Cover

Table of Contents

Thoughts at 3AM

Letter Column

DCU Digest

The Hal vs. Kyle Thing

The Bad Decisions That Be

The Trial of Hal Jordan

Dark Knight Redux

Kevin Dooley Interview

Brainstorm's Corner

Fiction - Superman: The Man of Steel

Sector 2814 Art Gallery

"If Aquaman Can Get A Series" art challenge

DCU 101 - GL in Action Comics Weekly

Hall of Justice - G'nort

JLA Casebook - Destiny's Hand

Retconvention - Green Lantern

Comics Cabana - Girl Frenzy

Classics Revisited - Blue Devil

Vanishing Point - The Guardians

Hi, I'm Erik. I'm the guy what wrote the BATMAN: DCF story you (may have) read (or at least noticed) in the last issue of FANZING.

Well what am I doing back again? The answer is… Taking a stab at SUPERMAN. Not a Superman: DCF, but the good ol' fashioned 'Hi, I work at the Daily Planet and my name is really CLARK!' Superman that we all know and most of us love.

But I'm not doing a prose story. Oh, no. I'm doing a full-fledged feature film script, the way it should be done, Warner decrees be damned. In other words, my cast -- and NO 'death of' story with Doomsday. No half-assed suggestions from former Streisand hairdressers turned producer. Just Supes the way he should be, in my mind.

You may not all like it. Some of you may downright loathe it. To you, I offer my apologies. My writing is not for everyone.

I also offer this disclaimer: THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT. I came up with the idea, asked Michael, and threw it all together off the top of my head. It's no magnum opus, much of it may appear unpolished (because, well, it is) and, well, that's pretty much it. Just wanted you guys to know what you're in for.

Now then, before we get down to brass tacks, there are a few more things that you'll need to know; especially if you've never read a script before. The terminology! Hey, some folks DON'T know. And everyone should have a chance to enjoy this, right? Of course right!

INT = Interior. It means inside, and I wouldn't lie about that.
EXT = Exterior. Opposite of inside which is… outside! Very good, someone's been paying attention.
CU = Close up. Figure it out and win a Booster Gold Star.
OC = Off camera. Pretend you're watching the movie and can hear - but not see - the character that's OC.
VO = Voice over. It means we have someone speaking over a scene they're not necessarily in.

Are we clear? Great! You're the bestest class **sniff** that I ever had…

And on my casting choices… The Fanzing staff likes Bruce Campbell as the man of steel. Whereas I think I'd make a great Superman, I'm about fifteen years too young… which means I should be able to grab the part in Burton's film when Nic Cage finally gives up. Ha.

Lois Lane = Linda Fiorentino in my script. She's who you should be thinking of.

As for that other double L in Metropolis, Lex Luthor that is, only one man could play him. Jack Nicholson? Lord no! Jack's too padded. Kevin Spacey? Lex is not that… small. (And I have the highest regard for Spacey's acting abilities!) No, Lex Luthor needs to be physically imposing, not too old, not too small -- someone that could give Supes a good physical fight were there to be a change in power… I'd say Ed Harris is the ONLY real choice to play Lex. He's perfect for the role; he looks like Lex. And he looks cool bald.

Now the OTHER thing I'm doing is serializing this. Only a taste - 10 pages, folks - for the first installment. I don't want to continue to sweat over this if it's not something y'all dig. That being said,

ENJOY (part 1 of) THE SCRIPT!

And if you feel the need to praise me uncontrollably, tell me how badly I destroyed the character, or shower me with cash, you can reach me here -- [email protected]

Thanks for givin' this a look!

Erik Burnham

OPEN ON:

BLACK.

Fade In:
Slowly but surely, the fluorescent light of an underground - no windows, folks - lab begins to appear. It is a massive complex, filled with all sorts of James Bond-meets-Flash Gordon type of things. There are clone chambers with humans in different stages of development, all of them fairly obscured, and we can't make out their faces. Finally one chamber, set apart from the others in the center of the room, becomes visible. Several men and women in lab coats and masks, scrubs, the whole nine yards (this is a clean room.)

CU - DR. JEROME
His eyes glint.

