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Superman
By Mario Puzo

Page 1/113
FADE IN:
EXT. STREET - METROPOLIS - NIGHT
CLOSE ON a crumpled piece of rubbish lying in the gutter. It is flattened
by the wheel of a pushcart. CAMERA PULLS BACK: we SEE a street in a city
neighborhood still fighting its way out of The Depression. KIDS play
stickball, PEOPLE stand about, out-of-work MEN recline on tenement stoops
.
Over this SUPERIMPOSE: METROPOLIS 1938
CAMERA TRACKS UP past a boarded-up store window with a "For Rent" sign on
it, PAST trash cans being investigated by foraging dogs, PAST the stoop of
brownstone where some care has been taken to keep things clean, PAST the
parlor floor where an undershirted MAN argues with a bathrobed WOMAN, PAST
the second Floor windows where a YOUNG COUPLE bend over a crib, shaking a
rattle and cooing at a new-born BABY wrapped in a pink blanket, UP PAST the
roof of the brownstone, higher and higher, PAST the distant skyscrapers:
the Chrysler Building, the Fuller building, the great- neon globe symbol
atop the Daily Planet Building.
2EXT. SKY - NIGHT - ANGLE on DAILY PLANET
CAMERA LOOKS DOWN on the Daily Planet Globe. The only sound is the wind.
CAMERA TILTS toward the star-filled sky and the full moon, then TAKES OFF.
3EXT. SPACE
CAMERA SPEEDS through the heavens past the moon, through the Universe,
traveling on, gathering speed, further and further through the limitless
void until it bursts through into another Galaxy.
4EXT. SPACE NEAR KRYPTON
A miniscule RED DOT appears, growing larger, spreading evenly into a
BLAZING SUN, which fills the SCREEN. The fiery' red SUN now grows smaller
as we fall through space and see beyond it - the planet Krypton. As CAMERA
CONTINUES toward Krypton, we see satellites, spacecraft, and Krypton's two
distinct hemispheres. CAMERA HOLDS, PEERS DOWN at the city of
Kryptonopolis.
5EXT. KRYPTONOPOLIS - DAY
CAMERA PANS the white, prismatic crystalline mountains near the city. WE
SEE a gleaming, quicksilver lake.
6EXT. CITY OF KRYPTONOPOLIS - DAY
Kryptonopolis is a magical city, constructed of pure white crystalline
matter that encloses and protects it from the blazing red sun. CAMERA
TRACKS across futuristic glass buildings, glass skyways, tunnels, and
enclosed gardens, finally CLOSING IN on a specific domed structure
silhouetted against the sky. A MAN'S VOICE is heard , gathering in volume
and intensity.
JOR-EL'S VOICE {V.O.)
This is no fantasy. No careless product of

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a wild imagination. We are not dealing here
with idle supposition ...
CAMERA CLOSES IN on the domed roof of the building, now Dl SSOLVES THROUGH
:
7 INT. TRIAL CHAMBER - DAY
An electric white aurafills the screen. The dim outline of JOR-EL'S head
can be seen almost floating above it, facing away from CAMERA as he
continues.
JOR-EL
... no, gentlemen. Theindictment
I have brought you this day, the
specific charges listed therein against
these individuals, their acts of
treason and ultimate aim of sedition . . .
(swivels to FACE CAMERA)
These are matters of undeniable fact!
The face of JOR-EL fills the SCREEN as he Points an accusing finger INTO
CAMERA. A handsome, intelligent face with great intensity, bathed in the
electric white aura which surrounds him, almost pulsating with energy.
8WIDE ANGLE - TRIAL CHAMBER
JOR-EL stands on the dark edge of a circular white ring of light thrusting
down
from the ceiling of the chamber.
8CONTINUED
The domed roof rises, cathedral-like above, imprinted with giant
projections of the faces of the COUNCIL OF ELDERS (eleven, besides JOR-EL)
Who watch the proceedings in judgement, presumably from some other
location. Each ELDER is bathed in a specific aura similar to that of
JOR-EL. Trapped inside the central dazzling white ring of light are THREE
FIGURES. JOR-EL circles the edge of the ring.
JOR-EL
I ask you now to pronounce
your judgement on those accused...
9CLOSE ON NON
The monstrous face of NON peers through the light at JOR-EL. A man only to
the extent that he is not an animal - a force of frightening destruction
whose only sounds are terrifying guttural roars.
JOR-EL'S VOICE
On this mindless aberration whose
only means of expression are
wanton violence and destruction....
NON lunges at JOR-EL with a roar, bounces back off the edge of the ring of
light, which imprisons him.
CAMERA PANS TO URSA: A tall woman with a strikingly beautiful and cruel

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face. Consumed by a total hatred. Consumed by a total hatred of the male
sex, she stares back at JOR-EL with patronizing contempt.
JOR-EL'S VOICE
On the woman, URSA, whose perversions
and unreasoning hatred of men have
finally threatened even the male
children on our planet....
CAMERA PANS TO GENERAL ZOD: Glaring defiantly at JOR-El through the
dazzling
light with a staggeringly vicious face. Even trapped in the prison of light
he seems to
generate an evil force of his own.
REVISION 21/3/77
9CONTINUED
JOR-EL'S VOICE
And finally on General Zod -
Once trusted by this Council, charged
with maintaining the defenses of the
planet Krypton itself - the chief architect
of this intended revolution, the author of this
insidious plot to establish a new order among
Us - with himself as absolute ruler.
10WIDE ANGLE - TRIAL CHAMBER
The huge faces of the COUNCIL OF ELDERS peer down from the domed ceiling as
JOR-EL finishes.
JOR-EL
You have listened to the evidence.
The decision of the Council will
now be heard.
Silence. CAMERA PANS UP to the faces. The FIRST ELDER pauses
momentarily.

FIRST ELDER:
Guilty.
The FIRST ELDER'S face instantly disappears from the domed ceiling.

SECOND ELDER:
Guilty.
The SECOND ELDER'S face disappears. One by one the remaining NINE ELDERS
vote "guilty'" in rapid succession until the ceiling has become a black
void.
11CLOSE ON JOR-EL AND VILLANS
JOR-EL faces GENERAL ZOD, his aura glowing as a separate island of light
outside the circle.

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JOR-EL
Do you have anything to say before
the decision of the Council is pronounced?
11CONTINUED

ZOD:
(cold stare)
The vote must be unanimous, Jor-El.
It has therefore now become your decision.
You alone will condemn us if you wish.
And you alone will be held responsible by me.
(JOR-EL stares blankly)
Join us. You have been known to disagree with
the Council before. Yours could become an
important voice in the New Order - second only
to my own. I offer you a chance for greatness, Jor-El.
Take it. Join us.
JOR-EL hesitates briefly, then suddenly disappears - his electric white
aura extinguishing itself. ZOD's face twists with rage.

ZOD:
One day you will bow down before
me, Jor-El
12EXT. TRIAL CHAMBER IN SPACE - DAY
The domed roof of the building cracks open, starts to swivel back. In the
distance:
a slate-gray atmospheric eminence (THE PHANTOM ZONE) travels rapidly
through
the sky, approaches the opening.
13INT. TRIAL CHAMBER
The VILLANS are alone in the trial chamber. ZOD rants:

ZOD:
I swear it! No matter that it
takes an eternity! You will bow
down before me...
The gray mass of the Phantom Zone has entered through the open dome, closes
down on the VILLANS, erasing the ring of white light as it progresses .

ZOD:
...Both you, and then one day,
your heirs!

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REVISION 21/3/77
13CONTINUED
The Phantom Zone envelops the VILLANS, wiping them up in a linear,
one-dimensional fashion, then sweeping them out toward space. ZOD is
silenced.
14EXT. CITY AND .SPACE
The Phantom Zone travels quickly across the city, bearing the imprints of
the THREE VILLANS, floats into space. CAMERA PANS OFF, DOWN at another
specific building in the city, PUSHES IN, DISSOLVES THROUGH:
15INT. COUNCIL - DAY
A pristinely immaculate chamber that overlooks the city of Kryptonopolis.
Austere, dominated by concentric circles around which the TWELVE ELDERS sit
or stand. In the center of the inner circle revolved an intelligence source
on which various information may be presented. JOR-EL enters the chamber,
appearing almost through motivational volition than through physical
propulsion. The ELDERS turn, look at him. JOR-EL is deeply concerned.

FIRST ELDER:
An unpleasant duty has been masterfully
performed, Jor-El. They have
received the fate they deserved -
isolation in the Phantom Zone - an
eternal living death.

JOR EL:
A... chance for life, nonetheless.
As opposed to us.
Consternation from the ELDERS. A suddenly angry JOR-EL gestures at the
revolving intelligence source in the center - various unfathomable
equations appear.
JOR-EL
You can't ignore these facts!
It's suicide! Worse! Genocide!

FIRST ELDER:
Jor-El, be warned. The Council has
already evaluated this... outlandish
theory of yours.
15CONTINUED
JOR-EL
My friends, you know me' to be
neither rash nor impulsive.
I am not given to wild, unsupported
statements. I tell you we must evacuate

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this planet immediately!

FIRST ELDER:
You are one of Krypton' s greatest
scientists, Jor-El ...

SECOND ELDER:
But so is Vond-Ah.
VOND- AH
(rising)
Thank you ..
(to JOR-EL)
It isn't that I question your data.
The facts are undeniable.
VOND-AH gestures at the intelligence source. JOR-EL'S equations disappear,
are immediately replaced by a new series. VOND-AH smiles thinly.
VOND-AH
It's your conclusions I find
unsupportable.
JOR-EL
This planet will explode within thirty
days! Sooner perhaps!
VOND- AH
I tell you Krypton is simply shifting
its orbit!

SECOND ELDER:
Jor-El, be reasonable...
JOR-EL
I have never been otherwise. The
madness is yours!
REVISION 21/3/77
15CONTINUED

FIRST ELDER:
(snaps firmly)
This discussion is terminated!
The decision of the council is
final.
(pause - to JOR-EL)
Any attempt by you to create A
Climate of fear and panic among
the populace must be deemed by
us an act of ... insurrection.

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JOR-EL
You would accuse me of insurrection?
Has it now become a crime to cherish life?

FIRST ELDER:
(with reluctance)
You. . . would be banished to endless
imprisonment in the Phantom Zone - the
eternal void which you yourself discovered.
Deadly silence. The FIRST ELDER locks eyes with JOR-EL.

FIRST ELDER :
Will you abide by the Council's
decision?
JOR-EL
(long pause)
I will remain silent. Neither my wife
nor I will attempt to leave Krypton.
16EXT. KRYP'IONOPOLIS CITY OUTSKIRTS - DAY/NIGHT
JOR-EL'S house stands bathed in the strange glow of Kryptonian twilight.
17INT. JOR-EL'S LABORATORY - NIGHT
Massive brightly glowing energy columns encircle the lab. JOR-EL works in
the centre, passes his hands over portions of a gleaming, spiny, silvery
object (rocket ship) as he places crystals inside it which respond to him
with throbbing lights.
REVISION 21/3/77
18ANCLE ON LARA
LARA (JOR-EL'S wife) enters lab. Carried in her arms: A BABY, swaddled in
three blankets of' red, blue, and yellow. The sad look on LARA'S face
deepens as she stops, watches JOR-EL who senses her presence, turns.

LARA:
Have you ... .finished?
JOR-EL
Very nearly.
LARA turns away, shuts her eyes. JOR-EL crosses to her.
JOR-EL
It's the only answer Lara. If he remains here
he as will die as surely as. . .
(she looks)
we will.

LARA:
(pleading)

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But why earth, Jor-El. They're primitives.
Thousands of years behind us.
JOR-EL
He will need that advantage to survive.
Their atmosphere will sustain him ...

LARA:
He win defy their gravity ...
JOR-EL
He will look like one of them.

LARA:
But he won't be one of them.
JOR-EL
His dense molecular structure will make
him strong ...

18CONTINUED
JOR-EL
Fast. Virtually invulnerable ...

LARA:
Isolated. Alone ...
JOR-EL looks at her with compassion, but with the strength to cut her off..
JOR-EL
He will not be alone. He will never...
be alone.
19INT. COUNCIL OF ELDERS - NIGHT
The COUNCIL OF ELDERS, still in session, listen attentively to a MILITARY
OFFICER standing before them.

:
MILITARY OFFICER
The energy input to Jor-El's quarters is
now in excess. Our Data indicates the
loss is due to a mis-use of energy.
The FIRST ELDER exchanges a worried glance at the SECOND ELDER, then looks
back at the OFFICER.

FIRST ELDER :
Investigate.

SECOND ELDER:
And if the Data proves correct?

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FIRST ELDER:
(pause)
He knew the penalty he faced. Even
as a member of this Council. The law
will be upheld.
20INT. JOR-EL'S LABORATORY - NIGHT
CAMERA CLOSE ON JOR-EL, LARA, and the BABY, their glowing auras spilling
across the SCREEN as the parents stare down at their offspring. A loving,
almost beatific family portrait. LARA'S eyes flutter. Tears run down her
cheek.
REVISION 22/377
20CONTINUED
JOR-EL
(sad whisper)
You will travel far, my little Kal-El.
But I will never leave you. Even in
the face of my death the richness of my
life shall be yours. All that I have learned,
everything I feel, all of this and more I have
bequeathed to you my son. You shall carry me
inside you all your days. You will make my
strength your own, see my life through your eyes,
as your .life will be seen through mine. The son
becomes the father the father becomes the son. This
is all that I can send with you , Kal-El. And not
near so rich a gift as that your mother sends
along. Her ... love.
21 EXT. CITY - DAY/NIGHT
Three MILITARY MEN descend an enclosed glass walkway to a frantically
pulsating aura hovering above the ground. They enter the aura, take off
quickly through the streets, past a tall structure. A tremor suddenly
shakes the ground - a thin fissure appears on the side of the structure.
22INT. JOR-EL' S LABORATORY - NICHT
The massive energy columns throb with white light. The BABY has been
fastened in a module, wrapped in his blankets. LARA reluctantly steps back
as JOR-EL places the last crystals inside, including a green one, secures
and seals all openings. The BABY vanishes from sight. The module
automatically slides into a larger spacecraft and is sealed in.
23EXT. CITY
The military aura speeds along as giant crystal formations suddenly begin
to erupt, bend and crack.
24 INT. JOR-EL'S LABORATORY
A glass wall facing the capsule slides open. The launcher is raised. The

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ceiling above retracts, exposing the glow of Krypton night.
5/4/77 TM
25INT. MILITARY AURA
Seen from within: the aura races through a glass tunnel.
26INT. JOR-EL'S LABORATORY
The room shakes in a violent tremor as JOR-EL tries to get the engines
fired. The energy columns glare at fever pitch.
26AEXT. KRYPTON
The proximity of Kryptonian sun has bathed the planet in a reddish glow.
NOTE: All Scenes on Krypton both interior and exterior will from now on
reflect this color.
27EXT. KRYPTON
The military aura nears JOR-EL' S house. Suddenly a huge tremor dislodges a
mass of crystal which crashes down, obliterating the aura.
28 INT. JOR-EL'S LABORATORY
The tremor continues in the lab. Tons of crystal crash down into the room
as JOR-EL frantically tries to fire the rocket. With a last desperate
effort he lunges forward throws the tumbling debris and hits the control
which ignites it. With
a deafening roar, the rocket starts to glide off into the night as the
house begins to collapse, the energy columns shattering under the strain.

:
29 EXT. SP ACE - CLOSE ON MODULE
The module races away from the disintegrating planet below toward the
Phantom Zone.
30INT. COUNCIL OF ELDERS

:
The Council room is destroyed co1lapsing on some of the ELDERS.
30AINT/EXT KRYPTON
Various scenes of destruction, to include exterior shots and the trial
chamber.
30BINT. JOR-EL'S LABORATORY
JOR-EL and LARA are buried beneath a cascading shower of debris, clinging
together desperately in the moment of their death.
30CEXT. JOR-EL'S HOUSE
The House collapses in ruins.
31EXT. PHANTOM ZONE
The THREE VILLANS, pressed against the linear Phantom Zone, watch the
module hurtle past.
31CONTINUED

VILLANS :

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(muffled echoes)
Take us with you ...
The capsule heads out into the intergalactic void as the VILLANS turn their
attention to the planet Krypton, now in total eruption.
32ANGLE ON KRYPTON - VILLANS POV
The red sun eats its way into the core or the planet Krypton which suddenly
explodes and implodes - leaving a vast black void.
33 EXT. SPACE - CLOSE ON MODULE
The module speeds through space to the accompaniment of steady electronic
pulsings.
34INT. MODULE
Lights flash on the complex instrument panel. A computer memory bank
repeats recorded data while machines registers other space functions on
graphs. The BABY is completely wired and fitted with instruments and tubes
for his survival in space. The computer spews forth information.

COMPUTER:
(JOR-EL'S VOICE)
Early concepts of matter appear
in ancient Creek philosophy. In
the fifth century Demoocritus
defined a small unit as an atom,
then thought to be indivisible...
35EXT. SPACE - CLOSE ON MODULE
The module voyages through space. A giant asteroid lost in the void, soars
toward it at tremendous speed. The module and the asteroid nearly collide.
The module sways on, away into the void.
36 INT. MODULE
The control panels continue to flash. The BABY has grown. The survival
tubes, instruments and belts have adapted to his increase in size as the
years have passed.

COMPUTER:
(JOR-EL'S voice)
Index 19, Sonnet 101: "0
truant muse, what shall be thy
amends for thy neglect of truth
in beauty dy'd? ...
37 EXT. SPACE - CLOSE ON MODULE
Traveling through space: A tiny yellow dot becomes larger as the module
enters our Universe. The yellow dot grows rapidly into a flaming yellow
sun.
38INT. MODULE
The control panel lights flash rapidly. An electronic bleep quickens its

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squeal. The BABY has grown older.

COMPUTER:
(JOR-EL'S voice)
...which Einstein called his Theory
of Relativity, mistakenly held to be
correct until the year ...
39 EXT. MODULE - EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE - DAY
The module enters the earth's atmosphere. We SEE the familiar astronaut's
POV of the revolving earth, growing larger and larger until we can make out
the recognizable shapes of land masses on oceans. As the module gets
closer, it seems as if it will surely land in the middle of the Soviet
Union. But as the Earth continues to revolve, the rocket heads for the dead
centre of the United States.

NOTE:
resistance gradually transforms its shape into a jewel-like geode form,
burnished hot by the pressure.
40EXT. KANSAS WHEAT FIELD - DAY
Miles and miles of golden wheat wave under a cloudless sky. CAMERA PANS: A
dilapidated farm pick-up truck comes chugging down a long flat dirt road.
41INT. PICK-UP TRUCK - DAY
Two PEOPLE are seated in the truck cab, dressed in their shiny, patched
"Sunday best" clothes. The MAN is in his 50"s, the WOMAN in her 40'5.
"Private" people who mind their business, Christian folk whose morals are
as basic as the soil they till: JONATHAN AND MARTHA KENT. Suddenly an
ominous black shadow quickly crosses the road. Simultaneously: a loud
whooshing sound (the space module coming to Earth). JONATHAN is startled,
darts a momentary look ,in the direction of the noise .

JONATHAN :
What in the...
42 EXT. WHEAT FIELD ROAD - DAY
The "bang" of a tire blowout is heard. JONATHANslams on the brakes. The
truck lurches violently to the right, the front tire having burst. The
truck swerves, narrowly missing the embankment, stops.
43 CLOSE ON TRUCK
JONATHAN steps out of the truck cab, looks sadly at the punctured tire.

JONATHAN:
(muttering)
If a man didn't know better, he'd think
Detroit made those things to blowout
on purpose.

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Grumbling, he goes around the rear to unstrap the spare tire and haul out
the jack. MARTHA gets out of the cab, stretches her legs, gazes across the
wheat fields as JONATHA in B.G. places the jack under the car, then wedges
a stone under it to hold the jack in place. CAMERA SUDDENLY ZOOMS IN ON
MARTHA: Her face is frozen in astonishment at something she's seen in the
wheatfield.

MARTHA:
Jonathan!
43CONTINUED
JONATHAN turns, looks, eyes widening, equally amazed.

JONATHAN :
Great God Almighty! What is it?
44ANGLE ON MODULE - THEIR POV
The space module has landed in the fields. The engines are silenced.
45 EXT. FIELD - CLOSE ON MODULE
JONATHAN rushes to the strange, eerie metallic geode nesting in the charred
wheat, MARTHA close behind him.

MARTHA:
Careful, Jonathan.

