The last installment of this tour guided us through all the Red Kryptonite stories published in 1968 through 1971. Here's a link in case you missed it!
The Red Kryptonite Tour - Part 7 (1968 through 1971)
The "no-kryptonite" rule lasted six and a half years, but came to an end in 1976 when writers E. Nelson Bridwell and Martin Pasko found a clever way to break the pesky new rule!
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Justice League of America #137 (December 1976) wraps up a big three-issue crossover that brought together heroes from Earth-One, Earth-Two, and Earth-S. Things are finally winding down when the villain Kull pulls out a piece of red kryptonite from his home world (Earth-S) and hits Superman with it.
The effect? Straight-up murder rage. Superman goes full berserk and starts zeroing in on Captain Marvel like he’s got a personal vendetta. But Captain Marvel isn’t just any hero—he figures out that yelling his magic word “Shazam!” will blast Superman with a dose of magic lightning. Since magic is one of Supes’ big weaknesses, the lightning jolt completely cancels out the red kryptonite’s effect.
Kull gets taken down, the day is saved, and everyone heads back to their own Earths.
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It took eighteen months after that wild Justice League crossover for red kryptonite to pop up again. This time the story kicks off in Superman Family #188 (April 1978), where Superman is trying to help two aliens who are dying from a mysterious virus that’s wiping out their entire species. Turns out one of them has some shady motives, but Supes being Supes still heads off to their artificial planet, Sunworld, to try and save the day.
On the way, he runs into a massive chunk of combined red-and-white kryptonite. The result? He grows to an absolutely insane planet-sized giant. We’re talking cosmic-scale huge this time. After the red K wears off and he shrinks back down, Superman figures out that the deadly virus is actually pollen-based. So he uses that same red/white kryptonite chunk to zap and kill off the pollen, curing the aliens and saving their whole race.
It turns out that not all kryptonite was affected by the explosive event that wiped out the stuff on Earth back in 1971!
The story spills over into Superman Family #189, but the red kryptonite doesn’t show up in the second half. Kudos to editor E. Nelson Bridwell for correctly citing three earlier red K incidents in this story, going all the way back to 1960!
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It’s another three and a half years before red kryptonite makes its return. This time we’re in The New Adventures of Superboy #24 (December 1981), which is set way back in Superboy’s early days, before the kryptonite on Earth was all turned to lead.
A villain called The Curator (who apparently dropped a fortune to get his hands on some) hits Superboy with a red K bomb. The effect this time? Total blindness. Superboy remembers a previous red K encounter that also blinded him (we covered that one back in entry #102), but he can’t call on Krypto for help this round.
Switching back to Clark Kent, he discovers he can still see perfectly when looking through the special Kryptonian lenses in his glasses. So for most of the issue he’s constantly putting the glasses on and off as Superboy just to keep his secret identity intact. It’s pretty clever and kind of hilarious.
The Curator thinks he’s cracked Superboy’s weakness for good, and Lana Lang is also convinced she’s finally figured out Clark’s secret. In the end, Superboy outsmarts them both. Lana walks away still plotting for another day, while The Curator gets shipped off for trial and jail time.
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The next red kryptonite appearance comes just 18 months later in the same series. This time it’s a two-part story in The New Adventures of Superboy #42 and #43 (June and July 1983).
Young Clark Kent is actually on a date with Lisa Davis at a school dance when everyone rushes outside to watch a meteor shower. Clark uses his telescopic vision and spots a big chunk of red kryptonite in the mix. He quickly fires off a super-breath blast (precisely aimed into space) to smash the Red K meteor into dust before it can reach Earth.
Unfortunately, some of the resulting space debris still rains down on poor class-clown Johnny while he’s standing in the Smallville High parking lot. The stuff supercharges his brain, turning him into a genius with dramatically enhanced intelligence. He puts on a costume, calls himself “Dyna-Mind,” and immediately sets out to prove he’s better than Superboy.
After a few run-ins, Superboy eventually pieces together what happened: the red kryptonite dust combined with some unknown alien element, and that combo is what gave Johnny his powers. Once Superboy burns the mystery element off Dyna-Mind’s skin, the super-intelligence vanishes. He unmasks him and discovers it’s Johnny, just as expected.
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Red kryptonite made two appearances in 1983, and the second one is a wild Lex Luthor scheme in Superman Annual #9 (September 1983).
Lex had been experimenting with synthetic red kryptonite and cooked up a version that would permanently duplicate the appearance of whoever was closest to the victim when they got exposed. Pretty nasty upgrade. He manages to hit “Superman” with it while standing right next to him, so the victim’s face and body transform to look exactly like Lex Luthor.
Then Luthor launches an incredibly elaborate plan: he tells the world he’s actually Erasmus Luthor — Lex’s long-lost twin brother who had been imprisoned somewhere. As “Erasmus,” he publicly hands over the transformed “Lex Luthor” (really the affected Superman) to the authorities for imprisonment. Classic Lex-level scheming.
But here’s the twist... Luthor got completely played! Batman and Superman had gotten wind of the plan ahead of time. It was actually Batman (disguised as Superman) who took the red kryptonite hit. The real Superman shows up, the disguise comes off, and the actual Lex Luthor ends up being hauled off to prison instead.
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This one’s a fun, quick backup tale in Action Comics #561 (November 1984). Clark Kent gets exposed to red kryptonite and suddenly splits into three versions of himself: the current-day Superman, an inexperienced Superboy from the past, and a Superman from the future.
