Superman Unlimited #2 (2025)

Since June of 1938, the Daily Planet has stood as a beacon of truth and honest journalism for Metropolis and its people, but now, history has changed. Thanks to the contributions of Imani Edge, the Daily Planet has expanded its reach to global level and opened branches in Gotham City, Markovia and even Gorilla City. Lois and Ron Troupe have been invited to Emerald City, the capital of El Caldero, for an exclusive interview with President Castilho, who welcomes their presence with a gift: a statue built out of solid Kryptonite. El Caldero's entire economy is based on Kryptonite, and Ron says that Superman won't be visiting the country anytime soon, but Castilho replies that Calderans are doing their best to honor Superman for saving the young nation from the Kryptonite asteroid that ultimately changed their economy for the better. To prove it, Castilho presents bills with Superman's image printed on them, as well as coins with Krypto's face. As the statue is transported across Emerald City, a group of thieves attempt to steal but Castilho's personal guard, the "Krypto-Knights" easily stop them. Lois notices that the Knights use "for king and country" as their rallying cry, but Castilho says that it is just a nickname and that in El Caldero, everyone is equal. In Metropolis, Jack Ryder begins a new broadcast of his show "No Laughing Matter" by telling his viewers that Kryptonite is actually poisonous to everyone, not just Kryptonians. To prove his point, he has invited dairy farmer Mary-Ellen McMillan, the owner of a two-headed goat named Janus. She claims that Kryptonite has infected her water supply and caused Janus to suffer a mutation. Suddenly, the episode is interrupted by Clark for a fact-check. This moment is a cross-promotion between two news outlets owned by the Galaxy Broadcasting Family. Clark, a seasoned farmer, correctly deduces that Janus was born at least 18 months before the Kryptonite asteroid fell on Earth and Mary-Ellen confirms it. Even though she previously claimed that Janus had been infected with Kryptonite, Mary-Ellen replies that it simply caused Janus' eyes to turn to a darker shade of green. Angry, Jack cuts the feed even though the episode is still live. Later, in downtown Metropolis, a group of robbers led by Knockout intercept a truck owned by Intergang, full of gold bars, and try to steal the cargo, only for Superman to arrive at the scene. He quickly takes care of Knockout but one of the robbers shoots him with a Kryptonite bullet that hits in the left shoulder. Since Kryptonite ammo costs a lot of money, the thugs switch to melee weapons, such as knife and brass knuckles made of Kryptonite to fight Superman, but the Man of Steel's body starts glowing yellow, proving that he isn't entirely defenseless. Three days ago, at the Justice League Watchtower, Batman explained to Superman how his new superpower worked. According to Batman, the golden light enveloping Superman's body is a form of defense mechanism triggered whenever Superman takes too much damage from Kryptonite. This golden aura heals his injuries and protects him from Kryptonite radiation for a maximum of 200 seconds, but when Superman hits that time limit, his powers will be completely exhausted and he will still be vulnerable to Kryptonite. Superman asks how does he have this power while Superboy and Supergirl don't, and Batman theorizes that it must be an evolution of his solar flare power. Whatever it might be, this new power gives Superman 200 seconds of borrowed time, so Batman advises him to make every second count. In the present, Superman's solar aura allows him to incapacitate the criminals and break their weapons apart. Knockout attempts to ambush Superman as soon as his aura disappears, but Superman convinces her to stand down. A single criminal has escaped from the fight and attempts to shoot Superman from an alley, only to be knocked out by the Creeper, who had been watching the fight from a distance. He witnessed Superman use his solar aura and believes that without it, he must be vulnerable to normal attacks. To test his theory, the Creeper shoots a spitball at Superman and makes him flinch, a moment caught by an influencer with a smartphone. Later, Clark meets Jack at the Bronze Swan for drinks. Jack offers to pay whatever Clark is having and Clark says that such generosity is weird coming from Jack, especially after that fact-check he gave Jack the other day. Jack, feeling indirectly guilty for exposing Superman's new power, asks Clark about the prices of Kryptonite dipping and Clark replies that Intergang could have made a fortune by selling their Kryptonite. Elsewhere, Castilho has supplied Kryptonite to the Toyman and asks for his help in silencing the people who are trying to warn the entire world about the dangers of Kryptonite, for it is his country's most valuable resources. Toyman agrees to help, on the condition that he makes a game out of it.