WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Future State: Suicide Squad #2 by Robbie Thompson, Javier Fernandez, Alex Sinclair, and Wes Abbott, on sale now.
Future State has made a name for itself by showing how the fan-favorite heroes and villains of the DC Universe have grown and changed. But it isn't always about their personal growth. The passage of time has increased the Earth's technological advancement, as well as the ways in which it responds to threats. Future State: Suicide Squad #2 has introduced yet another way to kill the survivors of Krypton, an aerosol version of green kryptonite that is incredibly fast acting and lethal to all Kryptonian. This new form of kryptonite might actually be more lethal than Nirodhium.
Having crossed over to Earth-3, Amanda Waller has put in place her own "Justice Squad," a parody of the Justice League under her complete control. She left her Earth because it simply refused to be saved, but her old Suicide Squad wasn't quite ready to let her go yet. They followed her to Earth-3, planning to bring her back by force if necessary. This lead to an inevitable conflict between the Justice Squad and the Suicide Squad. But even parodies of the true Justice League are extremely dangerous, so the Suicide Squad had to come prepared with their own heavy hitters.
To compensate for Waller's Superman, Conner Kent, Peacemaker brought along Lor-Zod, the son of General Zod. Waller recognized Zod as the major threat and ordered Bolt to retrieve a weapon she'd been reserving for such an occasion. It was an aerosol version of green kryptonite, but one Bolt assumed would just knock Zod out. However, a single spray from the weapon killed Zod in a matter of seconds, traumatizing Bolt and demonstrating a terrifyingly effective way to kill Kryptonians.
Typical use of kryptonite against a Kryptonian is done with the raw material itself. The radiation is usually enough to weaken its target, robbing them of their powers as they struggle to remain conscious. Prolonged exposure can result in death, but how quickly that happens depends on the proximity to the kryptonite as well as how much of it there is. This makes an aerosol spray of it especially deadly. It can be assumed that the kryptonite is compressed and now in a liquid form, based on the way it came into contact with Zod, attaching itself to his skin and seeming to work its way inside of him.
In this form the kryptonite can stick to its victim, perhaps even working its way into their bodies through their pores. This would certainly explain why it killed Zod so quickly. And judging from Waller's next order to Bolt, the K-Spray can effect any Kryptonian in close proximity, meaning that even Conner Kent, who is only half Kryptonian, could also be lethally affected.
In terms of effectiveness, there has yet to be a weapon more perfectly capable of killing Kryptonians. The only problem with it is that it's still an aerosol weapon. To use it to its full effect one would need to get up close to the target. And if they're fighting a Kryptonian, then that is the last thing they should do. As a consequence, this weapon is best used as a means of surprise attack or even as a final blow should a villain somehow restrain a Kryptonian long enough to use it.
But that one hindrance is really nothing compared to how lethal the weapon is. In retrospect, its a wonder why no one has built something like this before. Superman can fight a lot of things, but the air he breathes isn't one of them. And Waller seemed to have this in storage for just such an occasion. If she ever does decide to return to her Earth, she may very well be carrying the ultimate weapon against Superman with her.
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