Gold Kryptonite

Gold Kryptonite

This rare variety of Kryptonite, to which all surviving natives of Krypton are vulnerable, would permanently rob Superman of his super-powers were he ever to be exposed to its baleful radiations.

Because Gold Kryptonite has appeared in the chronicles only infrequently, data concerning it is sparse beyond the fact that its radiations can be shielded by lead (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!"; S No. 179/2, Aug 1965: "The Menace of Gold Kryptonite!"). In August 1965, it is explained that a Kryptonian's loss of super-powers due to Gold-Kryptonite exposure would invariably be inherited by his or her offspring, thereby rendering the offspring incapable of acquiring super-powers in those environments—like that of Earth—where Kryptonian survivors normally acquire them (S No. 179/2, Aug 1965: "The Menace of Gold Kryptonite!"). However, in September 1986, in an imaginary story, it is shown that ten years after Superman has lost his powers due to exposure to a massive dose of Gold Kryptonite, his infant son is able to squeeze a lump of coal into a diamond (Act No. 583, Sep 1986: "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"--Pt. II).

Several Kryptonian survivors have lost their super-powers through exposure to Gold Kryptonite, including the Kryptonian scientist Quex-Ul, released from the Phantom Zone in November 1962 (S No. 157/1: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner!") and a Kandorian couple named Jay-Ree and Joenne (See Kandor). Other than loss of their super-powers, the Kandorian couple appear to have experienced no ill effects from their Gold Kryptonite exposure (S No. 172, Aug 1965: "The Menace of Gold Kryptonite!"), but Quex-Ul's loss of super-powers was accompanied by "permanent amnesia" resulting from damage inflicted by the Gold Kryptonite to "some of his brain's memory cells" (S No. 157/1, Nov 1962: "The Super-Revenge of the Phantom Zone Prisoner").