Kryptonite

[Baker, John]

        Kryptonite, you will recall, was the substance formed from the destruction of the planet Krypton shortly after Superman's birth, and it alone can harm Superman.  It turns out that the plot device, like the famous line "It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's Superman!" came not from the comic books stories but from the later radio show, where it was first mentioned in 1943 and assumed a key role in 1945 (when the villainess Scarlet Widow obtained a chunk of Kryptonite and gave it to several other villains to use against Superman).  DC Comics, which owns the Superman character, apparently set forth this information as part of its lawsuit against the maker of Kryptonite hair gel.  An AP news report is at

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020307/ap_on_en_ot/kryptonite_lawsuit_3


John Baker