effect on Knuckles, however, and Luthor willingly turned the Emerald over to him, though the echidna returned a few seconds later after he realized that Lex had tried to kill him.

Red Kryptonite

 Main article: Red Kryptonite

In the Pre-Crisis continuity, Red Kryptonite had unexpected consequences and what happened to Kryptonians when they were exposed to it varied from exposure to exposure every time: turning into a dragon, excessive hair growth, gaining telepathy, etc. These effects typically lasted only for either one or two days (although sometimes as long as three days), after which the Kryptonians thus affected would (in theory) always be immune to the effects of the same piece of Red Kryptonite that they were exposed to at that time. Red Kryptonite was also the only Kryptonite variant out of all of them that could even affect Kryptonians who were under a red sun.

In the Post-Crisis continuity, Batman created an artificial version of Red Kryptonite which, upon exposure, would turn Kryptonians' skin translucent - causing them to absorb copious amounts of solar energy to the point of being incapacitated.

In the DC Rebirth continuity, its effects are similar to Pre-Crisis Red Kryptonite in that they are random and unpredictable, the Red Kryptonite something different to Superman each time. For example, Graft uses a certain type of Red Kryptonite that both makes Superman angry and drains Superman's powers.

Gold Kryptonite

 Main article: Gold Kryptonite

This rare variant would destroy a Kryptonian's ability to process yellow sunlight, thus permanently removing their super-powers and turning them into the equivalent of a human; otherwise, it was not harmful to Kryptonians at all.

Blue Kryptonite

 Main article: Blue Kryptonite

Had the same effect on Bizarros as Green Kryptonite had on Kryptonians; however, it was harmless to both Kryptonians and humans. It was also the only antidote to the varying effects of Red Kryptonite on Kryptonians.

White Kryptonite

 Main article: White Kryptonite

Killed all species of plants and microorganisms regardless of their planet of origin.

Platinum Kryptonite

 Main article: Platinum Kryptonite

Gave permanent Kryptonian super-powers to humans.

Kryptomites

 Main article: Kryptomites

Living and sentient beings that were made up of all of the different variants of Kryptonite.

Yellow Kryptonite

Originally, "Yellow Kryptonite" was a phony variant of Kryptonite that was part of a hoax masterminded by Lex Luthor. It was not actually Kryptonite, but a harmless yellow sphere (as were the other variants of Kryptonite that he used). He hoped that Superman would think that it was Kryptonite and thus hold back - which he did. Luthor later learned that it was not actually Superman he had faced, but a Superman Robot instead.

• However, Yellow Kryptonite first appeared in Superman Family Adventures #2 as a real variant. Nevertheless, the effects of this Kryptonite were unknown, as that subject was not touched on in depth.
• The DC Super Hero Girls continuity showed both Yellow Kryptonite and its main effect, which was the same as the Sinestro Corps' Yellow Power Battery: it instilled fear in everyone that was near it. Lena Luthor used it to create yellow Kryptomites.
• Graft developed a form of Synthetic Yellow Kryptonite which appeared to have some kind of temporal effect. A blast of energy from it destabilized Marilyn Moonlight's powers and sent her and Superman back in time to the 19th century.

Black Kryptonite

 Main article: Black Kryptonite

• The Post-Crisis continuity showed Lex Luthor's Warsuit equipped with a knuckle armament that had the same, as well as potentially different, effects as in the Smallville universe, that being the splitting of Kryptonian vices from their lighter selves, as well as reuniting them.
• First seen on the TV series Smallville, the only time that it was ever used on Clark Kent was in the Season 4 episode "Crusade", when he was reprogrammed as Kal-El. Martha Kent placed a chunk of Black Kryptonite (which was given to her by Dr. Swann's assistant, Bridgette Crosby) on his chest and the two sides of Clark's personality actually, physically split apart. Clark then used the Black Kryptonite chunk to eliminate Kal-El.
• Another effect, as shown in All-Star Superman, is that it caused kinder personas to darken and become more evil, but also weakened their super-human abilities and mental acuity over time.
• In the recent DC Rebirth continuity, it was also found in the Dark Multiverse and used by The Batman Who Laughs. It caused those who were affected by it to turn murderously rabid, making them hostile to anyone and everyone around them to the point of actually killing them.

