Kryptonite

:This article is about the fictional element kryptonite. For other meanings, see Kryptonite (disambiguation).

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Kryptonite is a fictional element from the Superman comic book series. The element, usually shown as having been created from the remains of Superman's native planet of Krypton, generally has detrimental effects on Superman. The name "kryptonite" covers a variety of forms of the element, but usually refers to the most common form of kryptonite, Green Kryptonite.

Related Topics:
Fictional element - Superman - Comic book - Krypton - Green

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(Note: According to DC's internal style guides of the past, kryptonite is capitalized only when used with a modifier .)

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Superman's first encounter with kryptonite did not take place in his comic. It was actually introduced in 1943 on the Superman radio series, as both a plot device and to allow Superman's actor, Bud Collyer, to occasionally take time off. The episode in which it first briefly appeared now exists only as a script, but the substance played a part in at least one major plotline during the course of the program. It was not until 1949 that the comic book writers incorporated it into their stories, as both a convenient danger and weakness for Superman and to add an interesting element to his stories.

Related Topics:
1943 - ''Superman'' radio series - Bud Collyer - 1949

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Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel did write a story in 1940 that involved a piece of Krypton, referred to as "K-Metal," which robbed Superman of his strength while giving Terrans superpowers, but the story was never published.

Related Topics:
Jerry Siegel - 1940

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In the traditional comics, kryptonite was believed to have originally arrived on Earth due to the experimental warp drive in the spaceship that brought Kal-El to Earth causing the ship to drag behind it all manner of debris, including a substantial amount of kryptonite. A similar explanation was also used in the 1990s television series ' and the 2000s television series Smallville.

Related Topics:
Warp drive - Kal-El - 1990s - 2000s - Smallville

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