Suddenly:
still fastened inside, cushioned by the three blankets.

JONATHAN:
What in the Sam Hill
He looks inside the module, leans over, touches the capsule burning his
hand.

MARTHA:
Jonathan!
The little BOY, aged 3, suddenly springs out of the electronically
controlled belts, half naked.

MARTHA:
(stunned)
It's a ... baby.
JONATHAN stares, dumbfounded. MARTHA smiles softly at the baby, wraps him
in the three blankets, picks him up.
46CLOSE ON JONATHAN AND MARTHA - TRACKING SHOT
MARTHA carries the BABY back to the truck, looks at him with wonder.
JONATHAN walks in front, shakes his head.

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46CONTINUED

JONATHAN:
Well - better change that tire
if we're gonna get hone and see
about contactin' that boy's proper kin.

MARTHA:
(defensively)
He hasn't got any - not for sure. Not
around here anyways. You saw that
magic contraption he came in, same as me.
JONATHAN has arrived at the truck, starts jacking up the front end...
JONATH.AN
I did. But I ain't gettin' hauled off
to no booby hatch by tellin' other
people I did - and neither is you.
JONATHAN removes the lugs and the punctured tire.

MARTHA:
You take things easy now, Jonathan.
You mind what Doc Frye said about
that heart of' yours...
47INSERT SHOT - JACK
The jack begins to shimmy. The truck shakes.
48CLOSE ON JONATHAN
JONATHAN struggles with the spare tire under the truck, wondering why it
won't fit in.
49INSERT SHOT - JACK
The jack continues to shimmy. Suddenly, the stone beneath it slips away.
50CLOSE ON MARTHA
MARTHA screams, horrified.

51BACK TO JONATHAN
JONATHAN under the truck, shoots a quick look at his wife, then - as her
scream stops in a gasp - he looks behind himas CAMERA PANS: The' BABY is
holding up the truck, two wheels off the ground. JONATHAN and MARTHA are
poleaxed with disbelief.
52INT. TRUCK CAB - DAY
The BABY sits happily in MARTHA'S lap. The COUPLE look ahead, lost in
thought, MARTHA in particular.

MARTHA:
(carefully)

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All these years, happy as we've been, how I
prayed and prayed the Good Lord would see
fit to give us a child.

JONATHAN:
(looks - alarmed)
Martha, there is something downright strange
about that boy. Where he come from, what he
just did back there. Now surely you don't mean to...

MARTHA:
(firmly)
No one must ever know.

JONATHAN:
But folks'll ask questions . . .

MARTHA:
We'll say he's child to my cousin in North
Dakota, and just now orphaned. Jonathan,
he's a baby...
(cuddles baby)
Poor thing.

JONATHAN:
Well...
(sigh)
Maybe we could give it a try for the time bein'.
I'd better hitch the rig and come back to Get
that ... that thing he was settin' in. What do you
make of that thing? Martha'? Martha Kent,
you listenin' to me?
52 CONTINUED

MARTHA:
I was thinkin' what to call him.
I was thinkin' I had an uncle who
was a fine man, you recall him?
The church sexton?

JONATHAN:
Who?- Clark? I never cared two hoots
for that fella.
53 EXT. SMALLVILLE HIGH FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY

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CAMERA LOOKS DOWN on a typical midwestern small town high school football
field in the 1950's. A coach's whistle signals the end of the team's
practice session. A group or GIRL CHEERLEADERS run through their routines
nearby. Several PLAYERS practice "extra points" by kicking the ball through
the goalposts from the 2 1/2-yard line, now stop, congregate around the
bench with the other PLAYERS as they turn in their equipment, prepare to go
home.
54CLOSE ON BENCH - TRACKING SHOT
CAMERA TRACKS along the bench as the PLAYERS drop their pads, towels.
kicking tees, footballs, etc. on the bench. Picking them up, stacking them
neatly and methodically is a bookish-looking TEENAGER of 15. With dark,
unstylish hair, heavy-rimmed glasses, and an air of social unease, he is
the perfect candidate for team manager - the young CLARK KENT. CLARK nears
the end of the bench, looks off at the CHEERLEADERS: five or six
wholesomely cute teenagers in their uniforms of sweater, tiny skirt,
sneakers, and white socks. They have finished rehearsing their final
routine now laugh, applaud themselves, drop their megaphones and run off to
join several of the departing PLAYERS. One CHEERLEADER (SUSIE) with an
attractive, sensitive face -pauses, sees the megaphones strewn around the
ground, begins 'to collect them.
55 CLOSE ON SUSIE
SUSIE gathers up the megaphones. CLARK crosses to her.

CLARK:
You don't have to bother with those,
Susie. I'll take them in for you with
the other equipment.
55CONTINUED

SUSIE:
Why, thank you, Clark.
(rises- smiles)
You know something, Clark?
I think you're just about the nicest
boy in the whole school.
CLARK blinks shyly, practically blushing.

CLARK:
Well ... ah ... ah ... it's sort of my job
as team manager, anyway, and...

SUSIE:
No, I mean it. I really do. Listen. A whole
bunch of us are going over to Mary Ellen' s

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and play some records. Would you like to come?

CLARK:
Well, gee... I'd...why, yes, Susie, I'd like that
very...
FOOTBALL PLAYER (0.5.)
Kent won't be able to make it.
A large FOOTBALL PLAYER comes into frame, looks at SUSIE with what passes
for "macho" at 15.

FOOTBALL PLAYER:
Kent's still got a lot of work to do.

CLARK:
(innocent- turning)
What do you mean? I've stacked all the...
CAMERA PANS as CLARK turns: the mass of equipment he had neatly piled on
the bench has been tossed all over the field. Water buckets overturned,
etc. In B.G. several other PLAYERS and CHEERLEADERS are crammed into an
open , convertible car, snigger to themselves, pretend not to look.
56BACK TO SCENE
CLARK'S face falls. He stares at the Grinning FOOTBALL PLAYER as we see a
momentary flash of anger pass through his eyes. Will he...? No. Regaining
his former composure, CLARK smiles faintly.

CLARK:
I'm ... sorry, Susie. I guess
I'd better clean it up.
The FOOTBALL PLAYER puts a victorious arm around the reluctant SUSIE, prods
her off toward the open convertible. They get in. The car roars off.
57 CLOSE ON CLARK.
CLARK is left totally alone on the football field, his face downcast with
anger and hurt born of humiliation. He approaches a football sitting on the
extra-point tee at the 2 1/2 yard line, is about to pick it up, suddenly
gives it a frustrated kick. The ball takes off like a tiny rocket.
58ANGLE THROUGH OPPOSITE GOALPOSTS
The ball whistles perfectly through the far goalposts. CLARK has kicked it
over 100 yards.
59BACK TO CLARK
CLARK turns, looks at the mess left by the players. He reaches down for the
first towel, suddenly grits his teeth, accelerates into SUPER SPEED. His
image is only a blur on the screen as towels, pads, buckets, etc. disappear
from the field and miraculously reappear on the bench.
60EXT. KANSAS ROAD - DA y

Page 18/113
CLARK trudges along a country road, heading for home. In B.G. the Open
convertible appears, closing fast. He turns. It slows down, seems to be
intending to pick him up. Then, at the last minute, the FOOTBALL PLAYER who
is driving honks the horn loudly, roars past him, laughing, leaving CLARK
in a swirl or dust.
61CLOSE ON CLARK .
CLARK stares angrily, his rage growing. He takes off his glasses, puts them
in his
Pocket. Turning, he suddenly takes off, running cross-country.
62EXT. KANSAS COUNTRYSJDE - DAY
The blur which is the running CLARK zooms through a cornfield, makes a
hair-pin turn across a meadow and up over a rise.
63 EXT. TRAIN TRACKS - DAY - TRAVELLING SHOT
Clark runs parallel to some train tracks on the other side of the rise. A
train looms up rapidly behind him, overtakes him by one or two cars. For a
moment CLARK is content to keep pace with the train, then looks up at its
windows.
64ANGLE ON TRAIN WINDOWS - CLARK'S POV
A LITTLE GIRL of' six looks out one window, her nose pressed to the glass,
her chin dropping in surprise.
65BACK To CLARK
He notices. Embarrassed, he runs faster, pulling on ahead and passing the
train.
66INT. TRAIN COMPARTMENT - -DAY
The GIRL'S PARENTS are the couple we saw in the opening shot of the movie,
cooing over their baby. They are six years older now, as is she: LOIS LA.NE

LOIS:
(turns - amazed)
Golly! I saw a boy out there, running fast
as the train! Faster, even!

MOTHER:
(affectionate sigh)
Lois Lane, you do have a writer's gift for
invention. I'll say that for you.

LOIS:
But...

FATHER:
Read your book, dear.
67EXT. KENT FARMHOUSE - DAY
A small farm on a dirt road facing a wheatfield. A barn stands at one end

Page 19/113
of the front yard area. CLARK, running in a blur suddenly appears by the
tree growing next to the front gate, stops. CAMERA PANS: coming down the
road: the convertible with the FOOTBALL PLAYERS and CHEERLEADERS. CLARK
leans nonchalantly against the tree as the car and its amazed occupants
roll to a stop, stare with wonder.

SUSIE :
Clark ....?
FOOTBALL PLAYER
How the hell did you...

CLARK:
(deadpan)
I ran.

FOOTBALL PLAYER:
(pause- to others)
Told you he was a weirdo. Let's get out of here...
He guns the car, irritated, roars off. CLARK breaks into a thin,
self-satisfied smile.
JONATHAN'S VOICE
Been showin' off a bit, have you, son?
68ANGLE ON JONATHAN
JONATHAN KENT, much older now, stands with stooped shoulders, a scythe in
one hand. He looks care-worn, but deeply concerned as CLARK joins him in
the yard.

CLARK:
I don't mean...to show off, Dad.
It's just that...

JONATHAN:
(total understanding)
You got all these amazin' things you can do
and sometimes you think you'll go bust if
you don't let other people know ..
68 CONTINUED

CLARK:
(misty-eyed frustration)
I could score a touchdown every time I had
the ball. Every time, Dad. Is it showing off
for a person to do what he's capable of? Is
a bird Showing off when it flies?

Page 20/113
(no reply)
I'm sorry, Dad. I know I made a promise,
but I just don't think I can handle it anymore.
CLARK turns away. JONATHAN watches with compassion.

JONATHAN:
Look, son. You've been nothin' but a blessing to your mother and me. In the
beginning - when you first
came -we thought they'd take you away from us if
people found out about. . . the things you could do.
But a man thinks different as he gets older, 'thinks...
better. Wiser. Starts to see things clear. And I
know now that as sure as we're gonna see the moon
tonight there's a reason why you're here. Don't ask me
what reason, don't ask me whose reason. But whoever, and whatever, there's
one thing I do know...
(soft smile)
It ain't to score touchdowns.
CLARK turns, nods, understanding. JONATHAN puts his arm around him.

JONATHAN:
Now why don't you see if you can finish up your
chores before I finish up all that apple pie I smell
comin' from your mother's kitchen window....
CLARK smiles, heads off toward the barn, CAMERA TRACKS with him. Suddenly:
a choked scream is heard 0.S. CAMERA WHIP PANS: JONATHAN, his hand
clutching his heart, staggers on the front step of the farmhouse.
CLARK (O.S.)
Dad! . .
66 CONTINUED
MARTHA'S VOICE
(from inside)
Jonathan...?
JONATHAN collapses, falling backwards as MARTHA opens the front door.

MARTHA:
Jonathan!
69EXT. KAN5AS CEMETERY - DAY
CAMERA CLOSE on a tombstone reading: JONATHAN KENT, 1887-1943 R.I.P.,
PULLS BACK: CLARK stands by a freshly filled grave, holds the hand of the
weeping MARTHA. Both are dressed in mourning.

CLARK:
(quiet anguish)

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All those things I can do, all those powers...
and I still couldn't save him.
70 EXT. KENT FARM - NIGHT'

:
The barn stands silhouetted against the night sky. .SLOWLY TRACKS TOWARD
IT, passes through the door.
71INT. BARN - NIGHT
Pitch dark inside. A green light emanates somewhere from beneath a mound of
hay the light seems to throb as it glows, as if calling out for something -
or someone.
72INT. CLARK'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
CLARK KENT, now 18 years old, is asleep, suddenly his eyes open. Her sits
up, looks around.
73EXT. FARM - NIGHT
The back door opens. CLARK, fully dressed, emerges from the house, crosses
to the barn.
74INT. BARN - NIGHT
CLARK enters, crosses to the mound of hay which throbs with the green
light. Digging and pushing the hay aside, he uncovers the geode-like module
which brought him to earth. The module glows brightly, lit by something
from within. CLARK stares hard at it - his eyes changing in colour and
consistency.
75ANGLE ON GEODE - CLARK'S X-RAY POV
Seen through CLARK'S X-RAY vision which cuts through the solid surface of
the module: a green crystal throbs inside, resting on the red, yellow, and
blue blankets.
76BACK TO SCENE
CLARK kneels, opens the module, picks up the crystal, stares into it
deeply, eyes widening in the eerie, pulsating light.
77INT. KENT KITCHEN
MARTHA stands over the kitchen stove in the early morning, bacon sizzling
in the pan , a pot of hot coffee steaming nearby. She turns her head
slightly, calls out.

MARTHA:
Clark? Are you going to sleep all day?
I've got....
She stops, has noticed something out the kitchen window. CAMERA PANS,
pushes in through window: In the distant wheatfield across the road stands
the motionless figure of CLARK.
78EXT. WHEATFIELD - DAY
CLARK stands quietly, immobile, staring north as the late morning sun hits
the side of his face. The look is trance-like as if some force were pulling

Page 22/113
at him. There is a rustle in the wheat behind him. He does not turn...

CLARK :
I... have to leave.
MARTHA enters frame, stops, looks at him thoughtfully, full of emotion.

78CONTINUED

MARTHA:
I... knew this time would come.
I knew it from the day I found you. .
CLARK turns now, faces her. He speaks flatly, trying to avoid breaking
down.

CLARK:
I'll bring in the crop before I leave. I...
talked to Ben Hubbard yesterday. He'll
be happy to help out from now on.

MARTHA:
He's a good man, Ben is. Your father
always said so.

CLARK :
(emotionally)
Mother...

MARTHA :
(helpless smile)
I know, son. I know....
79EXT. WHEATFIELD - DAY
The sun starts to set in the distance. CLARK approaches the vast
wheatfield, his .father's scythe in his hand. He hesitates a moment,
unobtrusively looks around, then bursts toward the wheat at SUPER SPEED,
cutting an instant four-foot wide swath across the field.
80INT. KITCHEN - DAY - ANGLE ON WHEATFIELD
CAMERA looks through the kitchen window as the wheatfield practically
disintegrates in neat rows before us, then PULLS BACK: MARTHA watches, her
eyes filled with tears.
81EXT. KENT F ARM - DAY
The wind is blowing. Tall, neat stacks of baled wheat rise up near the
barn. CAMAERA PANS: CLARK stands at the gate to the road in a windbreaker

Page 23/113
and slacks, has a rucksack at his side. MARTHA holds out a brown paper bag.
81CONTINUED

MARTHA:
I made you...
(fighting back tears)
...some sandwiches.
CLARK smiles silently, closes his hand around the bag. He turns, opens the
rucksack to place the bag inside.
82INSERT SHOT - RUCKSACK
The rucksack interior glows with a green light, tucked inside the red,
yellow, and blue blankets is the same one seen earlier, in thc barn. CLARK
closes it.
83BACK TO SCENE
They face each other for the final time, all emotion, both at a sudden loss
for words.

MARTHA:
Do you ... know where you're headed?

CLARK:
North.
MARTHA'S eyes glaze over. She manages a brave smile.

MARTHA:
Remember us. Always remember us.
Unable to restrain themselves any longer, they reach out, collapse into a
tight hug.
84EXT. ALASKA HIGHWAY - DAY
CLARK, in his light windbreaker, his rucksack on his back, walks by the
side of the road. The wind howls, ruffling his hair, but he doesn't seem to
mind the cold. CAMERA PANS: from a distance, a truck appears. It pulls up
next to him, stops. The DRIVER opens the door.

TRUCK DRIVERS:
Get in Kid! Quick, before you
freeze to death!
84CONTINUED

CLARK:
(nice smile)
I'm okay, thanks. It was nice of you to
stop, though.
The DRIVER stares, amazed. CLARK really means it.

Page 24/113
DRIVER:
What the hell. You wanna make a popsicle
outa yourself, none of my business....
THE DRIVER slams the door. The truck roars off. CLARK watches it leave,
then turns, walks off the side of the road cross-country, heading north.
85EXT. ALASKA - DAY
CAMERA PANS a vast snow-covered plain and an arctic lake with icebergs
floating in it in the distance. A Polar bear trudges through the snow,
stops, looks at something which has attracted his attention. CAMERA
CONTINUES PAN: the tiny, dark figure of CLARK contrasts sharply with the
dazzling white landscape as he makes his way still north, dressed only in
his light windbreaker.

:
86EXT. NEAR NORTH POLE - DAY
A flat, desolate plain. off to one side is a huge out-cropping of rock
jutting out of the barren, snow-covered landscape. A blizzard rages. CAMERA
PANS to reveal CLARK, the rucksack on the ground beside him. The wind rips
across the plain. CLARK looks around, seems to be in the process of
selecting a specific area. He marks its perimeters with heat vision,
burning deep lines into the snow and ice. Once the boundaries are drawn,
CLARK concentrates on the area within. The entire mass of snow' begins to
melt away as huge flames shoot around the gigantic excavation.

DISSOLVE TO:
87EXT'. SAME AREA - LATER
An enormous crater has been carved out of the rock and ice. CLARK stands in
the center, reaches into his rucksack, places the green stone on the
ground. Climbing back quickly to the edge, he focuses into the crater. As
his heat vision hits the stone a crystalline foundation begins to solidify
and expand. Green radiation glows all around the excavation site - a wall
is formed.
87CONTINUED
Another burst of energy intensifies and constructs a second side joined at
a right angle. In the bright cone of green light, multi-colored molecules
explode and expand into a third impregnable wall. Through the blaze of
sparkling light this wall increases in size, spreads out to cover the
fourth remaining side.
88CLOSE ON CLARK
CLARK steps back to look with awe: The Fortress of Solitude is complete. It
rises up in the northern landscape, its materials completely harmonious,
the white opaque crystalline blending ingeniously into the surrounding
countryside.

Page 25/113
89INT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - DAY
The tiny figure of' CLARK enters the Fortress, looks up at a multi-leveled
white fantasy. Stabbing spurs of crystal cut across the levels at a severe
angle. The decor is spartan, minimal. The central area with its complicated
memory crystal energy banks where SUPERMAN will communicate with his dead
father is overlooked by a series of different levels which lead off to
hidden corridors, rooms, etc.
The entire dazzling interior is strongly reminiscent of what we have seen
earlier on Krypton.
90CLOSE ON ENERGY BANK SECTION

:
A crystal bench sits next to the energy bank which is lined with rows of
smaller glowing crystals. CLARK approaches mesmerized, knowing what he must
do but unsure of how and why. He reaches out for the first crystal, places
it inside a mechanism in the energy bank, takes his seat on the bench,
waits, suddenly:

:
91WIDE ANGLE

:
The light in the Fortress changes dramatically. The walls and jagged planes
of the structure seem to come alive with energy. The wall directly opposite
vibrates with a special intensity: A giant face appears: It is JOR-EL. His
head rises massively up and across the wall, burning with light, looking
down, dwarfing the tiny figure of CLARK on the bench. JOR-EL'S eyes flash,
focus on him. JOR-EL speaks.
25/3/77
91CONTINUED
JOR-EL
My son, you do not remember me. I am Jor-El.
I am ... your father. By now you will have
reached your eighteenth year of time as it is
measured on earth. By that same reckoning I will
have been dead for many thousands of your years.
The knowledge that I have of, matters physical
and historic I have given to you fully on your voyage
to your new home. These are important matters, to
be, sure, but still matters of mere fact. There are
questions to be asked and it is time for you to do so.
Here in this Fortress of Solitude we shall try to find
the answers together. How does a Good man live? What
is virtue'? When does a man's obligation to those

Page 26/113
around him exceed his obligation to himself'? These are
not simple questions - even on Krypton there is no precise
science which provides us with the answers. I can only
tell you what I myself believe. To this end, I have tried
to anticipate your questions, and in -the order of their
importance to you.
(pause)
Speak.

CLARK :
Who . . . am I?

