Superman has taken control of the year 2025 in a way that no other superhero has in years. Superman has been a hit with critics and viewers, and DC Comics has been preparing for this moment since the beginning of the year. Superman comics have become a huge focus of the company’s publishing slate, all in an effort to give moviegoers a nice variety of Superman comics if they decide to check them out. Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 is one of those titles, brought to readers by the Ice Cream Man team of W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. It’s a book with a definite All-Star Superman vibe to it, and the first issue does a great job of giving readers a compelling story with some great moments.
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Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 sees Superman find a meteorite that contains multiple examples of new Kryptonite, bringing it to Earth in order to test these new types of the mineral, which gains the attention of Lex Luthor. Kryptonite is a very important part of the Superman mythos, the different colors of Kryptonite having different effects on the Man of Steel. DC has made a Kryptonite a focus of Superman comics lately, and Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum keeps that up. The book introduces four new varieties of Kryptonite, with the issue showing us what two of them do to Superman.
Purple and Cobalt Kryptonite Are Very Different From Other Types of Kryptonite
Kryptonite has long been the most dangerous substances to Superman. It was first introduced in the Superman radio series before making its way to the comics. Since then, it has been used by multiple foes of Superman to get an advantage over him. There is always something tragic about Kryptonite; the pieces of Superman’s destroyed homeworld are deadly to him, the place that should have been his home made into a toxic enemy. Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 introduces four new types of the mineral: Purple, Cobalt, Speckled, and Rainbow. Superman calls in Batman for help, because he needs to test the Kryptonite; while these are the first time he’s encountered these new types of Kryptonite, it almost certainly won’t be the last. Batman is one of the few pople that Superman actually trusts with Kryptonite, as shown by the fact that he allows Batman to carry Green K, Batman tries to talk him out of it, just in case one of them is a type that could kill him instantly or something similarly damaging, but Superman won’t allow Batman to sway him. So, the two of them prepare for the test, and Superman is blasted with Purple K radiation.
At first, it doesn’t seem to have any ill physical effects on Superman, but there is a change. Several of Superman’s speech bubbles on the page are purple and he seems to be talking about something that isn’t happening in-panel. Before the two of them can figure out exactly what’s going, they get an emergency call from Metropolis, as Lex Luthor (who has learned that Superman found new types of Kryptonite and wants to get his hands on it) sends Solomon Grundy to attack the city to distract Superman. This is where the effects of Purple Kryptonite become even more apparent. Panels don’t follow a linear flow of time, with events disjointed. Purple K affects the way Superman perceives time. Suddenly, Superman is jumping around the fight with Grundy at different moments, and has to figure out how to make the whole thing work. He saves a little girl, overcoming his messed up temporal sense, and is able to take down Grundy after Batman is injured in the fight.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 uses the way that panels set the pace of time wonderfully, something that really couldn’t be done in other types of media. Purple K is more annoying than dangerous to Superman, as he was able to easily overcome its effects to win the fight. Superman and Batman return to the Fortress of Solitude, where we learn that one of the visions Superman has been having about a dinner with Lois has already happened, showing that Purple K can also throw Superman’s perception into the past as well as the future. Before the end of the issue, we get a glimpse of the future, which seems to show the effect of Cobalt K: making Superman grow. However, at this point, we can’t be sure if that is its only effect.
These New Types of Kryptonite Don’t Seem as Dangerous as Other Kinds
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum has a definite Silver Age feel to it. Back in those wild old days, the different colors of Kryptonite would have vastly different effects on Superman. These new colors seem to be less dangerous than Green K or Gold K (Green is the classic “Kill Superman” variety and Gold takes away his powers), but we’ve only been completely introduced to one and a tease for the other.
Purple K is one of the most interesting types of Kryptonite in existence. What I like about it is that it does have some beneficial uses, as Superman can use it to get a glimpse into the future (but only for a day or two). However, it can also be used to mess with his perceptions in battle, and there’s a chance that if he’s subjected to it for too long, its effects could become permanent. Cobalt also looks interesting from what we’ve seen; making Superman bigger is right out of the Silver Age. We’ll have to wait until the next issue to find out its full effects.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 is on sale now.
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