Superman: Krisis Of The Krimson Kryptonite

Superman Post-Crisis #16

by Roger Stern, Dan Jurgens

Lex Luthor has robbed Superman of his superabilities, with the help of that interdimensional troublemaker, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and a magical element called Red Kryptonite. While the de-powered Superman continues to fight injustice, he also grapples with one of the greatest conflicts of his life--whether or not to ask Lois Lane to marry him. Graphic novel format. Available in September.

Genres: Comics, Superman, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.

Reviews

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent run from 1990 which sees Superman lose his powers, meaning we get to see more of Clark Kent and his relationship with Lois develop.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being shackled with bad story lines, the book series bounces back with this tale of love and 5th dimensional magic.

[Cristhian · Rating 3 out of 5]

No era tan buena como la recordaba.

Aún así, el final es uno de los más grandes momentos de Lois & Clark

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great super-hero adventure- some romance, some intrigue, lots of adventure, solid writing and beautiful artwork. One of the most interesting things that I got from reading the TPB is Jerry Ordway's introduction. It seems that in the original concept, Lois was supposed to turn Clark's marriage proposal down, but when it came time to write Superman #50, Jerry couldn't think of a good in-character reason for Lois to do so. So he called Mike Carlin, Jurgens and Stern and asked them, "What if she says yes?" And Superman history was made.

I found the Mxyzptlk/Impossible Man connection to be cute, and Superman's attempts to both regain his powers and continue to protect Metropolis rang true to the character. I liked seeing Clark still plunging into action, simply because it was the right thing to do. Some of the fights were hard to accept, but they were still enjoyable. Defeating Mammoth by raw intimidation definitely falls into that category. The Hamilton-designed Super-suit was a nice touch for an issue, showing the lengths that Clark will go to, the genius that is Prof Hamilton, and the limitations of relying on power other than his own.

The Superman books at this time had such a great supporting cast. Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry, week in and week out, Jose Delgado, Emil Hamilton, Cat Grant, Guardian and Maggie Sawyer (among others) popping up when logical. And everybody seemed to have lives of their own- Perry and Alice trying to save their marriage, Jimmy worrying over his mother, Lois worrying over her own mother and considering Clark's proposal. Plus, it was always interesting to see some of the "lesser" heroes interact with the grandest hero of them all. Nice to see due to Clark's humility and honesty, to see how even other heroes looked up to Superman, and to see how the other heroes are no less heroic in their own way.

Oh, and Lex Luthor coping with terminal cancer, by doing his best to ruin Superman!!

The art, Jurgens, Ordway and McLeod (with a few pages from Gammill, Swan and Byrne in #50) was gorgeous. Clearly told, dynamically paced, with strong and unique figures.

This book ends with two post-Krisis issues-
I LOVE seeing Superman working with Guy Gardner. Forcing these two to work together is such a hilarious idea, and Jurgens handled it very nicely. Superman offering to help the trapped alien was a great ending, much better than a traditional fight.
The second tale is a bit of stretch, but nicely set up some later Luthor stories. While Lois and Clark tell Jimmy about their engagement and the Planet throws a surprise engagement party, Luthor decides to test his newest prototype planehimself. It's a crazy idea for a "fake suicide to allow yourself to be reborn as your own clone" plot - faking his death could've been much easier, but like I said, Luthor's "death" set up some great stories later on in the Superman titles. Lex Luthor II was a great twist, a Luthor that even Superman trusted (for the most part).

[Ben Horner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid story, told well, with clear and expressive art. What more can you ask for?

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volumen 63 de la CNG de DC ComicsByS, con una saga de Superman noventosa, la primera aparición de la kryptonita (en los comics) en Superman #61, intro y notas.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing my current Superman kick, I stumbled across this little story. In it, Mr. Mxyzptlk gives a dying Lex Luthor, who has nothing to lose, a special kind of kryptonite which will remove Superman's powers.
It was an interesting look into Luthor's character (particularly the ending). Really, Luthor is just a man who can't stand the idea of being second fiddle. He can do good, but so much of the good he does is usurped by his own ego. I enjoyed this comic because, if Superman isn't super, the story had to focus on Clark Kent. I liked the little bit of romance that was woven in there, with his engagement to Lois Lane. I also like that Lois isn't a super romantic person. She loves Clark, but she just isn't one to become twitterpated. That can't be said of even some of the strongest female characters out there, so that was nice to see (especially by a reader who has a very similar temperament). After reading this, I'd like to find the comic where Clark Kent tells Lois that he's Superman. That's definitely my next Google search. ;)
I wasn't as big of a fan of the B-List heroes that showed up help Superman when he was de-powered. I don't know if the writers did that in the hopes of elevating those heroes' popularity, but it would have been way cooler if members of the Justice League or Super Family would have helped out.
But the best part, by far, were the scenes where Mr. M was in a different universe. It was obviously meant to be the Marvel universe with the Fantastic Four. They couldn't have been more obvious if they'd tried. I did some research afterward and found that Marvel's similar baddie Impossible Man was created almost 20 years after Mr. M. (1963 and 1944, respectively). Read into that what you will, but I thought it was hilarious.
In short, this is a solid comic, not just for Superman fans, but for fans of comics in general--mostly because of that "impossible" gem that is thrown in there.

