EPISODE 13: MAN & SUPERMAN, 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR

Your Kryptonian hosts Connor-El and Rey-Zod unpack a HUGE 100-page issue with Marv Wolfman's self-proclaimed '...best Superman Written Story Ever"...

Does it live up to the hype?

Find out as your two favourite Kryptonians look through each of the chapters and discuss the re-telling of Clark's origins of becoming the Man of Steel!

This, plus the usual inimitable banter about all things pop - Hellboy, Ghost Rider and some TV shows getting a seeing into...nothing is sacred!

SHOW NOTES:

• Man & Superman, 100-Page Super Spectacular
• Inner Demons - A Ghost Rider Podcast (Stitcher)
• For All Seasons, our next episode
• The Tick
• DC Valentine Special
• Umbrella Academy
• Superman Year One
• John Romita Jr Superman
• Chinatown
• One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
• Batman The Cult

SYNOPSIS:

 (Written by Rey-Zod)

Chapter 1: In Which He Leaves Smallville As a Boy

Clark leaves Smallville and arrives at the big smoke, Metropolis. Having left his good parents Jonathan and Martha, Clark ventures into Metropolis to make a start for himself,and to hopefully land a job at a newspaper office.

Soaking in the ambience of his run down apartment, Clark soon encounters a huge fire in an adjacent building. There’s no need however to intervene and Clark awkwardly walks away as the fire department manage the curious crowd and blazing fire.

Overhearing a conversation from some journalists the next day, Clark discovers that the fire the previous night may well be  a result of arson. This pushes Clark to investigate so in the dead of night, he dresses up in black and flies off to the smouldering building site to see what he can find. Unfortunately he’s not the only one there, and it’s a close encounter with the police and one Lois Lane, that exposes Clark for the first time as a Flying Man. Though not identified, this alien figure now slowly begins to be a person of interest for the media and citizens of Metropolis.

Worried that his fingerprints may still be on a piece of evidence found at the arson site and in police custody, Clark makes the error of breaking in to the station to wipe his prints clean. All this does is further the speculation about the Flying Man, as he is again caught on camera.

As yet unaware of his capture on security camera, Clark goes about trying to impress the editor in chief of the Metropolis Daily News with a sensational article he had written, when all of a sudden the building to the Metropolis Daily News explodes with a bang!

This time, Clark has no option but to expose himself once and for all in front of the populace, and though he does good in saving many lives from the burning wreckage, the citizens of Metropolis are still wary of him - an alien figure with awesome power.

Clark hears it all from his apartment - how some are excited for his appearance, whilst others are cautiously skeptical.

In a brief lack of faith, Clark sends his costume back to Smallville, much to Jonathan and Martha’s surprise.

 

Chapter 2: In Which He Must Choose Between His Fears

Clark reflects on having left Smallville as he grinds out his new found job as a cleaner. He has, however, found good friends in fellow cleaners Sammy, Jose and Luis. The three have a spare ticket to the baseball after one of their mates, Diego cancels and Clark is there at the right time and place to accept their offer.

It’s not long too before Clark learns of the true heart of humanity in the face of adversity, and he quietly admires Jose’s love of his son and what he’d do to make ends meet.

Later in the day, it’s at the Daily Planet that Clark attempts to gain an interview with Perry White but it proves unsuccessful. It’s not all futile as Clark soon learns from Perry White chatting, that the the Mayor of Metropolis, Jessicks may be considering Martial Law for the city for an unknown reason. Having heard the conversation between Perry and his colleagues, Clark decides to investigate.

It’s at the Mayor’s office that Clark spies that there is a terrorist amongst the city, threatening chaos to the city unless their demand of $5 Billion dollars is met. Despite reservations from his peers that the threat must be met head on,the Mayor decides to introduce a tactical response unit to defend the city against the terrorists.

Wallace Colmes...leader of the National Guard announces that martial law will commence at 8pm on that night.

The terrorists catch wind of this and respond in the most vicious way imaginable, through bombings and in this instance it’s LexCorps who feel the brunt of it. Clark rushes in and amidst the carnage, he helps as much as he can...again with some citizens misconstruing it for malevolent rather than benevolent motives.

Clark has a crisis of faith again at how he is received by Metropolis and finds himself at his wits end. He returns to the streets to hear that the Mayor ruefully concedes defeat to the terrorists, and in the final stake through the heart, the Mayor mistakenly feels the Flying Man to be part of the terrorism.