Artificial Kryptonite or Synthetic Kryptonite

Another phony variant of Kryptonite was developed by Gus Gorman in the film Superman III, where he substituted the "unknown element" in Green Kryptonite with tar. The result of the exposure to Synthetic Kryptonite was that it caused Superman's moral behaviors to change to the point of being evil and destructive, both to himself and to others. It also eventually caused Superman to split into two separate selves, his good self and his evil self, with both of them battling for dominance until his good self prevailed, restoring his normal moral behaviors.

• In the Super Friends continuity, Artificial Kryptonite was created by a villain named Doctor Rebos.
• Power Ring wielders other than the Green Lantern Corps could simulate the effects of Green Kryptonite at will; it originally only appeared during the Silver and Bronze Ages. It appeared sporadically throughout various instances and its lethal potency was just as diverse as its scarce appearances, but Artificial Green Kryptonite (as it was named) proved to be potent enough to critically injure Kryptonians, if not outright leave them at the brink of death. Just as certain Kryptonians were immune to Kryptonite radiation from different dimensions due to the discrepancy of alternate universes, certain Kryptonians were also immune to Kryptonite radiation from different worlds. The Green Lantern in question had to calibrate its energy signature in order to match that of the Kryptonian doppelgänger for it to be effective.
• In a simulation, Gorilla Grodd used a variant of Kryptonite called Artificial Kryptonite. It was a cloud of Kryptonite that masked Earth, keeping Superman off-planet and making Grodd into Earth's ruler.
• The Eradicator created another version of Artificial Kryptonite in an attempt to re-create the destruction of Krypton on Earth; however, it had little to no effect on Superman.
• On Earth-Two, Synthetic Kryptonite was invented by Alexei Luthor using some extremely rare and unobtainable ingredients, including a mammoth pearl, dust from the dark side of the Moon, pollen from the man-eating Asiatic Homocessandi plant, and Binarium. A second version of Synthetic Kryptonite was invented by Dr. Vallin using more readily available ingredients, including gold, silver, lead and bismuth, that were fused together with acid and electricity. These forms of Synthetic Kryptonite had the same effect on Superman that Green Kryptonite did. The Luthorian synthesis was quite powerful, but it had a short half-life so that, after a few days of criminal use and some hours spent in a police evidence locker, its radiation would first wear off and then fade away to a level that was harmless to Superman.
• Within modern publishing, Lex Luthor and a host of other criminal-minded individuals went into the business of fabricating K-Rad emission emulations, as well as a carbon copy of Green Kryptonite, to ward off Superman. It was not as effective as actual Green Kryptonite was, but it was potent enough to at least cause a Kryptonian physical harm.

Silver Kryptonite

In Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #70, Silver Kryptonite was part of a joke played by Jimmy Olsen to celebrate Superman's silver anniversary. It did not have any effects; it was, in fact, just a prop.

• In Smallville, Silver Kryptonite was an artificial variant of Kryptonite created by Professor Milton Fine (the human alias of the Kryptonian artificial intelligence known as Brainiac) using ordinary rock and the liquid metal that his body was made of. When Clark was pricked by a piece of this variant, he began having paranoid delusions and became convinced that his family and friends were all out to destroy him. Silver Kryptonite caused hallucinations, such as an imagined conversation between Clark and Professor Fine, and delusions that what was actually happening was, in fact, something much more sinister.
• In the Post-Crisis continuity, Silver Kryptonite demonstrated certain mystical properties that were of great value to the supernatural super-hero community. Two samples of this variant (which was also known as "Magic Kryptonite"), the only ones that were known to exist in the entire universe, had been forged into a pair of twin medallions known as the Ach-om Rashay - the Amulet of Mindfulness. One-half of the amulet was located inside of a volcano on Dinosaur Island, while the other half was forged into a stone tablet found at the Oblivion Bar. For Kryptonians, exposure to Silver Kryptonite produced effects similar to the effects of marijuana on a human. Those affected by it experienced a loss of inhibitions, altered perceptions, extreme hunger cravings, and some psychotropic hallucinations.
• In the TV series Supergirl, Silver Kryptonite induced hallucinations in Kryptonians. After coming into contact with it, Superman believed his cousin to be Zod.

