History Main / ManOfKryptonite

* Franchise/YuGiOh
** In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Arkana's deck was made to specifically counter Yugi's, employing multiple Dark Magicians and many monster, trap, and magic-destroying cards to keep him pinned down.
** The plot of ''Anime/YuGiOhTheMoviePyramidOfLight'' concerns Kaiba's search for a card that would help him defeat Yugi, who, by that point, is in possession of all 3 God cards, winning two cards from a duel with Pegasus (even though he only created one). The cards in question are the "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon" and the card for which the movie is named after, the "Pyramid of Light". However, played with in that only "Pyramid" is actually anti-God Card, while BESD is merely strong enough to NoSell them.
** The three members of Yliaster from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' use the Machine Emperors, monsters designed to fight duelists with Synchro-based decks.

As these characters revolve around possessing an innate advantage over the hero, writers often have them fall victim to CripplingOverspecialization to avoid letting them dominate the story. If the power they rely on is an especially obscure weakness, they can often fall to humiliating defeats by opponents vastly beneath their primary target who don’t suffer the same handicap, or at least not as severely. Even worse for those confronted with their main target if they happen to acquire a KryptoniteProofSuit to deal with them on a more level playing field. This tends to lead to examples of this trope to become relatively minor villains and all but useless when away from their chosen prey. The few villains that are skilled, intelligent, and powerful enough to avoid this fate are usually regulated to the upper echelons of the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil for the sake of story balance.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' runs the whole "world of paper" concept into the paper-mache ground, which introduces a whole new brand of horror with the fifth major boss of the game -- a pair of scissors. As Mario enters his lair, he sees a bunch of Bowser's minions diced into confetti, much of which is bound to a Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle that can utilize Kamek's magic until he's peeled off. Back to the scissors...well, he's ''a pair of scissors''. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome We don't need to explain]] what happens should the blade [[OneHitKill make contact with Mario]].

* In ''The Skin Trade'' a novella by Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, in a town secretly full of werewolves - a demonic entity known as the Skinner has been summoned to hunt and flay werewolves. Besides being stronger, faster and more invulnerable than a werewolf, the Skinner dwells in mirrors and can emerge out of any mirror. Worse yet, Skinner's nails are made of razor-sharp silver - letting it easily overwhelm any werewolf it hunts.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** [[{{Cyborg}} Metallo]], who first appeared in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', has a Kryptonite heart that allows him to serve as a walking delivery system for Superman's main weakness. In fact, of all the Kryptonite powered foes Superman has faced, Metallo is easily the most enduring and popular, likely due to the fact that he backs up his FlawExploitation with actual physical power--even without the Kryptonite he's still a SuperStrength and NighInvulnerable killing machine.

* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': As a yuki-onna, Mizore is WeakToFire, making [[AsianFoxSpirit kitsune Kuyou]] this to her. During the Newspaper Club's fight against him, Kuyou {{NoSell}}s Mizore's ice attacks before knocking her out with a single fireball.

* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': As a yuki-onna, Mizore is WeakToFire, making [[{{Kitsune}} Kuyou]] this to her. During the Newspaper Club's fight against him, Kuyou No Sells Mizore's ice attacks before knocking her out with a single fireball.

For obvious reasons, this is primarily a [[ComicBookTropes Comic Book Trope]].

** Magic is another major weakness for Supes, and Mr. Mxyzptlk is one of the most powerful magic types in the DCU. Mercifully, he usually restrains himself to being a harmless prankster. When he ''doesn't, watch out. In ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' he ruins Superman's life very, very easily.

** A similar case with Wolvie's clone-daughter ComicBook/{{X23}} and Kimura. Laura's claws can cut through everything...but Kimura's skin is completely impenetrable. Made even worse by the fact that Kimura was given that power exactly for the purpose of abusing Laura without any possible danger.

** Shirou can fight Baraggan because his weapons are StrongerWithAge. Baraggan trying to use his RapidAging powers on them just makes them more powerful instead of fall apart. Shirou still has to be careful because his ''body'' is not immune to RapidAging, as proven when Barragan lands a direct blow on his person and he's forced to devote energy to regenerating faster than he rots.

** Ichibei is yet another one to Baraggan and everyone else because he can erase the true name of anything, including Baraggan's Respira, to depower it. However, Baraggan turns the tables by using the sword he got from Shirou, which has become so powerful that Ichibei cannot depower it.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13701065/11/Metagaming Metagaming?]]'': Harry Potter and Luna are no longer gods like they'd become in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13034223/1/A-Discordant-Note the previous story]] but their powers still make them the perfect counters to the Scourge. Luna is a ludicrously powerful [[ReviveKillsZombie priestess]], stated to be even more capable of holy magic than even Tyrande (who's more combat oriented). But Harry really takes the cake as he still holds dominion over the concept of freedom, able to break any physical or magical bindings and enabling him to free the Scourge's unwilling soldiers. Notably, when assaulting all four quarters of Naxxramas at once, Harry's group handles the Military Quarter housing the Death Knight armies and leaves with a considerable army of newly freed Death Knights.