:
JOR-EL
Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor
of the planet Krypton. Even though you have
been raised as a human being, you are not one
of them. You have great powers, only some of
which you have, as yet, discovered ...
CAMERA BEGINS A SLOW 360-DEGREE PAN. The face and features of
JOR-EL will appear and fade away in many dimensions and on virtually every
area of the fortress in an intricate and continuous SERIES OF DISSOLVES:
JOR-EL
Your mother, Lara, has sent along three
Blankets of red, yellow, and blue. United in
United in a single garment, their
(last sentence missing from script)
91CONTINUED
At times there will be simultaneous representations JOR-EL: some merely
features of the face in huge magnifications - eyes, mouth, profile, etc.
The DISSOLVES will indicate the passage of a long period of time. Never,
until the final culmination of the 360 PAN do we see or hear anything but
the face and thought of JOR-EL.
CAMERA BEGINS FIRST SERIES OF DISSOLVES:
JOR-EL
You are superior to others. You can only
become inferior by setting yourself above
them. Lead by inspiration. Let your actions
and ideals become a touchstone against
which mankind may learn how to serve
the common good. While it is forbidden
for you to interfere with human history
itself, your leadership can stir others to
their own capacity for moral betterment ...

Page 27/113
CAMERA BEGINS SECOND SERIES OF DISSOLVES:
JOR-EL
The virtuous spirit has no need for thanks or
approval. Only the certain conviction that what
has been done is right. Develop such conviction
in yourself, Kal-El. The human heart on your
planet is still subject to small jealousies, lies,
and monstrous deceptions. Resist these
temptations as you inevitably find them - and
your ethical power will then properly outweigh
your physical advantage over others...
CAMERA BEGINS THIRD SERIES OF DISSOLVES, has almost completed
its 360 PAN, now starts to RISE behind a giant representation of JOR-EL'S
face. LOOKING DOWN from behind through the eyes we see a tiny blue, red,
and yellow figure in the distance. CAMERA PUSHES IN SLOWLY through the
eyes.
91CONTINUED
JOR-EL
Your education nears a kind of completion
now, Kal-El, although no limit to
understanding or knowledge has ever
truly existed. Over the years you have asked
important questions and I think together
we have almost always found the answer to them.
Now it is time for you to return to the world
which I have chosen for you. When new
questions arise, come back to me and I will
try to be of help ...
The FIGURE is discernible now as CAMERA PUSHES IN with increasing speed.
FOR THE FIRST TIME:
SUPERMAN stands in his classic outfit, arms folded, gazing intently back up
at the CAMERA which -represents JOR-EL. He is older now. A handsome, strong
man, his intelligence, warmth, and compassion shining through his clear
eyes as the final words of JOR-EL flow through him.
JOR-EL
Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover
where your strength and power are
needed - but always hold in your heart
the pride of your special heritage. Your
being is both separate and your own ,but I
have caused your earthly presence and must
share responsibility for your actions. They can
be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They
only lack the light to show the way. For this reason

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above all - their capacity for good - I have sent them
you. My only son.
There is a handwritten notation to "cut to scene 96"
92EXT.METROPOLIS STREET - DAY
(There is a handwritten notation "26/6/77 amended to page 56")
CLARK KENT walks a crowded street in Metropolis, attaché case in hand,
conservative suit, heavy-rimmed glasses, etc. A brisk breeze blows. CLARK
reaches the street corner, looks around, admires the skyline, fascinated by
the big city. He starts across the street to a building marked DAILY
PLANET, oblivious to the red light turning green and the oncoming traffic.
A taxi hurtles across the intersection.
93ANOTHER ANGLE
The taxi smashes into CLARK with a sickening crunch. The DRIVER, horrified,
jumps out.

DRIVER:
Oh, my god, I couldn't help...
CLARK, still standing, simply turns, smiles nicely.

CLARK:
Sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't
have crossed against the light.
The DRIVER stops, dumbfounded, stares at the hood of his cab.
94INSERT SHOT - HOOD OF CAB
The front of the cab has CLARK'S impression cut deeply into the hood,
through the engine block to the windshield.
95BACK TO SCENE
CLARK waves a cheery farewell to the non-plussed DRIVER, mouths another
friendly "sorry", crosses the street, walks through the doors of The Daily
Planet. CAMERA PANS UP the skyscraper to its tower (not the same building
in the OPENING, but new, more modern quarters) where WE SEE the globe and
the enormous electric sign: THE DAILY PLANET - Metropolis' Greatest
Newspaper.
96INT. PLANET CITY ROOM - DAY
The city room of a large newspaper. Rows of desks. REPORTERS, EDITORS, COPY
BOYS scurry back and forth. CAMERA PUSHES IN on a corner of the City Room
where a few star reporter desks look a bit larger and widely spaced than
the others. Behind them is a frosted glass door on which is painted: "PERRY
WHITE, MANAGING-DIRECTOR".
97ANGLE ON DESKS
Seated at the typewriter, working with intense concentration punctuated by
occasional smiles, is a YOUNG WOMAN. Physically she is a knockout: long
brunette hair, smart clothes on a smart figure. Mentally, she's just as
good: bright, talented, ambitious.

Page 29/113
97CONTINUED
A girl with a wry sense of humor, a snappy reporter with an instinct for a
big story, the grown-up version of that little girl last seen at the train
window as it sped through Smallville: This is LOIS LANE.

LOIS:
(to anybody)
How do you spell "massacre?"
98ANGLE ON LOIS THROUGH REFLEX FINDER
LOIS turns, looks into the crosshairs of a reflex camera viewfinder. She is
perfectly centered.
JIMMY'S VOICE
R-E.
The shutter clicks.
99BACK TO SCENE
A few feet away, a fresh-faced young CUB REPORTER lowers his press reflex
camera. A teen-age eager beaver who idolizes LOIS, this is JIMMY OLSEN. He
grins, crosses to LOIS, tries to see what's in her typewriter.

JIMMY:
What're you writing. Lois?

LOIS:
(continues typing)
An Ode to Spring. One or two "T's"
in bloodletting?

JIMMY:
Two.
LOIS types the finish, rips the page from her typewriter, reads with gusto.

LOIS:
"And the people on the street, the little man who runs
the corner newsstand, the old lady sunning herself on the stoop, the kids
playing stickball in the alley - none of them will ever forget that night
of senseless blood-letting which turned a friendly block party into a cruel
and unspeakable massacre."
(triumphant)
99CONTINUED
LOIS rises, starts toward Perry White's office. JIMMY tags along at her
heels as CAMERA TRACKS with them.

JIMMY:
(lost in admiration)

Page 30/113
Boy! How come you get all the great
stories, Lois?

LOIS:
A good reporter doesn't get the great stories,
Jimmy. A good reporter makes them great.

JIMMY:
Oh, wow...
LOIS flashes him a knowing grin, knocks on PERRY WHITE'S door, enters
without waiting for a response.
100INT. PERRY WHITE'S OFFICE - DAY
The office of a working editor. Copy pinned up on bulletin boards, photos
piled on the desk, wire service tear sheets, plaques, awards, signed photos
on the walls, etc. Behind the desk, rol1ed-up shirt sleeves, tie loosened,
is PERRY WHITE, the no-nonsense, hard-working 50'ish editor of the paper.
Beneath his gruffness is a nice guy who loves his grandchildren. PERRY
struggles vainly with the screw-on top of a pop bottle as LOIS marches in,
lays her story on his desk.

LOIS:
(cocky)
Here's the story on that East 19th Street
murder spree. Page one with a banner headline
seems about right to me.

PERRY:
So why should today be different...
(gestures O.S.)
Clark Kent, say hello to Lois Lane.
LOIS turns, not realizing there was someoneelse in the room. CAMERA PANS:
Seated against the wall by the entrance is CLARK KENT.He rises, polite and
friendly, extends his hand.

100CONTINUED

CLARK :
Hello, Lois ...

LOIS:
Hi there...
LOIS looks back at PERRY as CLARK slowly lowers his hand. PERRY crosses,
still struggling with the bottle top.

Page 31/113
LOIS:
Believe me, Chief, it's got
everything. Sex., violence, the
ethnic angle...

PERRY:
So does a lady wrestler with a foreign
accent.
(turns)
Here, Kent. Open this, will you?
PERRY hands CLARK the pop bottle as LOIS continues. CLARK struggles with it
mightily, but to no avail.

LOIS:
Chief, this could be the basis for a
whole series of articles - "Making
sense of senseless killings", you know?
We get psychiatrists ...
LOIS takes the bottle away from the straining CLARK, raps it sharply twice
on the arm of his chair hands it back to him.

LOIS:
...sociologists, interviews with the families...

PERRY:
Lois, you're pushing a pile of rinky-dink
tabloid crap. The Daily Planet has a tradition to ...
CLARK tries the bottle cap. It opens, suddenly fizzes out in a squirt from
the agitation by LOIS. PERRY and LOIS turn, stare. CLARK winces shyly as
the liquid dribbles down his pants leg. LOIS can't resist a smile, but
sympathizes.
100CONTINUED

LOIS:
I'm sorry. I didn't shake it up on purpose.

CLARK:
(nicely)
Of course you didn't, Lois. Why would
anyone want a total stranger look like a fool?
CLARK smiles. LOIS looks back, unsure of how he meant that, as PERRY takes
the bottle, from CLARK.

PERRY:

Page 32/113
Lois, take Kent out there and introduce
him around. He's coming to work for the
paper. I'm putting him on the city beat.

LOIS:
(not happy)
My ... beat?

PERRY:
The competition'll do wonders for you. Listen.
Not only does this guy show proper respect
for his editor-in-chief ...
(baiting her)
not only does he have a snappy, punchy prose
style, but I swear to you that after forty years
in the business he is the fastest typist I have
ever seen.
LOIS stares warily at CLARK. His sincere expression never changes.

CLARK:
I'm sure I can learn a lot from you, Lois ...
(turns)
Oh, Mister White, could you arrange for half
my salary to be sent on a weekly basis to this
address?
CLARK hands PERRY a piece of pa per from his pocket.
100CONTINUED

LOIS :
Your bookie?

CLARK:
My what?

LOIS:
(archly)
Don't tell me. He sends a check every
week to his dear grey-haired old mother.
CI.ARK
(total sincerity)
Actually, she's silver-haired.
LOIS stares at him, stunned. He actually does send his mother money. CLARK
manages a pleasant smile.

Page 33/113
LOIS:
Are there any more at home like you7

CLARK:
Not really, no.
101EXT. METROPOLIS STREET - NIGHT - TRACKING SHOT
(note - scenes 101-129 have had "NIGHT" marked out and "DAY has been
handwritten in.)
It is late at night. The street is semi-deserted as CLARK and LOIS walk
along on their way back from work.

LOIS:
Well, Clark? So how did you enjoy your
first day on the job?

CLARK:
(checking his watch)
Frankly the hours were somewhat longer than
I expected, Lois, but then... meeting you and
Jimmy and Mr. White - on the whole I think it's
swell.
101CONTINUED

LOIS:
Swell.
(pause)
You know, Clark, there are very few
people left in the world these days who
sound comfortable saying that word ... "swell".

CLARK:
Really? It just sort of comes naturally to me.
As they pass an alleyway a VOICE is heard.

VOICE:
All right. Freeze. The both of you.
CAMERA STOPS, PANS: a rough-looking MUGGER stands just inside the darkened
alleyway, a pistol leveled at them.

MUGGER :
Get in here.
CLARK and LOIS look around nervously for help. The street is deserted.

CLARK:

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Better do as he says, Lois.
102INT. ALLEY - NIGHT (change to DAY)
CLARK and LOIS are forced up against the wall. CLARK seems nervous, LOIS
grimly determined.

CLARK:
Listen, mister. I realize times are tough for
some these days, but ....
(total sincerity)
This isn't the answer. You can't solve society's
problems with a gun.
The MUGGER blinks. LOIS looks at CLARK unbelievingly.

MUGGER:
You know something, buddy? You're . right
I'm turning over a new leaf.
102CONTINUED

CLARK:
That's the spirit.

MUGGER:
Right after I rip off this lady's purse.
(to LOIS)
Now hand it over.
LOIS stares hard at him. Disgusted, she lets the purse drop. The MUGGER
reaches down to pick it up. LOIS suddenly kicks him viciously in the neck,
sending him reeling backwards: The MUGGER hits the pavement bringing up his
gun with a deadly glare.

CLARK:
Don't shoot! Don't shoot!

:
CLARK rushes forward with his arms outstretched pleadingly as the MUGGER
fires.
103INSERT SHOT - CLARK'S HAND

AT SUPER SPEED:
hand. He closes his fist around it.
104BACK TO SCENE
CLARK'S eyes bulge. He drops to the ground with a look of agonized
astonishment as LOIS screams.

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LOIS:
Clark!
The frightened MUGGER scrambles to his feet, runs off down the alley as
LOIS bends over CLARK.

LOIS:
Clark. . . oh, Clark . . . are you. . .
CLARK'S eyelids flutter, then open. with a sheepish smile. He looks up at
LOIS

CLARK:
Wow ... I guess I must have fainted or something ...
104CONTINUED

LOIS:
(rising - disgusted)
Swell.
CLARK gets to his feet, dusts himself off.

CLARK:
Really, Lois. Supposing that man had shot
you? Is it worth risking your life over ten dollars,
two credit cards, a hairbrush, and a lipstick? I mean...

LOIS :
(strange expression)
How did you know that?

CLARK :
(suddenly nervous)
Know what?

LOIS:
You just described the exact contents of my purse.

CLARK:
(pause- smile)
Wild guess.
CLARK turns self-consciously, strides out of the alley as LOIS watches him
curiously.

CLARK:
Taxi!
105EXT. METROPOLIS STREET - NIGHT (DAY)

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CLARK and LOIS enter a cab, take off, CAMERA PANS to a newsstand on the
corner.
106 CLOSE ON NEWSSTAND - DAY (DAY)

:
A large MAN (OTIS)in a slightly disheveled one-colour outfit which could
pass for a uniform buys a newspaper. He checks the headlines and front page
picture before paying, then starts off. CAMERA PANS: a police car is
parked at a nearby corner directly in his path.
lO7INT. POLICE CAR - NIGHT (DAY)
TWO OFFICERS watch as OTIS approaches, passing under a streetlight.
Their eyes narrow suspiciously.
OFFICER #1
That's him, all right. Lex Luthor's right-hand
man. Let's get him.
OFFICER #2
Wait. Maybe he'll lead us to the man himself.
OFFICER #1
(too good to be true)
Lex Luthor...
OFFICER #2
You got it, Charlie. We both make Captain by
midnight.
They look through the windshield. OTIS has spotted their car, now
hesitates.
108EXT. STREET - CLOSE ON OTIS (DAY)
OTIS suddenly doubles back, rounds a corner. The police car pulls away
from the curb, rolls after him.
109EXT. STREET NEAR TRAIN STATION - NIGHT (DAY)
OTIS has broken into a run. Still holding on to his newspaper, he heads for
the entrance to a train station farther down the block. CAMERA PANS: the
police car has picked up speed, continues to follow.
110EXT. METROPOLIS STATION (GRAND CENTRAL) - NIGHT (DAY)

:
OTIS, now at a dead run, threads his way through arriving PASSENGERS and
taxis, enters the station. In F.G. the police car pulls up. OFFICER #2
jumps out, turns to OFFICER #1.
OFFICER #2
Call for a back-up. I'm going after him.
(slaps walkie-talkie on belt)
I'll keep you posted.
111INT. METROPOLIS STATION (GRAND CENTRAL) - NIGHT (DAY)

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 :
OFFICER#2 arrives at the top of the main staircase leading down into the
busy central hall of the station, scans the CROWD.
112ANGLE ON OTIS - OFFICER #2's POV
OTIS hustles through a group of PASSENGERS, heads down a ramp marked: LOWER
LEVEL.
113BACK TO OFFICER #2
OFFICER #2 has seen, speaks into his walkie-talkie, as he runs down the
stairs.
OFFICER #2
Lower level, Charlie. I'm right on his ass...
114INT. STATION LOWER LEVEL
OTIS hurries through the lower level, disappears into an entrance marked:
TRACK 22. CAMERA PANS: OFFICER *2 has seen, follows quickly.
OFFICER #2
(into walkie-talkie)
Track 22, Charlie...
OFFICER #1's VOICE
(through walkie-talkie)
Back-up's here. We're right behind you.
115INT. TRACK 22 - NIGHT (DAY)
OTIS runs down the platform. On one side is a waiting train, steam belching
frombeneath the cars as the final PASSENGERS set on board. OTIS joins them.
116ANGLE ON OFFICER #2 (DAY)
OFFICER #2 at the top of the platform starts after him, suddenly stops as
he sees:

117ANGLE ON OTIS - OFFICER #2's POV

OTIS' emerges through the steam on the other side of the train. He looks
down the opposite side of the platform along an empty track. A train
approaches in the distance, its lights now visible, the noise of its wheels
increasing rapidly in volume. OTIS looks: against the far tunnel wall are
a series of concave man-sized indentations, meant for track workers to step
back into in case of an oncoming train. Waiting until the last moment, OTIS
suddenly, jumps down onto the track, crosses it, steps back into an
.indentation as the train roars past in f.g.
118CLOSE ON OFFICER #2 (DAY)
OFFICER #2 watches, mystified.
119ANGLAE ON TRAIN (DAY)

:
The train rattles by quickly, its flashing windows obscuring OTIS from
view. As the last car whistles by: OTIS has disappeared - the indentation
is empty.

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120BACK TO OFFICER #2 (DAY)
OFFICER #2 grins confidently, speaks into his walkie-talkie.
OFFICER #2
Make it Track 23, Charlie. I see how he does it...
121INT. TRACK 23 - NIGHT (DAY)
OFFICER #2 runs down the platform, stops opposite the indentation OTIS
used. He is about to jump onto the track, hesitates as he looks off:
Another train is coming down the track, its lights now visible in the
distance. OFFICER *2 grits his teeth, jumps off onto the track.
122INT. LUTHOR' S LAIR - NIGHT (DAY)
CAMERA CLOSE on a TV monitor screen. OFFICER #2 is seen on it, crossing the
track. A disapproving, clucking sound is heard. A hand comes into frame
holding a remote control device. A button on it is pushed. The TV image
changes: We now see OTIS

122CONTINUED
Walking nonchalantly down a narrow underground passageway lined with
enormous steam pipes, still holding on to his newspaper.
LUTHOR'S VOICE (O.S.)
It's a miracle that brain can generate enough power
to keep his legs moving....
The remote control device switches back again: Seen on the monitor: OFFICER
#2 has crossed the track, looms large in monitor f.g. as he takes his place
inside the indentation.
123INT. TRACK 23 - CLOSE ON INDENTATION (DAY)

:
OFFICER #2 has stepped inside the indentation, now waits. The train roars
down the track towards him. Suddenly - the rear wall of the indentation
pushes forward, shoving him out in the direction of the track. He fights
vainly for a moment, then catapults onto the track with a scream as the
train rushes past.
124ANGLE ON TOP OF TRACK 23 PLATFORM (DAY)

:
OFFICER #1 has arrived with two other POLICEMEN. They scan the platform
area as the train roars by. CAMERA PANS:
125ANGLE ON TRACK 23 - THEIR POV (DAY)

:
The train has passed. All that remains on the track is a chewed-up
policeman's hat and a dented walkie-talkie which sqawks pure static.

Page 39/113
126INT. LUTHOR'S LAIR - NIGHT - CLOSE ON TV MONITOR (DAY)
Seen on the TV monitor: the POLICEMEN scratching their heads, puzzled,
walking along the empty platform. The hand with the remote control device
comes back into frame. A button is pushed. The screen goes dark.
127INT. UNDERGROUND TUNNEL - NIGHT (DAY)

:
OTIS proceeds down an even narrow tunnel. Water drips from the rock ceiling
above. A couple of rats scamper past and through some rusted heating and
electrical ducts which line the sides. CAMERA PANS with OTIS. He heads for
a rusty, bolted metal door marked: DANGER - NO ENTRY - CONDEMED.

:
128 INT. LUTHOR'S LAIR - NIGHT - CLOSE ON MODEL (DAY)
CAMERA. FOLLOWS another train (this one a model) as it snakes its way
around mountains and through deserts in a made-to-scale U.S. western-type
landscape. Emerging from atunnelit heads out onto a bridge which is only
half-completed, suddenly tumblesoff,
the falling cars demolishing a papier-mâché model of a hospital directly
below. A low chuckle is heard O. S. CAMERA PANS UP: A few feet away, a
beautiful YOUNG WOMAN (EVE TESCHMCHER) reclines with her feet up in a deep,
luxurious sofa. working on a needlepoint pillow. A projected blue-sky
backdrop shimmers on the wall behind her, looking quite real from this
angle and distance. EVE isopen, straightforward if slightly dim, with an
unmistakable honest sexiness about her which matches her personality. She
looks up INTO CAMERA, wide-eyed, disapproving.

