Superman’s Most Terrifying Redesign Shows Why DC Needs to Use Red Kryptonite WAY More Often

Kryptonite is an iconic part of Superman’s lore, but it’s almost always the green variant. Tons of differently colored Kryptonite exist, and Red Kryptonite is by far the most underrated – a fact best proven when one story brought back a horrifying redesign of a goofy Red Kryptonite adventure Superman had back in the Silver Age.

The Dark Multiverse is one of the most terrifying parts of DC’s cosmology. It’s where every story goes wrong, no matter how innocent it might start out. One horrifying example of this dark effect is featured in Sideways #8 by Dan DiDio and Max Raynor. In this story, the young hero Sideways runs into a group of people who have been displaced from their homes, and one of them is a terrifying version of Superman.

This version of Superman was exposed to Red Kryptonite on his planet and transformed into a terrifying half-man, half-ant creature. This transformation isn’t the first of its kind, as elements of this design were originally seen in a Silver Age Superman story – but the Dark Multiverse gave it a horrifying twist.

Red Kryptonite Has Tons Of Untapped Potential

Panels from Sideways #8 by Dan DiDio, Max Raynor, Trevor Scott, Daniel Brown, and Travis Lanham

Every piece of Kryptonite has its own specific use. Green gives off the iconic deadly radiation, and Gold Kryptonite removes Superman’s powers entirely, but Red Kryptonite is used the least despite having the most potential. Red Kryptonite can have any effect imaginable. In 1962’s Action Comics #296 by Edmond Hamilton and Al Plastino, a colony of giant mutated ants invade Earth, and to communicate with them, Superman mutates himself with Red Kryptonite, giving himself a giant ant head. In 2018, the Dark Multiverse redesign gives this goofy idea a terrifying new form and shows the potential of Red Kryptonite.

Red Kryptonite can do anything in one’s imagination, and it has quite the penchant for body horror. In the past, Red Kryptonite has turned Superman’s skin translucent, which caused his powers to go out of control, it’s turned Supergirl into a giant cosmic dragon, and it’s transformed Superman into this scary ant-human hybrid. It can do anything the story calls for, and yet DC hasn’t used Red K nearly as much as it should be used, instead falling back on the iconic Green Kryptonite time and time again. Sideways #8 shows that even the original Red Kryptonite stories can be updated for amazing dramatic effect.

Red Kryptonite Is the Perfect Plot Device

Action Comics #296 Cover by Curt Swan, George Klein, and Ira Schnapp

Red Kryptonite deserves to be used more in stories because its potential is limitless. It can fit into any story or plot, it can transform Superman into a different being, and it can alter his personality or how his powers work. Red K’s effects can be used for horror or even humor; there’s really no limit to it, and it’s honestly surprising that past the Silver Age of Comics, DC hasn’t revisited Red Kryptonite all that often. Hopefully, someday, someone will come along and realize that Superman has had the perfect plot device for decades already, and it’s just waiting to be put to use.

Sideways #8 and Action Comics #296 are available now from DC Comics!