Welcome to the Super Museum! All heroes have strengths and weaknesses. We try to keep them all catalogued and organized here, for archival sake. We’ve had a lot of help gathering the information from the heroes themselves, just in case they become a threat one day. Batman, of course, has been instrumental in our cataloguing process.
Martian Manhunter is vulnerable to fire. Green Lantern would best be taken down through hypnosis. Superman‘s Kryptonite is … well, Kryptonite. But did you know that there’s more than one type of this mineral?
In fact, there are so many, that we had to choose just the top 10 most interesting types of Kryptonite to tell you about. Join us as we walk you through the strange properties and appearances of these mysterious and powerful crystalline structures from DC Comics.
GREEN KRYPTONITE
Green Kryptonite is the traditional kryptonite. It’s what most individuals are familiar with. This Kryptonite is lethal to all Kryptonians, such as Superman and Supergirl. At first exposure, they become particularly weak, experiencing severe pain and fatigue. These symptoms do not affect other Kryptonian superpowers that aren’t related to physical strength, such as heat-vision or freeze breath. However, if exposed too long, the Green Kryptonite will, in fact, kill all Kryptonians.
Contrary to popular belief, propagated by Lex Luthor, Green Kryptonite does not make a non-Kryptonian safer. Yes, it will keep most Kryptonians away, but even Green Kryptonite can cause cancer. So, as always, please do not touch the exhibits.
RED KRYPTONITE
Red Kryptonite is particularly strange and arguably very unpredictable. While we are aware of certain affects, others are elusive. Here’s what we know: Red Kryptonite weakens Kryptonians just the same as the green strain. In fact, it weakens them to a much greater degree.
More interestingly, however, is that the Red Kryptonite seems to cause extreme mood swings. Super mood swings, if you will. And in some cases, it causes quite a bit more arm swinging too, if you know what we mean. Red Kryptonite can also cause mutations in Kryptonians. If you think they’re unnatural now, you haven’t the faintest idea! But those changes aren’t necessarily permanent.
BLUE KRYPTONITE
Yes, Blue Kryptonite can reverse the unpredictable effects of Red Kryptonite. That is why we store it right next to the Red Kryptonite! It works wonders on any afflicted Kryptonian.
It does quite the opposite for any member of the Bizarro family. Blue Kryptonite appears to weaken Bizarro in the same way that Green Kryptonite weakens Superman. Superman has used it on many an occasion to stop Bizarro himself, though we can neither confirm nor deny whether or not he has used this kryptonite in particular.
GOLD KRYPTONITE
Now Gold Kryptonite might be the most dangerous of them all, though not for the reason you’d expect. Imagine a world without Superman saving the day. Imagine a world in which Supergirl could not protect us. A world where villains such as Cyborg Superman could begin a reign of terror.
That is the ability of Gold Kryptonite. It can take away a Kryptonian’s ability to process yellow sun. Without their gifts from the yellow sun, Kryptonians are nearly the same as humans. But we’d say the sun does us all a bit of good. On to the next one!
SILVER KRYPTONITE
Have you ever been hangry? You know the feeling, so hungry that you’re angry. You’d do anything for a bite of food. You could eat a horse, you’ll say. “I’d kill for a good meal.” Well, thank goodness you’re not a Kryptonian that’s just been subjected to Silver Kryptonite.
We might have understated the effects of Silver Kryptonite, to start. It’s not simply hunger. It’s intense hunger mixed with intense delusions and hallucinations. In some cases, it has made Superman see “his greatest fear” akin to the Scarecrow’s fear toxin. It can make Kryptonians paranoid, and make them forget their strength. And a Kryptonian that doesn’t know their limits will easily level any city. We could only hope for a hero at that point.
BLACK KRYPTONITE
Black Kryptonite does give you a hero. Though, everything comes with a cost. If a Kryptonian is subjected to Black Kryptonite, the mineral will split one balanced individual into two completely separate identities: one good and one bad. Of course, having a perfectly good Superman sounds redundant, but you must understand that each man struggles with his inner demons.
Black Kryptonite takes this entire struggle away, and makes the inner demons come out in the form of a truly evil version of the Kryptonian. This can be abused, and our scholars have told us that in an alternate universe, The Batman Who Laughs once used this terrifying tactic to achieve his goals.
WHITE KRYPTONITE
Unfortunately, these Kryptonites get worse and worse as we work through them. However, this Kryptonite is not dangerous for Kryptonians. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that it would harm any person at all. Not directly at least. In fact, you could touch it with no harm. Juggle it even! But if you dropped it … and it landed on the grass … the awful disease of White Kryptonite would begin to spread.
White Kryptonite kills any and all plant life that it comes into contact with. If Poison Ivy knew that you were carrying White Kryptonite, she would do all in her power to bring you to your untimely, plant-killing end. So we recommend not juggling the White Kryptonite any time soon!
ANTI-KRYPTONITE
Here at the Super Museum, we are eternally grateful for the high tech glass that we have between us and the exhibits. Yes indeed, because without the barrier, we all might be a feeling a bit weak as we approach the Anti-Kryptonite.
Anti-Kryptonite is actually harmless to all Kryptonians, despite its similar appearance. We’ve heard it called “Fool’s Kryptonite.” Here at the museum, we like to say that you’d be a fool to forget how absolutely and terrifyingly deadly that Anti-Kryptonite is to humans. Anti-Kryptonite is our Green Kryptonite, and it’s best we move on quickly, because some of you are starting to look a bit queasy.
X-KRYPTONITE
Now X-Kryptonite is much friendlier to humans than the others but please refrain from getting too close. In fact, we are not allowed to touch it at all. There is a finger scanner on the display that only works for the scientist who created X-Kryptonite — Supergirl herself! It was created by radiating regular Green Kryptonite, and for all intents and purposes has the same effects as Green Kryptonite on a Kryptonian.
Yes, Supergirl made X-Kryptonite in an attempt to create an antidote for Green Kryptonite. While she was unsuccessful in her initial attempt, she did inadvertently create an interesting side-effect. Any normal life-form can be granted powers by the X-Kryptonite — even Supergirl’s pet cat, Streaky! Just don’t go spreading that information around, though maybe the cat’s out of the bag now.
PERIWINKLE KRYPTONITE
Imagine this: you’ve had a long week at the office. You’re overworked. You’re tired. You need to take your mind off things for a little while. So you gather up a few of your closest pals, and head down to the bar. You sit down and grab the attention of the bartender. “Listen here, I’ll take 3 shots of Periwinkle Kryptonite!”
That’s right, all that Periwinkle Kryptonite does to Kryptonians is make them lose their inhibitions. Just like a nice cold one after a long day! It isn’t necessarily dangerous, though we imagine it could be in the wrong hands. It’s a good thing we’ve got it safe here at the museum.