[Jason Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of my comic book reread project. Continued from Superman #39.

Lex Luthor doesn't have long to live since he got cancer from a Kryptonite ring he was using to beat up on Supes several issues ago. Enter Mr. Mxyzptlk...


"Sup, Super Sap?"

...an imp from another dimension who pops in to Metropolis every 90 days to play a joke on Superman and create a little chaos for fun. This time he gives Lex some red Kryptonite which neutralizes Superman's powers. Lex hands Supes his ass since he's caught off-guard, tosses him out of his office, and goes on with his life. Superman tries doing the hero thing as a mortal with a little help from his friends until he gets his powers back which happens kind of accidentally in the fourth installment. It's a fun story and worth reading, though it's not the best stand-alone dealio. 3.5 stars rounded up to four.

Continuing soap opera stuff: Jerry White, Perry White's son (though Lex Luthor is his biological father) has died leaving Luthor knocking on death's door without an heir. Lois's mother comes out of her coma and so does Jimmy Olsen's mom. Clark has made it clear to Lana Lang that she's in the friend zone, and really always has been since high school, and Pete Ross is now free to pursue Lana. Lois and Clark get engaged. And since I have just one issue between this and the "Panic in the Sky" story which starts about a year after this one, I'll drop it here. I'm pretty sure I picked it up because I thought it might be valuable one day.



Yep, since they're going to be married and all, it behooves Clark to let Lois know that he's Superman. The fact that Lois Lane, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist, couldn't figure this out on her own from the git-go has always bothered me. This scene from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman expresses my feelings on the matter perfectly. I loved that show during its original run and don't think I ever missed an episode. I've been afraid to revisit it because I have a sinking feeling it didn't age well. This happened with Thundercats, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and a few other faves from my youth. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try it out again. Hopefully I'm wrong.

An item of note: The triangle numbers (seen in the top left corner of the issue above) began after the "Krimson Kryptonite" story. There were three, (and eventually four halfway through 1991), Superman titles that came out each month: Superman, Adventures of Superman, Superman in Action Comics, and Superman: the Man of Steel. Sometimes they'd have their own storylines which ran independent of each other, and sometimes they'd cross over with one continuing going from week to week, such as "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite." Starting in 1991, they crossed over all the time, and you could keep track of the reading order with the triangle number.

These four issues brought to you by:


Fleer basketball cards. There were also ads for Upper Deck baseball cards and Topps hockey cards. Do kids even collect baseball cards anymore? I was big into Garbage Pail Kids and movie cards myself. Kids nowadays don't know what they're missing with such simple pleasures.


Captain Planet. Ugh. Environmentalist indoctrination at its finest. Luckily I was immune to its charms. And really, how can you take a superhero with a mullet seriously... never mind that Superman will sport one for a while a couple of years after this story... Okay, moving on.


Gameboy! That thing was all the rage Christmas of '89. But as for "graphics so real you'll forget it's only a game..."



And now for the ad I remember most of all, though for the life of me I couldn't remember what it was trying to sell. Confusion and guilt accompanied my fascination with this one, but all three of those emotions should be expected in any 11-year-old:


Well, being a little gay boy (though I didn't know that at the time), how could it not pique my interest? It was a kid my age in boxers and a wife beater, woot woot! All you straightwads had it easy. In the early 90's, everyone had an older brother/cousin/friend who could get them a Playboy, or Penthouse, or Cheri, or whatever, and they could look at all the naked girls they could stand. What did I have? The JCPenney Christmas catalog, boys/men underwear section which was like four pages. And it'd be over a whole 'nother year before I discovered what I was supposed to do with this sense of attraction. Adolescent life can be so unfair.