Slowly pan over the faces of the other doctors, their eyes similarly displaying awe and satisfaction. Finally, we pan down to the chamber, and through it's glass casing we can see the face… of SUPERMAN.

Cut To:

TITLE CARD:

SUPERMAN… THE MAN OF STEEL

Fade In:

INT. CONNORS HOUSEHOLD - DAY
BOBBY CONNORS, a boy of 10, sits in front of a glowing TV SET, transfixed with the cartoons before him. He's currently watching WILE E. COYOTE getting dropped off a cliff, followed by a whole lot of explosives. The poor critter is fried.

BOBBY sighs and rolls his eyes.

MRS. CONNORS enters the room now, wiping a dish dry. Her whole posture and look scream "tired." She is a middle-aged working mom, taking care of the home on a day off… wearing her hair up in a scarf, and decked out in jogging pants and a sweater. She sits on the couch and picks up the remote, changing the channel.

MRS. CONNORS clicks a button and "The JOHANN MICHAELS Show" fills the screen. JOHANN MICHAELS is a real talk show wannabe, the trashiest of trash TV. He wears a bad toupee and sports a bushy mustache that could make a walrus jealous. He stands in the middle of the audience.

MRS. CONNORS turns up the volume. CLOSE IN on the TV.

Cut To: INT. WGBS STUDIOS - STUDIO 741 - THE JOHANN MICHAELS SHOW - DAY
JOHANN MICHAELS is in his audience, mic in hand, delivering his opening monologue. The audience is applauding some indiscernable quip he has made. JOHANN strikes poses for whatever camera his director points him to. The topic of his show is WHO NEEDS SUPERMAN. JOHANN smiles.

JOHANN'S expression grows more serious.

An image of SUPERMAN shaking hands with the PRESIDENT (an older guy behind a podium with the seal of the President of the USA. Let's not bog the story down with actual presidents!)

A low rumbling can be heard, but JOHANN doesn't take notice.

The image on the screen changes to SUPERMAN fighting with MONGUL. The rumbling grows louder, and continues on growing as JOHANN talks.

The VIEWING MONITOR explodes as a GIANT robot shuttle crashes through, with SUPERMAN being rammed along with it, caught at the nose of the shuttle!

Cut To:
INT. CONNORS HOUSEHOLD - DAY
BOBBY grins as MRS. CONNORS stares dumbfounded, but both are transfixed by the events on their TV; SUPERMAN, being shot across the studio by a small shuttle, the crowd panicking and rushing for the exits, and JOHANN MICHAELS' toupee flying off in the rush of wind the shuttle provides.

Cut To:
INT. WGBS STUDIOS - STUDIO 741 - DAY
SUPERMAN hasn't gotten his bearings yet; he was attacked out of the blue by this shuttle, which is piloted by a strange little man, barely visible through the porthole in the top of the shuttle - PROFESSOR THADDEUS KILGRAVE.

The forward thrust of the shuttle stops, faster than it rocketed into the studio. SUPERMAN holds it, dead in the air.

SUPERMAN'S eyes begin to glow red. The turbines on the small shuttle's wings burst into flame and burn out. SUPERMAN then blows the fire out with his super breath and gives KILGRAVE an angry stare worthy of the Dark Knight. SUPERMAN begins to tear the shuttle open.

KILGRAVE ejects, his chair forming a smaller shuttle, a little jet seat. SUPERMAN sighs, rolling his eyes. He compresses the shuttle into a cube, which he gently deposits on the stage before rocketing off after KILGRAVE.

JOHANN is staring at the hole in the ceiling, which KILGRAVE escaped through and SUPERMAN had just followed. JOHANN receives no answer.

JOHANN looks over to the unmanned camera on the corner of the stage.

Fade In:
LOIS LANE and CLARK KENT are laying in bed. LOIS is reading aloud from CLARK'S article in the DAILY PLANET. She puts down the paper when she's done reading. CLARK is laying with his hands behind his head, eyes closed.

CLARK opens his eyes and gives LOIS a teasing look.

LOIS smiles mischievously as CLARK moves in closer, embracing her.

