# Holy Achilles Heels, Batman! Kryptonite is Real!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-achilles-heels-batman-kryptonite-is-real/401422>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 24, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-achilles-heels-batman-kryptonite-is-real/401422 "2007-04-24T05:14:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-achilles-heels-batman-kryptonite-is-real/401422/1 "2007-04-24T05:14:22Z")

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[Sadly, it doesn’t glow brightly.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6584229.stm)

> [@](#):
>
> Kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of fiction feared by caped superheroes.
> 
> A new mineral matching its unique chemistry - as described in the film Superman Returns - has been identified in a mine in Serbia.
> 
> According to movie and comic-book storylines, kryptonite is supposed to sap Superman’s powers whenever he is exposed to its large green crystals.
> 
> The real mineral is white and harmless, says Dr Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London’s Natural History Museum.

> [@](#):
>
> The mineral cannot be called kryptonite under international nomenclature rules because it has nothing to do with krypton - a real element in the Periodic Table that takes the form of a gas.

Man, those scientists are so unhip, it’s a wonder their bums don’t fall off. :mad:

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**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-achilles-heels-batman-kryptonite-is-real/401422/2 "2007-04-24T12:58:09Z")

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It’s not Kryptonite. In no way is it remotely like Kryptonite. It happens to have a similar composition to the meteor fragment in the Superman Returns movie that also contained Kryptonite.

Kryptonite by association? No.