Superboy #83

SUPERBOY #83 (1960)
by Jerry Siegel & George Papp
cover by Curt Swan

As part of the Legion retrospective I will soon tackle “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow”. (again, it’s complicated)
When reading that story you might think Kryptonite Man was a huge part of Supe’s rogues gallery… but he only had very few appearances, and he was called Kryptonite Kid!!!

Kryptonite Kid is such a menace that Superboy has nightmare about him before they meet.
Wait, what?

Even Krypto has nightmares about him!!! Also notice that not only Superboy sleeps wearing his glasses, sometimes he sleeps in full costume. (WTF!?)

Only in the Silver Age, folks. Only in the Silver Age.

EPIC FORESHADOWING.

And yes, Mr. Mxyzptlk does show up in Superboy stories too, because Superboy has already met everyone that Superman will ever meet. So at least Smallville did get SOMETHING right.

The next day, when Superboy is busy building a pool for a local playground, Green Youth and Green Dog show up!

If Green Youth’s only power was giving off Kryptonite radiation he’d already be the most dangerous Superboy villain, but it’s MUCH WORSE.

I know I say this often, but by 1960 the effects of Kryptonite were beginning to be more consistent so… HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE!?

Did… did Krypto just swear?

Just because Green Youth is a radioactive supervillain doesn’t mean he can’t be environmentally friendly enough to run around on a bike.

Okay comic, you can show me Superboy claiming Kryptonite is killing him so many times before I start to question if it’s true.

But who IS Green Youth anyway? Well, turns out Krypton wasn’t the only planet that kept shooting everything into space.

So naturally the satellite ends up going through some space nebula that gives the guy (and his dog) superpowers, only to later end up on Earth.

So basically Green Youth’s motivation for wanting to kill Superboy is just “why not”.

So, we’re up to the cliffhanger, and it’s time once more for a game of Guess The Stupid Ending!
How will Superman get rid of Green Youth?

A) He uses heat vision, super-breath or one of the 75 superpowers he keep forgetting he has
B) He calls one of his robots
C) He uses the Phantom Zone Projector™
D) He does absolutely nothing

I’ll grant the comic this: I definitely didn’t see this coming, despite the earlier foreshadowing.

So… yeah, Superman would’ve died back when he was Superboy if Mr. Mxyzptlk didn’t save him to keep himself entertained!

In light of what eventually happens in “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?”, this makes a scary amount of sense.

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Historical significance: 3/10
Despite the immense potential and his out-of-continuity appearance, Kryptonite Kid is barely a footnote.

 Silver Age-ness: 10/10
HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE!?!?!?

Does it stand the test of time? 5/10
A mixed bag. The comic does a great job making you fear the villain… too much of a good job, actually, because Siegel basically writes himself into a corner and has to come up with a ridiculous deus-ex-machina to save Superboy.
Giving KK telepathy was also unnecessary, considering how absurdly overpowered he is for a Superboy villain. Still, it DOES keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the story, which counts for something when you know Superboy absolutely cannot die.

Whatever happened to the Kryptonite Kid?
While other characters have been called “Kryptonite Man”, the original doesn’t have a real post-Crisis counterpart, so discussing whether he resembles the modern version makes no sense.
Instead let’s have a look at his eventual journey prior to “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow” (which unquestionably remains his most popular appearance).

Kryptonite Kid will return in Superboy #99, still drawn by George Papp but this time written by Otto Binder.

In that story he’s tricked by Superboy and Krypto into flying directly into another space cloud…

…which turns bad people into good people. Why doesn’t Superboy use this nebula ALL THE TIME!?!?!?

Maybe because it turns out the effects are temporary. Kryptonite Kid later returns in Adventure Comics #454 in 1977, a story by Bob Rozakis & Juan Ortiz that ends with his death.

Kryptonite Dog doesn’t show up in that story, so I assume he’s still a good boy.

Although whether Kryptonite Kid actually died in that 1977 story is questionable, since in 1976 he did show up in Adventures Of Superman #299 (by Cary Bates, Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan).
This is the ONLY time he’s called Kryptonite Man and fights Superman.

It could’ve been interesting since this is set during a time where all the Kryptonite on Earth was made inert. But to be completely honest, I’ve read that story like four times and I still don’t understand what’s going on most of the time… but it’s very satisfying to see Superman just knock him out with a non-super punch.