Next checkpoint: Panic in the Sky.

[Gustavo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este librito me encantó, aunque es otra elección cuestionable para la colección de Novelas Gráficas de DC, siendo la etapa de Byrne anterior a esta mucho más icónica e importante en la historia del Superman post-Crisis.

Si bien la historia por momentos es muy ridícula y no funciona para nada, lo que más me gustó es lo grande que parece el mundo de Superman, lleno de personajes interesantes, y con muchísimo énfasis en su vida personal y laboral.

A esta versión de Superman le tengo un cariño especial porque es la primera interpretación del personaje en comic que leí, allá por los 90s cuando fue el boom del personaje por la Muerte de Superman, y me parece una versión muy balanceada y bien lograda. Es un lindo comic para leer, y como extra, hace una aparición uno de los personajes más amados/odiados de los 90s en todo su esplendor: el idiota de Guy Gardner.

[Fernando Gálvez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo que suponía un cambio radical en Superman (por algo se titula crisis aunque con K) es un intento que, por un lado, sirve de coda a lo sucedido en una historia anterior (el arco "Soul Search" cuando Superman debe salvar las alma de Jimmy Olsen y de Jerry, el hijo de Perry White, editor del Daily Planet, que llevará a una revelación de parte de Lex Luthor) y para presentarnos a Superman ante una nueva broma de Mr. Mxyzptlk, el famoso duende de la Quinta Dimensión que cada 90 días le juega una mala pasada. Destaca el desarrollo de las subtramas alrededor del "problema mayor" aunque un evento de importancia (la propuesta de matrimonio de Clark Kent a Lois Lane) sirve más de anécdota que de otra cosa.

[Rodrigo Tello · Rating 2 out of 5]

La mayor parte del argumento no tiene mucho sentido y los dos últimos issues del arco argumental sobran. La idea del Superman despojado de sus poderes ya fue abordada en los 70 y con mejores resultados. Lo único rescatable es el compromiso de Lois y Clark, y los dibujos de Ordway.

[Juan Jose]

The best part of this one is the one contained in Superman # 50, with the pages of John Byrne that shows us that Mxyzptlk and Marvel's Impossible Man are one and the same!

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHO was responsible for going forward with "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite?" KKK? Really?

I mean, no part of me was like, "This is a racist dog whistle" or whatever, but, guys, c'mon, I did better than this in the 6th grade.

True story: We used to do this thing in 6th grade, instead of the science fair, we'd do the Invention Convention where you were supposed to invent something.

Because we were in 6th grade, all of these inventions were terrible. Mostly a thing with a clock added on, oftentimes something that absolutely did not require or benefit from a clock.

I invented the Keen Key Kontainer. This was a Nerf ball that I cut up so you could put it around your house key, like a sheath, and then if you fell on your keys while rollerblading, which was something that could happen to me because I was in 6th grade in the 90's, the foam would prevent you from being in a minor amount of pain.

I attempted to decorate this and make it look nice, and when I brought in the "prototype" the science teacher was like, "Okay, this works, but the final version will look a little better?" And I was like, "Totally." It totally didn't, the final version was EXACTLY the prototype because, I mean, why else would this matter?

I did my "research" portion by putting a key in the Kontainer, putting it in my pocket, and falling over a few times. SCIENCE!

We also had to include some scientific background, so I did mine about buoyancy because the Kontainer also happened to float, a huge bonus if you happened to be waterskiing and put your keys in your pocket(?)

My dad helped me with that part, although I think his explanation of buoyancy was a little over my head and more than was warranted by a nerf ball hastily cut into a vaguely boxy shape.

I remember my good friend's invention was a lock for CD cases, which was a diary lock he glued onto a CD case. This was ostensibly to keep your siblings from borrowing and scratching your CD's. Our science teacher told him that if he was grading my friend on his own abilities, this would be an F, but because he had to grade him with regard to his peers, it was a B. I did not receive such a speech, which I guess tells you either that I met my potential with the Keen Key Kontainer, or my science teacher was very wrong.

I'll let you be the judge, but I DID get a masters of science. Okay, Library Science, which is questionable as "science" goes, but still.

Anyway, during the process of creating the Keen Key Kontainer, I realized that the initials for it was KKK, and even though I was in 6th grade, I decided to go ahead and abandon the 3-k name and put a C in front of Container.

