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I was watching a Mythbusters episode (the Superhero Special) and one of them mentioned kryptonite as a metal. And I was wondering what exactly it was—a metal, a gas, as is shown in Batman vs. Superman, a rock or mineral?

I am not asking what kryptonite is made of; rather, I am aksing what form (metal, rock, gas, liquid) it takes.

CHEESE
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    Having read and watched various iterations of Superman, the correct answer to "a metal, a gas, as is shown in Batman vs. Superman, a rock or mineral?" is: yes. – Broklynite Mar 28 '16 at 22:41
  • @Broklynite If anyone else had asked this question, I would say that; but you can’t do that to MY question! – CHEESE Mar 28 '16 at 22:47
  • Just to recap here: A metal is a mineral as long as it's formed naturally, and if you vaporize it without breaking it down into component elements, it forms a gas.

    So Kryptonite is all these things.

     –  Mar 28 '16 at 22:58
  • According to mindat.org kryptonite is "A sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine"; similar to jadarite but with the addition of fluorine. – user14111 Mar 28 '16 at 23:46

1 Answers1

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According to the unpublished Superman story The K-Metal from Krypton, yes it is metal.

The DC Wiki also claim's it's a metal.

Green Kryptonite is the most common form of Kryptonite. It exists primarily as a metallic ore, but can also be found in crystalline forms.

However, in the official DC canon, it probably isn't.

enter image description here

Here are some properties of metals:

  • Luster (shininess)
  • Good conductors of heat and electricity
  • High density (heavy for their size)
  • High melting point
  • Ductile (most metals can be drawn out into thin wires)
  • Malleable (most metals can be hammered into thin sheets)
  • Corrode easily. Corrosion is a gradual wearing away. (Example: silver tarnishing and iron rusting)

As you can see Kryptonite isn't shiny, doesn't conduct electricity, isn't ductile or malleable and it doesn't corrode easily.

So it probably isn't a metal.

Rogue Jedi
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    Found this on Kryptonite's Wikipedia page: "A mineral actually named "kryptonite" was introduced in the story arc "The Meteor from Krypton" in June 1943 on The Adventures of Superman radio series. Bud Collyer, the actor who played Superman and Clark Kent, wanted a break from the series. So Superman was placed in a kryptonite trap, and a stand-in groaned with pain for several episodes until Collyer came back from holiday." It doesn't add anything, but it's hilarious. – Rogue Jedi Mar 28 '16 at 22:53
  • This is a good answer and I’ve upvoted, but I didn’t exactly make myself clear in the title (sorry, my bad). If it isn’t a metal, what is it? – CHEESE Mar 28 '16 at 23:12
  • @CHEESE In almost every movie incarnation, as well as the animated versions, it is a crystal. You can shape it a little bit my machining it. – CBredlow Mar 28 '16 at 23:20