Pink Kryptonite

In Supergirl (Volume 4) #79, when Linda Danvers took the original Kara Zor-El's place and arrived in the Pre-Crisis era of Earth-One, there was a humorous scene where Superman apparently was exposed to Pink Kryptonite, with the implication being that it temporarily caused him to become homosexual.

• Justice League Action showed Metallo's Green Kryptonite heart being transmuted into Pink Kryptonite by Firestorm the Nuclear Man, which flipped the physical genders of Kryptonians, having turned Superman into a Woman of Steel instead.

Purple Kryptonite

In an early appearance of Kryptonite (Adventure Comics #171), the Kryptonite that appeared was purple, but it acted like Green Kryptonite. Some speculated that purple might have been an incredibly rare version of Kryptonite that disappeared, but the chances of this are unlikely and it was most likely because of the writer's indecision over color or a coloring error.

• The DC Super Hero Girls continuity showed Purple Kryptonite as an existing variant of Kryptonite. The effects of this variant were hypnotic, and it could control the minds of anyone that was near it. Lena Luthor used it to create purple Kryptomites.
• In Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum, Purple Kryptonite affected Superman's perception of linear time such that events seemed to be occurring out of order to him and for him, the past/present/future were all jumbled up in a blender.

Kryptonite-X or Kryptisium

Professor Hamilton coined this term to refer to the change that occurred to the Kryptonite that the Cyborg Superman blasted the Eradicator with when it passed through the latter and struck Superman. Instead of being lethal, it restored Superman's super-powers. Unfortunately, it also apparently clung to him and caused him to absorb solar energy at a rapidly accelerating rate, eventually causing his super-powers to go out of control and his body to build more mass. Superman was purged of it after battling the Parasite. Not to be confused with X-Kryptonite (see below).

Slow Kryptonite

Slow Kryptonite was a variant of Kryptonite produced by Metallo that only affected humans and was harmless to Kryptonians. It was called "Slow Kryptonite" because the rays sent out by normal Kryptonite radiation were "fast" rays (i.e., high in frequency) and were synced with the accelerated Kryptonian body, allowing it to affect Kryptonians. Slow Kryptonite radiation, which released "slow" rays (i.e., low in frequency), was synced with the decelerated human body, allowing it to affect humans.

Kryptonite Plus

Kryptonite Plus was a batch of 30 or so multi-colored stones that were left behind by aliens, who said that they were "Kryptonite Plus" or "Ultra-Kryptonite." They were actually Tikron stones.

Magno-Kryptonite

Magno-Kryptonite was a variant of Kryptonite that tracked down objects from Krypton. It apparently did the same thing with people from Krypton as well, and not even the super-powers of Superman or Bizarro could escape it.

Jewel Kryptonite

 Main article: Jewel Kryptonite

Jewel Kryptonite possessed the ability to amplify the psychic powers of all of the Kryptonians who were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.

• Jewel Kryptonite was introduced in Season 9 of Smallville. It enabled Clark to make someone do whatever he asked them to do, but the process worked only once on each person; he could even affect himself with it.

Anti-Kryptonite

 Main article: Anti-Kryptonite

In the Pre-Crisis continuity, Anti-Kryptonite did nothing to harm super-powered Kryptonians, but had the same effects of normal Green Kryptonite on non-super-powered Kryptonians.

In the Post-Crisis continuity, this was the formal name of the source of Kryptonite in the first Antimatter Universe that the reformatted Ultraman of the Crime Syndicate of AmeriKa was powered by. This is very different from the second Antimatter Universe's Ultraman and the long-since dead Ultraman of Earth-Three, who were both powered by the same Green Kryptonite that harmed Superman. Anti-Kryptonite from the Antimatter Universe of the Crime Syndicate of AmeriKa had no effect on matter-based Kryptonians.