** Ahriman taylored himself to defeat Shirou Emiya. First, he possesses the body of Shirou's sister Illya, forcing Shirou to hold back because he doesn't want to kill her. Second, he has a BattleAura that corrupts and usurps anything that it touches, so all of Shirou's summoned weapons are useless because Ahriman can control them before they can touch him.
** Godou relieves Shirou in the above fight and proves to be the counter to Ahriman. Both the Warrior Authority and the Ame no Murakumo are swords immune to corruption, and the Warrior Authority cuts the soul, allowing it to strike Ahriman without harming Illya. When Ahriman uses his WalkingWasteland powers to turn the area into a desert, Godou's Camel Authority lets him survive and the Ame no Murakumo can make it rain, cancelling out the desert.

* ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'': False Lancer/Enkidu is vulnerable to diseases because a disease killed him in life. Gilgamesh notes that this makes False Rider/The Horseman of Pestilence, a personification of disease, a very dangerous opponent for Enkidu.

'''ComicBook/{{Superman}}:''' Not only...used it...he ''is'' it!\\
'''Supergirl:''' What?! A...Kryptonite Man?!

--->'''Supergirl:''' That green tinge around you -- He used Kryptonite against you!\\
'''Superman:''' Not only...used it...He IS it!\\
'''Supergirl:''' What?! A...Kryptonite Man?!

'''ComicBook/{{Superman}}:''' Not only... used it... he ''is'' it!\\
'''Supergirl:''' What?! A... Kryptonite Man?!

'''ComicBook/{{Superman}}:''' Not only...used it...he IS it!\\
'''Supergirl:''' What?! A...Kryptonite Man?!

* ''Anime/FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorks'': Gilgamesh is the most powerful Heroic Spirit by a very large margin. His [[SignatureMove Noble Phantasm]] allows him to access his treasure vault, which contains everything he owned in life, including the SuperPrototype versions of every other Noble Phantasm. His stock move is to throw a few dozen ludicrously powerful weapons at the problem. His weakness is Archer, a Servant of such minor power that no one even knows his name. Archer can copy any sword he sees, and inside his [[RealityWarper Reality Marble]] [[FieldOfBlades Unlimited Blade Works]], he can do so faster than Gilgamesh can summon them. His copies aren't as strong as the originals, but they ''are'' strong enough to counter all of Gilgamesh's attacks. Without the ability to swordspam his enemy into submission, Gilgamesh is a MasterOfNone. [[spoiler:Shirou, Archer's past self]], lampshades that Unlimited Blade Works wouldn't be anywhere near as effective against any other Heroic Spirit, who devote their lives to mastering one weapon. Of course, Gilgamesh does have a weapon that can't be copied [[EarthShatteringKaboom and can destroy the world at full power]], but he's too proud to take it out until it's too late.

** ''Anime/IsekaiQuartet'' takes it several steps further with...'''''[[LightNovel/KonoSuba Aqua]]'''''. Yes, ''[[TheLoad that]] [[BornUnlucky Aqua]]''. Even though she's a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype of the trope, she's still a PhysicalGoddess who's specialty is purifying and destroying evil spirits and undead, in other words, beings that are in Ainz's and Shalltear's category. Her weakest spell is potent enough to cause Ainz to scream in terrible pain and Shalltear to pass out either from shock or splash damage, and she is able to move freely in his [[TimeStandsStill Time Stop]] spell, which is a 10th level spell. And while his Despair Aura can cause even Level 100 Floor Guardians to tremble in terror, it has no effect on her whatsoever. Needless to say, Ainz treads very carefully around her because he knows that she can very easily kill him despite being a total idiot.

* The [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur]] [[TransformationTrinket Core Medals]] grant ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' his SuperMode, that has the power to destroy Core Medals, which is fatal for the [[BigBadEnsemble Greeed]] (who can otherwise be physically destroyed but can reform from the one Core Medal containing their consciousness).

* Many ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' monsters are designed to be this [[MageKiller for spellcasters]] -- most famously golems, which are basically immune to direct magic, but also magerippers, spellgaunts, and a number of monsters with antimagic field abilities. There's also the [[ChurchMilitant witch slayer]], with several abilities [[UnEqualRites designed to kill]] [[Literature/ArsGoetia pact magic users]]. On the flip side, rust monsters are this for warrior types, as they can corrode a metal weapon or suit of armor into dust in seconds, leaving a fighter or paladin naked and unarmed in the middle of a dungeon.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' runs the whole "world of paper" concept into the paper-mache ground, which introduces a whole new brand of horror with the fifth major boss of the game -- a pair of scissors. As Mario enters his lair, he sees a bunch of Bowser's minions diced into confetti, much of which is bound to a Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle that can utilize Kamek's magic until he's peeled off. Back to the scissors...well, he's ''a pair of scissors''. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome We don't need]] [[SingleStrokeBattle to explain what happens]] [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe should the blade]] [[OneHitKill make contact with Mario]].

