Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Season 1, Episode 19 (13 Mar. 1994): “Vatman”
by H. B. Cobb, Deborah Joy LeVine, Randall Zisk

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 1, Episode 19

Title: “Vatman”

Medium: television series episode

Original airdate: 13 Mar. 1994

Publisher:
Written by: H. B. Cobb, Deborah Joy LeVine
Directed by: Randall Zisk

8 characters in this story:

Character (Click links for info about character and his/her religious practice, affiliation, etc.)	Religious Affiliation	Team(s) [Notes]	Pub.	# app.
Superman (Clark Kent)	Methodist / Kryptonian religion	Kryptonians; Super Friends...  The Justice League		13,409
Lois Lane	Catholic	Raleigh College [Superman's girlfriend, then wife]		3,859
Jimmy Olsen	Lutheran	The Legion of Super-Heroes [Superman's pal]		1,896
Perry White	Baptist; Elvis worship (ordained)	[Superman's (Clark Kent's) boss; Daily Planet editor]		1,574
Jonathan Kent	Methodist	[Superman's adoptive father]		816
Martha Kent	Methodist	[Superman's adoptive mother]		827
Lex Luthor	Episcopalian (lapsed); Nietzschean atheist	Injustice League; Secret Six...  Secret Society of Super Villains; The Injustice Gang; The Legion of Doom		1,508
Cat Grant	Catholic (lapsed); promiscuous hedonist	[Daily Planet gossip columnist; co-worker of Clark Kent]		140

Timecode: 0 minutes, 48 seconds: Clark Kent enters the offices of the Daily Planet. Perry White, Lois Lane and the rest of the newspaper staff are crowded around a television set, watching a story being reported live from France.

Reporter: In his last circle, the pilot used up all but enough fuel to complete the landing.

Clark Kent: What's going on?

Perry White: We've got a serious situation at Orly. Plane's trying to come in without any landing gear.

Clark Kent: Uh, I just remembered, I left my story notes in the car.

Lois Lane: Clark, you don't have a car.

Clark Kent: The-- the taxi-- in the taxi.

Clark Kent is trying to cover up his leaving to go change into Superman. He starts to head back out of the office, but something quite unexpected happens. Superman is shown rescuing the airplane. Clark Kent is, of course, Superman, so he doesn't know what is going on. The other people who work at the newspaper do not know about Clark's secret identity, so they are simply pleasantly surprised.

Jimmy Olsen: Look.

Perry White: I don't believe it.

TV reporter: This just in. Superman, the famed man of steel from Metropolis . . .

Lois Lane: It's Superman. He's there.

Jimmy Olsen: What's he doing in France?

Lois Lane: In Paris?

Perry White: Great shades of Elvis!

Perry White here once again utters his well-worn personalized pseudo-profanity. As a veritable worshipper of Elvis Presley, this utterance is more appropriate and meaningful for him than more traditional profane utterances of surprise such as "Oh my God." In Perry White's mouth, these words essentially mean the same thing.

The TV reports that "Superman" safely sets the troubled airplane down on the runway. The staff at the newspaper office cheer jubilantly. All except for Clark Kent, who simply looks at the TV in stunned silence.

It may seem peculiar that everybody is so surprised to see Superman rescue this airplane. Isn't this what Superman does? Hasn't Superman shown in the past that he can fly at amazing speeds? The fact is, this episode takes place early in Superman's career, as portrayed in this TV series as starting only a few months before in the first episode of this season. Most of Superman's publicly known activities have been confined to Metropolis, or at least the United States.

Timecode: 7 minutes, 32 seconds: Clark Kent and Lois Lane are walking in the offices of the Daily Planet, talking about Superman has been spotted doing amazing good deeds all over the world during the last few days, but hasn't been seen in Metropolis for 3 days.

Clark Kent: Well, don't worry, Lois. I have a real strong feeling he'll be back. Soon.

Lois Lane: Don't tell me, reporter's intuition?

Clark Kent: You don't hold the patent on it, you know.

Lois Lane: No, but intuition is not just something you pick up. You're born with it.

Clark Kent: And?

Lois Lane: I was.

Clark Kent: Congratulations.

Timecode: 12 minutes, 4 seconds: The imposter Superman is, in fact, a clone of the original, created by Lex Luthor. The clone Superman is a perfect physical copy, but is very immature. Lex Luthor has taught the clone (who is also played by actor Dean Cain, of course) to believe that he (Luthor) is his father. In this scene we see Lex Luthor instilling some of his own twisted beliefs in the clone. Lex Luthor has just finished telling the clone Superman a "bed time story" - a distorted version of "Little Red Riding Hood."

