Superman Is Officially Immune to Kryptonite (But There May Be a Huge Catch)

Superman has entered an entirely new age, both of popularity and changes to his status quo. Superman Unlimited #1 is a blockbuster comic, completely changing the world for not only Superman, but every Kryptonian on Earth. It all begins with the Justice League calling Superman to stop a meteor of phenomenal size made of Intertron, a metal that is common in the 31st century, but impossible to refine because of its density in the present. Superman flies at it full speed, hoping to change its course, but smashes through the meteor. It only had a thin skin of Intertron; underneath that was a bounty of green Kryptonite, and suddenly Superman has to stop a meteor made of an element that not only weakens his power, but poisons him. However, this is Superman we’re talking, and he does his best to stop the massive meteor of Kryptonite from causing an extinction level event.

Superman is able to stop the meteor and survives, having been in a coma for three months. During that time, the world has completely changed; Kryptonite has become as common as steel, sold to the world by a small South American country known as El Caldero. Superman is appraised of the changes to the world by Superboy and Supergirl, as they tell him about their struggles in a world where even common thugs can get their hands on Kryptonite. However, Superman learns that he’s become immune to Kryptonite, because now his body seems to be made of gold. This is a massive change to Superman, and could give him more power than he’s ever had before.

Superman’s New Form Could Mean One of Two Things

So, there’s two things that this new golden Superman could mean. The first is the strangest, but it does change everything about Superman — his body may have somehow become Gold Kryptonite. Gold Kryptonite isn’t fatal to Kryptonians like Green Kryptonite, but it does have a pretty big affect on them — it can take away their powers. Superman kept Gold Kryptonite in the Fortress of Solitude, but rarely used it, even against someone like General Zod. It has been used before, though; in Alan Moore, Curt Swan, and George Perez’s classic “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, Superman used it after faking the death of Superman, taking away his superpowers and allowing him to live a quiet life with Lois and their son. This could explain away his new invulnerability to Kryptonite, because he’s somehow become immune to it. However, that isn’t the only thing that could have happened to Superman; fans have seen a Gold Superman before, most notably in DC One Million and All-Star Superman.

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DC One Million revolved around the JLA going to the 853rd century to watch the return of the Prime Superman from his Solar Fortress of Solitude. They’re almost destroyed by a plan created by Vandal Savage and Solaris the Tyrant Sun, but the JLA are able to foil the plans and they get to witness the Prime Superman’s return. Superman had absorbed so much solar energy over the centuries that his powers had basically made him into a god. He’s able to create a new body for Lois Lane from a DNA sample, somehow creating life. Prime Superman returns in All-Star Superman #6, talking to his past self (who doesn’t know that he will one day become the Prime Superman) about the death of Pa Kent. Gold Superman is one of the most powerful beings to appear in any DC comic. If Superman has somehow transformed into the Gold Superman, he has powers on a level that he’s never had before.

This New Gold Superman Is a Massive Change

So, just going from the pages of Superman Unlimited #1, it’s hard to tell exactly what Superman’s new powers are, beyond being immune to Kryptonite radiation. If he has transformed into Gold Kryptonite — which makes more sense than him gaining the golden power of the Prime Superman — he should theoretically have the power to take away the powers of other Kryptonians. There’s also a chance that he’s gained the powers of other forms of Kryptonite, but that’s merely speculation.

Superman gaining the power of the Prime Superman is definitely a possibility, but it doesn’t seem nearly as likely. Superman gained this power after being exposed to yellow sun radiation for millennia. It’s known that Superman can become immune to Kryptonite if he’s exposed to enough solar radiation; maybe the Kryptonite sent to Earth is somehow different and caused this. Another point against it is that Superman only looks gold under a spectrometer, whereas his Prime Superman form is always gold. However, either way, Superman’s status quo is going to change forever.

Superman Unlimited #1 is on sale now.