Kryptonite Man
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| Kryptonite Man | |
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| Publication information | |
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| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Superboy #83 (September 1960) |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | K. Russell Abernathy (2006 version) |
| Abilities | Enhanced strength and endurance, Kryptonite radiation control |
The Kryptonite Man is the name of several supervillains who appears in stories published by DC Comics. The character first appeared as Kryptonite Kid in Superboy #83 (Sep. 1960), and as Kryptonite Man in Superman #299 (May 1976).
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[edit] Fictional character history
The original Kryptonite Man started out as a teen-age alien criminal, who flew in space through a green kryptonite cloud and became imbued with the properties of kryptonite. This incarnation is most well known pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths from his appearance and death in the non-continuity story Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?.
A second Kryptonite Man appeared in Superman #397. He had been the ruler of a race of humanoids who inhabited Krypton eons before Superman's ancestors. When a nearby cosmic body threatened life on Krypton, the second Kryptonite Man, whose real name is never given, sends all of his people into stasis deep underground, while he himself remains on the highest mountain peek, to act as guardian. He is then place in suspended animation for what is to be 20 years, at which time, he will awaken to determine if the planet is habitable once again. For some reason, the machinery fails, and the unnamed ruler slept for over a thousand years. Unfortunately, the very day he awoke, is the day Krypton exploded. The mountain that the unnamed ruler's observatory was on, was sent into space, and somehow, the king was able to feed off of the kryptonite radiation the mountain produced. He eventually became dependent upon these energies to sustain his life at all times, weakening outside of its influence. This second Kryptonite Man blamed the human inhabitants (Superman's race) with the death of Krypton, never realising it was a natural disaster. Eventually, after the kryptonite radiation of the mountain began to fade, the Kryptonite Man encounter a race known as the Seeders. For unknown reasons, the ships of this race produced radiation similar enough to kryptonite radiation, that Kryptonite Man could feed off of it, and survive. Kryptonite Man discovered the existence of human Kryptonians on Earth, and stealing a Seeder ship, traveled there to confront, and kill them. Kryptonite Man attacked Superman, but their battle was interrupted by the Seeders, who took offense to Kryptonite Man's theft. Eventually, the Kryptonite Man sacrificed himself to prevent the Seeders from destroying the Earth in their zeal to kill him, taking the Seeders with him.
In the post-Crisis era, the Kryptonite Man appears in Superman Vol. 2 #43 as a green-skinned clone of Superman, grown by scientific spies Simyan and Mokkari.
A character in the ongoing series Superman/Batman also claims to be the Kryptonite Man. This version of the character seems to have come from the gigantic Kryptonite meteor which nearly destroyed Earth in the first issues of the series. He appears to be an energy being who can take over his enemies' bodies, temporarily infusing them with Kryptonite radiation. He first did this to Captain Atom, and later to Batman, in an attempt to kill Superman.
Most recently, a scientist named K. Russell Abernathy was working on an experiment to use Kryptonite to develop a new energy-source when it exploded and infused his body with Kryptonite radiation. This somehow resulted in him being transformed into a new Kryptonite Man who battled with Supergirl while a powerless Clark Kent watched. After Supergirl contained him in lead, she carted him off to the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit HQ where he was later kidnapped by Lex Luthor who held him hostage while using him as an energy source.
He later resurfaced in Action Comics #853, having Superman on the ropes until the timely intervention of Jimmy Olsen and Krypto.
[edit] Powers and abilities
The original Kryptonite Man was an alien with natural powers of telepathy. After passing through the Kryptonite cloud, he gained enhanced strength and endurance.
The second Kryptonite Man was a duplicate of Superman, with all the basic Kryptonian powers.
The third Kryptonite Man was a living cloud of Kryptonite radiation, that could possess others, and could also heal the injuries of those it possessed (As evidenced when it took over a wounded Batman).
The fourth Kryptonite Man possesses a Kryptonite-enhanced physiology, the ability to see radiation spectrums, and the power to fire Kryptonite beams from his eyes. When he becomes angry, however, he loses his ability to think rationally, becoming a raging maniac.
[edit] In other media
The Kryptonite Kid would appear in the fourth season of Superboy, in an episode entitled "Kryptonite Kid". A young man named Mike Walker working at a military research base was caught in a Kryptonite explosion while trying to find a way to make Superboy immune to Kryptonite radiation. The Kryptonite entered his bloodstream and turned his skin green and he became "living, breathing Kryptonite", able to fire Kryptonite radiation from his hands.
[edit] External links
- Supermanica: Kryptonite Kid Supermanica entry on the Pre-Crisis Kryptonite Kid
