Kryptonite is a material from the Superman mythos, specifically the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. First mentioned in The Adventures of Superman radio show in June 1943, the material has been featured in a variety of forms and colors (each with its own effect) in DC Comics publications and other media, including feature films, television series, and novelty items such as toys and trading card sets.
The established premise is that Superman and other Kryptonian characters are susceptible to its radiation, which created usage of the term in popular culture as a reference to an individual's perceived weakness, irrespective of its nature. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Superman, the University of Leicester participated in a public relations exercise and presented the Geological Society with "mock kryptonite", termed krypton difluoride.
Origin
An unpublished 1940 story "The K-Metal from Krypton", by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel featured a prototype of kryptonite, a mineral from the planet Krypton that drained Superman of his strength while giving humans superhuman powers.
A mineral actually named "kryptonite" was introduced in the story arc "The Meteor from Krypton" in June 1943 on The Adventures of Superman radio series. In 1949 kryptonite was incorporated into the comic mythos with issue #61 of Superman. In August 1993 pioneering female editor Dorothy Woolfolk stated in an interview with Florida newspaper Today that she had found Superman's invulnerability dull, and that DC's flagship hero might be more interesting with an Achilles' heel such as adverse reactions to a fragment of his home planet.
Kryptonite gradually appeared more frequently, causing science fiction writer Larry Niven to theorize in tongue-in-cheek fashion that Krypton was in fact a Dyson sphere, and that this was the underlying reason for so much of the mineral finding its way to Earth courtesy of meteor showers. In an effort to reduce the use of kryptonite in storylines, all known forms on Earth were transmuted into "k-iron" in a 1971 story arc titled "The Sandman Saga".
Forms
Various forms of the fictional mineral have been created in the Superman publications:
Other varieties of the mineral have appeared but have been revealed to be hoaxes, such as yellow (Action Comics #277, June 1961); "kryptonite Plus" (Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #126 Jan. 1970) and "blood" (52 #13, Aug. 2006).
In other media
Serials
Columbia Pictures produced two 15-part radio serials that used kryptonite as a plot device: Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950).
Films
- Superman: The Movie (1978): Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) deduces that a meteorite found in Addis Ababa is actually a radioactive piece of the exploded planet Krypton. Luthor uses the mineral to weaken Superman, who is saved by Luthor's lover Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine).
- Superman III (1983): billionaire Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) orders the creation of synthetic Kryptonite. Computer programmer Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) uses tar to compensate for an unknown component of kryptonite, causing the newly created mineral to eventually turn Superman evil and split the hero into two beings. Gorman's "super computer" later fights Superman and uses a kryptonite ray.
- Superman Returns (2006): Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) steals the Addis Ababa L9 Pallasite Meteorite and uses it to create a new Kryptonite landmass and a dagger for use against Superman.
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010): an alternate universe version of Lex Luthor uses blue kryptonite against the villain Ultraman.
- Justice League: Doom (2012): the villain Metallo wounds Superman with a kryptonite bullet, but he is saved by the JLA.
Television
- Adventures of Superman (1952 - 1958): episodes "Panic in the Sky", "The Defeat of Superman" (both 1953), "Superman Week", "The Deadly Rock" (both 1955), "The Magic Secret", "The Gentle Monster" and "All That Glitters" (all 1958) all feature kryptonite.
- "Superboy" (1988 - 1992) featured green kryptonite the episodes "Kryptonite Kills" and "Metallo" (both 1989), "Bride of Bizarro" (1990), "Kryptonite Kid" (1991) and "Obituary for a Super-Hero" (1992); red in "Super Menace" (1990) and the white variant in "The Battle With Bizarro" (1989).
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997) featured green kryptonite in several episodes, including "The Green, Green Glow of Home", "Barbarians at the Planet", "The House of Luthor" (all 1993) "Metallo" (1994), "Top Copy" (1995) and "Battleground Earth" (1996), with the red variety appearing in "Individual Responsibility" and "Ultrawoman" (both 1995) and "Lethal Weapon" (1997).
- Smallville (2001 - 2011) featured kryptonite on a regular basis: a large quantity of the green variety descends to Earth in meteor shower, arriving in the town of Smallville, Kansas with the spaceship containing the infant Kal-El. The mineral is colloquially referred to by Smallville residents as "meteor rock", but is eventually called "kryptonite" by Clark Kent once he discovers his origins ("Rosetta", Season 2, 2003). Aside from being harmful to Clark Kent, the mineral produces bizarre changes in flora and fauna, including occasionally bestowing metahuman abilities on humans. These people are commonly known by the inhabitants of Smallville as "Meteor Freaks." The green variety of the mineral appears in several episodes every season, although other varieties appear, including red ("Red": 2002. "Exodus", "Exile", "Phoenix"Â : 2003, "Unsafe": 2005, "Crimson": 2007, "Upgrade": 2010), black, formed when superheating green kryptonite ("Crusade": 2004, "Doomsday": 2009), silver ("Splinter": 2005), blue ("Blue": 2007, "Persona": 2008, "Kandor": 2009, "Salvation": 2010, 'Harvest": 2011), gem ("Persuasion": 2010) and gold ("Prophecy", "Finale": 2011). Smallville was the first appearance of a Black kryptonite that would split a person into their Good and Evil halves, before later being brought into the comic Cannon in Supergirl #2 (vol. 5, Oct. 2005).
Animated series
- Super Friends (1973-1986) featured Kryptonite in the episodes "Rest in Peace" ("Krypton Steel"); "Darkseid's Golden Trap" (gold); "Terror From the Phantom Zone" (blue) and "Uncle Mxyzptlk" (red), with the effects differing to those displayed in the printed DC Comics publications.
- Superman (1988) features a Kryptonite ring, worn by Lex Luthor.
- Superman: The Animated Series (1996-2000) attempts a non-canonical explanation of the effect of the material on Superman. This series and The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999) showcase a three-part crossover story arc called World's Finest that demonstrates the effect of kryptonite poisoning on humans.
- Justice League (2001-2004) explores the same theme.
- In Batman Beyond (1999-2001) the two-part episode "The Call" reveals kryptonite has been kept safe in the distant future as an anti-Superman deterrent.
- Krypto the Superdog (2005-2006) features green, red and even a purple-spotted variation.
- Legion of Super Heroes (2006-2008) features green, while the Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008-2011) episode "The Battle of the Superheroes" features both red and green.
- The Young Justice (2010-2013) episode "Auld Acquaintance" features use of the green variety.
Video games
- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (2012): kryptonite is used to power Lex Luthor's weapon the "Deconstructor".
- Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) features a kryptonite laser designed as a failsafe against Superman.
- Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure (2013) showcases the material in different forms.
Music
Songs:
- "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down (2000).
- "Kryptonite (I'm on It)" by rap group Purple Ribbon All-Stars (2006).
- "Fashion Is My Kryptonite" by Bella Thorne and Zendaya (2012).
- "Ready or Not" by Bridgit Mendler (2012).
- Pocket Full of Kryptonite, album by Spin Doctors (1991).
- kryptonite by Matt Easton
References
External links
- The Superman Homepage's section on kryptonite
- Howstuffworks.com: "How Kryptonite Works"