Bizarro Red Kryptonite

This variant of Kryptonite affected humans in the same way that Red Kryptonite affected Kryptonians.

X-Kryptonite

 Main article: X-Kryptonite

X-Kryptonite (in the Pre-Crisis continuity only) was a variant of Synthetic Kryptonite that temporarily gave Streaky the Supercat his super-powers.Action Comics #261

Fool's Kryptonite

Fool's Kryptonite (again in the Pre-Crisis continuity only) looked exactly like Green Kryptonite, but was harmless to Kryptonians. However, it was harmful to humans and affected them in the same way that Green Kryptonite affected Kryptonians.

Blood Kryptonite

In 52, the Cult of Conner - a religious cult that was dedicated to resurrecting Superboy - employed "Blood Kryptonite" in a preliminary ritual to resurrect Sue Dibny. While physically resembling Green Kryptonite, this variant drained a portion of the life force from the present attendees, and it was intended to direct this energy towards an effigy of the deceased as part of a Kryptonian resurrection ceremony. It was later revealed that this was all a manipulation of Felix Faust and that the rock was either ordinary Green Kryptonite, or not even Kryptonite at all.

Purple Spotted Kryptonite

Another phony variant of Kryptonite in the animated cartoon TV series Krypto the Superdog; it made Krypto chase his tail.

Fake Kryptonite

Seen in an episode of Superboy, Superboy's friends were selling crystals which were labeled as "fake Kryptonite" to raise money for charity. These crystals were clearly phonies and the vendors always did admit this from the beginning; however, they used humorous catchphrases to sell them such as, "Buy one and have nothing to fear; even Superboy will run away from you!"

Bizarro White Kryptonite

Also seen in an episode of Superboy; in order to stop Bizarro's rampage, Superboy ran Green Kryptonite through the same duplication process that created Bizarro from him in the first place. To Superboy's surprise, the resulting mineral had the effect of healing Bizarro, curing the instability that threatened to make him violently explode.

Red-Green Kryptonite

Another variant of Synthetic Kryptonite created by Brainiac that mutated Superman; this variant made him grow a third eye on the back of his head. Superman tricked Brainiac with his mutation, however, as he waited for his return (he went into outer space to monitor the change) and allowed everyone on Earth to believe the Red-Green Kryptonite had driven him insane, as he would never appear without a hat, and he would act out a hat's properties to solve crimes. He also used this to cover his third eye. Brainiac attacked Superman with a dunce cap, but Superman used the force of heat vision from all three eyes to dissolve Brainiac's force field. He then took Brainiac into custody. It appears that the Green Kryptonite part of Red-Green Kryptonite does nothing to Kryptonians, although the mutation did last longer than one day, perhaps indicating that the Green Kryptonite part of it amplified its effects.

Krypton Steel

Appearing only in the Challenge of the Super Friends episode "Super Friends: Rest in Peace", Krypton Steel was described by Lex Luthor as a "harmless form of Kryptonite" that only Superman could break. It is, presumably, a refined metal with similar properties to steel, an alloy of iron. Superman forged a box made of this variant of Kryptonite to store a weapon that the Super Friends had confiscated from the Legion of Doom at some point. The Legion figured out how to trick Superman into opening the box for them.

Opal Kryptonite

Opal Kryptonite is a synthesized variant of Kryptonite that was created by Terrence Sloan on Earth 2 and which could apparently drive Kryptonians temporarily insane. Opal Kryptonite only worked for a short time, however, and it would eventually burn out and turn into ordinary iron after a certain amount of time.

Krimson Kryptonite

In the Post-Crisis continuity, Krimson Kryptonite was a special stone created by Mr. Mxyzptlk that he gave to Lex Luthor, as the former was too busy to deal with Superman. As Luthor wanted to be equal to Superman, the stone reacted by stealing away Superman's super-powers rather than granting Luthor Superman's super-powers as he had hoped. The effects of this Kryptonite would last unless Luthor revealed to Superman how it happened, which he unwittingly did when he told him in his Clark Kent persona. Because of its more reality-warping nature, this Kryptonite was not radioactive.Superman (Volume 2) #49