Lex Luthor: And then the Wolf said to Little Red Riding Hood: "Are you sure the policy is in your name?" Little Red Riding Hood said: "Yes. Grandma promised that when she passed away I would inherit everything." And then the Wolf said, "Oo. Let's pay Grandma a visit." And so Little Red Riding Hood took off her hood and her cape and she gave it to the Wolf.

Clone Superman: And the Wolf went through the forest to Grandmother's house and ate her. And then he and Red Riding Hood split the [life insurance] money.

Lex Luthor: Quite right, and as it should be, for the grandmother was old. And it was time for the younger, the stronger generation to take over, the way it is with you and the old Superman. Now, you and I are destined to control the city, eventually, the world. But you must remember that all that counts is winning. That ultimately, all that satisfies is power. And above all, might is right. If you obey me in all these things, then we will satisfy our dream to see Superman destroyed. He is my enemy, therefore he is your enemy. You will be the instrument of our victory. And then you will be the one, the only Superman . . . My Superman.

[End of scene.]

Timecode: 17 minutes, 14 seconds: Cat Grant is talking to Jimmy Olsen about why Perry White has suddenly been acting differently. Cat Grant is dressed surprisingly modest and appropriate - a far cry from the hooker-lite attire she as always seen in earlier in the season. In fact, ever since the she went to Catholic confessional a few episodes ago, her attire seems more subdued, more like what regular people might wear in a professional session. Her outfit in this scene, in fact, may not be out of place at all. Her dress is a little low cut and not as modest or as professional as the way Lois Lane dresses at work, but it might not be seen as inappropriate in many professional offices. Is Cat turning over a new leaf? It's hard to say. She seems to have given up on seducing Clark Kent. Her mind still seems to be primarily focused on sex, however, but she can take part in conversations in an intelligent fashion without seeming like a one-note joke.

Cat Grant: I, for one, like his [Perry White's] new look. I think he's sexy.

Jimmy Olsen: Mr. White sexy?

Cat Grant: Very. I mean, you know, he's always had that aura of power thing going. But now he's mixing it up with a little style. Hey. Why do you think women flocked around Henry Kissinger? His tight buns?

Timecode: 18 minutes, 14 seconds:

Cat Grant: Well, if you need any snooping around, let me know. It's my specialty . . . One of them.

What Cat Grant means by this is that in addition to the "snooping around" she does as the newspaper's gossip columnist and society page writer, her other, better known specialty is engaging in frequent meaningless promiscuous sexual encounters with men.

The cloning technology that was used to make a cloned adult copy of Superman is unstable. The chief scientist on the project is explaining to Lex Luthor that the clone is dying. This prompts Lex Luthor to move up his timetable for having his clone of Superman directly fight the real Superman. Timecode: 33 minutes, 11 seconds:

Lex Luthor: Has he lost any of his strength or powers yet?

Dr. Fabian Leek: No, but time is running out.

Lex Luthor: Then it must happen tomorrow.

Dr. Fabian Leek: What makes you think he can win?

Lex Luthor: Because if it means the difference between winning and losing, he'll pick up a passenger train filled with people and use it to bash Superman's skull in. Unlike Superman, he has no restraints, no morality. I taught him.

Lex Luthor smiles when he says this. Lex Luthor was careful to make sure that all of his clone Superman's knowledge and rearing and values came directly from him. Lex Luthor molded the mind of his clone to be a reflection of Luthor's own twisted values. He is proud that he taught this clone to be unencumbered by morality. Note how closely the values Lex Luthor expresses here mirror the teachings of Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher whose famous works include Beyond Good and Evil. In this TV series, as well as in the comics, Lex Luthor is frequently shown to have explicitly Nietzschean values.

Lex Luthor: Tomorrow. Tomorrow he will kill Superman.

The clone Superman abducts Lois Lane and ties her up on an Old West movie lot. Clark Kent, in his guise as the real Superman follows the clone there, unties Lois, and begins to battle the clone. When Clark Kent seems to be getting the best of his clone, the clone once again expresses the strident Nietzschean-tinged teachings instilled in him by the man he sees as his father: Lex Luthor. Timecode: 38 minutes, 7 seconds:

Superman (Clark Kent): Don't you understand? This is a fight neither one of us can win.

Clark Kent (the real Superman) and the clone Superman once again aim their heat vision at each other, causing their eye-produced laser beams to meet in between them. The beams explode where they meet and knock the clone to the ground. The clone gasps, hurt. The real Superman walks close up to him.

Clone Superman: Go ahead. Finish me off. Might is right. Only the strong survive.

Superman (Clark Kent): I don't want to hurt you. You and I, we have so much in common, we're linked. We're-- We're brothers.

Clone Superman: Why don't you want to rule alone?

Superman (Clark Kent): I don't want to rule. I want respect, yes, but you earn that respect by caring for others, not overpowering them.

The clone Superman struggles to get to his feet, grimacing in pain as he does so. The real Superman helps him to his feet.

