I am really enjoying the return of The CW program Superman & Lois which came back on May 18th after a break in the programming from March 23. In this episode called “Broken Trust” Lois and Captain Luthor from another universe discover Morgan Edge’s reason for his interest in the underground mines at Smallville, a crystal that Captain Luthor calls X-Kryptonite. SPOILERS
It seems that on this Earth-Prime, X-Kryptonite is the rarest form of Kryptonite. It can be found in multiple locations on Earth but the world’s largest deposit is in Smallville, Kansas. It is yellow in color and can endow humans with some Kryptonian-like super-powers, although an outside catalyst is required, simply being near or touching X-Kryptonite does not result in super-powers. The effects can be unstable and debilitating, and even fatal in some extreme cases.
In this episode, Tag Harris, who was affected by X-Kryptonite which was activated by a blast from Jordan Kent’s accidental heat vision release, kidnaps Sarah Cushing, Jorden’s close friend. He is trying to find out how Jordan Kent was involved in his unstable release of super-speed which he is having a hard time controlling. In the last episode Derek Powell exsplodes and dies from exposier to X-Kryptonite.
This substance is very dangerous and somehow is involved in the plans of the antagonist Morgan Edge who may be creating a super-powered army. The story collides with Captain Luthor who represents himself to Lois as a reporter named Marcus Bridgewater and they together investigate the mines only to be attacked by Leslie Larr who has Kryptonian powers, but Luthor fought her off with his laser and they fled. Lois demanded to know who he really was and what he was doing in Smallville, as he was clearly not a reporter. He refused to tell her and Lois had to leave when Clark called her to tell her that their son was hurt.
The next episode will be called “Man of Steel” this Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET on The CW.
First X-Kryptonite in Action Comics 261:
“Supergirl’s Super-Pet”
While witnessing a meteor shower in Midvale, Linda Lee decides she wants to try and find some of its fragments for study. Changing into Supergirl she goes to the site where the meteor has crashed and finds that a portion of it is Kryptonite. Using a lead-tin, she manages to collect it for her to study and try to find a cure for her and her cousin’s weakness to Kryptonite. After numerous tests (which would ultimately create what will be referred to as X-Kryptonite), Linda finds the whole experiment a failure and tosses the Kryptonite deep into the woods so it cannot harm her.
The next day she saves a stray cat from a dog, naming it Streaky, she takes it back to the orphanage where she is allowed to keep it as a pet. While playing, Streaky comes across the X-Kryptonite and its radiations give Streaky super-powers. Taking a cape from a Superman doll, Streak — calling himself the Super-Cat — goes into action, knocking over a milk truck for other strays to get free milk. Streaky then gets back at the dog that terrorized him earlier. Hearing his super-sonic meow, Linda decides to go and check things out as Supergirl.
She is shocked to find that Streaky has superpowers just like hers, and decides to preoccupy the cat by having it play with steel cables as though it were yarn. After some play, Streaky’s powers begin to fade, and Supergirl is relieved the cat is not a danger anymore. With the cat seemingly back to normal, Supergirl wonders just how Streaky manage to get his powers in the first place.