Superman: Principles of Power

Superman: Principles of Power 

• We start with a flashback in London, where a young boy is rushing to the hospital with his father and sick mother. They are pulled over by the constable for speeding. The father tries to explain that his wife is having a medical emergency but the cop doesn’t believe him and asks for him to step out of the car. The father insists but the police escalate the situation to the point where he pounds the dad on the front of the car. The mother cries out in agony and the cop tells her to shut up before the little boy, who was watching the whole time, gets out of the car. The dad tells him to get back into the car but his mom stops screaming. The cop releases the dad to go check on the mom and we see she is dead. The dad gets angry and swings at the police officer then the cop shoots him in defense. The shaken officer looks at the boy mortified and apologizes. The boy's face of pain turns into rage and the officer is lifted into the air as if by magic. The cop is then slammed down with a fury into the concrete, hard enough to leave an indentation in the road. The boy is clearly the one responsible and says “bloody pig.” We know that this kid will grow up to be Manchester Black.

• Flash forward to the present with Superman and Lois having a picnic on top of the Daily Planet. Lois is upset with Superman for not being totally honest and upfront with her. She wants to know his secret identity. Superman says how much more powerful he makes her and how unstoppable she is but she isn’t having any of it and cannot commit to being with him unless he tells her his secret. He says he can’t so she dumps Superman and leaves him on the roof.

• As she walks back into her office, she is met by Clark Kent, who looks upset. She asks what’s wrong and he says he is worried they are going to miss their exclusive with Principle Jefferson Pierce (formerly lost Mayor race to Luther), but we know the real reason she is upset. Perry tells them they better get going if they know what’s good for em. Stopping them on their way out is Cat Grand who thanks Clark for such an amazing night last night and he says, “well you insisted, one might even say demanded that I take you to the nice restaurant and musical.” Lois looks annoyed and they leave. 

• Clark and Lois are interviewing Jefferson on his outstanding work with his schools. They ask if he will give politics another try but he says not on the near future. During the interview, they get a page that some giant stone monster (Cinderblock) is attacking near downtown Metropolis. Clark tries to duck out and excuse himself again but Lois is already in a bad mood and won’t let him.

• Cut to the city streets and we see mayhem unfolding as Cinderblock smashes city property. Jimmy is trying to get a good shot by hiding in a car but the car gets thrown by the monster up onto a roof top. The car is teetering unbalanced as Jimmy screams. 

• Clark’s super hearing catches Jimmy’s scream and insists he really has to go pee but Lois tells him she doesn’t care if he pees his pants in the seat. Jefferson is clearly getting weirded out and uncomfortable. 

• Cut back to the carnage and the car falls off the building! It tumbles down but at the last second Manchester Black telekinetically stops the car and Silver Banshee swoops in to pull Jimmy out. They are not alone because we also see Hat and Volcania are there fighting Cinderblock as well. Manchester creates a barrier out of debris to corral Cinderblock towards them and Hat pulls a megaphone out of his magical hat for Manchester to taunt him. Cinderblock charges towards them but Volcania melts the asphalt beneath his feet, slowing him down and trapping him in tar. 

• We finally catch up with Clark and Lois’s interview with Clark saying that he has to go number 2 real bad. They all look embarrassed and Lois says he needs to start taking medication for this. Clark then runs off as Superman to the disturbance. 

• As Superman arrives on the scene, Manchester gives him crap about him finally showing up and wondering if Wonder Woman was going to come instead. He says they have it handled as Black floats the megaphone up to Silver Banshee and she screams, destroying the megaphone and crumbling Cinderblock into pieces. Superman looks on in angry disapproval. It’s then that Cat and Jimmy run up to the team as they introduce themselves as the Elite, a new super team that sticks up for the everybody and does what they need to do to keep the little guys safe. Cat asks Superman if he’s glad he won’t have to work as hard now. Superman says no comment and pulls Black aside. Superman is upset that they killed Cinderblock when there were other options. Volcania steps in and insults Superman for not having the guys to finish the job. Black continues by saying that the big blue American Boy Scout isn’t solving any really systemic issues anyway. Superman looks offended by this but then Hat gestures Manchester Black back to finish the interview, since Hat doesn’t speak. Superman carries Weasel off and flies away. 

