After moving the nuclear heist and threat from the second half of the script to the first, it was up to Mario Puzo to create two new sequences for the second half of his second draft script to the Superman films. This is presumably because he may have felt that the first half of the script lacked a bit of action and needed something to punch it up a bit.

Beginning on page 237, we immediately pick up from the assassination attempt with all new Puzo material. Steve informs Clark that Morgan Edge wants him and Lois to travel to Florida to cover a missile launch to Mars.

“Why doesn’t he want our eyewitness report?” Lois asks.

“Because he still thinks you were in Geneva at the time, where you were supposed to be,” Steve responds.

As the reporters part ways, Clark observes Jimmy and Steve boarding their plane. He also notices four men take up arms, start shooting inside the airport, and take hostages to a waiting 747. Before long, two more terrorists join the group, making a total of six altogether.

Clark and Lois hide behind a security partition, waiting for the police to arrive. She takes off, thinking Clark to be a coward. Clark, however, looks for a nearby passageway so he can change into Superman and go into action. Before long, Superman boards the waiting 747, subdues the terrorists, and frees the hostages.

Afterwards, Lois continues to eye Clark coldly and think him to be a coward, even as he says that he’s filed the story with their superiors back home. Steve tries to reassure Lois, saying, “Take it easy. He saved the Pope. That’s enough for one week.”

Jimmy adds, “Yeah, there was nothing he could do except become another hostage.”

“Unless he’s Superman.” Everyone laughs, but Lois again considers Clark and wonders if it’s possible.

This is another nicely paced action sequence, but over time it’s very likely that fans and viewers would have had a more difficult time viewing the film with this sequence, given the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-81, other airplane hostage situations in the 1980s and 1990s, and most importantly the tragic events of 9/11. Even one of my favorite action films of the early 90s, Die Hard 2, is hard to watch now in that same context.

Later, at Galaxy Communications, Morgan Edge congratulates the reporters on their stories and promotes them to cover a new upcoming story. Again, Edge’s face is blurred out by wavy lines.

Clark reaches over to fix the image, and for a brief second he observes Edge’s face. But Edge quickly ducks off screen.

Clark then startles everyone by saying that he wants to step down and just be an ordinary reporter. Everyone is shocked by Clark’s comments. “Clark, you’re the only one who has any common sense,” Steve says. “We’d be lost without you.”

Jimmy adds, “And you’re lucky. Whenever you’re on a story, something terrific breaks.”

Even Lois is apologetic about her judgments regarding Clark. “Clark, don’t. I know you’re not a coward.”

But Clark is steadfast in his decision. Edge then tells him to take the next month off with full pay and consider his options.

Later on we find Superman consulting the Kryptonian memory banks and seeking Jor-El’s advice about how to balance his responsibilities as a reporter with the duties he has in his secret identity as Superman, particularly when it comes to the incoming threat of the four villains from the Phantom Zone. This is something that neither Jor-El nor Lara have the answers to. “It lies in the area of ethics and philosophy,” Jor-El says.

Here we learn that six months have passed since Superman hurtled the nuclear bomb into outer space, accidentally freeing Zod and his companions, and he now has about two months to prepare for what’s coming.

Meanwhile, Lex Luthor reveals his second great crime to Eve and his henchmen. He plans to hijack a Trident nuclear submarine from the United States Navy and sell it off to Russia or China in the hopes of getting $100 million dollars for it.

The henchmen, however, think he should consider selling the Trident submarine to the Arabs, the Israelis, or the Italians. Luthor, oddly enough, says, “We don’t want to sell them to somebody who will use them irresponsibly.”

And from there we will pause and see next time what Luthor has in store with his second great crime.

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