EVE :
That's sick, Lex. Really.

:
129WIDE ANGLE ON LEX LUTHOR AND LAIR - EVE'S POV (DAY)

:
LEX LUTHOR sits behind a massive desk in his palatial underground lair, now
seen for the first time as CAMERA PANS: At first glance - breathtaking,
with its multi-level1ed areas, only some of which are immediately visible.
The entire wall behind him which rises to a high ceiling is completely
covered with full bookcases bulging with periodicals, papers, etc. Another
separate area has a complicated laboratory with viewing theater, banks of
electronic gadgets which have been connected to underground electrical
lines exposed in portions of the rock-faced walls. In the same manner we

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will discover exposed heating ducts and water mains. One higher level near
the ceiling is completely blocked from view. Off to another side - a large
and colourful aviary, stocked with live birds of prey: eagles, falcons,
hawks, etc. The walls and ceilings, as we will discover, are almost all
canvas on which projections can and will be made, different ones servicing
different specific parts of the lair.
129CONTINUED
One other aspect of this underground kingdom will soon become apparent:
whether through the architecture which strangely resembles that of
Metropolis Station, or the row of bookcases which curiously look like old
ticket windows, or the odd, faded track marker
which signals the way off into one or another of the hidden corridors of
the lair - it is clear we are in an abandoned railroad station, drastically
remodeled, but nonetheless a fact.
CAMERA PUSHES IN ON LEX LUTHOR: His face is a task of elegant demonic
Genius, for this is a man with an infinite capacity for sadistic evil.
Cutting, given to rapidly changing moods, but always thinking - the master
criminal incarnate. He stares at EVE, the only person he allows to "nag"
him, loving her in spite of all. LUTHOR shakes his head sadly
disappointed.

LUTHOR:
Sick.
(pause)
Here we sit, Miss Teschmacher, mere days
away from executing The Crime of the Century,
and how do you choose to congratulate the greatest
criminal mind or our age? Do you call me brilliant?
A bit obvious, that, I grant you. Charismatic, then?
(hopefully)
Fiendishly gifted?

EVE:
Try twisted.
EVE goes back to her needlepoint as LUTHOR glares. There is a metallic
"clank." O.S. OTIS has entered from a lower level, dutifully approaches the
desk holding his newspaper, smiles, cheery.

OTIS:
I'm back, Mr. Luthor.....

LUTHOR:
You were followed again, Otis...
OTIS looks over his shoulder, deeply concerned.

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LUTHOR:
Yes. In spite of those cat-like reflexes.

EVE :
(new thought)
See if you can just explain to
129CONTINUED
EVE (CONTINUED)
me one thing. Why do millions of people have
to die for this...Crime of the Century? Tell me
that, Lex. Why do they all have to die?

LUTHOR:
Why.
(rising - philosophical)
Why does the phone always ring when you're sitting
in the tub? Why do restaurants call animal intestines
sweetbreads? Why would the most brilliantly
diabolical leader of all time surround himself with
total incompetents?
(to Otis)
Why, in fact, does the chicken cross the road?

OTIS:
(proudly)
To get to the other side.
LUTHOR stares at him, OTIS hangs his head.

OTIS:
I'm wrong again, aren't I, Mr.
Luthor.

LUTHOR:
No, Otis. As a matter of fact, I stuck that last
one in especially for you.
(pause)
Is that the newspaper I asked you to get me?

OTIS :
Yes, sir.

LUTHOR:
Then why am I not reading it?

Page 42/113
OTIS:
(knows when he's wrong )
Because I... haven't given it to you, Mr. Luthor.
LUTHOR rips the paper from OTIS'S hands, swats him viciously in the side of
the head with it.

OTIS:
Thank you, Mr. Luthor.
129CONTINUED
LUTHOR drops the paper on the desk, sits.
130INSERT SHOT - FRONT PACE
The paper is The Daily Planet. Clearly visible on the front page: a large
photo of two nuclear missiles on their launching pads and the headline:
TWIN I.C.B.M TEST CONFIRMED - LIVE WARHEADS TO BE USED.

:
131BACK TO SCENE (DAY)
LUTHOR beams, drops the paper, rises, ecstatic.

LUTHOR:
At last it's official! Thanks to the generous
help of our own government, we are finally
going to realize the greatest real swindle in history!

EVE:
You and your real estate. Why does it mean so much
to you? All the time, "land, land, land."

LUTHOR:
When I was a mere prodigy, Miss Teschmacher, having
passed through vandalism with flying colours at the age
of six, my father said to me: "Son, stocks will rise and fall. . . .

(gesturing around him)

Utilities and transportation systems may even collapse, and
people are no damn good - but they'll always need land, and
for that they'll pay, through the nose. Remember that," my
father said. "Land."
LUTHOR presses a button. A brilliant desert vista appears on one wall.

LUTHOR:
"Land!"
Another button. Another vista. This one of the snow-capped Rockies.

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EVE:
(not looking up)
Then your father must have been sick too.

131CONTINUED (DAY)

LUTHOR:
(sad nod)
Arnold "Buster" Luthor. The most inept check
forger of his day. A pity he didn't see how, from
such humble beginnings, I created an empire.

EVE:
An empire? This?

LUTHOR:
Tell me, Miss Teschmacher. How many other girls
are lucky enough to have a Park Avenue address?

EVE:
It isn't a Park Avenue address, really. Two hundred
feet below.

LUTHOR:
Do you know what they're all paying per square foot up
there? For a few miserable rooms of a common elevator?
What more could anyone ask for?

EVE:
Sunlight. Something that overlooks a window.
LUTHOR, angry, turns to OTIS who shifts his feet.

LUTHOR:
Otis, you want something. What can I throw
at you?

OTIS:
The...ah...paper, if you're through with it, sir...

LUTHOR :
(incredulous)

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A newspaper? Otis? You want to read the newspaper?
Is there really life after death? Is water finally running
uphill ?

OTIS:
I thought maybe...the funnies. . .
LUTHOR hands him the paper, sighs.
131CONTINUED

LUTHOR:
Here. Don't forget to flush this time.
EVE continues to needlepoint, but feels his gaze on her.

EVE:
You know something, Lex? You're perverted. You're
the most cruel and vicious human being I know...
LUTHOR approaches her, glaring with genuine malice.

EVE:
You'd cut a baby's throat with its own diaper pin.
Steal the wafer from a nun's handbag....
LUTHOR stands over menacingly, looks down. She glances up, smiles
helplessly.

EVE:
What's wrong with me, anyway? Why do I love
you so much?
LUTHOR grins, lies down on the sofa next to her, puts his arms around her,
looks deeply into her eyes.

LUTHOR:
Life is never boring with me. Admit it.
EVE snuggles in, hopelessly cozy.

EVE:
Never, Lex. You're the absolute pits.
They kiss passionately. LUTHOR reaches into his pocket, pulls out a remote
control device, presses a button.
132INSERT SHOT - LANDSCAPE MODEL
CAMERA CLOSE on a high dam set into the landscape of the previously seen
model. It cracks, then collapses: sending a rush of water down onto a
schoolyard below, knocking over a toy school bus, sweeping away little
figures of children standing in the playground.
133INT. PLANET CITY ROOM - NIGHT

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Frantic activity: The wall clock indicates 8:00 P.M. CAMERA TRACKS through
the chaos as PERRY WHITE exits his office, a sheaf of galleys in his hand.
133CONTINUED

PERRY:
Olsen, take this Loch Ness update down to
composing - tell them to use it as fill unless
something comes in on that jewel robbery.

JIMMY:
Right, Chief.

PERRY:
And don't call me Chief.
JIMMY OLSEN disappears quickly with the galleys. PERRY crosses to a desk,
picks up the phone.

PERRY :
Harry? That's it. Put 'er to bed.
PERRY hangs up, crosses to LOIS' desk.

PERRY:
Lois, about that sex maniac profile...

LOIS:
I know. Nine to five it's a Pulitzer Prize.

PERRY:
I was going to say there's only one p in rapist.
(turns to CLARK)
Nice job on the Teamster scandal, Kent.

CLARK:
Thanks , Mr. White .
PERRY leaves. CLARK rises, crosses to LOIS who rereads her article
delightedly, puffs on a cigarette. CLARK clears his throat nervously.

LOIS:
(looking up)
What...? Oh, goodnight, Clark.

CLARK:
Actually, Lois, I... ah, well...

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LOIS:
Yes?
133CONTINUED

CLARK:
Would you, ah...be interested in a little dinner
tonight?

LOIS:
(nice smile)
Sorry, Clark. I'm booked.

CLARK:
Oh.
LOIS rises, grabs her notebook, starts off for the elevators. CLARK
follows, CAMERA TRACKKING.

LOIS:
Air Force One is landing at the airport tonight and
this kid's going to be there to make sure you-know-who
answers a few questions he'd rather duck.
CLA.RK
(admiration)
Don't you ever let up?

LOIS:
For what? Oh, I've seen how the other half lives.
My sister, for instance. . . three kids, two cats, one
mortgage....I'd go bananas after a week..
(chain smokes)
I already am bananas, right? That's what you're
thinking.

CLARK:
No. I'm just thinking that you smoke too much, if you
don't mind my saying so.
(she stares)
Lois, you should see what the inside of your lungs
look like.

LOIS:
I appreciate the advice, okay? I've got a story to do.

CLARK:

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Can I take you to the airport?

LOIS :
Not unless you can fly. . .
133CONTIUNED
They have reached the elevators. The door opens. LOIS enters, turns to
CLARK, smiles.

LOIS:
Good night, Clark.
The elevator doors shut. A moment later another empty elevator stops, opens
its doors. CLARK enters.

CLARK:
Going Down?
134EXT. ROOF OF DAILY PLANET - NICHT
LOIS emerges through a rooftop exit, looks off past an illuminated
helicopter pad with a
small waiting room building on the far side. A fierce wind in howling. LOIS
turns her face as she sees:
135ANGLE ON HELICOPTER - LOIS' POV
A helicopter heads in for the roof, swaying slightly, fighting the tricky
winds. It lands
uncertainly on the edge of the pad. LOIS ducks her head, runs for the open
door.
136INSERT SHOT - FLOODLICHT CABLES
The rubber-encased cables connecting the helicopter pad floodlights dance
wildly in the wind like black snakes. The helicopter struts are
precariously near to them.- too precariously, as one cable inadvertently
hooks itself around a strut.
137BACK TO SCENE
LOIS has entered the helicopter. The PILOT takes off. The helicopter starts
to rise through
the strong winds, suddenly jerks back as the hooked cable takes hold,
yanking out one of the
floodlights. The helicopter lurches down violently to the PILOT'S ' side,
its spinning blades knifing through the waiting room window, spraying
showers of glass. The helicopter, still hooked to the edge, one strut
hanging over the side.
138INSERT SHOT - CABLE
The cable holding the helicopter has split, short-circuits, spitting
electric sparks.
139 INT. HELICOPTER
The PILOT, on the roof side,has been knocked unconscious by the impact of

Page 48/113
hitting the waiting room. LOIS, on the street side, looks over at him,
paralyzed with fear. Held In by her seatbelt, she looks down her side to
the street, terrified.
140ANGLE ON STREET - LOIS' POV
A shear drop to the street. A small CROWD has already started to form.
141EXT. METROPOLIS STREET
The CROWD grows rapidly in size, staring up, pointing excitedly. CLARK
arrives on the scene, looks up as well, eyes widening in horror.
142ANGLE ON LOIS - CLARK'S POV
The helicopter dangles half over the edge of the roof.
143BACK TO CROWD
Determined, CLARK pushes his way through the crowd, looking for something.
144ANGLE ON PHONE BOOTH - CLARK'S P.OV
A phone booth stands on the corner - but this is a modern booth -- it
covers only the top half of the body.
145BACK TO CLARK - WIDER ANGLE (amended from page #33 -
145A/B/C Sc. 92,93,94,95)
CLARK starts to cross an empty street to an alley, oblivious to the red
light turning green and the oncoming traffic. A taxi hurtles across the
intersection.
145A ANOTHER ANGLE
The taxi smashes into CLARK with a sickening crunch. The
DRIVER,
horrified, jumps out.

DRIVER:
Oh, my god, I couldn't help...
CLARK, still standing, simply turns, smiles nicely.

CLARK:
Sorry, I didn't notice the light.

:
The DRIVER stops, dumbfounded, stares at the hood of his
cab.
145B INSERT SHOT - HOOD OF CAB
The front of the cab has CLARK'S impression cut deeply into
the hood, through
to the engine block to the windshield.

:
145C BACK TO CLARK
CLARK crosses to alley.
146INT. HELICOPTER

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LOIS looks up past the unconscious PILOT to the edge of the roof. She has
only one chance. She unbuckles her safety belt, tries to crawl over him. As
she moves, the helicopter shifts
position, swings out farther over the roof.
147INSERT SHOT - CABLE
The cable jerks with the weight. Sparks fly. It holds together by a thread.
148 BACK TO LOIS
LOIS tumbles back with the movement, falls out the door grabbing her
unbuckled seatbelt at the last minute on the way out.
149EXT. STREET ANGLE ON LOIS - CROWD'S POV
The CROWD scream. LOIS dangles from the roof, holding on to her seatbelt
for dear life.
TO PAGE 57
150EXT. ALLEYWAY
An incredibly garish BLACK PIMP exits an alley doorway, stoned, stops in
awe as he, sees: SUPERMAN in full costume heading towards him, determined.

PIMP:
Say, Jim! That is a bad outfit...

SUPERMAN:
Excuse me...
With a burst or energy SUPERMAN rises from the ground, flies up into the
night sky. The PIMP watches in wonder.

PIMP:
Wait a minute, Jim! Who's your tailor, baby?
Who cuts your threads?
151EXT. STREET - ANGLE ON LOIS - CROWD'S POV
The hushed CROWD watches LOIS hanging from the roof as SUPERMAN appears,
flying quickly towards her.

FIRST VOICE:
Look!

SECOND VOICE:
It's a bird!
THIRD VOICE (woman)
No, it's some kind of plane! What the
hell is it, Harvey?

FOURTH VOICE:
Goddamned if I know, Margaret.
152EXT. ROOF - ANGLE ON LOIS

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LOIS dangles from the helicopter, eyes closed. her mouth moving in some
sort of silent prayer. The helicopter suddenly lurches.
153INSERT SHOT - CABLE
The cable snaps.
154BACK to LOIS
The helicopterfalls. LOIS screams, eyes welded shut. Suddenly SUPERMAN'S
mighty arm reaches out, grabs her around the waist. With his other hand, he
takes the bottom strut of the helicopter.

SUPERMAN :
Easy now, Miss. I've got you.
LOIS' eyes open tentatively, then flutter unbelievingly.

LOIS:
You've got me? Who's got you?
SUPERMAN smiles warmly as he lifts both LOIS and the helicopter back onto
the roof.
155EXT. ROOF
SUPERMAN gently deposits the awestruck LOIS on the roof, then lowers the
helicopter.

SUPERMAN:
(smile - to LOIS)
I hope this little incident doesn't put you off
flying, Miss. Statistically it's still the safest
way to travel.
LOIS,
I. . .
LOIS opens her mouth to speak, but SUPERMAN takes off again. She stares
after him. gaping.

:
156EXT. SKY - NIGHT
SUPERMAN is in mid-air, exhilarated - literally high. He executes a cocky
"loop," feeling a kind of release, a genuine physical joy in flying.
157EXT. STREET
The CROWD has grow in size. A TV mobile unit has arrived. The PEOPLE "ooh"
and "aah" in wonder. A TV CAMERAMAN points , looks over at his CREW.

TV CAMERAMAN :
There he is !
He tilts his camera up. CAMERA PANS with him to the sky.

Page 51/113
158EXT. SKY - NIGHT - CLOSE ON SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN notices the attention, suddenly stops his aerobatics,
embarrassedly self-conscious. He looks off:
160EXT SIDE OF APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT
A BURGLAR emerges from a high apartment house window, steps out onto a
ledge. He drops a fistful of jewels into a bag tied to his waist, then
positions suction cups attached to his hands and knees. Slowly,
laboriously he ascends the side of the building.
160CLOSE ON BURGLAR
Breathing hard, he continues. Looking up, his face suddenly registers
shock.
161ANGLE ON SUPERMAN - BURGLAR' S POV
SUPERMAN strolls down the side of the building towards him, defying all
laws of gravity. He smiles at the BURGLAR. .

SUPERMAN:
Hi there. Something wrong with the elevator?
162BACK TO BURGLAR

:
The terrified BURGLAR frantically tries to get away, his suction cups
coming loose. He falls - SUPERMAN swoops down, catches him firmly.
163EXT. METROPOLIS STREET - NIGHT
PATROLMAN MOONEY quietly walks his beat on a deserted city street, looks up
as he
hears a "whoosh!" SUPERMAN lands next to him, deposits the terrified
BURGLAR.

SUPERMAN:
They say confession is Good for the soul, Officer.
I'd listen to this man.
The thunderstruck MOONEY gapes as SUPERMAN takes off again. The BURGLAR
shrubs, extends his wrists to MOONEY for the handcuffs.

BURGLAR:
What the hell. It's only a dream, anyway.
164EXT. HIGHWAY UNDERPASS NEAR RIVER - NIGHT
A police car. light flashing, sirens blaring, chases a sleek black Cadillac
as they crisscross,
screeching through the pillars of a river highway underpass. Both cars
blaze away at each
other with firearms. The Cadillac squeals into a l80-turn, heads down a
short pier to a waiting
cabin cruiser. The police car tries to imitate the turn, smashes head-on

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into a stone pillar, one
POLICEM.AN catapulting through the windshield onto the hood. TWO OTHER
POLICEMEN pile out, guns drawn, open fire down the pier.
165ANGLE ON POLICE FROM PIER
THREE HOODS empty out of the Cadillac near the cabin cruiser, the police
bullets
slamming into their car. They wheel, holding automatic weapons, cut down
the TWO
POLICEMEN, jump onto the cruiser, take off.
166EXT. SKY - NIGHT - ANGLE ON CABIN CRUISER
The cabin cruiser plows down the river at top speed. CAMERA ZOOM BACK,
PANS:
SUPERMAN watches from mid-air.
167INT. CABIN CRUIER - NIGHT
TWO of the HOODS are in the main cabin. ONE drives the boat while the OTHER
makes
three neat piles of money on a table,pullingit out of a black satchel. The
FIRST HOOD
grins at his PARTNER , then looks back through the windshield of the cabin,
his jawsuddenly dropping.

FIRST HOOD:
Holy sh....
168ANGLE THROUGH WINDSHIELD - HOOD'S POV
SUPERMAN stands on the front deck, arms folded, staring sternly inside at
them.
169EXT. BOAT DECK - NIGHT
The THIRD HOOD sneaks up behind SUPERMAN, a heavy barbed steel boat gaff in
his
hands. As SUPERMAN stares in through the windshield, the HOOD swings it
down
viciously straight into his head. The gaff recoils as if it had hit solid
steel - the HOOD stands
unbelievingly, his entire body shaking in spasms from the impact. SUPERMAN
turns witha smile.

SUPERMAN:
Bad vibrations?
170INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT
A flustered MOONEY stands before his amused DESK SERGEANT .

MOONEY:
Sergeant, I swear! Flying! With a big red cape!
And bright red boots as well! Then, quick as a

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wink - he was gone! Flew up in the air again, he
did. Like a big blue bird.

SERGEANT:
(smile)
Like a big blue bird....with bright red boots.
The SERGEANT gets down from behind his desk, walks MOONEY to the station
door. CAMERA FOLLOWING

SERGEANT:
Why don't you take the rest of the night off now, Mooney.
Go back to Murphy's bar and finish what you plainly started.
I'll be off myself in a bit and join ya there...
They have, reached the door, start out, suddenly stop, rooted to the spot.
171EXT. STREET - ANGLE ON CRUISER - THEIR POV
The cabin cruiser sits in the street, balanced on its keel. The THREE HOODS
are wrapped in
the anchor chain, the satchel of money hanging from one of their necks.
172BACK TO MOONEY AND SERGEANT

SERGEANT :
Off we go, then, Mooney. The first bottle's on me....
173EXT. SKY - NIGHT - ANGLE ON SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN continues through the air as a bolt of lightening slashes by next
to him. Then a
clap of thunder. It starts to rain. He hears something, cocks his head.

174EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NICHT

A LITTLE GIRL looks up plaintively through the rain at a tree in her back
yard. We hear a
miserable "meow." CAMERA PANS UP: A wet cat sits stranded in the top
branches of the
tree.

LITTLE GIRL:
(despair)
Frisky! Oh, Frisky, please come down....
Suddenly - SUPERMAN soars into frame, scoops FRISKY out of the tree,
glides down, gently deposits the cat in the LITTLE GIRL'S arms.

LITTLE GIRL:
Gee, thanks Mister.
(to cat)
You naughty thing. . .

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SUPERMAN:
Don't be too hard on Frisky. We all get a little
scared of heights now and then.
SUPERMAN flies off. CAMERA PANS with the LITTLE GIRL as she runs up here
house steps and inside. CAMERA HOLDS a moment Suddenly - the sound of a
"smack."
MOTHER'S VOICE
Haven't I told you to stop telling lies?
Another bolt of lightening slashes through the night sky. The rain becomes
noticably heavier.
175EXT. SKY - NICHT - ANGLE ON AIR FORCE ONE
Air Force One fights its way through the pounding storm; heading for
Metropolis airport.
Suddenly a bolt of lightening cracks into the wing. Flames shoot up as the
outboard engine
on the PILOT'S side splits in two, drops off the wing. The plane starts
into a dive.
176INT. AIR FORCE ONE COCKPIT - NIGHT
The PILOT and CO-PILOT fight the controls, try to level off. Suddenly: the
plane's nose
comes up. The aircraft seems to right itself to the astonishment of the
PILOT who looks out the window, eyes now widening.

177ANGLE ON WING - PILOT'S POV

SUPERMAN has grabbed hold or the wing in the cavity created by the fallen
engine, now
flies, stretched out in its place. He turns his head, smiles at the PILOT.

:
178INT. AIR FORCE ONE COCKPIT - NIGHT
The dumbfounded PILOT looks back as the CO-PILOT strains to look past him
out 'the side.
CO-PILOT
What happened? We get our engine back?

PILOT:
Fly.. Don't look. We... got something. . .
(weak smile)
Trust me. Just ... fly.
179EXT. MEROPOLIS AIRPORT - NIGHT - ANGLE ON LOIS
LOIS waits in the storm with a mob of excited REPORTERS. Emergency
equipment stands by, lights flashing. Everyone turns, flabbergasted, as
they see:

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180 ANGLE ON RUNWAY - THEIR POV
Air Force One glides safely to a landing, taxis up in front of them.
SUPERMAN does a backflip, stands on the wing, looks in at the pilot, gives
him the 'high sign' then looks off at the PRESS.
181 ANGLE ON PRESS
The REPORTERS watch in stunned silence. LOIS elbows her way to the
front,
waving.

LOIS:
Hey! It's me! Remember? Lois Lane!
The girl from the roof?
SUPERMAN spots her, grins, waves, then takes off again, disappearing into
the night sky. The amazed REPORTERS crowd around LOIS.

REPORTER:
Hey, Lois. You know that guy?

LOIS:
(sly puss)
Oh, nothing ...intimate.

:
181CONTINUED
LOIS smiles privately, heads off, the mob of REPORTERS trailing behind her,
yelling "who is he?" "C'mon, Lois, what's the story?", etc. CAMERA PANS to
the doorway of Air Force One: the PRESIDENT'S ENTOURAGE appears to clear
the way. No one notices - there is no longer a way to clear.
181AINT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - DAY
The SCREEN is filled by the giant head of JOR-EL. He looks down INTO
CAMERA, his expression a blend of slight displeasure and parental
understanding.
JOR-EL
You...enjoyed it.

SUPERMAN:
I don't know what to say.
(awkwardly)
I guess I just got...carried away.
JOR-EL
I anticipated this, my son. I...

SUPERMAN:
You couldn't have! You couldn't have

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Imagined...
JOR-EL
(gently)
How good it felt!

SUPERMAN:
How good it felt...
SUPERMAN falls silent again, ashamed. JOR-EL can't resist a small smile.
JOR-EL
You are revealed to the world. Very well.
So be it. But still you must keep your
secret identity.

SUPERMAN:
Why?
181A CONTINUED
JOR-EL
The reasons are two: First, even you cannot
serve humanity twenty-eight hours a day...

SUPERMAN:
Twenty-four.
JOR-EL
Or twenty-four as it is in Earth time. Your
help would be called for endlessly, even for
those tasks which human beings could solve
for themselves. It is their habit to abuse their
resources in such a way.

SUPERMAN:
And secondly?
JOR-EL

Second:
way to hurt you - by hurting the people you care
for.

SUPERMAN:
Thank you, Father...
JOR-EL
Lastly- do not punish yourself for your feelings
of vanity. Simply learn to control them. It is an
affliction common to all, even here on Krypton...
(expression changes)

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Our destruction could have been avoided but for
the vanity of some who considered us indestructible.
Were it not for vanity...why...at this very moment...
I could embrace you in my arms
(barely audible)
...my son...
182EXT. METROPOLIS STREET- NIGHT - CLOSE ON STORE WINDOW
The face of a TV NEWSCASTER looks INTO CAMERA through the window of a store

which sells television sets

NEWSCASTER:
Good evening. And what sort of night has it
been so far? A night that has seen what many
believe to be the most extraordinary phenomenon
of our times ...
CAMERA PULLS BACK: the storewindow is filled with a myriad of TVsets, all
three
networks simultaneously broadcasting the same story, although only one
NEWCASTER'S
voice is audible. A CROWD has formed in front of the Window, hanging on to
every word with a bemused expression on his face - CLARK KENT.

NEWSCASTER:
Our newsfilm confirm eyewitness's reports of a
caped figure, resembling a man, who appeared
flying in the sky over Metropolis. Yes, I said flying . . .
A CROWD MEMBER turns to CLARK.

CROWD MEMBER:
That'll be the day, huh?

CLARK :
You said it.

NEWSCATER:
White House comments are guarded at present,
although the F. B. I . is said to be investigating the
matter. As further accounts pour in, speculation has
arisen that this whole thing may be some sort of
fantastic hoax ...
CLARK frowns. He hadn't counted on this reaction.
162CONTINUED

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NEWSCASTER:
The Mayor of Chicago commented that it all
seemed too be a publicity stunt designed to
draw attention to Metropolis...
CLARK turns, walks off CAMERA PANNING with him.

NEWSCASTER:
....a city that has been having its share of
financial problems of late.
183INT. LUTHOR'S LAIR - NIGHT
The highest level of the underground complex is an improvised swimming pool
area. The
domed ceiling hangs low over what once was a massive staircase down into
the station and
now serves as the entrance steps to the pool. A projection of an idyllic
Caribbean island
setting and seascene shimmers against one wall. LUTHOR sits in the shallow
end of the pool
in a roped-off, bubbling Jacuzzi bath section. EVE, looking fetching in a
bikini, lies on a mat
nearby, black goggles over her eyes, absorbing rays from a sunlamp. OTIS
sits in an armchair, watches the NEWSCASTER on a television in front of
him.
NE\WSCASTER
...His question is everybody's: True or false? Miracle
or fraud?
184CLOSE ON LUTHOR
LUTHOR is deeply troubled. He glowers pensively as the NEWSCASTER finishes.

LUTHOR:
Turn it off...

NEWSCASTER :
The answer is up to you. Man or myth?
OTIS switches off the set, turns.

OTIS:
What's a myth?

LUTHOR:
(mind elsewhere)
Something unreal....something.... not quite human.
Something like you, Otis
184CONTINUED

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OTIS beams, settles back in his chair.

OTIS :
I'm a myth....
LUTHOR frowns, his mind working double-time. EVE stares up at the sunlamp,
her eyes still covered by goggles.

EVE:
So what's the story, Lex? You think this
guy's the genuine article?

LUTHOR:
If he is - he's from another world...

EVE:
Why?

LUTHOR:
Because if any human being could have perpetrated
such a fantastic hoax, it would have been for me and
I would have thought of it by now.

EVE:
Oh.
LUTHOR snaps his fingers. OTIS rises, crosses to him with an elegant
bathrobe.

LUTHOR:
(musing- resigned)
It all fits somehow His coming here to Metropolis -
and at this particular time. There's a kind of ... cruel
justice about it. I mean, to commit the Crime of the
Century, a man would just naturally have to face - the
Challenge of the Century.
CAMERA PUSHES IN as LUTHOR rises, lost in the philosophical justification
of it all.
OTIS starts to wrap the bathrobe around him.
EVE (O. S.)
Maybe he'll leave you alone, Lex. Maybe he's just
passing through.

LUTHOR:
(bitter smile)
184CONTINUED

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LUTHOR (CONTD)
Just . . . passing through, Miss Teschmacher? Not on your life...something
I would gladly sacrifice by the way -
for the one chance to destroy everything he represents.
(pause - blinks)
Oh, and Otis...

OTIS:
Yes, Mr. Luthor?

LUTHOR:
Next time, put the robe on after I get out of the pool.
CAMERA PULLS BACK: the bottom section of LUTHOR'S robe is submerged below
the waterline.

OTIS:
I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor.

LUTHOR:
I know that, Otis.
185INT. LOIS LANE'S APARTMENT - DAY
A lovely apartment in a high-rise building with a balcony-terrace off the
living room. Books,
modern art posters, desk with typewriter, etc. CLARK sits at one end of the
sofa. LOIS paces
next to him.

LOIS:
(outraged)
It wasn't a trick!

CLARK:
Oh sure. A man flies in the sky like a pigeon
and it wasn't a trick. It was probably done with
wires. They must have rigged him up like Peter Pan.

LOIS:
There weren't any wires. I looked.

CLARK:
Mirrors, then.

LOIS:
He grabbed me! He held me! How could that be done with mirrors?

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185CONTINUED

CLARK:
I don't know, Lois, but I do know a fraud when I
hear one. This thing goes against all natural laws.

LOIS:
(pause)
You're just jealous.

CLARK:
Jealous! Of what?

LOIS:
Of this...Superman.
CLARK frowns as he hears the name for the first time, then stifles a smile.

CLARK:
(musing)
Super...man. Hmmm...

LOIS:
I'm going to make some coffee.
Want some?

CLARK:
No thanks.
LOIS crosses to open the kitchen door.

LOIS:
You know something? I've only
said three words to the man...but
for the first time in a long time - I
think I'm kind of...stuck on someone.
SHE enters the kitchen. The door swings shut behind her. CLARK rises,
listens, interested.
185CONTINUED
LOIS (O.S.)
Just...three little words, as
they say. "Help" and "Thank
you." Not exactly the basis for
a meaningful relationship, is it?
I mean, for all I know, he's got
a wife and kids on some other

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planet. But somehow I just can't
stop...fantasizing about him, you know?
CLARK has heard something. He cocks his head, looks off at the terrace.
LOIS (CONTD)
So I called a guy who's married to
this girl I went to college with. He's a
shrink. I made an appointment and went
to see him...
186EXT. TERRACE - DAY
CLARK comes out, listening intently. CAMERA ZOOMS to a rooftop across the
street covered with TV aerials. CLARK'S super hearing picks up an
announcement coming over the air waves.
ANNOUNCER'S COICE
...tape recording left at station W.M.E.T.
Police chief James Vitucci listened to it
immediately, put the police on emergency
alert, and warned citizens to remain in their
homes in he downtown area. Here is the

recording:
187EXT. METROPOLIS SCHOOL - DAY
Lines of SCHOOL CHILDREN file out the front doors and down the steps of a
public
school. being monitored by TEACHERS and POLICE who load then into busses.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(over air waves)
This is the voice of Lex Luthor. I have a challenge for
this...unidentified flying object. This bogus blue baffoon.
There is an abandoned warehouse at the corner of Fifth
and Main...
188EXT. LOIS" TERRACE - DAY
CLARK listens, eyes widening.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Somewhere inside that warehouse is a pellet filled with a
propane lithium compound. At precisely twelve noon it
will drop into a beaker of acid.
CLARK checks his watch.
189INSERT SHOT - CLARK'S WATCH

The time is 11:

LUTHOR'S VOICE
Within a matter of seconds a poison gas will be released
that will annihilate everyone within a forty block radius...
190EXT. METROPOLIS STREET - DAY - ANGLE OF TERRACE

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Looking up from the street: CLARK jumps off Lois' terrace. CAMERA PUSHES
IN: as he
falls, a gradual transformation to Superman takes place in blurred.
overlapping stages.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
I would remind the tin-plated minions
of law that this warehouse has been fitted
with anti-personnel devices, which will
render any police action totally ineffective...
SUPERMAN hits the street, the transformation having completed. He shoots
off into the sky.
191EXT. METROPOLIS HOSPITAL - DAY
Bed-ridden PATIENTS are being wheeled out of the Emergency Exit of a
hospital by NURSES and ATTENDANTS, and loaded into waiting ambulances under
POLICE supervision.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Is this cape-flapping freak all that he seems
or are we merely victims of mass hysteria?
Thousands of innocent lives hang in the
balance. I make this gesture as a public
service, by the way - and without thanks. Thanks.
192INT. LOIS' APARTMENT - DAY
LOIS can still be heard talking from the kitchen.
LOIS (O.S.)
...and then he said, "maybe the guy's
a father figure." So I said, "look. My
Pop's a terrific guy, but he doesn't
go flying around town in a red cape..."
LOIS enters the living room, looks around.

LOIS:
Clark...Clark?
(pause)
Nuts. Now I've gone and hurt his
feelings.
193EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY - WIDE SHOT
The warehouse is cordoned off. Fire trucks and police cars are drawn up.
BOMB SQUAD
PERSONNEL stand nearby strapping on their protective gear; now look up as
they suddenly hear a "whooshing " sound O . S .
194CLOSE ON WAREHOUSE DOOR
SUPERMAN lands directly in front of the warehouse door, waves the POLICE
back. Heturns to face the warehouse. The massive metal doors are linked
with a giant padlock.

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195INT. LUTHOR'S LAIR VIEWING THEATER - DAY
LUTHOR, EVE and OTIS sit in comfortable seats in an elegant viewing theater
somewhere inside the underground complex. A bank of large TV screens faces
them. One screen projects
the live image of SUPERMAN. (NOTE: As the action progresses through the
warehouse,
different screens will be activated presumably from different cameras).
LUTHOR sips a tall
drink, smugly adjusts several knobs on a large console next to him. EVE
chews gum, stares curiously at SUPERMAN. OTIS munches a large candy bar,
excited.

LUTHOR:
Look at that overgrown Boy Scout, Miss
Teschmacher, Tell me what you see.

EVE :
(chewing)
Cuteness. Dimples.
LUTHOR'S eyes flash. EVE smiles nervously.

EVE:
Did I miss something, Lex?
LUTHOR glowers at SUPETRMAN ominously.

LUTHOR:
Confidence
196EXT.WAREHOUSE - DAY
SUPERMAN jerks the padlock backwards off the doors. They open with a huge
explosion -
the SCREEN is filled with smoke and flame. As the smoke clears: SUPERMAN
stands in
the doorway, unharmed. He tears apart what's left of the doors like
tinfoil, steps inside. A
bright row of arrows painted on the warehouse floor points the way for him.

197INT. LUTHOR'S VIEWING THEATER - DAY

LUTHOR scowls, a bit unnerved.

OTIS:
This guy handles himself pretty good,
Mr. Luthor.

LUTHOR:

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All right, all right, so he's tough! We
knew that.
(TO EVE')
So you like dimples, eh, Miss Teschmacher?
I'll give him dimples.........
198INT. WAREHOUSE ROOM #1 - DAY
SUPERMAN follows the painted arrows into a bare room. The door suddenly
slams shut behind him. Instantly: wall panels slide open on all sides
filled with machine gun barrels.
They all open fire at once in a withering deafening, blinding barrage.
SUPERMAN stands erect, arms folded, as thousands of bullets ricochet of
him. The barrage finally ends. The
floor of the room is totally covered with spent shells. Brushing them aside
with his boot to
find the painted arrows, SUPERMAN calmly proceeds on his way.
199LUTHOR ' S VIEWING THEATER - DAY
LUTHOR looks nervous, flustered even, as he fumbles with the controls on
his panels.

EVE:
Dimples. Would you settle for acne?

LUTHOR:
Don't worry, don't worry, we'll find his weakness.....

OTIS:
Hey. Maybe he's got a glass jaw.
(LUTHOR glares)
Then, on the other hand......
200INT. WAREHOUSE ROOM #2 - DAY
SUPERMAN enters the second room, has reached the center when: the walls and
ceiling suddenly come alive with flaming gas jets. The room becomes a
blinding inferno. SUPERMAN stands in the center serenely, waits until the
holocaust dies down. Then, adjusting his cape, he nonchalantly starts off
for the third room.
201INT. LUTHOR ' S VIEWING THEATER -DA Y
LUTHOR holds his head in his hands. EVE and OTIS watch.

LUTHOR:
But how can it be? That creep should have
melted in there!

EVE:
He doesn't even look soft around the edges,

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Lex.

202INT. WAREHOUSE ROOM #3 - DAY

SUPERMAN enters room, suddenly disappears from view into the middle of an
incredibly
thick blizzard. The blinding snowstorm fills the SCREEN.
203INT. LUTHOR'S VIEW/ING THEATER - DAY
LUTHOR watches the smog-filled monitor.

LUTHOR:
What's the temperature?

EVE:
(checking a gauge)
Fifty below and falling.

LUTHOR:
When it gets to a hundred - stabilize it.
204INT. WAREHOUSE ROOM # 3 - DAY
The blizzard stops. The air slowly clears. In the middle of the room: a
large cone of ice-has
formed. Suddenly, a thin crack appears, running down the center. The crack
breaks open.
SUPERMAN steps out, rubs his hands together briskly, then starts off.
205INT. LUTHOR'S VIEWING THEATER - DAY
LUTHOR watches, his face twisted with rage.

OTIS:
The guy probably never owned a sweater in
his life...
LUTHOR swivels, hurls his drink at OTIS, who ducks: it smashes into the
wall behind him.

OTIS:
He did?
206INT. WAREHOUSE CIRCULAR ALCOVE - DAY
SUPERMAN has exited the third room into a circular alcove with four lead
doors leading off from it. Each is sealed by a huge tumbler lock similar to
those on bank vaults. The painted
arrows lead off to all four doors. SUPERMAN stops, stares hard at the
doors, momentarily mystified.

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207INT. LUTHOR'S VIEWING THEATER - DAY
LUTHOR leans in toward the screen, fascinated for once by what he sees.

EVE:
Don't tell me he's suddenly got a problem....

LUTHOR :
(eyes glued)
Ssshhh.......
208INT. WAREHOUSE ALCOVE - DAY
If SUPERMAN did have a problem, he solves it quickly. He rips off all four
lend doors in
super-speed. They crash to the ground, twisted. Finding the doorway he
wants, SUPERMAN enters.
209INT. WAREHOUSE ACID ROOM - DAY
The central area of the room has been blocked off by a ceiling-high thick
wire mesh fence.

Behindit:
over a beaker of acid. SUPERMAN glances O.S.
210INSERT SHOT - WALL CLOCK
A timer clock on the wall indicates eight seconds left.
211BACK TO SCENE
SUPERMAN approaches thefence. It startsto hum. His hands reach out,grab
hold of the

wire:
current passing through him harmlessly. He rips through the fence as: the
pellet suddenly drops. SUPERMAN dives at it
with super-speed, catches it at the last second. Staring at it curiously he
shrugs, pops it in his mouth, swallows it. He looks down at the beaker of
acid, lifts it, swallows it. He looks down at the beaker of acid, lifts it,
then quaffs it down as a chaser. Tapping his chest lightly with his fist,
he lets out a discreet "burp."
212INT. PERRY WHITE'S OFFICE - DAY
CAMERA CLOSE on PERRY'S desk where lies an edition of The Daily Planet with
the screaming headline: SUPERMAN SAVES THOUSANDS.

213WIDER ANGLE
A dozen REPORTERS, including LOIS and CLARK, stand at attention as PERRY

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paces
back and forth behind his desk, ranting.

PERRY:
Now look! We' re sitting on top of the story of the century
here! Our only problem is how to get it - exclusively!
(waves paper )
I want the name Superman and the Daily Planet
to go together like bacon and eggs!

CLARK:
(pause)
Well, I shouldn't think he'd lend himself to any
cheap promotion schemes....

