Superman III (1983)
2 questions
Directed by: Richard Lester
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Richard Pryor
Question: Since kryptonite obviously doesn't come from Earth, how can Earth elements be used to create a synthetic version? Like in "Man of Steel", when Jonathan says that the Krypton key wasn't made from anything on the periodic table, so it couldn't be from Earth.
JohnShel91Question: In the original Superman television series, Superman created a duplicate of himself so that he could be in two places at once. However, as one went to pull the bars out of the wall, he had to have the other help, as the strength of one was half that of the original. That said, how is it that both Clark and Evil Superman have the same strength of the whole being after being split?
Movie NutChosen answer: The effects of Red Kryptonite on Superman are always random and unpredictable. In the comics, the effect lasts 24 hours, however, for a film, they last as long as the writer needs them to. This time, it copied all of his powers as well to make the Evil Superman.
Captain Defenestrator
Chosen answer: Kryptonite is a compound created by irradiated fragments of Krypton rather than a pure element, Synthesizing it would then be a matter of analyzing the compound and finding Earth elements with similar properties. (Some, as you say, would be beyond the knowledge of human science, which is why Gus looked at his cigarette pack and decided to use tar in the place of the unknown elements).
Captain Defenestrator