Superman (Clark Kent): You all right?

Clone Superman: I'm . . . dying. Maybe it's for the best. I was created just to do my father's bidding, to kill you. And there's nothing left to live for, anyway. I have something to do. Will you wait here for me?

The clone Superman flies away. He flies to the laboratory in which he was created. Lex Luthor and Dr. Fabian Leek are there. The clone forces Lex Luthor to give him the lock of the real Superman's hair which was used to create a clone. The clone tells Superman that the people who created him won't be able to this again without the lock of hair, but that Superman must do one more thing: destroy him (the clone). The clone explains that his own cloned tissue also could be used, so Superman must utterly destroy his body. Superman says he doesn't think he can do that, but the clone explains that he is dying anyway, and that he is in pain, and that it is the only way. He says that his father (Lex Luthor) once read a story to him about a Viking funeral. The clone's message to the real Superman is clear. After the clone Superman and the real Superman kneel down together, we see Superman carrying his dying clone toward the sun. Timecode: 41 minutes, 24 seconds:

Clone Superman: They could use some of my tissue to recreate another clone. You have to destroy the lock of hair, and me.

The real Superman shakes his head "no."

Clone Superman: I'm dying. I'm in pain.

Superman (Clark Kent): I don't think I can do that.

Clone Superman: You have to. My father once read me a story of a Viking funeral. You understand?

Superman (Clark Kent): There has to be another way.

Clone Superman: There isn't. You do understand?

Superman (Clark Kent): Yes.

The pain from the clone's deteriorating condition causes him to grimace and double over. He kneels on the ground and looks up at Superman.

Clone Superman: It-- It's not really the end, as long as you're still here . . . brother.

Superman (Clark Kent): Brother.

The real Superman then kneels in front of his clone. It is a very tender moment, the pathos of which is emphasized by the musical underscore. Why does Superman kneel with his clone in this moment? Was it out of empathy? Was this the only position from which Superman could lift up his clone Or was it so that he could say a prayer with his clone before helping his newfound "brother" make the ultimate sacrifice? Given what we know about Clark from previous episodes and from the comic book series, it is natural to believe that he might say a prayer with his self-sacrificing clone. But this is left to the interpretation of the individual viewer, for the scene is cut short immediately after Clark kneels down.

Cut to the next scene, in which we see Superman carrying his dying clone skyward, toward the sun.

Timecode: 44 minutes, 43 seconds: In the last scene of the episode, Clark Kent and Lois Lane sit alone together on a bridge. They talk about how there is now only just one Superman again. Clark suggests that it is kind of sad that the clone is gone, because it might have been nice for Superman to have a brother. He says it is sad. Both Clark and Lois seem pensive. Clark seems to have other things on his mind beyond just the fact that it might have been nice for Superman to have that kind of companionship. Clark may be thinking about deeper matters, such as the state of a clone's soul.

The camera pans up into the sky above Clark and Lois. The night sky is centered on the screen. Stars show dimly. Suddenly a bright flare exlpodes in the sky. It is like a supernova can be seen suddenly exploding. This bright light dims and smaller, lesser lights or stars appear, forming the outline of a Superman-style letter "S."

Clearly this letter "S" in the sky is not intended to be a naturalistic phenomenon or a literally-seen physical thing that people on the ground might have actually seen. But what is the meaning of this heavenly sign? Is this intended as an echo of the star that shone over Bethlehem in the New Testament account of the birth of Jesus? There are interesting parallels between the clone Superman and Jesus. Both are the result of a "virgin birth." Both can be said to have given their lives for the world. The clone was dying anyway, so this is less of a dramatic sacrifice. But in the end, the clone asked to be destroyed and did not try to prolong its own life. Of course, the clone was raised on a steady diet of Lex Luthor-style non-morality, not by a kindly carpenter and a woman chosen to be the Earthly mother of the Son of God. So the parallels certainly break down quickly.

The letter "S" formed by stars in the night sky as the episode ends is another thing left to the interpretation of individual viewers. This is an effect that will show up in later episodes of this series after moments of great import. But I believe this was the first use of this motif.

There appears to be no "mandatory" or "literal" meaning to these final few seconds of the episode (before the closing credits roll). But looking at the scene objectively, in the context of the episode as a whole and with the understanding that this episode has literary elements and symbolism far outside cinema verite literalism, the star-formed "S" in the sky seems to suggest that the soul of the clone Superman was ultimately redeemed by his repentance, recognition of the truth, and self-sacrifice. These are actions and traits that would be cherished by people of nearly any human religion or ethical belief system (except, of course, for Nietzscheans such as Lex Luthor).

The process of listing characters who appeared in this source is not yet complete. Webpage for Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 1, Episode 19 (13 Mar. 1994) created 10 January 2008. Last modified 11 June 2014.

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