CLARK gives LOIS a peck on the cheek.

CLARK disappears out the window with a rush of wind. LOIS shakes her head and picks up her book -- MARRIAGE: IT'S NOT ALWAYS AS EASY AS IT LOOKS. LOIS regards the cover, sighs, and shakes her head as if she had just been exposed to the greatest understatement on earth. LOIS opens the books and starts reading.

Cut To:
EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT
Two THUGS, both dressed like street trash with the notable exceptions of the neon green armbands they wear, have cornered a WOMAN. One of them is pinning her down; the other is rifling through her purse.

The WOMAN'S eyes widen even more in fear. The THUGS are sporting huge grins and snickering. THUG 1 drops the purse to the ground, and starts toward his companion and their hostage, when a "tsking" sound is heard from nowhere in particular.

>From SUPERMAN'S POV we can see the THUGS looking around frantically, hoping that the voice didn't belong to who they thought it did, but the deep tones from above could only have come from two places; and it's probably not GOD. The THUGS start to head out the alleyway, but SUPERMAN is suddenly right there in front of them.

SUPERMAN nods, a smirk coming over his face. THUG 1 draws a gun and fires upon SUPERMAN. The bullets ricochet off his chest harmlessly, and he catches them as fast as they fly away, to prevent any injuries.

SUPERMAN advances, knocking THUG 1 out with a puff of his breath, which knocks the THUG into the side of a building, hard. THUG 2 pauses. He sees SUPERMAN standing there, waiting for him to do something. THUG 2 screams a loud, long battlecry and runs toward the Man of Steel, now firing his gun. SUPERMAN sighs, rolls his eyes, and knocks the thug out… with one finger and a flicking motion. He then picks up the gun used against him, crushes it into a ball of metal, uses his heat vision to slag it some more, and then rolls it between his hands, into a steel bar, blowing it to cool it off. SUPERMAN then twists the bar around the THUG'S hands - instant handcuffs. SUPERMAN repeats the action - very quickly - with the other THUG.

The WOMAN nods.

SUPERMAN nods and smiles.

SUPERMAN begins to lift off, but the woman stops him.

SUPERMAN hovers in the air, a quizzical expression on his face.

SUPERMAN smiles, flashing his teeth.

SUPERMAN rockets off into the skyline. The WOMAN slumps a little.

The WOMAN watches SUPERMAN disappear into the night and then kicks the THUGS before picking up her purse and leaving the alleyway. Cut To:
INT. LEX LUTHOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT.
LEX LUTHOR stands in his HUGE office, atop the massive LexCorp building. His shirt is unbuttoned, and he holds a half-full brandy sifter in his left hand. LEX is looking out over the city he has practically built from the ground up, the city he more or less rules from on high. LEX leans into the window and smiles. And then, a red-and-blue streak catches his eye. LEX'S smile disappears. The hatred LEX feels manifests itself in a glare so intense it cuts through the glass and hits SUPERMAN dead on. The Man of Steel waves before disappearing completely behind another of Metropolis' many skyscrapers. LEX crushes the sifter in his hand. He is almost shaking with anger.

PULL BACK from the window LEX looks out from to reveal the massiveness of the LexCorp tower. PULL BACK further to reveal more of the Metropolis skyline. Now DOLLY DOWN to the streets below…

EXT. SWAN STREET - NIGHT.
Two more THUGS, wearing the same green armbands, are attempting to break into JC'S PAWNSHOP. MILO works on jimmying the door, while the other, JAKE, guards MILO'S back, gun in hand.

MILO shrugs.

CU - MILO

There is no answer save for what sounds like a body hitting the ground.

A voice with a WORSE HISPANIC accent answers.

MILO'S eyes betray confusion. He turns to see SUPERMAN. MILO screams.

SUPERMAN allows a mock sigh.

SUPERMAN motions to the 'paralyzed-with-fear' JAKE that he's holding by the shoulder.

SUPERMAN scoops MILO up in his other arm and rockets into the night sky.

…TO BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH!!!!

NOTE: This story was not continued by Erik. Sorry.

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This piece is © 2002 by the author listed above.
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