Superman: Kryptonite Spectrum

What started as a great idea fizzled out faster than a speeding bullet (booooo I know but that's as much effort as the creators seemingly spent on this story, so deal with it). I am not sure if I have ever seen a comic book story with so much promise drop off the table so quickly.

The basic concept is brilliant. A few new flavors of Kryptonite are found in the wild, carrying unknown consequences when they come into contact with Clark. So what is a superhero to do? Science! Clark enlists Bruce's help to microdose himself and study what the effects actually turn out to be. A totally safe and scientific thing to do. Luthor even monologues on how dumb that would be.

The first test goes a little wonky. Purple Kryptonite messes with time inside Clark's mind. Don't think about the logistics too much. Just realize the events already happened to Clark, and we are seeing them unfold linearly but chopped up in a Memento style presentation. The result it is not great, but little harm is done, and Clark still manages to save the day.

Not having learned their lesson from the prior test, where an active world crisis always seems to conveniently pop up the second they test a new rock, the duo keeps going. Blue Kryptonite makes Clark giant. Then Lex Luthor blasts giant Clark with Red K to make him an evil giant. And somehow, no one in the world really minds after the effect wears off.

Speckled Kryptonite makes him grow younger and relive his past.

Rainbow Kryptonite sends him to a painfully unclever fifth dimension with Mr. Mxyzptlk. Then we pivot right back into a standard Lex Luthor storyline to wrap things up. Except, we do not actually wrap things up. Lois and Clark are broken up with absolutely no satisfying conclusion. Clark faces zero fallout from his massive destruction while under the Blue and Red K influence. Lex is stuck in his usual rinse and repeat cycle. It is such an interesting premise with little to no innovation or legacy to speak of by the final page.

Then there is the artwork. I love stylized, exaggerated illustrations. But there is a massive difference between stylized and just plain sloppy. The artwork here feels so out of place. That might be fine for an indie comic, but it looks terrible on a prestige DC Black Label Superman title. The colors are washed out, and the line work is loopy and unrefined. Black label is supposed to be the more adult line too. The dialogue is okay to good, but it never really lands for me.

Overall, this is a mediocre standalone Superman story that deserved a much better creative team to flesh out the possibilities. If Grant Morrison had this concept in their hands, it might be a psychedelic masterpiece. Tom King could easily handle the psychological weight of the microdosing. Either could have fleshed out Lois' concerns about aging out and breaking things off. But writer Prince and artist Morazzo simply did not live up to the massive potential.

I'd love a rebooted effort on this principal in the absolute universe or just another team to take a stab at it.