Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Kryptonite

i saw this fanfic challenge on the boards and it got me thinking.

What are your feelings towards Kryptonite? I think I've read a few posts (and got the feeling from some stories) that some folcs would like to see there be a treatment of some kind so Clark wouldn't be sensitive to it.

Personally, I love Kryptonite. It shakes things up in the story, and adds a lot more possibilities. The way that Red K is presented in this universe makes my muse drool with story possibilities. Plus, I see it as important for Superman to have at least one weakness. One of my nexgen characters has even intentionally exposed herself several times for various reasons.

Anyone else care to share their thoughts?

I always thought that this whole "Kryptonite vacine" concept was a cop-out.

I can understand why Clark thought a vacine would be a good idea at the beginning of season three. (when they mentioned he and Dr. Klein were working on one.)

But then you get the Kryptonite virus. How would he have combated THAT if he were invulerable to Kryptonite? I have also read a couple of fics where they need Clark's blood for Lois in order to conceive or to save her from blood posioning after the baby's born. How do they solve THAT problem without Kryptonite?

I think in the end, they realize that even though they wish villains didn't get ahold of it, Kryptonite has its uses.

(I'm planning on discussing more of this in a future chapter of "A Box of Swiss Chocolate", but that's all I'll say for now. Spoilers! (Not even my beta has seen that yet.)

Hi Beth

Thanks for your reply on the K issue. I really do not care for K and in general find it hard (don't want to, the huge Clark fan in me accept that when Kal-el's spaceship blows up tons of K and different colored K, scatters all over the world, the majority of course "just so happening" to fall in Metropolis. Please! Yes, I know the Superman fandom might not have lasted anywhere near as long without it...but still..

I think what bothered me the most is other than perhaps one occassion, did it occur to any of the Kents (Lois included) or even Perry, who I am convinced knows Clark'[s secret,to try and seek out a cure. Wouldn't, especially a married or about to be married Clark, want to try and end this problem once and for all so he could truly be there for his family? I really do think TOGOM would be the perfect time for such a discussion to happen or heck even after "Strange Visitors."

Also, if K were no longer an issue, Clark would be immortal and live to the end of the world or whatever. This would bring up a whole new host of problems. First and foremost, assuming he stopped againg completely, I'd think it'd be a whole lot harder to hide his secret from the public.

Villians might also have a field day then going after those closest to Superman/Clark as an even more heinous way of "killing" him than doing so literally.

Lots of possibilites that lol right now I'm too tired to think of anymore.

Mona

In my mind the importance of Kryptonite is directly proportional to the strength of Superman’s powers and invulnerability.

If he were simply powerful and strong, but with definite limits, then you don’t need Kryptonite so much. However, with him being as powerful as he is in most incarnations, including the Lois and Clark universe, it is essential that this weakness exist. You can’t have him really be Superman without the Kryptonite weakness.

Now, I’ll admit bias on this issue. When I was developing the “Superman science” that I presented in my Luck and Consequence(s) (I’m still unsure about that ‘s’) story, I gave this a lot of thought and finally decided that it was so important that the very thing that gives him his powers is the source of the vulnerability to Kryptonite. In that universe, there will never be an anti-Kryptonite vaccine. If there was, it would have to permanently strip him of his powers.

Now, all that said, it should be rare and hard to come by. If every bad-guy was wearing a Kryptonite pendant it would be worse than no Kryptonite at all.

Sorry for the rant. I’m a bit hard-over on this issue.

Bob

I look at this question as a fan of Clark Kent Superman.

I lose interest if there's no K becasue it's the K that makes him physically vulnerable. Also, K gives the badguys a fighting chance. Otherwise, CKS is boring, no matter how emotionally vulnerable or deeply chocolate his eyes are - so he's the stongest man on earth, yada yada (sorry for the retro phrase) Also, it's his physical vulnerablity that makes the great love story with Lois Lane believeable - when you couple that with his emotional vulnerablity (plus hers!) then, it's magic.

But, that doesn't mean K needs ot be mentioned - we know it's part of what CKS is. A given.

Now that said, as a consumer of fanfic, movies, TV I think K is way overused as a plot devise. It's presence on earth is very limited, given how it arrived. Too often it's used as a substitute for solid plotting. If it shows up, the rationale has to be crefted inot the story in a loogical way. (I know everyone's a critic )

random thoughts as always

c.

The history of Kryptonite is interesting. Originally it was introduced in the radio show in 1943 to allow the actor who played Superman to take a vacation; he was replaced by a stand-in who spent the episode groaning, if I recall correctly. After that they began to use it in the comics because a completely invulnerable superman is potentially very boring; he has to have weaknesses.

The amount of Kryptonite on Earth in the comics got to be ridiculous, so they explained it by saying that a lot was dragged along through the space warp that took baby Superman to Earth. I think that this is also the explanation in the Smallville TV show, but I don't follow it closely so I'm not sure.

The fact that the only natural Kryptonite we see in L&C is the teeny bit embedded in Clark's capsule (in the first Tempus episode, I think) and another lump from Smallville, suggests that someone on the show thought this one through, and avoided the Meteor Rocks / Mutants nonsense from the Smallville show.