Past Superboy is basically a rookie with limited experience, while Future Superman has leveled up big time; he’s got extra powers like splitting into two versions of himself, transmuting elements, and hurling electric bolts. The three of them work together to handle emergencies until the red K effect finally wears off.
In a nice “Goldilocks” moment at the end, 1984 Superman reflects that he’s happy right where he is... not as green as his younger self and not overloaded like his future counterpart. Just right.
Of note, this is the first time that red kryptonite just shows up with no explanation as to its presence on Earth. It showed up, weird stuff happened, and that's that!
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Now we’re having some real fun with one of the most chaotic red kryptonite stories yet, DC Comics Presents #81 (February 1985), featuring everyone’s favorite fourth-wall-breaking pest, Ambush Bug!
After a previous run-in that didn’t go so well, Ambush Bug decides he wants to make things right with Superman. So what does he do? He buys a necklace with a big, bright red stone (yep, it’s red kryptonite) as a peace offering. He then “pops” straight into the Fortress of Solitude, and absolute chaos kicks off immediately.
It takes Superman a minute to realize what happened: he and Ambush Bug have swapped bodies and powers. Ambush Bug (now in the Superman body) zooms off to play hero and enjoy the perks of being the Man of Steel, while poor Superman (stuck in Ambush Bug’s body) tries to call in his Superman robots for help… only for them to treat him like an intruder and lock him up.
There are some hilarious moments as Ambush Bug tries to cash in on his new super-status, including mistaking Kobra for Lex Luthor. Eventually he bounces back to the Fortress right as the red K wears off, and everything returns to normal.
Pure comedic gold.
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Superman #404 (February 1985) features an imaginary tale, and it marks the final pre-Crisis appearance of red kryptonite.
In this alternate story, an adult Lex Luthor actually defeats a young Superboy. The world believes Kal-El died that day, but in reality he only lost his powers. Clark Kent gives up the superhero life completely, grows up as a normal guy, marries his childhood sweetheart Lana Lang, and even becomes a parent.
Years later, adult Clark starts having recurring dreams about having powers again. Determined to make it real, he comes up with a plan involving several different types of kryptonite, including red. Through some reverse-engineering-style science, he uses the samples to gradually restore a small-scale version of his powers. From there, he sets out to finally take down Lex Luthor once and for all.
A bittersweet “what could have been” story with a nice red K cameo to help tie it together.
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Adventures of Superman #463 (February 1990) is the first post-Crisis appearance of red kryptonite… sort of!
Mr. Mxyzptlk gets obsessed with discovering who’s faster, Superman or Flash (Wally West), so he magically forces the two of them into a big race. During the chaos, Mxyzptlk runs into Lex Luthor, who’s out hunting for kryptonite samples. The imp casually offers Lex a piece of red kryptonite (with a big wink to longtime readers, just four years after Crisis on Infinite Earths).In the end, Lex rejects the “gift” and tosses it aside. We never actually see what it would’ve done to Superman, so it’s left as a fun tease. Oh, and Flash ends up winning the race, which does not make Mr. Mxyzptlk happy.
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The Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite was a multi-issue crossover tale that ran through several titles in late 1990, with the red kryptonite prominently featured in Superman (vol. 2) #49, Action Comics #659, and Superman (vol. 2) #50.
Mr. Mxyzptlk returns and manifests as a chunk of red kryptonite. He offers Lex Luthor a deal: accept the “gift” and become Superman’s equal. Luthor reluctantly agrees… only to discover that instead of giving him powers, the magic stone has completely robbed Superman of his.
With Superman depowered, Starman (Will Payton) steps up and uses his shape-shifting to play substitute Superman for a while. Clark himself later starts using an exo-skeleton suit so he can keep fighting the good fight. Meanwhile, Luthor had agreed to one very specific term from Mxyzptlk... he couldn’t tell Superman that the imp was involved. But Lex can’t resist dropping the hint to Clark Kent, thinking it’s a loophole.
That violation breaks the magic. Superman’s powers come rushing back, and both Luthor and Mxyzptlk are left dealing with the messy consequences.
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Adventures of Superman #560 (August 1998) jumps us forward eight years for the next red kryptonite story. It’s part of a larger multi-issue arc where Superman keeps getting bounced in and out of alternate realities.
This particular reality feels very Silver Age. Lois Lane is dating Batman, which naturally makes Superman pretty jealous as he deals with fuzzy subliminal memories of his own relationship with Lois from the “real” world he’s been pulled out of. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen gets a mysterious prize in his snack box...yep, it’s a piece of red kryptonite (longtime readers might remember this same gimmick from 1970. *We covered that one back in entry 108!).
The Red K effect this time? It massively enlarges Superman’s head. As Clark, he starts rocking a bearskin cap to hide it. Classic silly Silver Age vibes in a post-Crisis book.
We eventually learn that in this reality, both Bruce Wayne and Kal-El were adopted and raised by the Kents, and the two worked together as costumed teen heroes. Professor Hamilton eventually whips up an antidote that shrinks Superman’s skull back to normal size. Before the issue ends, Superman discovers that “Batman” is actually Kismet (one of the Lords of Order) pulling the strings on his reality-hopping, and he’s whisked off to yet another dimension as the story continues.
This brings us to the end of this portion of our multi-entry tour of red kryptonite! We've reached 1999! When we pick up with Part 8 of this tour, it will be 1976!
Superman and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.
The Red Kryptonite Tour (Part 9 - 2000 through 2024)
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