Make It Pink: Superman, Pink Kryptonite, and Fandom

This paper explores several representations of pink kryptonite. In Doug Murphy’s animated short film True Colors (2017), Superman (Jason J. Lewis) transforms into a woman when he’s exposed to this substance. This short, as we have shown elsewhere (2025), offers a useful lens for examining the perpetuation and the critique of gender stereotypes in superhero media: Superman may be equally capable regardless of his sex, but the film pokes fun at, rather than celebrates, his transformation. Pink kryptonite rarely appears in the canon. A single panel in Supergirl (2003) has received perhaps the most sustained attention. Tom Ue’s archival work at the Library of Congress has revealed but one more instance in comics, in an issue of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (2019). In both cases, exposure to the substance makes Superman attracted to Jimmy, and they leave us with more questions than answers: That Jimmy does not reciprocate the superhero’s attentions makes all the more apparent the power imbalance in this sexualized relationship. In this paper, we argue that pink kryptonite can be a useful catalyst for initiating all kinds of critical discussions regarding gender norms and that this conversation has been continued by fans. Through close analysis of canonical and fan treatments of pink kryptonite, this paper weighs in on both the potentials and the limitations of canonical texts; and it argues for the value of investigations in libraries and information repositories.