I too think that K is critical to who Supes is. Also I kind of like all the different kinds of K there are. They create some fun and interesting problems for our dear and lovely Clark. And in my opinion that is one of the only reasons that I found it almost acceptable that the comics had everyone and their mother be able to have K. So that part of the equation kinda tares me in two. Cause it would make more sence if there was only a little bit of K on Earth, thus making it rare, valuable, and Clark wouldn't be afraid of death around every corner cause it seems to be just as easy to find K as to find a white rock in gravel. But on the other hand I do love all the different kinds of K and there subsequent affects on our man of steel. Some of the variations are quite fun and others rather silly but they all have a purpose and some just make me down right giddy with all the possibilities. So I do alternate moment to moment between wanting there to be all around less K in the world and wanting there to be a little of a whole lot of different kinds of K in the world. But K is still essential to making Supes a little more accessible. Okay, now that I have added my two cents (probably more like my entire change purse) I will leave all alone and try and write.

It seems to me that a Kryptonite vaccine would only make sense if he had an immune system that fought a Kryptonite germ. It also would make sense if it were like ingesting a small enough dosage of a Kryptonite poison until he built up a resistance. However, I don't understand the mechanics behind a vaccine to ward off radiation, unless of course they were simply counting on an unintelligent audience or were writing with an unintelligent staff.

I also find it convenient that Kryptonite is available to every Joe schmoe on the street who asks for it. Whatever happened to the laws of supply and demand?


Elisabeth

There was a recent story from the bad guy's point of view set in the near future where green K had been diluted so many times that whatever the crooks had it didn't knock Superman down, it only made him cuss. Thought it was quite funny, and it fits in with a finite supply of Kryptonite in general.

I think that kryptonite belongs to Superman like a Ring to Green Lantern. Without Kryptonite, Superman would have abilities like a god, and he'd be practically unstoppable. Of course, there are other weaknesses, magic and the aura of a red sun in the comics, hypnosis or an attack on his super-senses in the series. But kryptonite would lose its value - both in currency and in its value as a plot device - if you could find it everywhere.

If kryptonite was too common, Clark would get into the habit of X-raying his surroundings - especially if crooks are involved - before barging in. If he found kryptonite, which is habitually found in a lead-lined box, he'd seal it first with his heat vision before making an (obvious) appearance.

So, should there be a cure for kryptonite? Well, that depends on the author, I think. If you, as an author, decided that Superman's blood is needed, maybe for enabling Lois to conceive his child (or survive its birth), then there should not be a cure found beforehand, or there wouldn't be a next generation. But even if you don't need Superman's blood for anything in your universe, a cure for kryptonite is not something you should introduce lightly because the mere possibility that there could be a kryptonite encounter does spice up any a-plot.

So, do I enjoy stories where Superman gets hit by kryptonite? I don't think this is a simple yes-or-no question. Some stories are great and only because of the effects of kryptonite, and some have a very vulnerable Clark Kent as a main character. Other stories show just how weird the effects of some varieties of kryptonite can be: We've seen Clark get addicted, aggressive (I think), treat Lois like a pet, be turned into a 'super stud' and so on.

I guess, as with every other plot device, it's not the device that counts, but how the story is written.

When does he treat Lois like a pet? I want to read that. Reminds me of a bit from Superman 2.

Zod: "This "Superman" is nothing of the sort. I've found his weakness. He actually cares about these... people."

Ursa: "Like pets?"

Zod: "I suppose so."

Anyway, I hope you can tell me the story, and if so, thanks.

By the way, Kryptonite is a great plot device but I would have it ultra rare, as in there are 10 pieces or so on Earth and the rest is all floating around in space, where Krypton exploded. Not that certain villians couldn't get ahold of some from there...

I think it just depends on the story whether or not there should be a cure for kryptonite poisoning.

I haven't read this whole thread - I just glanced at it. But I have this to say (and this has been discussed on the boards before): I don't think that the word kryptonite should not be capitalized. While the word Krypton is capitalized because it's a planet, kryptonite is an element. Elements on the periodic table are not capitalized. Their abbreviations sometimes are capitalized, and sometimes they are capitalized in a periodic table but only to make it 'look' better. Even when named after a person or country that is capitalized, elements are not capitalized. We have elements named americium, europium, germanium, californium, rutherfordium, and curium (among others) named for (in the same order) the Americas, Europe, Germany, the State and University of California, some guy named Rutherford, and Marie and Pierre Curie. Even compounds like steel and bronze are not capitalized.

Here's a link for curium and one for californium .

This all makes more sense when you think that we don't capitalize the elements we are more familiar with like oxygen, potassium, sodium, calcium, gold, mercury, platinum, silicone, silver... Anyway, you get the idea.

But that's just my take on it. Some people disagree.

I've often wondered if Siegel and Shuster named the planet Krypton after the element krypton discovered in 1898.

But I suppose one could also go with the argument that since kryptonite is from meteorites from the planet Krypton that it should be capitalized. There are some famous meteorites with names like the Hoba meteorite and the Williamette meteorite. So does that mean that kryptonite could correctly be called the Krypton meteorite (or meteorites)?

Okay, that's enough of my silliness.

Yes, some of it is nonsensical. It was also a decent plot device for "Smallville" to let Clark have some villains to conquer and problems to deal with. Otherwise the show would be boring.

What I find unbelievable (or at least it makes it hard for me to suspend my disbelief) is how much kryptonite there is in the Smallville universe. Tons must have fallen down! And considering that it's thought that a tiny little meteorite caused the Tunguska event why didn't all the kryptonite that fell in the Smallville area cause an equivalent or greater amount of destruction?

More ignoring of the laws of physics. Par for the course in TV-land.

But hey, this is a show about a guy that flies. So maybe I should just lighten up.

(Or, as my co-worker says, "Does anal-retentive have a hyphen?")