Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Kryptonite reaction

I always wondered about the apparent non-continuity in the show regarding Superman's reaction to Kryptonite. In GGGoH, his powers were knocked out for a while and he even ran a fever. In HoL, he couldn't fly after escaping the cage. However in Madame Ex, his powers seems to return as soon as the bullet is removed. As the series progresses, it seems like Kryptonite sometimes affects him only when it's near him and other times the effects last longer (like with the red kind). Has anyone written any fanfic addressing this? Or does anyone have any thoughts?

He recovers at the speed of plot!

I think it's weird that on the show he's portrayed taking hours or days to recover; in every other portrayal his recovery is pretty immediate. Also, elsewhere he only seems to lose his invulnerability and strength, not his other powers, under the influence of Kryptonite, which is more the way he's portrayed in Madam Ex, where he can still use his heat vision while he has a bullet in his shoulder.

It seems to me that I've read stories that address this in passing, but I can't remember anything specific.

Maybe Kryptonite is like alcohol -- he develops a tolerance for it. First exposure -- highly intoxicating (or toxic, in this case). After that, there's less reaction, unless there's been a long time between exposures, at which point the body loses some of its tolerance.

Personally, I think that as opposed to the way things varied in the series what you need to do is decide how you will handle it and be consistent.

What I have done is determine that there are classes of k.r.y.p.t.o.n.i.t.e.based on the rock that it was formed from some being more virulent than others.

Yeah, I agree it wasn't consistent. I believe S1 affects were longer, he was really exposed twice in this season. The first time was from a huge chunk, which could explain the long duration of being powerless. The brief exposure from Mrs. Cox's necklace wasn't hands' on so it doesn't really count. In the cage he had both REALLY Long AND hands on exposure (the number of times he grabbed the cage).

When I first time I saw HoL on Netflix's Instant List, the whole wedding / cage scenes (like 15 minutes of it) were missing. So, I never saw how Clark freed himself from the cage or how long he was in there. I had to guess and make assumptions of what really happened (until I bought the DVDs). I thought Clark made a conscious decision not to save Lex, (a) because Lex didn't deserve it, and (b) he had Lois in his arms and if he went to save Lex, everyone would know CK=SM, which meant saving Lex wasn't worth revealing his secret to the world and ruining his own life. It made more sense in Madame Ex why everyone turned against him (i.e. Clark's guilt trip). The main reason I figured Clark had his powers back during Lex's death fall was that Clark was once more dressed in his business suit. If he was able to spin into / out of the suit (or fly/run home to change), then I figured he must have had his powers back already.

I hated how the Kryptonite exposure hardly affected him(although the characters said he was weaker afterwards) in Madame Ex. It's a poor way to start the second season, IMO, by changing the rules (and Jimmy, but that's another pet peeve for another thread). Having just watched Madame Ex again recently, I agree. It doesn't make much sense to have him writhing on the floor, probably dead within minutes but still able to use his heat vision.

This doesn't work especially if compared to Ordinary People, where he is exposed to Kryptonite *doesn't* feel the pain, but ALSO only notices the exposure due to his LOSS of heat vision. It also doesn't make sense when compared and contrasted with the the Kryptonite bullet. How could the kryptonite bullet penetrate his skin in Madame Ex, but it takes prolonged exposure to weaken him enough in Ordinary People for surgery?

I've been reading some Superman ShowCase books (which has some of the main stories from the 50's-60's comics) and the story I read last night had Clark near death's door due to exposure to Kryptonite but then okay again (with full powers) as soon as it was taken away.

In my stories, I play around with how long it takes Clark to recover based on length of exposure, type of exposure, the amount of Kryptonite used, and.... plot. Hey, if they can use that excuse, why can't I?

I always figured it like this:

In GGGoH, Clark had never been exposed to green K before. So he had no tolerance to it yet. So, when he was exposed, it knocked his powers offline for a day before he recovered.

He really doesn't have any exposure to it again until HoL, where he is stuck in the cage for at least several hours. At this point, he's been exposed to it before, so he's developed at least a small tolerance to it. BUT, it starts to drain him...like a battery. When Clark is finally free of the cage, his battery automatically starts to recharge. He spins into his regular suit, but that's all he's got left in him. When Luthor jumps, his battery is once more drained. Hence the "I can't" comment - he literally can't save Luthor because he's completely powerless again.

By the time of ME, he's had a considerable amount of exposure to green K. (A couple of times in GGGoH, thanks to Jonathan and Trask, and several hours worth in HoL.) So his tolerance level is much higher. Hence, a basically instantaneous recovery once the bullet is removed from his shoulder.

Red K is a different beast. It has the same basic properties as the green, but is different enough that it not only affects him physically in different ways (apathy, steals his powers, makes his powers go haywire) but also has variable duration times, though it seems like in all the above cases, his recovery is never instant - it lingers far longer than the effects of green K.

That and it lasted longer because it was repeatedly used on him within the episode(s) both by Intergang and by Jerry White.

This has always annoyed me. There's no gold standard for Kryptonite exposure. I like DC's "battery" theory, because that explains the quick change thing and it makes a lot of sense in general. For me, I handle Kryptonite with one approach: it will cause as much drama as I need it to cause. :p I think that's how the writers of the show approached it too.

Now *this* theory I'm very curious about. I would love to explore this more. The only/slight problem would be the question of where the Kryptonite came from, because if the majority of it came from the same stuff as where Clark's ship had crashed then it still doesn't quite add up.

In the comics story I read the other night, it was implied that Kryptonite was STILL falling from the sky on occasion despite Superman having arrived on Earth 30+ years before. (I believe this was the implication in SM-The Movie as well.)

I believe what Ken means, Mouse, is what kind of Kryptonian rock was made radioactive. For example (using the rocks of Earth) was it Quartz, Sandstone, or Limestone. Each would have a different strength of Krytponian radiation. Is that right, Ken?

BTW, even though we love and miss you, Mouse, GET BACK TO YOUR STUDIES!!!!

All the inconsistencies of Kryponite .

Laura

I know, I know!!!! I was just stopping by and I saw that Kerth noms are open and I got sidetracked! )

Didn't Lex buy his Kryptonite from some thug who died during the pick-up gone bad (where Chip was killed while impersonating Luthor)? I don't think he got it from the Irig's piece sent to the lab. Ari stole her piece from Lex's Penthouse.

I don't remember much from Top Copy, because it's been a while since I watched it, so I don't recall where Diana got her piece. He was affected by the kryptonite laced lipstick though, because he ingested it.

When I was researching what Kryptonite did to Clark, I couldn't come to any solid conclusions, since it was so variable in the show. Finally, I went with weakness, pain, and loss of powers, possibly leading to unconsciousness and death, plus the most unpleasant symptoms of a migraine (yes, I'm evil).