Evil Superman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Evil Superman (portrayed by Christopher Reeve) is a supervillain from the film Superman III. He was created when computer hacker Gus Gorman exposed Superman to a chunk of synthetic Kryptonite. Sharing the effects of Red Kryptonite, it first made him evil. But then like Black Kryptonite, it also split him into two separate entities: Clark Kent and Superman. This corrupted version of the Man of Steel shared similarities to Bizarro, yet this is not what he was called in the movie.
[edit] History
It all began when Ross Webster's talented computer programmer Gus Gorman synthesized a chunk of Kryptonite. After Superman averted an attempt by Webster to destroy Colombia's coffee crops using a storm created by a weather satellite, the wealthy industrialist ordered Gorman to program the same weather satellite to go to Krypton's former coordinates to scan the area and transmit the exact chemical composition of Kryptonite back to Earth. Gorman waited patiently until the formula for Kryptonite was transmitted back to his computer. It turned out to be made up of several known elements, but was 0.57 percent "unknown". Glancing at the "low tar" printing on his cigarette pack, he changed the unknown element to "tar" as a substitute.
At a ceremony being held for Superman in Smallville, Gorman - disguised in a military uniform - presents the Kryptonite to the Man of Steel. Gorman leaves and Superman begins to surreptitiously undergo a unique change. Rather than killing him, the Kryptonite slowly corrupted him, until he was no longer the Superman everyone remembered. After arriving late to an accident involving a sixteen-wheeler dangling over a bridge, Superman's inhibitions diminished completely and he began spreading terror throughout the world.
In Italy, two men are standing in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa as Superman flies up and straightens the Tower. At the Olympic Games, Superman blows out the torch carrying the Olympic Flame just as the runner reaches the cauldron. Radio reports concluded that a record number of countries had decided to censure Superman, with only Colombia abstaining much to the approval of Ross Webster, who used Superman in another plot of his to divert all of the oil tankers in the world. Once he had been coerced by Webster's secretary Lorelei Ambrosia, Superman ripped open the hull of an uncooperative tanker, the British Reliance, spilling oil into the ocean.
Later on in Metropolis, a crowd is gathered outside a bar. A nasty looking and drunk Superman is inside flicking peanuts at the bottles behind the bar, completely shattering them. The bartender objects to this, but wisely doesn't intervene. Superman then looks at his reflection and uses his heat vision to warp the mirror. Lana Lang and her son Ricky show up in a cab as Superman exits the bar. Realizing Superman has changed, Lana holds Ricky back, but Ricky begs Superman to recognize him. (The uncorrupted Superman had recently rescued Ricky from a wheat thresher during a picnic with Lana in Kansas.) Superman flies away, but Ricky's words ring in his ears.
Superman then shudders in mid-flight and lands in a junkyard. A surge of energy pulses through Superman's head and he lets out a primal scream, splitting in two afterwards. Existing now as the individual identities of Clark Kent and Superman, the two engage in an epic battle; exchanging blow for blow, Clark encourages Superman to give up while Superman rebukes him at every turn. After sending Clark through a garbage smasher, Superman crushed his glasses in his hand, symbolically eliminating his perceived weaker side. But just then, Clark bursts through from the inside of the smasher and grabs Superman's throat, strangling him. After a brief struggle, the evil Superman vanishes, never to be seen again. Clark then rips open his shirt, revealing his own S. As the good Superman once more, he flies off to correct the misdeeds that his evil side caused throughout the world.
