Red Kryptonite is a fictional mineral featured in comic books published by DC Comics. It is traditionally associated with the Superman family of comic book titles. Red kryptonite is a variation of the standard Green kryptonite. Red kryptonite first appeared as a non-colored, loosely defined mineral in the Superboy story in Adventure Comics #239 in August, 1957. A more clearly defined iteration of red kryptonite first appeared in Adventure Comics #255 in December, 1958.
In the comics, Red kryptonite came about after a meteor of green kryptonite passed through a strange red cloud, which not only altered its color, but altered its properties as well. Instead of being fatal to Kryptonians, exposure to red kryptonite radiation usually had unpredictable physical and/or psychological effects which could range to intense behavioral modification to adverse physical side-effects such as an enlarged cranium or insectoid features. In most modern media, red kryptonite tends to bring out the worst personality traits in a Kryptonian, making them appear almost evil. This is the way that red kryptonite has been presented in the Superman film series, the Smallville TV show, and Supergirl.
Appearances
Smallville
- Smallville: Red
- Smallville: Rush
- Smallville: Exodus
- Smallville: Exile
- Smallville: Phoenix
- Smallville: Unsafe
- Smallville: Crimson
- Smallville: Upgrade
Supergirl
Notes
- Red Kryptonite and Red K both redirect to this page. Red K is a slang term used for Red kryptonite as seen on Smallville.