Orange Kryptonite

• In the Tiny Titans continuity, a chunk of Orange Kryptonite was in the possession of Lex Luthor.
• In the animated film DC League of Super-Pets, Lulu and Lex Luthor spent decades contemplating its effects upon living biology. The mad scientist mistakenly believed that this variant of Kryptonite would empower normal individuals like himself with abilities greater than even that of his nemesis. But it was said experimental animal that Lex used to test his thesis who was the only one to realize that Orange Kryptonite only worked on non-human animal life forms or, in this case, simple house pets.
• In the Krypto the Superdog tie-in comics, Orange Kryptonite was briefly used by Isis and Snooky Wookums to give themselves super-powers. Orange Kryptonite was also portrayed here as only being able to give super-powers to non-human animal life forms, although the effects would only last for one day.
• The DC Super Hero Girls continuity showed a completely different effect of Orange Kryptonite. In this version, this variant made humans paranoid. Lena Luthor used it to create orange Kryptomites.

Periwinkle Kryptonite

In the Tiny Titans continuity, Brainiac hit Superman with a Periwinkle Kryptonite ray. It turned both his skin and his costume periwinkle in color and caused him to briefly woo Lois Lane with charm and dancing skills. Later that day, Lois used a piece of physical Periwinkle Kryptonite on Clark Kent, achieving the same effects.

In the DC Super Hero Girls continuity, Periwinkle Kryptonite made Kryptonians feel "giddy" and, naturally, caused Bizarros to go into fits of rage.

On Prime Earth, Periwinkle Kryptonite has an intoxicating effect on Kryptonians that is similar to the effect of alcohol on humans.

Amber Kryptonite

A Last 52 Multiverse version of Lois Lane had used an unheard-of variant of Kryptonite to transfer her Earth's Superman's super-powers into herself before she killed him. She went on to take the pieces of this Kryptonite variant and hand them out to like-minded anti-metahuman constitutes, whom she would then turn into an army in order to wage genocidal war on the super-heroes.

Cobalt Kryptonite

In Superman: The Kryponite Spectrum, Cobalt Kryptonite turns Superman into a giant and makes him grow continuously until the effects are reversed. Unlike other variants of Kryptonite, its radiation is not blocked by lead.

Speckled Kryptonite

In Superman: The Kryponite Spectrum, Speckled Kryptonite makes Superman shrink down to a small size. The amount he shrinks by is proportionate to the amount of Speckled Kryptonite radiation he absorbs, meaning a controlled dose can be used to reverse the effects of Cobalt Kryptonite. Speckled Kryptonite also reacted with the unique radioactive liquid that makes up the body of Chemo and transformed Superman into a teenager.

Rainbow Kryptonite

In Superman: The Kryponite Spectrum, Rainbow Kryptonite is an artificial construct sent as a "distress signal" from the Fifth Dimension by Mister Mxyzptlk. When Superman was exposed to it his mind was sent into the Fifth Dimension, while on Earth his body appeared to be in a coma.

Turquoise Kryptonite

Turquoise Kryptonite was one of the many exotic flavors of Kryptonite from the Dark Multiverse which Darkfather exposed Superman to in order to transform him into a version of Darkseid.

On Prime Earth, Turquoise Kryptonite was created by the sea hag Glurga Gristleglob. It temporarily transformed Supergirl into a mermaid. She retained her super-powers but was rendered unable to breathe air and could only survive underwater.

Notes

• The Kryptonite concept was first developed by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel for an unpublished Superman story. In Siegel's original vision, the deadly mineral was known as K-Metal.
• The first use of Kryptonite was actually in an unaired episode of the radio drama series The Adventures of Superman titled "The Meteor from Krypton". The first comic book appearance of Kryptonite was in Superman #61.
  
  

Trivia

• Writer Brian Bucellato stated that Godzilla's atomic breath has a similar radioactive signature to that of Kryptonite in order to explain how Godzilla easily defeated Superman in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #2.

See Also

• Appearances of Kryptonite
• Item Gallery: Kryptonite
• Images featuring Kryptonite

External Links

• When We First Met: The Evolution of Green and Red Kryptonite

Footnotes

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