PERRY:
Who's talking cheap? I'll make him a goddamn partner
if I have to! I want the inside dope on the real Superman!
Who is he? Where's he from? What's his favorite ball team?
(leans in)
And I'll tell you one thing, boys and girls -whichever one
of you Gets it out of him will have the single most important
interview since Moses talked to Cod .
214INT. DAILY PLANET CITY ROOM - DAY
The REPORTERS file out. LOIS has a look of grim determination on her face.
CLARK
notices, comes up.

LOIS:
(totally preoccupied)
There must be a way. Maybe if I hung myself, off
another building. . . . .lay down on some train
tracks, .or something....

CLARK:
A, Lois....about tonight....

LOIS:
(snaps to)
Mmm? What about tonight, Clark?

CLARK:
Our date.
(Shy smile)

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Well, our. . . .dinner.. Don't you remember?
214CONTINUED

LOIS:
Sorry, Clark...I must have forgot.

CLARK:
Gee. I planned on it all week...

LOIS:
(sigh)
All right, Clark. I'll go out with you.
Might as well get it over with.

CLARK:
You're wonderful, Lois. Where would
you like to go?

LOIS:
Oh, I don't know...
(in jest)
How about the Gold Room at the Park Towers?

CLARK:
The Gold Room? But that's the most
expensive place in town.
JIMMY walks by, has heard, interrupts, full of admiration for CLARK.

JIMMY:
The Gold Room? Golly Mr. Kent, are you
really going to take Miss Lane to the Gold
Room.
CLARK is trapped. He shrugs, decides to play along with the image, gets
very "Mr. Terrific."

CLARK:
Oh. I don't know, Jimmy. Maybe... if
she's a ...
(cocky wink)
good girl, that is...

LOIS:
And if I'm not a good girl...
(cocky wink)

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Let's let Jimmy take the pictures: okay?
214CONTIUNUED
CLARK blushes. LOIS leaves with a smirk.

JIMMY:
Boy. What do you suppose she meant
by that, Mr. Kent?
215INT. LOIS' APARTMENT - NIGHT
LOIS, looking absolutely gorgeous in her best evening gown, puts the
finishing touches to
her hair in front of a mirror near the open door to her terrace. She stares
at herself critically
for a moment, then smiles, nods.

LOIS:
Not too bad, kid. As a matter of fact -
just this side of sensational.
(checks her watch)
Hmm. Clark is late....
She smiles, crosses to a small bar, pour.' a glass of wine.

LOIS:
Probably out in the hall getting up enough nerve
to knock.
LOIS takes her glass, wanders out onto the terrace.
216EXT. LOIS' TERRACE - NICHT
A beautiful night. The lights of the city are visible in the distance. LOIS
sips her wine, stares wistfully up into the sky.

LOIS:
(to herself)
You know something, Lois? You're too hard on
Clark sometimes. He's a decent kind of guy and he
has got this terrific crush on you.... I mean it's not
his fault he'll never be a ......
There is a loud "whoosh." SUOERMAN lands on the top comer of her terrace
ledge, looks
down at the stunned LOIS.

LOIS :
....Superman.
216CONTINUED

SUPERMAN:

Page 71/113
Good evening. Miss Lane. . . .
(Notices her gown)
I'm sorry. Were you just about to go out?

LOIS:
Ah. . . . .no. . . .no! Whyever would you. . .
(looks at gown)
Oh. This old thing....

SUPERMAN:
It's no trouble for me to come back later. I mean I
don't have to park or anything.

LOIS:
You just stay right where you are! Please! Don't move!
Or move, if you want, but don't fly away.
LOIS rushes inside. SUPERMAN smiles to himself, hops down onto the terrace,
speaks in
the direction of the open doorway.

SUPERMAN:
Sorry to just...drop in on you like this, Miss Lane, hut I
realize there must be many questions about me the
world would like the answers to. . . .
LOIS emerges with reporter's pad and pencil, takes a seat at the terrace
table.

SUPERMAN:
So it's become important for me to have very
close relations with the press.
LOIS smiles, hiding her nervousness, lights a cigarette from a box on the
table.

SUPERMAN:
You really shouldn't smoke, you know.

LOIS :
Don't tell me. Lung cancer, right?
217INSERT SHOT - LOIS' LUNGS
Seen through SUPERMAN'S X-RAY vision: A flashing medical X-Ray type shot
of LOIS' lungs.
218BACK TO SCENE

SUPERMAN:

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Not yet, thank goodness.
LOIS blinks, puts out her cigarette, picks up her pad.

LOIS:
Let's...ah...start with your vital statistics,
okay? Age?
SUPERMAN.
Thirty.

LOIS:
Height?

SUPERMAN:
Six-four

LOIS:
Weight?

SUPERMAN :
One ninety-five.

LOIS:
And I take it the rest or your bodily functions
are what we'd consider...normal?

SUPERMAN:
I beg your pardon?

LOIS:
Well - putting it delicately - do you eat?

SUPERMAN:
When I'm hungry.

LOIS:
Would you like a cookie?

SUPERMAN:
What kind?

LOIS :
Macaroons.
218CONTINUED

Page 73/113
SUPERMAN:
Thanks anyway.

LOIS:
A glass of wine?

SUPERMAN:
I never drink when I fly.
LOIS blinks, realizes he's serious, returns to her pad.

LOIS:
Is it true you can see through anything?

SUPERMAN:
Pretty much.

LOIS:
And you're totally impervious to pain?

SUPERMAN:
So far.

LOIS:
(not looking up)
What Color underwear am I wearing?
219ANGLE ON LOIS - SUPERMAN ' S POV
A quick flash of LOIS sitting in the chair, dressed only in her bra and
panties.
220BACK TO SCENE

SUPERMAN:
Pink.
LOIS writes it down, all business in spite of her blush.

LOIS:
Ah....do you have a first name?

SUPERMAN:
You mean like Ralph, or something?

LOIS:
I mean what's your background?
Where do you hail from?
220CONTINUED

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SUPERMAN:
I was born on a planet in the Xeno Galaxy.
A place called Krypton.

LOIS:
(writing )
Uh-huh. And do you....
(looks up)
Like pink?

SUPERMAN:
(nice smile)
I like pink very much, Lois.
LOIS puts down her pad, flustered in spite of herself.

LOIS:
Look. Just why are you in the in first place? I mean ,
why are you here? There must be a reason.

SUPERMAN:
I'm here to fight for truth justice, and the
American way.

LOIS:
You'll wind up fighting almost every elected
official in this country.

SUPERMAN:
I'm sure you don't really mean that, Lois.

LOIS:
Listen. With all these strange powers
of yours...

SUPERMAN:
(slightly hurt)
You find them ......strange?

LOIS:
Let's just say your average Joe can't deliver an airmail letter without
putting a stamp on it.
220CONTINUED

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SUPERMAN:
I wouldn't do that. It's against the law.

LOIS:
(to herself)
I don't believe this...

SUPERMAN :
I never lie.

LOIS:
(blinks)
Ah....just how fast do you fly, by the way?

SUPERMAN :
I don't know really. I've never actually timed myself.
Let's find together, okay?

LOIS:
And just how would you propose we do that?

SUPERMAN:
Take a ride with me. Now
(hopefully)
Would you like to?

LOIS:
(unbelieving):
A ride? You mean would I like to fly?

SUPERMAN:
(modestly)
Well. I'll be handling the flying of course.

LOIS:
This is utterly fantastic! If only Clark
could see me now....

SUPERMAN:
Clark? Is he your....boyfriend?

LOIS:
Clark? Oh, he's sort of....nothing at all, really.
Dull, mild-mannered, you know the type.

Page 76/113
220CONTINUED

SUPERMAN :
(a bit offended)
I'm sure he's actually very nice.
LOIS heads quickly back inside.

SUPERMAN :
Where are you going?

LOIS:
To get a coat. Isn't it kind of cold up there?

SUPERMAN:
You'll be warm enough. I'll wrap you in my cape.
SUPERMAN crosses, smiles, covers her with his cape, his arm encircling her.
He looks deeply into her eyes. LOIS looks back, trembling slightly, her
hand inadvertently grazing his bicep.

SUPERMAN:
Ready?

LOIS:
Clark said you were only rigged with wires.
Like Peter Pan.

SUPERMAN:
Peter Pan flew with children, Lois.
In a fairy tale.
He tightens his grip, sweeps her off her feet. They shoot up into the night
sky.
221EXT. SKY - NICHT
SUPERMAN flies through the night sky holding LOIS, his swirling cape
covering them. They look off as CAMERA PANS DOWN: the gleaming lights of
Metropolis grow smaller in the distance.
222FLYING MONTAGE
A series of. aerial POVS INTERCUT with flying reaction shots of SUPERMAN
and LOIS as the circle the world, passing through different time zones.
A.EXT. PARIS - NIGHT
The illuminated Place D'Etoile at night.
B.EXT'. VATICAN - NIGHT
The illuminated St. Peter's Square and Cathedral.
C.EXT. GIZA - EGYPT - DAY
The sun rises behind the Great pyramids

Page 77/113
 D.EXT. AGRA - INDIA - DAY
A day view of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
E.EXT. CHINA - DUSK
The sun sets behind the Great Wall of China.

:
F.EXT. METROPOLIS (NEW YORK) - NIGHT
The glittering lights of Metropolis loom up again.
G.EXT. SKY - ANGLE DOWN ON LOIS' TERRACE - NIGHT
CAMERA ZOOMS DOWN on LOIS' terrace from the sky.
223EXT. LOIS' TERRACE - NIGHT
SUPERMAN deposits LOIS Gently on the terrace once again. She is absolutely
struck dumb with wonder, stares at him.

SUPERMAN:
I figure it took about ninety seconds.
How about you?

LOIS:
Mmm?

SUPERMAN:
Are you feeling all right?
223CONTINUED

LOIS:
Mmm? Mmm.

SUPERMAN:
Well, So long, then....
SUPERMAN hops on the terrace ledge, shoots off into the night sky. CAMERA
PUSHES IN on LOIS' face, almost drugged with contentment.

LOIS:
I....wonderful.....you....
Suddenly - the doorbell rings from inside. Then, loud knocks on the
apartment door. CLARK enters B. G., crosses quickly out onto the terrace,
fussily angry.

CLARK:
Lois, for goodness sake. Didn't you hear me knock?
LOIS turns, smiles vapidly.

LOIS:

Page 78/113
Hi.....
CLARK looks at LOIS curiously, then spots the wine glass on the table,
lifts it suspiciously.

CLARK:
Lois, you're not...
LOIS smiles, shakes her head.

CLARK:
Well I should hope not. Let's push off then, okay?

LOIS:
(secret smile)
Okay.....

CLARK:
You know something, Lois? I'll admit I was nervous at
first, about but then, well, darn it - I decided I was going
to show you the time of your life.

LOIS :
(pause)
That's Clark, nice...
6/4/77 TM
224INT. LUJTHOR'S LAIR - DAY
CAMERA CLOSE on the front of a newspaper held by EVE who reads it intently,
OTIS peering over her shoulder. The banner headline is clearly visible: I
SPENT THE NIGHT WITH SUPERMAN - an exclusive interview by Lois Lane. CAMERA
PANS to the desk.
LUTHOR sits behind a massive pile of books, notations, calculators, etc. He
works feverishly with a slide rule, his face aglow with demonic
inspiration.

LUTHOR:
Now then ... given the location of the galaxy he
mentions . . .
(more slide rule)
And its proximity to our own solar system ..amazing...
(eyes lighting up)
Too good to be true! ...

EVE:
(reading)
You said it ... six-four, blue eyes, doesn't drink, tells

Page 79/113
the truth ...
LUTHOR suddenly slams the slide rule down on the desk in a rage. It breaks
in two, part of
it whizzing across the room. EVE looks up, terrified. LUTHOR manages a
patient smile, rises.

LUTHOR:
Some people can read War and Peace and come away
thinking it was a simple adventure story. Others can
read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and
unlock the secret of the universe.

EVE:
(insulted)
I read the article, Lex.

LUTHOR:
Exactly, Miss Teschmacher.
LUTHOR crosses to the massive wall of books behind him, climbs a large
rolling wooden
ladder attached to the shelves. He turns to OTIS .

6/4/77 TM
224CONTINUED

LUTHOR :
Onward to the letter N. Otis. Let's roll!
OTIS crosses to the ladder.

OTIS:
Was that "M," Mr. . Luthor?

LUTHOR:
As in "moron"? No, Otis, N, as in nitwit, nincompoop,
Neanderthal...
OTIS begins to push the rolling ladder along the wall.

LUTHOR:
(rolling)
Now then. According to that interview the planet
Krypton blew up on May 23, 1948. " The rocket
carrying the revolting little freak took three years to
reach Earth. Ergo?

Page 80/113
OTIS:
He is thirty years old?
The staircase stops. LUTHOR looks down.

LUTHOR:
Do you know why the number 200 is so vitally descriptive
of both of' us, Otis? It represents your weight - and my I.Q.
(turns)
Think, people, think! Deductive reasoning, that's the name
of the game!
LUTHOR turns dramatically, pulls out a specific periodical, starts to leaf
through it.
6/4/77 TM
224CONTINUED

LUTHOR:
Since .fragments of Krypton must have been shot
out into space by the explosion, it's reasonable to
assume some of the debris would have landed here
on Earth.

EVE:
You mean meteorites?

LUTHOR:
Jawohl.
He finds the page he was looking for, his face lighting up. EVE and OTIS
pick it up eagerly, look.

LUTHOR :
Et ... voila!
LUTHOR lets the periodical sail down to the floor. EVE and OTIS pick it-up
eagerly, looks.
225INSERT SHOT - PERIODICAL PHOTO
The photo shows an ETHOPIAN FARMER holding a wedge-shaped green rock about
a foot long and five inches high. The FARMER grins at the camera. The
caption beneath reads: Meteorite Lands near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June,
1951.
226BACK TO SCENE
EVE and OTIS stare at the picture, mystified.

EVE:
I know I'm going to get rapped in the mouth for saying
this, but - so what?

Page 81/113
LUTHOR:
So -what? You mean to us it's just a meteorite? Fair
enough. . .
6/4/77
226CONTINUED

LUTHOR:
But because of its high level of specific
radioactivity - to someone from the planet
Krypton - this substance would be lethal!

OTIS:
You mean bullets and .fire can't hurt him, but
this kind of rock

LUTHOR:
Will kill him!
LUTHOR steps off the ladder, beams proudly at EVE.

LUTHOR:
At times like these you must experience a certain
shudder of ecstasy just being in the same room
with me.

EVE:
Not like the kind of shudder you're going to feel
when you try and lay that rock on him. He can spot
you coming miles away with those super-peepers
of his.
LUTHOR stares up at the ceiling dramatically.

LUTHOR:
Lord, you gave them eyes, but
they see not!
(QUICKLY)
And neither can Superman - through lead. Four doors,
Miss Teschmacher, lead doors, and he had to rip them
all down to find that poisoned pellet. This bilious bluebird
has two Achilles' heels!

EVE:
(dawning on her)
You mean lead can hide things from him...

Page 82/113
6/4177 TM
226CONTINUED

LUTHOR:
And the Kryptonite - will destroy him!
(quick smile)
Any more Questions?

EVE:
(thoughtful pause)
I wonder what they're wearing in Addis
Ababa.
227EXT. SKY - DAY
SUPERMAN flies easily over the ocean, scans the horizon for trouble. He
looks down.
227AANGLE ON CONCORDE - SUPERMAN'S POV
The super-sonic Concorde airliner streaks through the sky below and just
ahead of him.
227BCLOSER ON CONCORDE
The PILOT is visible in the cockpit. He glances out the side, momentarily
blinks in disbelief
as SUPERMAN pulls up parallel to him. Suddenly realizing who it is, the
PILOT grins, gives
SUPERMAN a friendly salute which the Man of Steel returns. Then,
accelerating, SUPERMAN passes the plane.
228EXT. SKY NEAR U.S. COASTLINE - DAY
SUPERMAN nears the eastern coast of America, looks down, suddenly
concerned.
228AANGLE ON OIL RIG - SUPERMAN'S POV
An offshore oil rig, seen from the air. WORKERS scramble about quickly in
all directions as
a black oil spill begins to appear around the rig, spreading rapidly.
228BEXT. OIL RIG - DAY
The WORKERS run back and forth across the deck of the rig, looking over the
side desperately. A loud alarm blares ominously. One WORKER yells up at
another in the cab of the drilling rig.
WORKER #1
Shut it down! Shut it down!
WORKER #2
Too late! Pipe's jumped the bit!
Can't control it...!
WORKER #3
(pointing off)
Hey, look!

Page 83/113
228CANGLE ON SUPERMAN - THEIR POV
A blue streak knifes into the water next to them.
228DUNDERWATER SHOT - CLOSE ON SUPERMAN AND DRILLING PIPE
SUPERMAN shoots through the water with the same ease as he does though the
air. He
reaches the disconnected drilling pipe, which dances wildly around the open
bit to the
drilling hole from which oil now spews forth. Grabbing the pipe, he
straightens it, then forces it back into the bit hole, securing it.
SUPERMAN checks his work, heads up quickly for the surface.
228EEXT. SKY NEAR RIG - LOOKING DOWN
SUPERMAN breaks the waterline, wheels in mid-air, blows hard across the
surface with his
super-breath. He forces the mass of heavy oil across the water and away
from the rig, circling
it as he goes, compressing it. Rising higher into the air, he trains his
x-ray vision on the
gooey oil clot. It turns white-hot, explodes, then completely disappears. A
cheer is heard O.S.
from the WORKERS on the rig.
229CLOSE ON SUPERMAN
He is about to start off again, then notices something wrong near the base
of the rig.
229AEXT. BASE OF OIL RIG - DAY
A sea eagle is perched forlornly on one of the lower cross-struts of the
rig. Its feathers are heavily matted with oil. Its body trembles, unable to
fly. SUPERMAN lands next to it, slowly reaches out, meticulously starts to
clean the feathers by blowing warmth into his hands and melting the
coated-on oil with them. The process completed, SUPERMAN takes the bird in
his hands, tosses it gently upwards. The sea eagle takes off, heading
higher into the sky.
229BEXT. SKY - TOP OF CLOUD BANK - DAY
The eagle bursts through a white cloud bank up once more into the clean
blue air. After a short moment SUPERMAN does likewise, trailing the bird.
For a few moments we are privileged to witness this real beauty and poetry
of flying as the eagle and SUPERMAN chase each other through the air doing
banks, loops, and dives, swooping closely together like two beautiful
fighter planes in tight formation. The unspoken ceremony over, they
silently acknowledge each other, then head off in different directions.
14/4/77
230EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY
A country landscape with a winding, undulating road. CAMERA PANS OFF a sign
marked: DANFORTH MISSILE PROVING GROUNDS - 12 MILES to a rise in the
road. Heading for it is a military convoy. Two jeeps of MP's are in front

Page 84/113
and one is behind - a huge bulldozer towing a flatbed truck bearing the
enormous XK101 rocket. The large missile is covered by a thick, tied-down
tarpaulin. The convoy rolls on, crossing the SCREEN from right to left.
230AEXT. OTHER PART OF ROAD - DAY
A sleek car speeds quickly down another part of the road, heading across
the SCREEN from left to right.
230BINT. SPEEDING CAR - DAY
CAMERA LOOKS OUT the windshield of the speeding car from the rear. To our
amazement there is no DRIVER in the vehicle - no one at all, in fact. The
riderless
car continues to roar down the road.
230CEXT. BOTTOM RISE IN ROAD - DAY
CAMERA CLOSE on an electronic guidance box being held by OTIS who tries to
manipulate the speeding car, which is presently out of sight. A complicated
tool belt is
strapped around his waist. LUTHOR stands next to him, curiously dressed in
an all-white outfit, looks at the box, alarmed at the signals it is giving
off.

LUTHOR:
Do you 1ive.1n England, Otis?

OTIS:
I don' t think so, Mr. Luthor . . .

LUTHOR:
Then why are you driving on the left!
LUTHOR snatches the box away angrily, adjusts it.
14/4/77 TM
230DANGLE ON SPEEDING CAR
The drone car shifts over to the right of the road.
230EBACK TO LUTHOR - ANOTHER ANGLE
LUTHOR waits expectantly. From this ANGLE we can see EVE in the trees
behind him. She is dressed in a hopelessly slinky and revealing outfit,
adjust her makeup in a had mirror. LUTHOR turns to OTIS.

