Superman’s New Weakness Is Cooler Than Kryptonite (And Here to Stay)

Warning: spoilers for Superman: Son of Kal-El #4 ahead!

Resourceful villains have recently determined a highly effective strategy for attacking DC’s Superman that is independent of using kryptonite, the infamous substance that is Kal-El’s Achilles heel, with its speedy repetition in the comics making it clear that comic writers have embraced the unusual weakness. For most of his history, Superman’s status as a near godlike entity has been balanced by the existence of kryptonite, which severely weakens the Man of Steel. Alarmingly, both Kal-El and Jon Kent have recently had their powers increased, as villains accelerate them to uncontrollable levels that risk harming those around them.

Given the worldwide recognition of Superman, kryptonite has become synonymous with a person’s greatest weakness and is used widely outside of comics. Similarly, the Super-Family’s biggest weakness is no secret from their enemies, with even Amanda Waller controlling her own Superboy clone through a kryptonite device. This crystalline matter is a remnant of Superman’s destroyed home planet Krypton, and nearly every color of kryptonite imaginable has made an appearance in the comics. It has been fashioned into weapons and chains, and adversaries like Batman and Lex Luthor keep it in on hand as a contingency plan for dealing with Superman.

But while kryptonite might be famous, it’s rarely an exciting weakness, merely reducing Kryptonian heroes to the status of normal humans. Instead, more recent enemies have focused on intensifying Superman’s abilities beyond his ability to control. Henry Bendix uses this new strategy on Jon Kent in Superman: Son of Kal-El #4 by Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo, showing that even Supermen can become too powerful for their own good. By making Jon’s powers too potent, while also burdening him with the ability to hear even more victims in need of saving, Bendix is hitting Superman right where it hurts. With Superman’s intent to save people and planet alike, any failures are particularly draining. This is psychological warfare, making Jon Kent painfully aware of anyone he fails to save and considerably raising the difficulty of using his powers to render aid.

Earlier this year, in Justice League #61 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, and Tamra Bonvillain, Clark Kent had his powers similarly spiral out of control. While confronting Brutus on his home planet, Superman had his heat vision go haywire, needing to employ his other powers to make it through this overpowered nightmare. That both Supermen have been subjected to conditions that amplify their powers beyond their control indicates that writers are exploring this as a new weakness. When Superman is unable to control his signature superpowers, he turns into the proverbial bull in the china shop.

This is compelling because it operates so differently from kryptonite, which reduces Superman and similar characters to weakened forms that even non-powered individuals could hope to beat. By removing the fine line of control that keeps their awesome powers in check, superheroes can be made into something fearsome against their will. When fully explored, this could be a fate far worse than something like Winter Soldier’s brainwashing, since the overwhelming drive to help is still there, but the heroes are only positioned to make things worse.

With this clever overload of Superman’s powers, Bendix has found a vulnerability that is more physically and emotionally dangerous than kryptonite. Given how likely this is to seriously affect Jon Kent, a Superman who is following in his father’s footsteps and trying to prove his mettle, exploiting this new weakness is certain to remain a fiendish strategy for Bendix and other villains foregoing kryptonite in favor of something that cuts deeper.