A small percentage of fragments floating through space that were formerly Krypton-One passed through a red gaseous cloud in space, transforming not only their color but their nature from green to Red Kryptonite*. When Superboy first encountered this substance, he found that its effects were temporary and unpredictable, causing various physical transformations in his physiology more a nuisance than anything else.
A similar strand of Red Kryptonite, formerly part of Krypton-Two, was revealed later in the golden age Superman's career, only from a future era. In that instance, used by the criminal Futuremen**, this element caused the hero to lose control of his abilities and temporary paralysis whenever he encountered it. Which, thankfully, was only on one occasion.
* The range of effects on Red Kryptonians (according to the DC Fandom website) include:
- Transformed into a dragon
- Became evil
- Transformed into a non-powered giant
- Transformed into a dwarf
- Transformed into an ant-headed humanoid
- Transformed into a lunatic
- Rendered amnesiac
- Rendered temporarily blind to anything colored green
- Excessive hair growth
- Loss of power
- Gained telepathy and began to grow a beard
- Lost his invulnerability along the left side of his body
- Generated an evil doppelganger
- Unable to speak or write anything but Kryptonese language
- Growth of extra limbs
- Loss of balance and manual dexterity
- Mental transference
- Rapid aging
- Personality alteration
** E. Nelson Bridwell called "Superman versus the Futuremen" "the last Earth-2 Superman story" something Bob Rozakis reiterated in the Daily Planet letter page Vol 75 number 5 week of Feb 5, 1979 (per DC Fandom website).
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