All is but lost to Clark, until he sees a figure slowly emerge form the crowd...it’s Lois Lane...and she aims to fight for Metropolis…!

 

(Written by Connor-El)

 

Chapter 3: In Which He Asks the Question That Will Change His Life

Clark is exuberant that star reporter Lois Lane believes in him, and eavesdrops her defending him to Perry White. Perry agrees to let her write the article on the flying man saving people in exchange for her getting an exclusive interview with someone she doesn't like at all.

Clark then reminisces about the time he saw a travel special on Metropolis and knew he would move there, as well as Ma and Pa making his costume with Pa telling him how excited he is at Clark's potential as a force for good.

Clark then goes to work and pays Jose back for his ticket to the game, after work he see's the front page headline of the daily planet “Flying Man Saves City by Lois Lane” and is so ecstatic he buys up all copies of the paper. Heading to the park (and saving a mother and her child with his super breath on the way) he begins to brainstorm ideas for his big article to impress Perry White at the Daily planet, mostly ideas to do with a newcomer in Metropolis then he settles on How the Unknown Impacts people. He then uses his telescopic vision to look in on Lois and Perry and sees Perry telling Lois its time for the interview and orders her to go or her current story is dead.

Clark, being curious about who this is, puts on his mask and follows Lois to this press conference and arrives at the airport where he overhears Jimmy and Lois talk about the fact that she once dated this man. The man as it turns out, is Lex Luthor who proclaims he has come back to Metropolis after 5 to save it from these terrorists and the huge increase in crime. During this conference a swarm of missiles from the terrorist that nearly block out the sky head toward the conference to the horror of Clark.

 

Chapter 4: In Which He Becomes A Man

 

As the missiles head closer to Lex Luthors press conference a voice comes from the saying they warned Luthor not to come back and now that he has Metropolis will pay the price. Lex then activates a bunch of anti-missile turrets and with Clark's help they are all destroyed.

The Media later reports that Lex Luthor saved the day much to Lois' anger as no credit was given to the Flying Man. As Clark watches an interview with Lex in his apartment he comes to a realisation, why did Lex have anti missile turrets in the airport? Clark investigates further and finds a radio transmitter and finds out the anti-missiles were activated manually. He then heads over to the Lexcorp media building and listens in hearing Lex planned the trip to Metropolis a month ago, which was before these troubles started. He then heads to the daily planet and leaves a note on Lois' desk thanking her for believing in him. At the entrance of the planet he greets her as Clark Kent and informs her of his discoveries over a cup of coffee, namely that he believes due to the fact that ther turrets were manually activated and Luthor planned this trip a month before the bombings that Luthor has set the whole thing up, killing innocent people so that he can gain more power and influence in Metropolis, and back the candidate John Wicks.

Lois is fascinated by Clark with his big athletics build but his humble nature which isnt an act, and seems to relish in the idea she might have a rival so she promises to submit the story he writes to Perry White if she likes it. They then split up, Lois going to Lex's recently fired pilot and Clark to check City Filings.

Lois meets with the Pilot and then confronts Luthor, telling him her theory that he wants his candidate John Wicks in Government so that the Government will by his weapons defence systems and has set this whole thing up, also mentioning she used to write his speeches and knows a pre-written speech when she hears one, which his supposed spontaneous reaction to the terrorist attack was. Lex's seething reaction essentially proves Lois is right, and even if she can't prove anything he will wish he never left Europe.

Clark meanwhile tracks the radio transmitter signal with his super-hearing and finds a warehouse full of the terrorist rockets, which are obviously Luthors. Luthor blows up all the rockets hoping to get rid of not only the evidence but the flying man. Clark, resolved to stop Luthor first flies to Smallville and gets his costume from the Kents.

He then confronts Lex, whom after initially denying everything panics and fires a gun at Clark. Clark says he will be watching him 24/7, just waiting for him to slip up or make any small mistake so he can take him down. He leaves and a seething Luthor states “The world has just changed, and I'm going to change it back”.

Back at the planet, Clark gives Lois his story, an interview with the flying man. Lois taken aback because Clark got the flying mans exact mission statement without any questions about who he was or where he came from. She then gives the story to Perry and tells him to hire Clark. Lois decides the flying man needs a name...

The next day. The citizens of metropolis carry a new paper with a front page read “What Superman Wants from us” as Superman himself flies overhead.

The music for this episode contains excerpts from various songs and is copyrighted by Styzmask. The music used on Last Sons of Krypton - A Superman Podcast is licensed under an Attribution License;