The first effect of Red Kryptonite on Clark was shown in Individual Responsibility. It rendered him "apathetic".

To quote Superman, he just didn't care.

My question is, can this influence also INCLUDE him losing his inhibitions, or will this be regarded as completely apart from the apathetic effect; (i.e. a different exposure)

(REF: I read in the comics somewhere that each piece of Red Kryptonite has a different effect on Superman, as was shown in the series too).

Thanks,
Ankit

I don't see why apathy couldn't include a loss of inhibitions. If you remember the Tiffani incident, he wasn't exactly shy and retiring there. In front of Lois, he flirted with Tiffani and in the end went off with her - that's much more a loss of inhibitions response than an apathetic one.


Wendy

Irene Dutch rewrote Individual Responsibility where Clark lost his inhibitions as well as becoming apathetic.

It's a very believable premise.

gerry

Though I know most people probably don't follow Smallville, I should mention that in the case of Red Kryptonite, there they have Clark losing his inhibitions, but no apathy anywhere around. So I think the loss of inhibitions is one that makes a lot of sense, being so widely used.

Speaking of Irene's fic -- wasn't it a red K substance that alt-Clark was addicted to in Yvonne's fic, causing him to lose his inhibiitions? And before that, in Jenni's Red Sky, it was amber K marbles that caused Clark to lose his inhibitions.

In Smallville, it's become a means of writing an 'out of character' Clark Kent - sort of having your cake and eating it too . Afterwards you can blame all the death and emotional pain he causes on the Red K and not his "character" -- sort of a Kryptonian "The Devil made me do it" argument.

In the comics, apparently, the impact of Red K varies with each exposure so lots of scope for the imagination there.

Anyway, it's a tricky thing to write, I'm thinking, if the reader is still to buy that this is "Clark Kent" she's reading about by the end of the story.

But the "red K" device can either be lots of fun or psychologically intriguing. Raises all sorts of questons about nature/nurture -and where the line between the two becomes fuzzy. Not to mention the impact of Kryptonain physiology. <g> Not to mention the theological question of whether man (woman) is innately Good or Evil.

Or it could be the basis for a great Badfic, especially if someone slips Lois some pheromone at the time - think of the opportunity fo tortuous torture, pain, angst, and general over-the-top mayhem. Clark Kent as Jack the Ripper or a crosssover fic - Jeykell and Hyde or...

Or ... what if under the influence of Red K, Ck rapes Lois who becomes pregnant and then affected by the baby's Kryptonian physiology and so she becomes vulnerable to the inhibition removing Red K to which she is exposed and then she... well you can guess the rest l

Looking forward toseeing where you're going with this.

c. (who likes to way overanalyze things. ... maybe a follow-up poll or two ....

Not necessarily - I'd say it would depend on the reader, what kinds of stories suit their reading tastes, and how much they are willing to buy into the premise. Some will, some won't - just like they will with a lot of other premises. So I, personally, don't think this particular premise would be any more or less tricky to write than many others. And I'd predict, as always, there'd be just as many readers willing to buy into it as there aren't.

As for the red K - as you say, Anks, the show itself was hardly consistent about how the various K affected Clark. Generally, green K could induce paralysing pain, near death, or a faint twinge, depending on the plot needs. <g> Similarly, red K caused apathy in IR and violent fluctuations in Superman's powers in LW.

So I think you can pretty much do what you like and be on solid ground. If you want to tie it down really firmly, just call it a new or hybrid strain of red K and leave it at that.

LabRat

Oh yes - as i said above, I'm one of them - so many ways to go on this premise, and there have been some interesting fics in the past which have dealt with it.

I agrre with you, too, that many readers aren't especially interested in characterization.

Still think it would be "tricky to write" though becuase it's potentially such a complex premise. Also, I've found every fic I ever wrote challenging to write. So that statement's also a reflection of that experience. Am so envious of writers who don't find it "tricky to write"

c

Smallville had a take on Red-K that said that Clark would never do anything he didn't really want to do deep down, so he would never kill or rape anyone. A little violence and mayhem, maybe, but nothing too serious. Martha yelled at him and blamed Clark for marrying Alicia, even though she knew he was under the influence of Red-K.

Oh, don't think I said that, Carol. Certainly, that's not what I meant. Sorry you misinterpreted my meaning there.

I would say that not all readers view characterisation in the exact same way. What one reader will see as OOC another will see as perfectly in character. But I doubt many don't care about it.

LabRat

I always thought of it as weakening him mentally, just as green weakened him physically. In that context, too, loss of inhibition makes sense.

As for the comics question, yes. In the comics, each piece of red K, created when green K passed through a mysterious "space cloud," had a different effect on Superman. Effects were generally temporary (almost always wearing off within 24-48 hours), and once he was exposed to a given piece, he would thereafter be immune to it (which is not what we saw on the show). Different pieces aged him, made him really fat, turned him into a giant ape, and all sorts of really random stuff.

Of course, red K was wiped out of continuity with Crisis, so it didn't officially exist when L&C was on the air. I think it's been written back in since, but I'm not sure.

Paul