*** Hypnotick, which is fast enough to catch up to Necrofriggians like Big Chill, is immune to cold and ice, and can turn intangible so it can hunt [[{{Intangibility}} Big]] [[AnIcePerson Chill]].

* In ''Skin Trade'' a novella by Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, an old decadent house of werewolves has summoned the demon, Skinner to hunt and skin lesser werewolves for the sake of a son of that house who cannot change. Besides being stronger, faster and more invulnerable than a werewolf, the Skinner dwells in mirrors and can emerge out of any mirror. Worse yet, Skinner's nails are made of razor-sharp silver - letting it easily overwhelm any werewolf it hunts.

* In the Filipino superhero series ''Lastikman'', the BigBad learns of the eponymous RubberMan hero's weakness to extreme temperatures and promptly creates new villains using that knowledge: [[PlayingWithFire Lagablab]] (lit. blaze) first, then [[AnIcePerson Frosta]]. When both eventually failed, the BigBad resorts to empowering himself to wield all four elements at once, as Elemento.

** Buster Blader's whole deal is dragon-slaying, with his ATK rising astronomically if the opponent has dragon-types on their field or in their Graveyard. Just five dragons in the Graveyard pushes him up to stronger than Five-Headed Dragon. His [[SuperMode fused form]] gets an even bigger ATK boost, forces all dragons to DEF, [[PowerNullifier negates all their effects]], and [[ArmorPiercingAttack damages through defense]]...but at the price of not being able to attack the opponent directly, presumably because this would involve attacking something besides dragons.
** Allies of Justice are designed to [[LightIsNotGood kill the Worm archetype]], with most of them having effects that exclusively hurt Light-types (like Worms) and the rest having effects that hurt Flip-focused cards (again, like Worms). The archetype as a whole is so badly-designed that Worms are pretty much the only thing they stand a chance against.

** It must be noted that Green Lantern is not ''weakened'' by yellow at all, which a lot of writers don't understand (such as Creator/FrankMiller). Rather, yellow can ''penetrate'' green constructs -- it won't do anything if you get smacked by a giant green fist (unless you create yellow ring armor.) Painting yourself yellow won't really do anything.)

* Self-proclaimed "Dragon Buster" Georgia of ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'', training Mons that are either strong against Dragon-types (like the Ice-types Beartic and Vanilluxe) or resisting Dragon attacks (the Steel-type Bisharp).

** Barry Allen's arch enemy ComicBook/EobardThawne eventually learned how to tap into the Negative Speed Force, an energy that poisons and drains regular Speed Force users.

** Kenny Braverman, aka "Conduit" a former classmate of Clark's from ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfClarkKent'', could emit Kryptonite radiation, and wore a special suit to channel it. And for a double whammy, he knew that Clark was Superman, leading to the events of the above arc.

** In the beginning of ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s nemesis Reactron was rebuilt as a Metallo expy, complete with a Kryptonite heart -- though in his case it was Gold Kryptonite, the one kind of Kryptonite that could permanently cancel all her superpowers. He hounded Supergirl solitarily or teaming up with other villains (in ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'') during months until Flamebird destroyed his chunk of Kryptonite in ''ComicBook/TheHuntForReactron''.

* In the Alien Rangers arc of Franchise/PowerRangers'', the Aquitian Rangers (who are from a water planet and quickly dehydrate on land) have to battle a monster called the Hydro Hog that sucks up any moisture he sees. He was, in fact, their BigBad back home.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' runs the whole "world of paper" concept into the paper-mache ground, which introduces a whole new brand of horror with the fifth major boss of the game -- a pair of scissors. As Mario enters his lair, he sees a bunch of Bowser's minions diced into confetti, much of which is bound to a Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle that can utilize Kamek's magic until he's peeled off. Back to the scissors...well, he's ''a pair of scissors''. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome We don't need]] [[SingleStrokeBattle to explain what happens]] [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe should the blade]] [[OneHitKill make contact with Mario.]]

** ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'': Ben Tennyson is the bearer of the Omnitrix, a device that grants him the ability to turn into various aliens (originally ten) with each one possessing their own powers. [[EgomaniacHunter Khyber]] has a pet wearing the Nemetrix, a similar device given to him by ArcVillain Malware that allows his pet to turn into the perfect ''predators'' to any alien species, making it basically designed to fight Omnitrix-wearers. It later turns out that the Nemetrix only has ten predatory aliens, and aliens like Upchuck or Upgrade don't have predators. The Nemetrix's predators included:

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In the [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E20WeirdmageddonPart3TakeBackTheFalls final/penultimate episode]], the Mystery Shack Mecha is one for Bill Cipher, as the magical protection means he can't do any damage to it but it's ''very'' capable of harming him. Though he figures out not all of it is immune to him touching it, and beats it with one of its own legs.