History Main / FightOffTheKryptonite

The stronger a hero, the more likely he is to have a KryptoniteFactor to "[[PowerAtAPrice balance it out]]" that varies in [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere abundance]], lethality, and [[WeaksauceWeakness embarrassment potential]]. Still, a hero isn't just a set of powers and handicaps, but a character with substance and grit and not just [[SmugSuper some jerk with powers]]. So when authors want to show off just how badass the character is they do so by having him Fight Off The Kryptonite.

* ''Series/LoisAndClark'': Clark/Superman tends to do this, and did it in the first episode to feature kryptonite, "The Green, Green Glow of Home". The villain, Trask, reveals a huge chunk of kryptonite to bring Clark to his knees. When Trask says he will kill Clark's parents, Clark crawls towards the rock, picks it up despite it burning his hands, then hurls it into a lake. He then beats Trask into submission despite still being exhausted.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': In the episode "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS2E18Intervention Intervention]]", [[CanonForeigner Green Beetle]] is trapped in a circle of flames by Batgirl and Impulse but is able to resist his Martian weakness to fire long enough to phase through the ground and escape.

* Similarly, in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Colossus manages to overcome Magneto's magnetic abilities, and save the rest of the team.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core," ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} manages to fight off [[ManOfKryptonite Metallo]]'s kryptonite heart's power long enough to cut it out of his body, disabling him and nearly killing herself in the process.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Stolen Memories", Brainiac zaps Superman with a kryptonite ray, but Supes still manages to punch a hole through him.

** It's been established that Kyrptonite only affects Kryptonians from the same Universe and will have little to no effect on Kryptonians who hail from other worlds in TheMultiverse. This allows alternate versions of Kryptonians like Superman or Supergirl, to easily keep fighting if someone tries to use Kryptonite on them from a different reality.
** ComicBook/PowerGirl by virtue of being a [[AlternateUniverse Supergirl from a different universe]] living on the main Earth, is immune to any Kryptonite that might be used against her. Unless it is Kryptonite that was somehow brought over from her alternate Earth. [[note]] Because Powergirl is from Pre-Crisis Earth-2, which was erased with the original version of the multiverse, and the multiverse itself has been brought back in different formats over the years, whether she is affected by kryptonite from any of the alternate versions of Earth-2 introduced since Infinite Crisis [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]].[[/note]]

* Creator/MikeTyson suffered a lung condition that makes him tire quickly in a fight. He compensated with powerful punches and an aggressive fighting style (hence the vast majority of his wins being by knockout). You had to survive that onslaught for a few rounds to have a good shot at beating him, and few boxers could. And even in the handful of his fights that went 7+ rounds, he forced himself to stay up and fight despite exhaustion and usually still won. This was given a nod in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' for the Wii where the Title Defense version of Mr. Sandman has his haircut in a similar style to Tyson and also uses similar fighting styles where he throws nonstop punches at the player until he is too tired to fight back anymore.

** ComicBook/PowerGirl by virtue of being a [[AlternateUniverse Supergirl from a different universe]] living on the main Earth, is immune to any Kryptonite that might be used against her. Unless it is Kryptonite that was somehow brought over from her alternate Earth.

** ''ComicBook/BrainiacsBlitz'': As lying on a Kryptonite cage, and breathing radioactive Kryptonite gas, Supergirl forces herself to ignore the extreme pain coursing through her body and squeezes her lean body through the bars, right before her cage is blown up.
** Part of what makes [[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]] such a powerful threat is because in addition to retaining the insane power levels of Pre-Crisis Superman, he is immune to Kryptonite due to being from Earth-Prime and he is also immune to magic for unexplained reasons.

* In ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'', it's shown and said that the Fae are weak to iron, and that it hurts incredibly, even if they just brush it, as well as viewing the smell as very distasteful, akin to rotten eggs. However, at the end of book 1, Bast, one of the Fae, grabs and holds an iron medallion while delivering a threat just to show he's serious, cementing how badass he is for all eternity.

[[caption-width-right:350:Buyer beware -- if you have someone in the palm of your hand, they're in a perfect position to [[{{Fingore}} break your fingers]] if they can get moving again.]]

** One episode in the first season, probably the first time this happened, is when a man dying of very violent super epileptic seizures due to having Kryptonite embedded into his skin all over his body holds Luthor Corp, and a school trip class, hostage inside the building. In the end, Clark, who's been unable to get near him, manages to pull both him AND Lex Luthor to safety while in terrible pain from being so close. He saved the day.

* Mike Tyson suffered a lung condition that makes him tire quickly in a fight. He compensated with powerful punches and an aggressive fighting style (hence the vast majority of his wins being by knockout). You had to survive that onslaught for a few rounds to have a good shot at beating him, and few boxers could. And even in the handful of his fights that went 7+ rounds, he forced himself to stay up and fight despite exhaustion and usually still won. This was given a nod in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' for the Wii where the Title Defense version of Mr. Sandman has his haircut in a similar style to Tyson and also uses similar fighting styles where he throws nonstop punches at the player until he is too tired to fight back anymore.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, most worthy Pokémon are capable of fighting off against types they are weak against on equal ground, to the point that type-effectiveness is practically never relevant.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, most worthy Pokémon are capable of fighting off against types they are weak against on equal ground, to the point it's a wonder why Trainers even mention them while battling.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' episode "[[Recap/TransformersPrimeS2E13Triangulation Toxicity]]", Bulkhead carries a lump of Tox-En to a volcano. The Tox-En weakens and poisons him, but he keeps on going, even fighting off Insecticons to reach his destination.

* [[Series/TheFlash2014 The Flash]], the [[EvilCounterpart Reverse-Flash]], and Zoom have used their SuperSpeed to fight off the effects of a substance meant to subdue them. In Barry's case, he is hit by [[Series/{{Arrow}} Oliver]] with an arrow that injects him with horse tranquilizer. It might have worked, but Barry rapidly shakes and sweats off the tranq. Later, when Barry, Firestorm, and Oliver tag-team the Reverse-Flash, Oliver hits him with an arrow that injects [[ComicBook/TheAtom Ray Palmer]]'s nanobots that temporarily rob him of his SuperSpeed. He then repeats Barry's trick to get the nanites out of his system, even though he shouldn't be able to vibrate so fast. In Season 2, Zoom is hit with a speed-suppressing dart but still manages to [[{{Pun}} zoom away]]. Later, [[spoiler:Barry traps his leg with a collar that is supposed to keep him from moving. After a few minutes, Zoom speeds up and breaks the collar with his vibrating hand]]. Averted with [[spoiler:the real Jay Garrick, who has spent years in a special mask designed by Zoom that suppressed his powers]]. Also averted with [[spoiler:another version of the Reverse-Flash, who is kept by Barry in a special speed-suppressing cell in the ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} timeline for several months]]. Played straight with [[spoiler:Savitar]], who is hit with [[spoiler:Kaitlin]]'s ice blast and appears to be frozen solid. After a second or two, he manages to break free and runs away. Possibly justified given how incredibly fast he is.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': As a Superman prequel show, this happens many times during its season run. Amusingly, it was less of a big deal in the early seasons, where Kryptonite had less of an effect on him; while it gave him crippling nausea and pain, and of course weakened his powers to the point of powerlessness. In later seasons (likely as a result of him coming into his powers) it had a much worse effect, to the point only a small amount of it would leave him unable to move, and as a result, him overcoming it became a ''much'' bigger deal.