KingsGambit said:
The one thing I never got with Superman is the inconsistency of things when it comes to Kryptonite. In Smallville, Clark is stabbed by blue kryptonite and falls from a high building to tarmac dozens if not hundreds of feet below. In Superman Returns, the hero falls from the stratosphere with a chunk of green kryptonite lodged beneath his skin.
Now in both of these cases, I am led to believe that Superman is effectively rendered powerless. In both these cases he cannot fly, has no strength, speed, etc, etc. As such, in both cases of falling from such great heights all that should have been left of what is effectively a human body plummeting at terminal velocity is a red smudge.
So how is it that his body can withstand the impact despite being powerless?
First with Kryptonite it's not the rock itself that harms Kryptonians it's the radiation the rock emits, Kryptonite is just normal pieces of Krypton that have absorbed radiation types that are harmful to or effect Kryptonians. This is also why Kryptonians are effected by Kryptonite when they enter a certain range of it rather than by touch, because it's the range of the radiation. (though admittedly red/black Kryptonite seems to defy this, but maybe it just has a really short range).
Green the most common is Kryptonian doomsday radiation, meaning rock has absorbed the radiation from the doomsday weapon that Zod used to blow up Krypton, which it is the most deadly to Kryptonians.
The effect Green has on Kryptonians is that it stops Kryptonian body cells from absorbing any more solar radiation (so they loose their powers) and starts to very slowly damages Kryptonian body cells (which is what causes the pain).
What it does not do is remove any power the Kryptonian has already absorbed which is why Kryptonian's can keep there durability for a while or even use their other powers to get away from/destroy the Kryptonite if they are quick enough.
(You'll notice in Superman Returns he purposely flys up into the upper atmosphere to absorb a greater amount of solar radiation before he goes and deals with the Kryptonite land-mass).
Which is also why Kryptonians can also make themselves effectively immune to Green Kryptonite by living on the sun for a few years because they simply store up enough solar radiation to keep powered up even whilst in the presence of Green Kryptonite.
Once Kryptonians are removed from the presence of Green Kryptonite their body can start absorbing solar radiation again even when dead and heal themselves as necessary, which is how Superman can come back to life all the time. And why is practically impossible to kill a Kryptonian on earth or anywhere with the correct solar radiation.
Blue works the same as Green except is doesn't damage Kryptonian body cells it just stops absorption.
Gold works the same as Blue except it's supposedly permanent.
No clue how Red, Black or Silver work.