• In the Daily Planet offices, Perry White is going over the new front page for tomorrow’s paper. It is Cat’s story about the new superheroes in town. Clark says that maybe they should be more patient to see what they are really like before they paint them as heroes but Perry strikes back calling Clark his number 2 reporter anyway. This is a joke implying Lois told everyone about his toilet troubles. 

• Cut to another date with Clark and Cat. They are mini-golfing and Cat is clearly having a great time but Clark is not. She keeps taking selfies for social media and Clark would rather be anywhere else. He even accidentally hits a ball so hard at one point, it breaks through a wooden obstacle on the course. Clark suggests they get out of there but Cat starts complaining that he didn’t seem to like her story today. Clark denies this and she thinks he is just such a big Superman fan boy that he doesn’t want to give any new heroes a chance. In the distance, Clark can hear police car sirens and we cut to a feral creature disturbing a single mother and her children in a poor part of town.

• This is a grotesque animalistic mutated monster that resembles a werewolf weasel. The mom and her kids are in the corner of their bedroom cowering in fear when in through the door comes Hat from the Elite who pulls out a water gun from his hat and sprays Weasel. It gets angry and charges at Hat when Silver Banshee screeches it out of the 2nd-floor window right in front of Manchester Black, who gives the onlookers a rousing speech about not putting up with creeps like him anymore. He gives Volcania the order and she lights Weasel on fire.

• Cat tees up and hits a hole-in-one but when she celebrates and turns around, Clark is gone. Superman arrives on the scene and breathes ice breath on Weasel to extinguish the fire but it is already too late, Weasel has died. Manchester asks Superman what he did that for and Superman explains that this poor thing was sick and needed some help. Silver Banshee says that the people didn’t think so and they want a stronger protector that makes them feel safe in the long run. Superman threatens them with a warning that if something like this happens again, he will take them down just like any other killer.

• In the morning, Clark is working and Lois comes up to him. She complains that Superman has his flaws but he was still the man she/this city needs. Clark hears her out and she continues on by trying to get Clark to make his girlfriend, Cat, stop writing such fluff pieces about the Elite. Out of nowhere, Cat comes in and slaps Clark in the face for ditching her last night. He tries to make an excuse but Cat isn’t having it and dumps Clark. Clark tells Lois he doesn’t think he can help her with that…

• In their cheap-looking hideout, the Elite are planning their next big heroic action. They see that they have a lot of younger public appeal on social media. Volcania suggests that they should move on with making a larger systemic issue statement. The crew agrees and they set their sites on the mayor and billionaire, Lex Luther.

• They break into the parking garage of Lexcorp tower by Hat summoning an access key from his hat. They enter the elevator and Manchester Black uses his telekinesis to keep the elevator moving upward past the prohibited floors, all the way up to Luther’s office. The elevator dings and Lex looks at his assistant, Mercy Graves, surprised. He wasn’t expecting company and orders Mercy to stand guard. The elevator doors bust open with a screech from Silver Banshee and Mercy lays incapacitated on the floor. They approach Lex threatening him but he isn’t taking it seriously. They accuse him of being a root problem in the system of systematic oppression, a billionaire who uses his influence to gain political power so they intend to make an example out of him. Lex looks smugly and begins questioning them about power and oppression. Lex says that he only took office to fight against power and oppression. He brings up how they have these miraculous abilities that are barely comparable to normal humans and that Superman is the worst of them. He explains that Superman is more powerful than any one of them and if he on a whim decides to take control of the world, he will. He is an alien after all. The Elite at first struggle to agree with Luther’s point but they eventually do and decide that they, together, can take him down. This will demonstrate the point of their movement even more.