LUTHOR :
Now, Otis! Go!
OTIS runs off through the brush and trees to the right. LUTHOR checks the
box, looks over
his shoulder at EVE.

LUTHOR:
Ten second, Miss Teschmacher . . .

Page 85/113
EVE :
(from trees)
Did you ever try to run in high
heels?
(no reply)
You probably did.
LUTHOR looks up as the drone car speeds at him around a corner. He presses
a button on the box.
230FCLOSE ON DRONE CAR
The drone car suddenly flips all by itself, rolls over and over, bursting
into flames.
230GEXT. OTHER SIDE OF RISE - DAY
The first jeep in the military convoy stops as the sound of the explosion
echoes over the top of the rise. The alarmed OFFICER inside gestures the
vehicle forward again. It reaches the top. The MP's look down.
230H - 230L missing from script
230MINSERT SHOT - COMPASS DIAL
OTIS puts back his screwdriver, takes out a small wrench,
starts to adjust various needles from one set position to
another training a flashlight on his arm from time to time
where a set of numbers is printed.
230NEXT. BOTTOM OF RISE
The MP's now surround the fallen EVE who is completely obscured from view.
Only her legs stick out, twitching as a result of the over-attention being
paid her.
EVE'SVOICE
Thanks a lot...fine now...Hey! What did
You have for lunch, Ace!
Suddenly - a siren is heard. An ambulance roars around the corner,
screeches to a stop.
LUTHOR jumps out, crosses, begins peeling the MP' s off EVE.

MAJOR :
That was fast. Damnit. . .

LUTHOR:
(outraged)
Fast? When a woman's life is at stake?
EVE'S VOICE
(mumbling - surly)
And that's about all I got left to lose, believe me.
230PEXT. LOWER ROAD
The ambulance with LUTHOR and EVE screams around a corner, turns off its

Page 86/113
siren, stops
near the side of a hill. OTIS scrambles down through the brush, jumps into
the back.
230QINT. AMBULANCE - DAY
LUTHOR drives, EVE next to him. OTIS leans in from the rear section,
excited.

OTIS :
I did it, Mr. Luthor! Just like you told
me to!
5/5/77 TM
230QCONTINUED

LUTHOR:
It's not that I don't trust you, Otis . . .
(thinks about it)
Yes, it is. Tell me what you did.
OTIS roll up his sleeve, reads the numbers off his arm.

OTIS:
I reset the first vector heading to 38, the second
one to 67, and the third one to 117 .

LUTHOR :
(sm1ling - nods)
And the fourth one ?

OTIS:
What fourth one?

LUTHOR :
(overlapping)
The third to 117?

OTIS:
(holds out arm)
See? I wrote it down ...
LUTHOR stares at the arm, in total disbelief.

LUTHOR:
The third one goes to 11, Otis. And the fourth
one to 7.

OTIS:

Page 87/113
 (sadly)
Gee. 1 guess my arm wasn't long enough to make
a big space.

LUTHOR:
(rage mounting)
Would you like to see an arm long enough to make a
big space, Otis?
(screams)
Do you want to see an arm long enough to
Make a big space?
5/5/77 TM
230REXT. ROAD - HIGH SPOT
LUTHOR'S legs stick out of the inner rear section of the ambulance where hi
is pummeling OTIS as the ambulance careers back and forth wildly across the
road. EVE frantically tries
to control the vehicle from the passenger seat as it disappears around the
bend.
231EXT. ANOTHER COUNTRY ROAD - DAY
Another missile convoy identical to the first one heads down another
country road. The same arrangement: two jeeps of MP's in front of the
rocket, one in back.
231AINT. TRUCK CAB - DAY
CAMERA LOOKS THROUGH the front side window as LUTHOR and OTIS ride together
in what seems to be the cab of a small truck. OTIS looks over
apologetically at LUTHOR who drives, eyes forward. CAMERA PULLS BACK, PANS:
the small cab vehicle is towing an entire house on a double-width flatbed
truck. The huge structure takes up the full breadth of the narrow road.
232BEXT. BRIDGE CORNER - DAY
The missile convoy rounds the corner of a small hill, starts to proceed
onto a two-lane
bridge, suddenly stops, the rocket itself only halfway on.
232CANGLE ON HOUSE TRAILER - CONVOY'S POV
LUTHOR drives the house trailer across the other side of the bridge, rolls
to a stop, blocking
the passageway completely.
232DWIDE ANGLE - BRIDGE
The house trailer faces the convoy. The two lead jeeps full of angry MP's
drive forward.
232EINT. TRUCK CAB - DAY
The MP's pile out of their jeeps, approach the trailer cab, yelling. LUTHOR
smiles thinly,
Reaches down, Presses in the cigarette lighter on the dashboard.
232FINSERT SHOT -REAR TRAILER TIRES

Page 88/113
Two of the rear tires on the trailer suddenly puncture.
232GWIDE ANGLE
The rear end of the house sags helplessly on the bridge.
16/4/77 TM
231HEXT. CORNER OF HILL BEFORE BR1DGE
The one remaining jeep behind the missile has been screened by the corner
of the hill. The
Frustrated MP OFFICER waves the DRIVER forward to see what's happened.
CAMERA PANS to hillside: EVE scrambles down wearing the same tool belt OTIS
had on earlier,
Heads for the tarpaulin-covered rocket.
232INT. PLANET CITY ROOM
Several REPORTERS cluster around a portable TV on a desk in the corner. An
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE can be heard.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
... here at Danforth Proving Grounds for the launching
of two XK1O1 rockets, the very latest weapon in our
arsenal of defense ...

CMAERA PANS:
empty, heads
for the REPORTERS.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE.
It is claimed that the XK101 can hit any target
Completely undetected since it flies well below
all radar systems yet designed ...
ONE REPORTER turns to CLARK.

REPORTER:
Hey, Clark. Chief wants to see you ...

CLARK :
Thanks, Eddie
CLARK crosses back to PERRY'S office.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
The ultra-modern, built-in sensory devices can detect
any object in its path and automatic1y avoid it, either
going over, under, or around...
5/5/77 TM
232AINT. PERRY'S OFFICE - DUSK
CLARK knocks. PERRY looks up from behind a stack of news dispatches.

PERRY:
Come in, Kent.

Page 89/113
CLARK:
Hi, Mr. White . . .
(gestures)
Is Lois is around today?

PERRY:
She's out west looking into a land fraud deal. I sent young
Olsen with her on his first photo assignment. Some
unidentified joker's been buying up thousands of acres
of worthless desert at incredible prices.

CLARK:
Hmm. Doesn't seem to make sense . . .

PERRY:
The world doesn't make sense, Kent. You should know
that by now.
(tosses dispatch)
Look at this dispatch from Addis Ababa. People break
into a museum in the dead of night - kill two guards - and
what do they take? Some worthless hunk of meteorite .
How do you figure it.

CLARK:
I've never been able to understand violence in any form,
Mr. White.

PERRY:
(sadly)
I know that, Kent. That's part of the reason I wanted
to see you.
PERRY rises ponderously, hands in pockets, strolls pensively toward his
half-opened
window, looks out.
16/4/77 TM
232ACONTINUED

PERRY:
I've been in the news business man and boy for
forty years. I got where I am with guts, compassion,
and elbow grease - but most of all with one thing you
sadly lack, my boy - aggression. Take charge, Kent:
Confidence, that's the ticket! Why, when was . .

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As CLARK listens, PERRY'S VOICE seems to fade away, is replaced by a
high-pitched whine like that given off by a high frequency transmitter.
CLARK winces, hearing it, his hand rising involuntarily to his ear. PERRY
drones on at the window, apparently oblivious to it.
232BEXT. METROPOLIS ALLEY - DAY
Several stray dogs rummage through turned-over garbage cans, suddenly stop
as they hear
The whine, begin to howl and bay excitedly.
232CBACK TO PERRY'S OFFICE
CLARK tries to focus his super-hearing on the sound as it weakens
momentarily and
PERRY'5 VOICE .fades back in again at the window.

PERRY:
... get Lois to introduce you to Superman.
Start to hang out with the guy. Give me the
man-to-man angle . . .
More dog howling is heard from the streets through the partially opened
window.
232DCLOSE ON CLARK' S EAR
PERRY' 5 VOICE and the dog howls fade away as CLARK'S super-hearing picks
up the
high-frequency message.
LUTHOR'5 VOICE
This is Lex Luthor. Only one thing alive with less
than four legs can hear this frequency, Superman,
and that's you.
16/4/77 TM
232EANGLE ON CLARK
CLARK listens, eyes widening as PERRY drones on silently out the window.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
In approximately five minutes a poisoned gas pellet
containing a propane lithium compound will be released
through thousands of air ducts in this city . . .
232FINT. CITY ROOM
CLARK slips out of PERRY'S office, quickly crosses the city room 'where the
REPORTERS
cluster around the TV.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(happy chuckle)
Effectively annihilating half the population of
Metropolis.
232GEXT. SIDE OF DAILY PLANET - DAY
Looking up from the street: CLARK jumps out a window high up on the Daily

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Planet
building. As he falls, a gradual transformation to SUPERMAN takes place in
blurred, overlapping stages.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
I know it all seems a bit much, but how else was I
going to get to meet you, Superman? I knew you'd
never accept an invitation to tea.
SUPERMAN hits the street, the transformation having taken place. He stares
up into the sky.
232HANGLE ON METRPOLIS SKYLINE - SUPERMAN' S POV
Seen by SUPERMAN'S X-Ray vision: The pulsating, high frequency sound waves
originating from somewhere behind the skyline.
LUTHOR' S VOICE
But a disaster - with people in danger - people
who need help . . .
232IBACK TO SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN takes off in the direction of the sound waves, following them.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
I just knew you couldn't resist the chance of sort of ...
pitch in. Know what I mean?
232JEXT. OVER METROPOLIS - LOOKING DOWN - DAY
SUPERMAN looks down at a crowded city street from mid-air. The sound waves
seams to
Emanate through a particular section of the sidewalk.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
There's a strong streak of good in you, Superman.
But then, nobody's perfect. Almost nobody.
232KEXT. METROPOLIS SIDEWALK - DAY
SUPERMAN lands on the sidewalk. Happy PEDESTRIANS start forward with "Hey,
it's
Superman," etc. He waves them away.

SUPERMAN:
Everybody back, please! Thank you . ..
Arms folded, SUPERMAN suddenly begins to spin in place like a figure
skater, around and around at a dizzying speed, boring a circular hole in
the pavement as the startled PEDESTRIANS hold on to their hats.
232LEXT. BELOW METROPOLIS STREET. - DAY
A CUTAWAY SHOT showing SUPERMAN boring through the ground with his spinning

motion, heading down through layers of rock, underground city cables etc.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
Unfortunately I'm not in the book, but a bright boy
like you should be ab1e to find the address ...

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16/4/77 TM
232MINT. TUNNEL - DAY
The same tunnel we saw OTIS walk down in an earlier sequence. SUPERMAN
bores
through the ceiling, hits the floor directly opposite a high-powered radio
transmitter. He
looks down the length of the tunnel at the heavy metal door marked: DANGER
- NO ENTY CONDEMEND.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(now in tunnel)
See what I mean? And not a moment too
soon.
232NINT. LUTHOR' S VIEWING THEATER - DAY
LUTHOR, EVE and OTIS sit in comfortable seats in an elegant viewing theater
inside the underground complex. A bank of large TV screensfaces them. TWO
of the screens show
the two Danforth missile silos. A third has the image of SUPERMAN staring
directly INTO CAMERA from the tunnel. LUTHOR sips a tall drink, smugly
adjusts several knobs on a large console next to him. EVE chews gum, stares
curiously at SUPERMAN. OTIS munches
on a large candy bar, excited.

LUTHOR :
Look at that overgrown Boy Scout, Miss Teschmacher.
Tell me what you see.

EVE :
(chewing)
Cuteness. Dimples.
LUTHOR'S eyes flash. EVE smiles nervously.
6/4/77 TM
232OCONTINUED

LUTHOR :
You like dimples? I'll give him
dimples
LUTHOR reaches for a button on the console.
232PINT. TUNNEL - DAY
SUPERMAN starts down the tunnel for the door. Suddenly panels open on both
sides filled with machine gun barrels. They open fire simultaneously in a
withering, deafening barrage. SUPERMAN walks forward calmly as thousands of
bullets ricochet off' him.
232Q EXT. DANFORTH MISSILLE BASE - DAY
The great steel lids of' the two missile silos slowly begin to open.

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232RINT. TUNNEL - DAY
SUPERMAN continues. The walls and ceiling of the tunnel suddenly come alive
with flaming gas jets. The tunnel becomes a blinding inferno, as SUPERMAN
proceeds serenely through the holocaust.
232SEXT. DANFORTH MISSILE SILOS - DAY
The launching rockets start to activate. Fire and exhaust surround the
bottom of the missile.
232TINT. TUNNEL - DAY
SUPERMAN continues, then disappears from view into the middle of an
incredibly thick blizzard. A large cone of ice is instantly formed. The
blizzard stops. Suddenly a thin crack appears, running down the center.
SUPERMAN steps out, rubs his hands together briskly, approaches the door.
18/4/77 TM
233INT. LUTHOR'S LAIR - DAY
LUTHOR sits behind his desk, a model of smug composure, calmly reading the
newspaper with the headlines and picture announcing the dual missile test.
A large, blank screen has been lowered on one wall next to him. In front of
the screen, a black lead trunk forms the base or something which has been
converted into a bench, covered with cushions. Some distance away, OTIS
finishes setting up a slide projector. EVE watches nervously from the open
entrance to the viewing theater. The heavy metal main door to the complex
suddenly starts to tremble under SUPERMAN 'S strength. LUTHOR looks up from
his paper, calls out.

LUTHOR :
It's open...
SUPERMAN bashes the thick metal door to the ground like a stick of balsa
wood, enters. LUTHOR winces, then rises pleasantly.

LUTHOR:
Come in, Superman. My attorney will be
in touch about the door. Otis, don't just
stand there, take the man's cape....
OTIS starts forward with a tentative half-smile, is suddenly rooted to the
spot by SUPERMAN'S stare.

OTIS:
I... don't think he wants me to, Mr. Luthor.

SUPERMAN :
All right, Luthor, where's the gas pellet?

LUTHOR :
(smiles)

Page 94/113
Somewhere ... in the back of my mind, actually.
It's just a fun little project I've been toying with.

SUPERMAN:
Is that how a warped brain like yours gets its
kicks? By planning the death of innocent people?
18/4/77 TM
233 CONTINUED

LUTHOR:
(quick smile)
No. By causing the death of innocent people.
234EXT. DANFORTH MISSILE BASE - DAY
The two XK101 rockets are launched simultaneously with a rush of flames and
a mighty roar.
234AEXT. SKY - DAY - CLOSE ON MISSILE
The two missiles quickly rise to less than a hundred feet, then suddenly
stop, split, head off in different , skimming rapidly over the ground.
234BEXT. MISSILE CONTROL CENTER - DAY
TWO MISSILE CONTROLERS sit in front of the complex bank of TV screens,
computers, and control panels. Red lights flash everywhere. Alarms ring
out.

:
MIS5ILE CONTROLLER #1
Jesus Christ, they've gone berserk!
CONTROLER #2
(madly flipping switches)
I can't control them! Red Alert! Red Alert!
Get the Pentagon!
234CINT. PENTAGON OFFICE - DAY
The CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF sits behind his desk on the
phone, red-faced, astonished, wild.

CJCS:
That's impossible! It can't happen, damnit!...
It...
He grabs his red phone, picks it up.

CJCS:
Get me the President!
234DEXT. COLF COURSE - DAY
A group or suit-clad SECRET SERVICE AGENTS stand around a golf'-cart near a
bunker trap. A red phone inside the cart rings wildly. An AGENT picks it

Page 95/113
up, listens, thunderstruck, turns.

:
Mr. President! Mr. President!
A chunk of turf goes flying up over the top of the bunker from B.G.
PRESIDENT'S VOICE
Goddamnit! What now!
234EEXT. SKY LOOKING DOWN - DAY - CLOSE ON ROCKET #1
The first stage of a lightning fast trip across American from the POV of
the rockets at an altitude of less than twenty feet. The images whiz by
like magic. ROCKET #1 heads eastward, passing over the yellow wheat fields
of Kansas.
234FEXT. SKY LOOKING DOWN - DAY - CLOSE ON ROCKET #2
Employing the same photographic process, ROCKET #2 heads westward, passing
barns and cattle ranches.
235INT. LUTHOR' S LAIR - DAY
SUPEPMAN has tolerantly taken a seat on the cushioned bench of lead.
LUTHOR holds a professor's pointer in his hands, approaches the rolled-down
blank screen. OTIS mans the slide projector. LUTHOR stops, turns
dramatically to SUPERMAN.

LUTHOR:
You see, Superman...
(passionately)
I had a dream! ...

SUPERMAN:
In your case it must have been a nightmare,
Luthor. Get on with it!
18/4/77 TM
235CONTINUED

LUTHOR:
Right. Well ... as you mayor may not know,
Superman, I am, as they say, very heavy into
real estate. In order to make money in that
game you have to buy in for a little and sell for
a lot. Right? Right. So. Problem: how to make
that property valuable between the time you buy
and the time you sell. Now then...
LUTHOR snaps his fingers. OTIS flips on the slide projector. A brightly
illuminated map hits the rolled-down screen. LUTHOR starts to speak, then
looks at it curiously.

Page 96/113
LUTHOR:
Otis. This is France.

OTIS:
Sorry, Mr. Luthor.
OTIS flips up another slide. This time it is recognizable as the western
half of America. LUTHOR points.

LUTHOR:
And this - is California. The richest, most populace
state in America.

SUPERMAN:
I don't need a geography lesson from you, Luthor.

LUTHOR:
Sorry. You do get around, don't you.
(turns back)
Now then. Where was I? Ah, yes...
235ACLOSER ON MAP
CAMERA CLOSES on map. LUTHOR begins tracking the San Andreas Fault with the
pointer.
8/4/77 TM
235ACONTINUED

LUTHOR:
At the San Andreas Fault. Maybe you've
heard of 1t.

SUPERMAN:
Sure. It's the joining together of two land masses.
The .fault line is unstable and shifting which is
why you get earthquakes in California from time
to time.

LUTHOR:
Couldn't have said it better myself.
(back to map)
Now all this...
(indicates)
...west of' the Fault is the most expensive real
estate in the world. Los Angeles. San Diego.
San Francisco. And on the other side...
(indicates)

Page 97/113
is just hundreds of miles of cheap desert land.
Land that happens to be owned by Lex Luthor
Enterprises. Well...
(wistful smile)
call me a fool, but it did occur to me that if a
500 megaton bomb were to explode at exactly
the proper stress point....

SUPERMAN:
(horrified)
Most of California would be destroyed! Millions
of people would be killed! The West Coast as we
know it would...

LUTHOR:
...drop into the Sea! Bye-bye California! Hello new
West Coast! My... West Coast.

SUPERMAN:
You are a dreamer, Luthor. A sick-Twisted dreamer.
It couldn't possibly work.
18/4/77 TM
235ACONTINUED

LUTHOR:
Oh, I'll admit there were problems. Adjusting
the missile trajectory, finding the precise
point of optimum stress on the Fault...
LUTHOR smiles broadly, snaps his finger.
235BCLOSE ON SCREEN
A new, close section of the map is suddenly magnified hundreds of times. It
is recognizable as desert land. Literally dozens or superimposed grid lines
converge on a single point in the middle of the desolate wasteland.
LUTHOR'S pointer rises to it.
LUTHOR'S VOICE
(tone chancing)
Which is... right here, by the way...
(touches it).
Target Zero.
CAMERA PUSHES IN on the map, then DISSOLVES THROUGH to the actual piece of
land.
236EXT. DESERT NAD ROAD - DAY
A car speeds quickly down the dusty desert road.
236AINT. LOIS' CAR - DAY

Page 98/113
LOIS drives the car, looks out across the bleak landscape. Sitting in the
passengers seat: AN ELDERLY AMERICAN INDIAN CHIEF with classic features,
nicely dressed. A tape recorder lies between them as LOIS is doing an
interview.

CHIEF:
...no oil, no uranium, no coal, no precious minerals...
hell, no water anymore...
(gestures)
Not since the government dammed it all up..
18/4/77 TM
236CONTIUNED

LOIS:
My associate, Mr. Olsen, is taking pictures
of that Dam right now, Chief.
(pause)
But why sell out to some faceless person
you've never met? You don" even know his
name.

