You don’t get to be as famous as Superman without the world also knowing both your greatest strengths, and your most legendary weaknesses. Thankfully, so much attention has been given to Green Kryptonite over the past half-century that few fans are even aware of a far more dangerous variation. Forget making the Man of Steel sick, one form of Kryptonite could kill Superman in seconds.
Gold Kryptonite is The Deadliest Form, Even Though Fans Don’t Know It
‘Green K’ Remains The Most Famous Color, But Gold is Superior
As more and more colors of Kryptonite have been introduced with dramatic effects on Superman, the green variety has still reined supreme, through comics, animation, film, and video games. And while the lore or logic behind the actual mineral has been changed over the years, even casual fans will know that while Green Kryptonite is harmless to humans, it is as radioactive (or at least harmful) to a Kryptonian as an Earthly radioactive material would be to human beings.
While some colors of Kryptonite actually help Superman, TV shows like Smallville, Supergirl, and Superman & Lois all helped to make a select few colors famous for their negative effects. But as Red Kryptonite threw Kryptonian emotions out of control, and Black Kryptonite triggered ‘evil’ transformations, there was one variation which stood out. We speak of course of Gold Kryptonite, with the impressive effect of… erasing all of Superman’s powers. Permanently.
It’s almost impossible to believe, but the first introduction of Gold Kryptonite came all the way back in Adventure Comics #299, released in August of 1962. That means that for 60 years of scheming by Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, and more, world-altering plans were created and foiled seemingly unaware of the fact that Superman’s abilities possess, functionally, an “Off” button.
But forgetting supervillains and god-like entities, anyone would actually be able to accomplish the task if Gold Kryptonite were involved. Simply expose Superman to the substance, and he would be as vulnerable to injury or death as any standard human being. And if that sounds like a Superman weakness DC regrets introducing in the first place, the impact actually gets even worse.
Gold Kryptonite Would Let Almost Anybody Kill Superman (or His Family)
Why Would DC Create A Weakness That Makes Superman Mortal?
In case a form of Kryptonite capable of de-super-ing Superman doesn’t sound overpowered enough, the genetic damage done by Gold Kryptonite extends well beyond the physiology of Kal-El alone. If exposed to Gold Kryptonite, a Kryptonian is not only rendered completely powerless and human, but their genetic code is rewritten so that all their children will also be stripped of any beneficial aspects of a half or full Kryptonian heritage, too. Sorry, Superboy.
With these facts impossible to be rewritten, it is almost pointless for DC to claim that Gold Kryptonite is an extremely rare variety, contained safely within Superman’s own vaults. Whatever the intentions of the original creators, the modern fanbase is forced to accept that Gold Kryptonite is the worst kind of comic book weakness: one readers simply need to ignore, for any of the other plans or attacks hatched by Superman‘s villains can make any sense whatsoever.
- Created By
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Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel
- First Appearance
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Action Comics
- Alias
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Kal-El, Clark Kent, Jonathan Kent
- Alliance
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Justice League, Superman Family
- Race
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Kryptonian
- Franchise
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D.C.
