SUPERMAN #61 (1949)
by Bill Finger & Al Plastino
An unusual entry in our journey through the villain origins: the first appearance of Kryptonite.
Not a villain, sure, but it’s hard to argue against it being the worst thorn in Superman’s side.
Bonus: it’s also the FIRST story where Superman learns he’s alien!
Kryptonite has an unusual backstory.
It was supposed to be introduced in the 1940 story “The K-Metal from Krypton”, written by Superman creator Jerry Siegel… however that story was rejected. While it was never drawn, we know that in the story:
1) the “K-Metal” would both make Superman powerless and give humans superpowers
2) Lois Lane learns Superman is Clark Kent
So no wonder it was rejected in 1940.
Even with that issue going unpublished, Kryptonite still technically predates the story I’ll review today.
That’s because it was introduced in the “Adventures of Superman” radio series in 1943; the specific episode where Kryptonite debuts is lost to time, but we do have several appearances.
One last bit of trivia about it: the story about Kryptonite being introduced in the radio serial to allow Superman voice actor Bud Collyer to get some vacation time.. while hilarious, is just a legend. If it was used that way it was a later development because there are no significant absences by Collyer in that part of the radio serial.
We begin the story with Lois Lane investigating “Swami Riva”, a fake psychic who is just a scammer.
Swami has a large jewel on his turban. It’s green in this reprint, but in the original story it’s red. And of course it’s Kryptonite.
For obvious reasons, the radio serial didn’t pay much attention to the color of Kryptonite.
He doesn’t know it yet, but Superman is stopped by the effects of the Kryptonite jewel.
Also this version of Kryptonite apparently forces Superman to make the dumbest facial expressions I’ve seen.
Seriously, just look at him!
Even if they don’t know it’s the Kryptonite weakening him, why would they limit themselves to punching him instead of, you know, shooting him!?
In a clever development, even if he doesn’t have any actual powers Swami manages to exploit his newfound fame as the guy more powerful than Superman.
Another good piece of writing: Superman uses his journalistic skills to figure out where Swami got the gem.
And once he discovers the gem comes from a meteorite, he travels faster than light towards its point of origin!
And THAT is how Superman goes back to Krypton!
The fact that his powers come from the Sun won’t be established for several years (it’s from a Supergirl story), so he doesn’t become powerless the instant he sets foot there.
This is (presumably) where the Silver Age time travel rules begin to be established, since Superman cannot be seen or heard from the locals as he already lives on the planet as a baby.
And BY SHEER COINCIDENCE he runs into his father!
And there’s little time to waste, since it’s already time for Krypton to explode!
Another piece of history that gets established here: Superman’s mother being offered to follow her son to Earth… but choosing not to.
Because growing on an alien planet is easier if you’re an orphan, I guess? WTF!?
Not only that, but Superman also witnesses the moment Ma and Pa Kent decide to adopt him.
This is technically a retcon, since the earliest telling of the story has the baby being rescued from the rocket by “a passing motorist” (???) and being adopted later at the orphanage.
Instead, this is in line with nearly every other single depiction of the landing.
Needless to say, but this is HUGE. The readers have known Superman is an alien from Krypton since 1938… but in the comics, Superman had no idea about it for ELEVEN YEARS.
Superman makes the connection to Kryptonite and then “races forward to the 20th century” to return to the present.
Which means that the rocket landed before 1900… was Superman considered older than 50 years old in 1949!?
Now that he knows Swami is no threat without the jewel on his turban, the solution is laughably obvious.
Superman easily stops him and, thanks to the help of one of his informants, drops the Kryptonite into the river.
And so we end with Superman hoping he will never have to face Kryptonite again.
How is that working out, Superman?
Historical significance: 10/10
The introduction of Kryptonite would be enough, but we also have Superman discovering he’s an alien AND several small additions to the lore AND the first time travel rules.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Superman easily tracing the point of origin of the meteorites and especially him randomly running into Jor-El the second he sets foot on the same planet are really top Silver Age.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
Surprisingly fine, if you can get past the writing style of the era. The basic plot is fine and there are good moments. The pacing is the biggest issue: everything happens so quickly, especially once we get to Krypton, that there’s simply no time to appreciate what is going on.
How close is this to the modern Kryptonite? 9/10
It’s colored red in the original print (Kryptonite will officially be green starting in 1951), but that’s really the only thing against a 10/10.
There have been many changes and countless inconsistencies on how quickly Kryptonite affects Superman… whether it robs him of his powers, how long it takes for him to feel sick… but this is remarkably consistent with the modern consensus.