Picking up where we left off, on page 191 of the second draft script, we find Lex Luthor, Eve, and his henchmen watching Perry White deliver the news story about the nuclear hijacking at the Army reservation and the miraculous recovery of Clark Kent from the nuclear radiation he suffered. From here, Luthor prepares his letters to the president detailing his demands.

What is interesting here is that Puzo has changed the delivery of the news report. In the first draft he had Jimmy Olsen on air. Here, he has Perry delivering the news story. It makes me wonder why he made the change in this version of the script. But it does seem kind of appropriate that it fits in with Perry’s career.

In this aspect it is fitting that Perry deliver the news story, as it eventually becomes part of his back story in the Superman films.

Later, we find Superman at his Fortress watching the news story of the president refusing to give in to Luthor’s demands, and he goes into action as Jimmy Olsen reports on the red alert that has gone off in Metropolis. No changes in the script at this point.

Superman goes into action, promises to let Luthor go free if he tells Superman where the nuclear bomb is, and sends it into outer space.

The bomb explodes, ripping a hole in outer space and hurtling Superman back to Earth.

Again, no changes to the script up to this point.

Later, we are given the ceremony at the White House, where the president gives Superman the Congressional Medal of Honor and Lois accepts on Superman’s behalf. And it’s during a quiet moment with Lois that Clark sees what the explosion has wrought…

From this point on, Puzo briefly expands on the scene with an exchange between Lois and Clark, where she notices the concern in his eyes. “What is it, Clark? Any trouble?” she asks.

“Yes, but don’t worry,” he responds. “I figure it will take a year to get here. It has about seven million miles to travel.”

But it is here that Mario Puzo makes some very interesting notes. On page 209 he has written, “This might be a good place to end the first film. Now we go on to the three great crimes of Luthor and the arch villains of the Phantom Zone.” This is especially important because it is in this draft that Puzo has begun thinking about dividing such a long script into two films. While the previous draft gives readers an unclear dividing line earlier on in the script, Puzo himself has provided it here in this draft, even though certain earlier moments—Lois deducing Clark’s secret, giving up his powers, getting beaten by the bullies, and ultimately regaining his powers—would later be shuffled into the later scripts for Superman II. Furthermore, the entire maguffin of the two films, the explosion in space that results in the unleashing of the villains from the Phantom Zone, would be ported to the original ending of Tom Mankiewicz’s 1977 shooting script for Superman: The Movie and also used as part of the prologue in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

Moving into page 210, Puzo includes some additional notes about everything that has transpired thus far. He writes, “This section is rewritten to show Superman with all his powers regained since he has gone through the machine a second time. In this section Lois can no longer know he is Superman. Also, he is no longer vulnerable, so we lose some suspense in this episode.”

By later moving Superman sacrificing his powers to the script for Superman II, it provides a greater sense of character development and plot progression, as the first film sets up the origin story and showcases who Superman is and can be. As Christopher Reeve later said in an interview about the first film, “In the first film we had the obligation to tell the back story. Now, show us something.”

Then on page 211, Puzo provides even more notes that would build the bridge between the two films. He starts off, “The following would come after the first film ends (if you cut the film in half) just before Luthor tells about his three great crimes.” He then lists a montage of moments from the first half of the script that would provide a recap of what has happened so far, which includes:

It’s a lot to take in, but Puzo is determined to set up his framework for the story of Superman II in the final 100 pages of his script, and that’s where we will pick up next time.

(Some of the screenshots in this blog are courtesy of CapedWonder.com.)