If I, a 6th grader living up to his full potential by butchering a Nerf ball, can be self-aware enough to catch that, you'd think DC comics could pull it off.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta saga foi a última grande saga do Superman antes de começar todo aquele grande arco que envolveu a Morte e o Retorno do Superman. Eu gosto muito dessas duas fases do Superman porque ela envolve dois grandes escritores da Marvel, que eu curto muito que são o Roger Stern e a Louise Simonson. No caso deste arco, ele é todo engendrado pelo Roger Stern, que escreveu Vingadores por um tempão, numa fase bem elogiada. Neste A Ameaça da Kryptonita Vermelha, o Sr. Mxyptlk faz um acordo com Lex Luthor e lehe concede uma pedra que, quando Luthor e Superman estiverem no mesmo recinto, eles trocam de poderes. Superman, então, vira humano e Lex todo-poderoso. Contudo, a saga foca muito mais no Superman, que em Luthor, que está morrendo por envenenamento radioativo. Interessante também é a participação do Starman da época, que fora criado por Stern e que se faz passar pelo Superman enquanto Clark Kent está sem poderes. Mas esse encadernado também contem mais supresas, como o noivado de Lois e Clark (pegando carona na série de TV) e a morte do Lex Luthor careca e gordo para da lugar ao Lex II, seu "filho e clone" para também se aproximar mais do Lex da série de TV. E você achando que alterações nos quadrinhos por causa de suas versões no audiovisual era coisa de hoje em dia. Tolinho...

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superman versus Lex Luthor is always fun especially witnessing the mental stress that Superman's presence causes Lex. I'm not a fan of Mr. Mxyzptlk but the way he was used here was good. Clark dealing with his power loss was interesting but possibly too easily dealt with. An appearance by multiple Green Lanterns was nice but somewhat pointless. Really good classic art holds up well. Overall, a solid look at a classic rivalry.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I assume DC will eventually publish an omnibus of the 1990 Supes comics under this title. Gems include Brainy & Metall0 ally, ‘Jimmy Olsen’s excellent adventure’, Mxy stages Flash v. Supes, post-Crisis Space Cabbie debut, Supes goes full Kryptonian, Guardian & Jimmy v. Loch Trevor Monster, Supes v. FF, Dr. McCoy discovers the secret, ‘Green death in crime alley!’, Bats snubs Gangbuster, Supes invades the cave, Firewolf debut, ghost of Cyborg, Supes meets Jade & Obsidian, Black Racer sends Supes to hell, Luthor acknowledges his progeny, Fate & Raven sense a disturbance in the force, ‘Sinbad contract!’, Luthor brains Supes w/ red K, depowered Supes uses mountaineering gear, battlesuit Supes, Kent & Luthor have a candid moment, Gardner pulls on Supes’s cape, & Death comes for Luthor

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed rhw art and colours. the storybwas pretty good. one of the titles was slightly weaker than the rest but iver all good.

Clark and Lois get engaged. superman is human for a couple of issues.

[tito el enanito · Rating 5 out of 5]

me gusto mucho este comic porque habla de otra especie de kriptonita y el estilo retro del comic

[Al Capwned · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many nonsensical things going on. Probably the worst Superman story I've ever read (although, something tells me I have said that before).

[mayleh · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4.5

[M Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice appearance from starman

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was pretty mediocre. Lex gets some red kryptonite and temporarily takes Superman's powers. The Guardian, Gang Buster and Starman pitch in while Supe's is depowered. There was a lot of nice Clark Kent stuff, including an engagement ring. It also included a couple of non-serialized issues after the Krimson Kryptonian arc. It was fine, just nothing all that noteworthy.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the concept of this book better than the execution.

The story moves along at a decent lick, and I like the supporting cast (including Starman, who I don't know much about at all), but I thought the Lois / Clark parts were too short for such an important part of the book.

I have similarly mixed feelings about the art. Some of it is good, but then some of the frames didn;t feel right.

[Desmond Killian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the trade paperback that collects the supremely goofy issue of Adventures of Superman where he's been depowered and has to compensate by equipping a grappling hook and a forcefield belt. It's a funny story, but it's also got something to say about Superman's character-- more important than his actual superpowers is his understanding of the good that one person can do. 5/5!

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun story from my favourite era of Superman. Includes a huge moment in the Superman lore, the engagement of Clark & Lois! It was fun to revisit these stories and I hope more of this era is collected and released in the future.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book for an amazing series

[Aaron Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic yet unappreciated Superman story. Really one of the best!