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If you wanted to concoct a reason, you could say that the lead filters out yellow sun radiation and over time Superman's powers decrease if he wears the lead suit for an extended period.
The whole lead thing is an odd one, since the reason lead stops x-rays is because of its molecular density--yet Superman can see through denser things. He should be able to stop Green K. with other materials besides lead, if they have enough thickness and density.
If they wanted an excuse for Superman to carry a gun--that they could market as a Krypto Ray Gun and sell as a toy--they could say that he uses this gun to get rid of Green K. without getting near the stuff. Since Superman always tingles when he comes near the K-Metal, he has enough warning to blast it before it gets to him. This also gives a use for the belt (with belt loops and holster), as he needs a holster for the gun.
If you want a reason for Superman to wear red trunks--those could be generating low levels of red sun radiation in that area, so when Clark has sex with Lois his sperm have normal motility and don't do her damage.
Because writers are lazy and why bother getting creative and trying to work around Superman evolving as a character when you can just slap some kryptonite into a story and knock Superman on his ass in two seconds flat?
"If you're afraid - don't do it - and if you're doing it - don't be afraid!" - Genghis Khan
Oof! How those reprint pages misrepresent the way Petra Scotese's colours looked in the original newsprint comic book is criminal. I had to dig through my box of those issues just to remind myself what it actually looked like in the comic. I feel sorry for you guys who are only seeing these pages in the reprints.
Technically, the inks and colours are the same as in SUPERMAN 18 (June 1988)--but that assumes that Karl Kesel and Petra Scotese didn't know what format they were inking and colouring for. Whereas, they would have known and that's why their inks and colours are heavier, because when printed in the old format the inks and colours would come out looking muted. So Scotese uses full yellow on the armour--knowing that the yellow will look muted in the printed comic. The reprint production guys take that colour and print it at full intensity on the whitest white paper.
Since the cover always had a higher grade paper stock and printing, the cover colours were muted--with the armour being a pale yellow.
It cheeses me off that--because the reprints are more widely available--those are the images that come to represent these comics. Which must leave today's readers thinking old comics artists were heavy handed--because the reprints don't adjust for the difference in printing technology and paper stock.
Off topic, but I have a bee in my bonnet.