Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Red kryptonite

Is it me or is the show a little inconsistent with red kryptonite?

When we first see it near the end of Season 2, exposure makes Superman appathetic. Then when those sisters make a lazer using it in Season 3, Superman's powers transfer to Lois. Finally, in the fourth season episode, the seemingly same exposure causes Superman to have trouble controlling his powers. In that very episode we see him struggling hours after his exposure. Towards the end of it, he seems fine after minutes after the substance is removed.

Is it just me?

I've only seen these episodes once. Am I just missing those details I'd catch once I watched the episodes again?

Joan

It's not just you, and it's not just the show.

In the comic books, red kryptonite has a different effect on Clark every time he is exposed to it. He never knows what is going to happen to him, but he knows that it will almost inevitably be something bad.

The show was just following the comic books' lead.

Joy,
Lynn

Well, in the comics, Red K had a different effect every time he was exposed to it - I don't think it was clear if he was immune to a specific piece after exposure or the same piece could be used over and over again with different effects each time.

In L&C it looks like each piece has a different effect on him, but that piece has a consistent effect.

IIRC, any given piece only affected him once in the comics; after that, he was immune to that particular piece of red K.

Joy,
Lynn

That's interesting. Thanks ladies!

Joan

To make matters even more confusing, at one point in the comics run, each piece of Red K could affect each member of the super-family (Superman, Supergirl, Krypto, et al) one time, and after that it would have no effect on that member.

I recall one silver-age story (sometime in the 50's - I read it in a paperback reprint, honest!) where a piece of Red K gave Superman a third eye in the back of his head. He used it to increase the effectiveness of his heat vision to defeat Braniac. That piece could never affect him again, but he got rid of it so it wouldn't affect Supergirl (I think he threw it into the sun). The irony was the Braniac was the one who exposed him to the Red K in the first place.

For what it's worth, my advice is to use however you want, as long as you're consistent within the parameters of the story lines you develop.

ETA: Drat. Lynn beat me to the punch.

While we're at it, here's another question. Lead is the only substance that effectively shields Superman from Kryptonite. I'm assuming there's also a distance effect - the further away he is, the less traumatic the effect? Just curious.

I always thought that since kryptonite's deleterious effects were described as "a high-band radiation that is harmless to humans" that the kryptonite effect would follow the inverse-square law like light and magnetism. (at least that's how I've played it in my fics.) (And if light and magnetism don't follow that law, please let me know, because my physics knowledge is rudimentary.)

Sorry - I got off on a tangent here. I'm talking more about green kryptonite than red kryptonite.

Also, I assume that a larger piece of K would have more "power", so if Clark were exposed to two pieces, one large and one small, the larger one would affect him at a greater distance than the smaller one would.

I don't think there is a "sliding scale" of effect of kryptonite. Again, if Clark were exposed to a big piece and a small piece, I think that both pieces would take away his powers completely and hurt him. I don't think that the smaller piece would have a lesser effect on him (i.e., just remove some powers and not all the powers) just because it's smaller. I think it would be just as effective at power removal, but it would have to be at a closer distance to work its evil effects.

My understanding is that the duration of Clark's powerlessness would be a function of 1) the size of the kryptonite piece; 2) the nearness/proximity of the kryptonite; 3) the duration of exposure. So being exposed to a small piece far away for a long time might be as bad as being exposed to a large piece nearby for just a few seconds.

Would there be cumulative effects? Unlike in people, where DNA damage from radiation probably persists for a lifetime, Superman is able to repair his damaged DNA, given yellow sunlight and time. (At least that's my belief.)

There was a good story - I forget the title and author (can anyone tell me?) - where it turned out that exposure to kryptonite would make Clark sterile until he was able to heal from it. They found this out because an alt-Clark had a baby with an alt-Lois. HG Wells, thinking the baby's parents are dead, brings the baby to live with canon Clark and canon Lois. Then alt-Clark comes to the canon universe to reclaim his son. Dr. Klein compares sperm counts on both Clarks and realizes that canon Clark's poor sperm quality is because he's constantly being exposed to kryptonite. This made a lot of sense to me.

But again, this whole thing is based on comic books, so your guess is as good as mine.

That's what I was thinking too.

Joan

That was Kidnapped by Yvonne Connell if I'm not mistaken. Great story.

Yes! Thank you!

It was "Kidnapped" by Yvonne Connell, and a very good story, too.

I have been giving a lot of thought to the Kryptonite phenomenon. I have been a fan of Superman since ... , well, for a long time anyhow.

It seems to me that geology could provide some answers to the variations in Kryptonite and it's effects. I have been considering doing a mini-treatise on this subject.

Look for it in TTEMPO - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 5.