Editing Kryptonite (section)

==History==
[[File:Kryptonite poisoning.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Superman]] suffering from green kryptonite poisoning, courtesy of foes [[Metallo]] and [[Titano]], in ''[[Action Comics]] Annual'' #10 (March 2007), art by [[Art Adams]] and [[Alex Sinclair]].]]
An unpublished 1940 story titled "[[The K-Metal from Krypton]]", written by Superman creator [[Jerry Siegel]], featured a prototype of kryptonite. It is a mineral from the planet [[Krypton (comics)|Krypton]] that drains Superman of his strength and gives superhuman powers to humans. This story was rejected because Superman reveals his identity to [[Lois Lane]].<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Gerard|title=Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book|url=https://archive.org/details/menoftomorrowgee0000jone|url-access=registration|date=2004|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=0465036562|pages=[https://archive.org/details/menoftomorrowgee0000jone/page/181 181–183]}}</ref>

The mineral kryptonite, not to be confused with the real element [[krypton]], was officially introduced in the radio serial ''[[The Adventures of Superman (radio)|The Adventures of Superman]]'', in the story "The Meteor from Krypton", broadcast in June 1943.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Hayde |first=Michael J. |year=2009 |title=Flights of Fantasy: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=9781593933449 }}<br />"Only one arc in 1943 managed to transcend its era: "The Meteor from Krypton". Debuting on June 3, it marked the debut of kryptonite..."</ref> An apocryphal story claims that kryptonite was introduced to give Superman's voice actor [[Bud Collyer]] time off. This tale was recounted by [[Julius Schwartz]] in his memoir.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Julius |title=Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics |year=2000 |publisher=HarperEntertainment |isbn=0-380-81051-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/manoftwoworldsmy00schw}}<br />pg 132-133</ref> However, historian Michael J. Hayde disputes this: in "The Meteor From Krypton", Superman is never exposed to kryptonite. If kryptonite allowed Collyer to take vacations, that was a fringe benefit discovered later. More likely, kryptonite was introduced as a plot device for Superman to discover his origin.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hayde |first=Michael J. |year=2009 |title=Flights of Fantasy: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=9781593933449}}<br />"Since Superman's life isn't threatened — the meteorite never leaves the doctor’s custody — it's likely that Lowther's primary intent was to create a means for Superman to discover his own origin".</ref> On the other hand, Hayde might have mistaken 1945's "The Meteor of Kryptonite" for 1943's "The Meteor from Krypton", as Superman was exposed in the former but not in the latter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Superman Homepage |url=https://www.supermanhomepage.com/ |access-date=2023-10-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the radio serial, Krypton is located in the same solar system as Earth, in the same orbit, but on the [[Counter-Earth|opposite side of the Sun]]. This provided an easy explanation for how kryptonite found its way to Earth. In the comics' [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]], which places Krypton in a distant solar system, much of the kryptonite that came to Earth was transported by the same "space warp" that baby Kal-El's rocket traversed.

Kryptonite was incorporated into the comic mythos with ''Superman'' #61 (November 1949).<ref>{{Cite comic|writer=Bill Finger|penciller=Al Pastino|inker=|colorist=|letterer=|editor=|story=Superman's Return to Krypton!|title=Superman|volume=1|issue=#61|date=November 1949|publisher=DC Comics|location=|page=|panel=|id=}}</ref> Editor [[Dorothy Woolfolk]] stated in an interview with ''[[Florida Today]]'' in August 1993 that she felt Superman's invulnerability was "boring".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tippens|first1=Norman|title=Dorothy Woolfolk, Superman Editor|url=https://www.dailypress.com/2000/12/06/dorothy-woolfolk-superman-editor/|website=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]|publisher=WebCite|access-date=2 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404225236/http://articles.dailypress.com/2000-12-06/news/0012060120_1_superman-comics-comic-books-superman-editor|archive-date=4 April 2013|language=en|date=6 December 2000|url-status=live}}</ref>

Long said to be an element in the [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden]], Silver, and [[Bronze Age of Comic Books|Bronze Age]] comics, Kryptonite is depicted as a compound in post-''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths|Crisis]]'' continuity.<ref>''[[Action Comics]]'' #591 (August 1987)</ref>