DC has just announced a new “Black Label” Superman series, part of the publisher’s imprint that allows them to take their most iconic characters in darker places; in this case, in a series described as injecting a “blend of existential superhero fantasy/horror [in]to the world of Superman,” involving “never-before-seen [varieties] of Kryptonite.”

As announced by DC Comics, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum, written by W. Maxwell Prince, with art by Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, will be an “innovative” take on the Man of Steel, and his connection to Kryptonite.

This same creative team produced the acclaimed series Ice Cream Man, published by Image Comics, and according to W. Maxwell Prince, this new Superman limited series gives them the opportunity to bring their “reputation for pretty left-of-center experimentation” to the most famous superhero of all time.

DC Just Announced An "Innovative" And "Experimental" Superman Series, Featuring A New Take On Kryptonite

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 (of 5); Written By W. Maxwell Prince; Art By Martín Morazzo And Chris O’Halloran

The major takeaway from DC Comics' announcement of Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum is that the company has allowed the book's creative team to take some wild swings with their most iconic character. According to DC, the book "reimagines Superman through a daring, genre-defying lens," and it is fair to say that effusive praise like this, as well as comments from author W. Maxwell Prince, have immediately ratcheted up the anticipation for this series to a major level of hype. As Prince noted:

We’ve developed a reputation for pretty left-of-center experimentation, with respect to comics storytelling, and this is basically what we’re doing over the 5 issues of Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum: using our unique voice in comics to tell a Supes yarn that’s both strange and timeless...out there and also totally grounded. You might know what Green, Red and Black Kryptonite does to Superman, but what about Purple? Or Cobalt? Or Speckled?

Of course, the tease of previously-unknown types of Kryptonite in Superman lore is equally tantalizing to DC fans.

The preview for the first issue of The Kryptonite Spectrum gives away little; it features Superman using a remotely piloted space drone to collect kryptonite specimens from a meteor, which it brings back to Earth; there is a page depicting Superman approaching the specimens, and peering in at them, then one in which he is shown strapped into what appears to be medical equipment. To find out what happens next, readers must wait until the first issue of the series, which spans five issues, is released in August.

As Much As It Will Redefine DC Lore, "The Kryptonite Spectrum" Will Also Be An Emotional Rollercoaster

Author W. Maxwell Prince Promises To Explore Superman's Relationship With Krypton

Another exciting thing about The Kryptonite Spectrum is that it will seemingly offer more than just a novel take on Kryptonite, but will also present a fresh interpretation of Superman's relationship with Kryptonite, and, by extension, Krypton. As W. Maxwell Prince explained:

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum isn't just about the new Kryptonites and the wacky things they do to Supes. Martín, Chris and I want to tell a bonkers story that also explores real, human problems. These Kryptonite shards are, in fact, pieces of Kal-El's home. It's his own home that hurts him. This idea that ‘home hurts’ can also be applied to Batman, Wonder Woman, et al. So, we're exploring that idea inside this framework of our usual experimental storytelling. Home can be traumatic—and yet there’s no place quite like it, as Dorothy reminds us. We’re interrogating all this stuff within the bookends of something decidedly wacky, and full of make-your-jaw-drop Man of Tomorrow moments. It’s what we do best: an ixture of sad, funny, and strange. (And, because it’s Superman, HAPPY!)”

Everything about this "experimental" Superman story makes it sound like the kind of take on the hero that often comes only once in a generation; that is an incredibly high bar to set for a comic from the moment of its announcement, but DC seems to truly believe this is a defining story for the Man of Steel.

[The Kryptonite Spectrum] will do more than just force Superman to confront every type of Kryptonite, new and old; it will also put him through a broad spectrum of emotions.

In other words, the story will do more than just force Superman to confront every type of Kryptonite, new and old; it will also put him through a broad spectrum of emotions, which, in turn, will prompt a wide set of reactions from readers across the series' five issues. DC promised that 2025 would be the year of Superman, in conjunction with his new cinematic adventure, but now fans have a better idea of what might end up being the best Superman story of the year, with the announcement of The Kryptonite Spectrum.

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 (of 5) will be available August 13, 2025 from Marvel Comics.

Source: DC official announcement