In Supergirl, Kara Zor-El is exposed to a green sun, which begins to poison her, and rob her of her powers first. But even the most hardcore DC Comics fans out there might not be aware of how different colored suns alter the biochemistry of those from Krypton, like Superman and Supergirl. Just as there are multi-colored Kryptonites, and many colored Lantern Corps besides green, the DCU also has many different suns. And they all have vastly different consequences on those who wear the ‘S’ shield. But let’s start with one of the deadliest suns for super folk, the green one.
Green Suns
A green sun is pretty rare in the pages of DC Comics, although we do see one in Supergirl. A verdant star doesn’t just rob a Kryptonian of their powers like a red sun; it does so while slowly killing them. It basically does what green Kryptonite also does to them, only on a larger scale. Kal-El first came across a green sun in Superman #155 from 1962, in the story appropriately titled “Under a Green Sun.” The comic book Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, on which Supergirl is based, introduced the concept of the green sun not only taking her powers away, but also slowly poisoning her.
Yellow Suns
Famously, Earth’s yellow sun is what gives Superman and Supergirl their powers. We’re talking about the baseline “Super” powers here, like super strength, invulnerability, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, super hearing, freeze breath, and super speed. Any being native to a red sun world gains their powers under a yellow star, and that doesn’t just include Kryptonians. The alien Daxamites, like the hero Mon-El, fall under this rule as well. Even animals from red sun worlds get the same powers as humans under a yellow star, as proven by Krypto the Super dog. Yellow stars are why the supers are super.
Red Suns
Since Krypton orbited a red sun named Rao, all native beings lose their powers under a similar red sun. A red sun isn’t like Kryptonite, as it won’t kill a Kryptonian. It will just render them powerless, as they would be if they were still on their homeworld. If Superman or Supergirl travels to Earth’s future where the yellow sun has turned red, they will lose all their powers, although not instantly. The first story to show Superman losing his abilities under a red sun world was in 1963, in Superman #164. In that story, Lex Luthor tricks Superman into traveling to a red sun world, so the two can have a fair fight. This story established red suns as taking away Superman’s powers.
Blue Suns
In an early 2000s Action Comics story from writer Geoff Johns and Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner, we learned that Bizarro’s twisted version of Earth, actually called Hrtae (you try and pronounce it) orbits a blue sun. So what does a blue sun do to Kryptonians? It actually gives them all new powers, like “Superman vision,” which allows the Man of Steel to shoot beams out of his eyes that give regular folks Kryptonian powers. He gave his own Pa Kent powers this way, albeit briefly. The “extra charge” is supposedly because blue suns are much hotter than yellow ones. But not as hot as the next sun, which can really give Kal-El and Kara a boost.
Orange Suns
An orange sun (sounds like a fruit drink) doesn’t strip Superman and Supergirl of their powers, but it does reduce them in half. Which makes all the sense, since it’s right between red and yellow on the spectrum. A trip to an orange sun world will give Kryptonians powers equivalent to Superman’s powers back in the Golden Age. This was back when he could “leap tall buildings in a single bound,” but not actually fly. The most recent example of Superman encountering an orange star was in 2020’s Superman #27, by writer Brian Michael Bendis.
White Suns
A white sun is the hottest known sun in the DCU. And what it does to Kryptonians is nothing short of making them gods. A white sun will enhance Superman and Supergirl’s powers to nearly omnipotent levels. Under a white sun, Kryptonians can manipulate time, teleport, and create energy constructs, similar to Green Lantern. It also gives them tactile telekinesis, a power usually reserved for Superboy/Conner Kent. The first instance of Superman getting a power increase like this was in a ’70s issue of Super Friends, with a white dwarf star. It also gave non-Kryptonians (like Jimmy Olsen) powers. In 2023, in Action Comics #1050, DC added even more powers to his white sun upgrade.
Black Suns
The opposite of a white sun is a black sun. One of these robs a Kryptonian of their powers, but not as a red sun does. Since black suns emit no solar energy, they literally drain away the powers from a Kryptonian. So they don’t just stop powering up Kryptonian cells, they drain them like a battery.
Violet Suns
Yes, there are even violet/purple suns in the DC Universe. Although, as far as we can tell, they’ve only appeared in one Superman story, way back in the Bronze Age of Comics. Under a purple star, a Kryptonian can actually warp reality, creating objects merely with their mind. Essentially, a purple sun gives someone from Krypton “mind over matter” powers. In the story “Mind Over Money,” from 1982’s Superman #371, Kal-El flies too close to a violet star going supernova, and absorbs the energy. He can then (temporarily) will what ever he thinks into existence. While we don’t think violet stars are official DC canon after many reboots, back in the early ’80s, it was. We’d like to think the late, great Prince was born under such a star. It would sure explain the musical superpowers.
Are there other colored suns out there in the DCU? What would a teal sun do to Supergirl, or a pink sun to Superman? We’d like to think one day, we’ll find out. In the meantime, Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock, is now playing in theaters everywhere.