CHIEF:
At the stupid high price he offered for this worthless
piece of desert...
(smile)
I only hope it's Custer.
237 EXT. SKY LOOKING DOWN - DAY - CLOSE ON ROCKET #
ROCKET #1 now whizzes by over the green fields of Ohio and Indiana, heading
east.
237AEXT. SKY LOOKING DOWN - DAY - CLOSE ON ROCKET #2
ROCKET #2 speeds quickly across the painted desert of Arizona, heading for
the Grand Canyon.
237BEXT. DESERT - DAY - AERIAL VIEW
The car with LOIS and the Chief disappears across the arid land as CAMERA
HOLDS, DISSOLVES BACK THROUGH to the map on the screen in LUTHOR'S lair.
238 INT. LUTHOR'S LAIR - DAY
The screen becomes blank again. LUTHOR turns.

LUTHOR:
Check the viewing room, Otis...
(turns back)
Well, Superman? What do you think?
Interesting?
18/4/77 TM

Page 99/113
238CONTINUED

SUPERMAN:
Your theory's quite impressive, Luthor.
But as for the rest - it's nothing but a sick
fantasy.

LUTHOR :
(thin smile)
Fantasy?...
(exploding)
History!! It's happened, Superman!
SUPERMAN rises quickly, eyes widening, as LUTHOR wheels maniacally to EVE
standing in the doorway to the viewing room.

LUTHOR:
Where's that rocket now?

EVE:
(glances back)
Passing the Grand Canyon, Lex. Going like a bat.
So's the other one.

SUPERMAN:
(in disbelief)
The other one! There's two of them?

LUTHOR:
That's right, Superman. Double jeopardy! And even
you can't fly fast enough to stop both of them!
(sly grin)
While I, on the other hand would merely have to
press my detonating device and ...
SUPEMAN leaps at LUTHOR, grabs him by the neck.

SUPERMAN:
Where is it, Luthor! Where's that detonator?
SUPERMAN scans the room with his X-Ray vision, suddenly stops as he sees
the lead
Trunk he's been sitting on.
238CONTINUED

SUPERMAN:
You diseased maniac! Did you really think you

Page 100/113
could hide it from me by encasing it in lead?
SUPERMAN drops LUTHOR in a pile on the floor. He crosses quickly to the
trunk, tosses the cushions aside.

SUPERMAN:
(ripping it open)
I'll mold this box into your prison bars, you...
SUPERMAN stops suddenly, recoils, stunned, a dim green light ref1ecting of
his face.
238AINSERT SHOT - KRYPTONITE
The green Kryptonite rock glows inside the box. It is linked on both sides
by a chain.

:
238BBACK TO SCENE
SUPERMAN is instantly immobilized, his strength waning, his knees getting
wobbly.

SUPERMAN:
That rock... I can-t... my strength..
LUTHOR advances, bursting with glee.

LUTHOR:
It's Kryptonite Superman! A little souvenir from
your home town! You see I've spared no expense
in making you feel right at home here!
LUTHOR pulls the rock out of the box by the chain, dangles it in front of
him. SUPERMAN
desperately tries to raise his arm to shield himself from the rays.

SUPERMAN:
Away... please... take it...
18/4/77 TM
238BCONTINUED
LUTHOR loops the chain around SUPERMAN'S neck, pulls the staggering,
helpless Man of Steel after him like a dog on a leash.

LUTHOR:
You were great in your day, Superman. But
When the time came to cash in your chips, Lex
Luthor was just naturally your banker! Mind...
LUTHOR stops, puts his two 1itte fingers on each of SUPERMAN'S shoulders,
pushes him down to his knees.

Page 101/113
LUTHOR:
...over muscle ...
LUTHOR checks his watch, looks down at the pitiful hulk below him, the life
ebbing from
SUPERMAN.

LUTHOR:
I'm afraid I have to leave you now. Nothing
personal, you understand. We all have our
faults. It's just that mine is in Ca1ifornia.
LUTHOR turns toward the viewing theater. SUPERMAN looks up at him, gasping
for breath.

SUPERMAN:
You don't . . . even care. . . where the other
missile . . . is headed, do you ..

LUTHOR:
On the contrary. I figured it out instantly.
Hackensack, New Jersey.
LUTHOR kicks out contemptuously with his foot, pushes SUPERMAN over the
crumbled railing bordering the office portion of his complex.
18/4/77 TM
238CANGLE FROM POOL
SUPERMAN'S lifeless body splashes helplessly down into the pool below.
238DBACK T0 SCENE
LUTHOR crosses to the viewing theater where EVE stands at the entrance,
stunned.

LUTHOR :
(entering)
Hurry, Miss Teschmacher . . .

EVE :
(stopping him)
But Lex....

LUTHOR:
(impatient)
What?

EVE:
My... mother lives in Hackensack.

Page 102/113
LUTHOR:
(pause)
Your mother used to live in Hackensack.
LUTHOR enters the viewing theater. EVE stands at the doorway, glances at
the pool, unsure.
LUTHOR'S hand suddenly appears, yanks her back inside.
238EEXT. SKY LOOKING DOWN - DAY CLOSE ON ROCKET
ROCKET #1 whizzes eastward. Larger, more populous communities loom up
ahead.
238FINDIAN COMMUNITY - DAY
LOIS has dropped off the CHIEF' by a cluster of' makeshift houses where
other lNDIANScan be seen loading their belongings onto pickup trucks, etc.
LOIS waves goodbye, drives
off.

5/5/77 TM
238GEXT. SKY LOOKIN DOWN - DUSK - CLOSE ON ROCKET #2
ROCKET #2 speeds across desert land matching the kind where we just saw
LOIS.
238H EXT. TOP OF DAM - DUSK
JIMMY OLSEN walks along the top of the giant dam, taking pictures of the
surrounding towns and areas in the distance as well as the dam itself.
238IINT. LUTHOR 'S VIEWING THEATER - DUSK - CLOSE ON EVE
CAMERA CLOSE on two TV screens monitoring the progress of both rockets NOW

PULLS BACK:
nervously in the
exc1ted anticipation, glued 'to the screen. Curiously enough, EVE is
missing.
239INT. LUTHOR'S COMPLEX ABOVE POOL - DUSK
EVE walks quiet1y to the top of the crumbled railing, looks down, deeply
troubled.
239A ANGLE ON SUPERMAN IN POOL - EVE'S POV
SUPERMAN is dying, barely able to keep afloat. He makes one final, feeble
gesture at trying
to unhook the chain from his neck, then looks up, spots EVE.
239BWIDER ANGLE - BOTH OF THEM

SUPERMAN:
(gasping)
Miss . . . Teschmacher . . . please. . you
can't . . . stand by. . . and let millions
of people . . . innocent people. . . die . . .

Page 103/113
EVE:
(hating herself)
Maybe . . .
(pause)
If it wasn't for ... my mother. . .

SUPERMAN :
(desperate)
Please. . . help me to save them . . .
Please . . .
5/5/77 TM
238BCONTINUED

EVE :
(wary)
If I help you . . . Will you save
my mother first?

SUPERMAN :
But Lois . . . and Jimmy . . . are . . .

EVE:
My mother comes first, promise
me. I know you wouldn't break a
promise.

SUPERMAN:
(he has no choice)
Pro. . . promise . . .
EVE looks around, quickly makes up her mind, dives off the crumbling
railing into the pool.
239CANGLE ON POOL
EVE swims over to SUPERMAN who is just about to go under. She reaches out
to unhook he chain from his neck, grabs hold of it, suddenly stops, looks
deeply into
SUPERMAN'S eyes.

SUPERMAN:
What ...
EVE suddenly kisses him hard, breaks, then unhooks the chain. The
Kryptonite sinks to the bottom of the pool. SUPERMAN actually seems to
enlarge in the water, all his super-strength returning in a rush. He looks
at EVE curiously, his power recharging itself.
239CCONTINUED

Page 104/113
SUPERMAN:
Why did you kiss me first?

EVE:
Cause you wouldn't have let me later.

SUPERMAN:
(now at full strength)
Thank you, Miss Teschmacher...

EVE:
You too.
(almost misty eyed)
I... just can't get it on for the good guys,
you know?
SUPERMAN roars up out of 'the pool, heading for the roof of, the complex
like a supersonic
blue dart.
240METROPLIS STREET - DAY
SUPERMAN bursts through the pavement on a busy midtown street, streaks up
into the sky at top speed.
240ASKY - DAY
SUPERMAN flies for speed, straining himself to reach the maximum. He looks
off and
down.
240BANGLE ON MISSILE - SUPERMAN'S POV
Far below - the missile. In the distance looms the city of Hackensack.
240CBACK TO SUPERMAN
He dives for the missile.
240DEXT. SKY - ANOTHER ANGLE
SUPERMAN plants himself firmly in mid-air directly in the path of the
oncomingmissile,braces himself to grab it. As the missile flies straight at
him, it suddenly changes course.
18/4/77 TM
240DCONTINUED

:
SUPERMAN lunges for it but it veers off out of reach, then whizzes away
into the distance.
SUPERMAN flies off after the rocket, a look of grim determination on his
face.
240FEXT . HACKENSACK - DAY - AERIAL VIEW
The missile zooms on toward Hackensack.

Page 105/113
240GEXT. SKY - ANOTHER ANGLE
SUPERMAN catches up, now comes at the missile from the side. But the
sensory device picks him up again - the missile dodges out of range,
leaving him behind.
240HCLOSE ON MISSILE
The missile speeds on. SUPERMAN comes back into frame, catching up. He
grabs it from
Behind, gripping it tightly. With a mighty effort, he wrenches the rocket
off its course. Steering it from behind he accelerates quickly, flying
straight up into sky.
241EXT. STRATOSPHERE
SUPERMAN climbs higher and higher over the United States, gaining speed,
suddenly flings the missile up into space like a javelin. It whistles off
into the blackness as SUPERMAN wheels in mid-air, looks back down at the
United States, freezes in horror.

:
241AANGLE ON WESTERN U.S.A. - SUPERMAN'S POV
ROCKET #2 hits the San Andreas Fault and explodes! A white-hot mushroom
cloud starts to form.
241BBACK TO SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN streaks back down to Earth.
18/4/77 TM
241BEXT. SKY - MUSHROOM CLOUD
SUPERMAN circles the mushroom cloud at top speed, going faster and faster,
not only
stopping its expansion but actually compressing it. He then dives straight
into the center of
the holocaust.
241CINT/EXT. MUSHROOM CLOUD
SUPERMAN swoops to the base of the cloud, blows up with his super-breath.
241DANGLE ON MUSHROOM CLOUD
The entire cloud with its fallout and pollution is blown high up into the
stratosphere, away
from Earth.
242CLOSE ON SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN stops in mid-air, looks, listens. A loud rumble begins, gathering
in intensity. The earthquake has arrived.
242AEXT. CALIFORNIA COAST - DAY
The land shakes on the Pacific Coast. Huge chunks of cliff begin to fall
into the sea.
242BANGLE ON LANDSCAPE - SUPERMAN'S POV
Great yawning cracks rip open across the land in all directions.
242CANGLE ON SUPERMAN

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SUPERMAN quickly dives down; disappears into a crack in the earth.
243ANGLE - UNDERGROUND EARTH
SUPERMAN bores through the underground, desperately trying to repair the
crack. He pushes plates of land back together, dams up a flow of onrushing
lava, redirecting it, suddenly looks off and up through the earth with his
X-Ray vision.

18/4/77 TM
244EXT. TRAIN TRACKS AND TRAIN - DAY
A long, sleek passenger train hurtles down the tracks, shuddering under the
impact of the
earthquake.
244AINSERT SHOT - TRAIN TRACKS
A crack in the earth shoots across the tracks ahead, splitting the rail
ties.
244BBACK TO TRAIN
The train rushes on, unable too stop
244CBACK TO CRACK
SUPERMAN suddenly appears in the crack, coming up from underneath, now
physically spans it with his body.
244DWIDER ANGLE
The long train rolls over SUPERMAN, continues on safely down the tracks.
245EXT. HIGHWAY AND POWER CABLES - DAY
A complex of enormous electric power cables stretches across a highway
jammed with
shaking automobiles and panicked MOTORISTS. Suddenly - one cable snaps:
showers of sparks fly high into the air as the live cables drop down toward
the metal cars below.
245ACLOSER ANGLE
SUPERMAN swoops down, grabs a cable end in either hand. For a moment he
almost
resembles a bright blue light bulb as the powerful current runs through
him. Pressing the cables together with his super-strength he literally
solders them, then once more safely strings them tight across the highway.
18/4/77 TM
246EXT. HOLLYWOOD - DAY
The famous Hollywood Sign perched on the hill in Los Angeles trembles, then
cracks apart
in the center. It starts to fall.
246AANGLE ON GIRL SCOUT TROOP
SUPERMAN lands in the middle of the broken sign, pulls on the two halves
with either
hand, pushing it back together to spell HOLLYWOOD again, solid once more.
247EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY

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The famous Golden Gate Bridge sways precariously, then sags, starts to
break in the center.
247ACLOSE ON BRIDGE
Several cars and a school bus begin to topple off, their OCCUPANTS frozen,
screaming in
terror.
247BWIDER ANGLE ON BRIDGE
SUPERMAN flies under the bridge, pushes up, saving the vehicles and
straightening the
bridge.
247CCLOSE ON SUPERMAN AND BRI DGE
SUPERMAN holds the bridge up, quickly welds the cracks shut again using his
X-Ray
vision.
248EXT. DESERT - DAY - CLOSE ON LOIS\
LOIS speeds across the desert in her car which shakes from the impact of
the quake.
248AEXT. SKY CLOSE ON SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN, flying at top speed, looks down, spots LOIS. A crack in the
earth erupts behind the car, almost seems to chase it, overtaking the car
from behind.
248BCLOSER ANGLE
LOIS' car topples into the crack in the earth, falling down some fifteen
feet.
248CCLOSE ON LOIS
LOIS is pinned inside her car by the double walls of earth. The crack now
starts to close
again, squashing the vehicle as the metal groans and LOIS screams.
248DANGLE FROM BELOW
SUPERMAN shoots up from the earth below, pushes the car up and out, lifts
it into the air.
He looks down.
248EANGLE ON CRACK - SUPERMAN' S POV
The crack slams shut with a sickening sound.
248FEXT. MOUNTAIN TOP
SUPERMAN deposits the squashed car with LOIS inside on a mountain top, rips
the door
off, helps her out.

SUPERMAN:
Sorry about the car ...

LOIS:
Forget it, it's a Hertz.

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249EXT. DAM - DAY
JIMMY holds on to the top railing of the huge dam which shakes and strains
under the force
of the quake. He bravely tries to take pictures with his camera which
dangles from his neck,
suddenly hears something, looks down in horror.
249AANGLE ON DAM - JIMMY'S POV
The dam begins to crack - little cracks at first, then growing larger and
more numerous.
250WIDER ANGLE
SUPERMAN suddenly appears - a tiny blue dot as compared to the size of
the mighty dam. He pushes back against it.
251CLOSE ON SUPERMAN
The cracks start to run in all directions, now grow wider. It's hopeless.
SUPERMAN looks up in desperation as JIMMY yells down at him.

JIMMY:
Superman! I'm up here, Superman! I'm ...
252CLOSE ON JlMMY
Before Jimmy can finish his sentence he is scooped up into air by SUPERMAN.
253ANGLE IN MID-AIR
SUPERMAN wheels in mid-air holding JIMMY, looks down at the dam, then back
at JIMMY again.

SUPERMAN:
Want a picture on page one of every newspaper in
the world?

JIMMY:
(grinning)
You know it.

SUPERMAN:
Ready...?
(looking down)
Now!
253AANGLE DOWN ON DAM - THEIR POV
The enormous dam suddenly bursts. Huge jets of water spit through the
crumbling structure on all sides.
254EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP

FLASH CUT:
blur seems to cross the SCREEN, then instantaneously leave. JIMMY is
standing next to her.

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18/4/77 TM
255EXT. DAM
The structure collapses. A gigantic wall of water cascades down toward the
valley town below.
256EXT. VALLEY TOWN STREET - DAY
Screaming, panicked citizens react in terror as the raging torrent heads
down directly at them.
257ANGLE LOOKING DOWN FROM SKY
SUPERMAN dives to earth, carves a wide new river bed like a human
bulldozer, channeling
the water so it bypasses the town. The current rushes off down its new
course into the desert
lands beyond.
258EXT. INDIAN VILLAGE - DAY
The assembled INDIANS watch, thunderstruck, as the new river bed is carved
through their
land, irrigating it. They cheer wildly. SUPERMAN waves happily back at
them, then flies
off.
259EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP - DAY
SUPERMAN lands on the mountain top, joining LOIS and JIMMY. The rumbling
hasstopped. JIMMY notices.

JIMMY:
It's over! You did it, Superman!
SUPERMAN smiles modestly, turns to LOIS.

SUPERMAN:
Sorry I left you waiting all the way up here,
Lois, but I was kind of busy down there for a
while.
18/4/77 TM
259CONTINUED

LOIS:
(totally in love)
Oh, I understand ...
(beaming)
Your work comes first.

SUPERMAN:
(nodding grimly)
And there's one last piece of unfinished
business left...

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 (to JIMMY)
Take care of her, Jimmy. I'll be back in
a minute.
SUPERMAN zooms off into the air. LOIS watches him go, a hopefully wistful
smile on her
face.

JIMMY:
Boy. Superman sure seems to care about
you, Miss Lane.

LOIS:
Superman cares about everyone,
Jimmy. ....
(a new thought - eyes
narrowing)
But who knows? . . . Maybe one day . . .
(cocky smile)
If he's lucky . . .
260EXT.PRISON YARD - DAY
The recreationyard of a large prison. CONVICTS mill about under the
supervision
of watch towers. Off to one side of the yard the WARDEN confers with two
of his GUARDS.
261CLOSE ON WARDEN AND GUARDS
The WARDEN looks up in astonishment as SUPERMAN whizzes down through the
air
holding LUTHOR and OTIS with either arm, lands directly in front of them.
26/6/77
261CONTINUED

SUPERMAN:
Hello, Warden. I think these men
should be safe here with you until
they can get a fair trial.

WARDEN:
Thanks, Superman.
(sternly - to GUARDS)
Take 'em away, boys . .
LUTHOR and OTIS are led away. The WARDEN turns admiringly to SUPERMAN.

WARDEN:
This country is safe again, Superman -

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thanks to you.

SUPERMAN:
(and he means it)
And you, Warden. And the fireman, the
doctor,the teacher, the clergyman - the
cop on the beat . . .
(nice smile)
We're all on the same team.
SUPERMAN flies higher into the NIGHT sky.
261AEXT. SKY - NIGHT to DAY
As SUPERMAN flies higher into the atmosphere we SEE the other side of the
EARTH as he FLIES into DAYLIGHT.
262EXT. SKY - DAY
SUPERMAN flies majestically through the sky, gaining altitude. He's done
his job well. OR HAS HE? CAMERA PANS OFF HIM, ZOOMS UP INTO SPACE.
263EXT. SPACE
ROCKET #1 which SUPERMAN hurled upward from earth continues traveling
through space, unchecked by gravitational pull. It speeds through other
solar systems, gradually approaching something which - to our horror -
we recognize from earlier: The Phantom Zone containing the THREE GREAT
VILLAINS: ZOD, URSA, and NON
18/4/77 TM
264CLOSE 0N ROCKET
The ROCKET nears the Phantom Zone, then suddenly explodes. The massive
shock waves ripple furiously through space.
265CLOSE ON PHANTOM ZONE
The intense waves caused by the nuclear explosion collide with the Phantom
Zone. It cracks
releasing the VILLAINS. They rush to the opened section and their
unexpected freedom. NON lets out the horrible roar or an animal suddenly
uncaged.

ZOD:
Free!

URSA:
Free!
Their grotesque faces fill the SCREEN with howls of glee as they drift off
into space.
IMMEDIATE CUT TO:
SELECTED SCENES FROM SUPERMAN II
Selected film clips from SUPERMAN II with the exact content to be
determined, but certainly establishing:

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A.LOIS and SUPERMAN making love .
B.JOR-EL physically appearing before SUPERMAN to give him new life.
C.CLARK KENT being beaten up and bloodied.
D.ZOD, URSA and, NON destroying and conquering the world.
INSERT SHOT - COMIC BOOK
The tiny CHILD'S hand seen in the opening shot of the film comes back into
frame, quietly turns over the final page of the SUPERMAN comic book. On the
back cover is the enticing message
DON'T MISS THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN!
COMING SOON!

FADE OUT:

THE END OF:

PART I:

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