• In Metropolis, a building is caught up in flames. Superman arrives on the scene to put out the fire with his ice breath and save any civilians trapped. He realized that the building was foreclosed on and abandoned when he is pulled down to the sidewalk by an invisible force. Manchester Black stands over him taunting that Volcania’s little fire show drew him out even faster than they had expected. Superman gets up and asks what is going on and they tell them their plan to take down those that can be corrupted by too much power, like him. Superman protests but then falls to his knees as we see the piece of kryptonite Hat pulled from his void. Superman protests that they don’t see the irony in what they are doing with their power corrupting them. Manchester argues that they aren’t corrupted because they are doing what needs to be done, unlike Superman. Manchester then hovers a large sharp piece of shrapnel from the fire behind them and looms it over Superman. Superman says that murder doesn’t have to be done and after they kill him, what will be next? He says that they are acting like the evil that they are trying to prevent. Black denies this but two of the team, Silver Banshee and Hat, look around at each other as if they feel remorse. Black questions their devotion to the cause. After some arguing and Manchester Black asking if they have what it takes, Hat puts the kryptonite back in his hat and gives a shrug. Manchester Black then disapproves and plunges the shrapnel through Hat. They all look shocked as Hat falls to the ground. Black asks the other two if they have any more disagreements but they don’t and look shocked then Black orders Volcania to blast the alien and she douses the kneeling hero in an inferno of flame. The smoke clears and Superman looks up in anger, as his powers have clearly returned after the kryptonite went away. Superman says they’ve done it now and that if they want to see what it’s like for him to have what it takes so bad, they are going to see it now. 

• Superman then lunges in super fast at Volcania and crashes into the wall of the building with extreme force. He walks out of the fire and a terrified Banshee screeches at Superman as Manchester Black ditches her and runs away. Superman crosses his arms and strongly walks through the scream right up to Banshee, grabs onto her, and rockets her up to the sky. Black keeps running in fear saying that Superman has finally lost it and is worried he will kill him next. Superman lands directly in front of Black and tells him that he will pay. Black sandwiches Superman between two cars but he pushes them off and continues to walk towards him. Black pulls a billboard in between them however, Superman’s heat rays burn through the sign and singe Black’s hair. Black then drops to his knees and begs for his life as Superman approaches. Superman, with his eyes still glowing red says, “I could kill a punk like you with my little finger, not that I would need to use a finger at all.” Black braces for impact as Superman finishes by saying, “But, I won’t.” and blows the fire out behind them with a huff and puff of his ice breath. Superman lectures that what they are doing doesn’t do anything for society but hurt it. If they really wanted to help people, they would focus on standing up and protecting the little guys, instead of trying to play judge, jury, and executioner for those they think are the problem. If it were that easy, Superman would have eradicated crime a long time ago, but he doesn’t see himself as a dictator or a god. Superman doesn’t see himself as better than any ordinary citizen they walk around amongst. Black seems to realize what he has done is wrong and tells Superman to bring him in. Manchester Black gets put into custody at Blackgate prison, where it is also revealed that’s where he put Silver Banshee and Volcania and didn’t actually kill them.

• Back at the Daily Planet, Perry congratulates Lois about her outstanding piece about how Superman stuck it to the Elite by being the better man. Clark steps over to Lois and asks her why she still seems so crabby after getting praised by their boss. Lois tells Clark that she knows she always does fantastic work so the compliment means nothing to her. Lois goes on to confess that she broke up with Superman and it makes her feel sad because she says he was the perfect guy, except for the fact that she couldn’t get to know the real him. Clark acts like he feels bad for her but then walks away with a smirk on his face.

• In the post-credit scene, we see Hat’s magic hat lying on the ground. Mr. Myxlplyx then pops into existence next to it and says, “Oh, there it is!” He throws it onto his head and pops away back to the 5th dimension.