Identity Crisis
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| Superman: The Animated Series episode | |
|---|---|
| |
| "Identity Crisis" | |
| Airdate: | September 15, 1997 (USA) |
| Production Number: | 020 |
| Airdate Order: | 19 |
| Animation Services by: | TMS-Kyokuichi Corporation |
| Written by: | Robert Goodman Joe R. Lansdale |
| Directed by: | Curt Geda |
| Episode images (1) | |
"Identity Crisis" is the episode of Superman: The Animated Series. It depicts the birth of Bizarro. Superman suddenly finds himself face to face with a perfect copy of himself, but soon discovers this copy is imperfect and becomes a chalk white creature with impaired intellect and all of his powers. Now Superman must try to save Metropolis and Lois from this creature's "heroic" acts.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
It's another typical day in Metropolis: a young boy clings tightly to an electrical tower and is too afraid to climb down. Superman flies down and saves. After a short lecture, Superman flies off and notes a police chase going on through the city. Right after the police is Lois' car. Superman intercepts the car the police are pursuing but since they are on a winding road, Lois nearly drives off the road and Clark is thrown from the car. Superman catches a confused Clark and cautions Lois to be more careful. Lois claims she's never careful and Superman invites her to dinner to talk about it. Clark decides to leave for the time being.
Superman continues his work and saves a helicopter from crashing. After he leaves, he runs into another Superman. The two Supermen confront each other and one of them starts to develop white patches on his skin. He insists that his double is doing this and attacks. However, before the other Superman can retaliate, the first falls in pain. The second Superman tells him that he doesn't look too good and his adversary who now has totally changed in appearance attacks him and leaves.
The weird Superman heads off to a laboratory in the mountains and finds Lex Luthor waiting for him. Luthor seems to know this creature and orders him to calm down. However, the order is unheeded. Luthor then asks a nearby scientist, Dr. Teng, what is going on. Dr. Teng explains that the alien DNA was unlike anything they ever cloned before. He expresses a desire to quit the project and get rid of the rest of the clones but Luthor won't allow it. All the while, the strange Superman confusedly babbles on. He finally gets to see himself and questions what he is. Mercy dubs him "Bizarro" which only upsets him. Bizarro goes out to prove he's really a hero.
Now determined to prove himself the real Superman, Bizarro goes out into Metropolis and starts "preventing" disasters. He hurls a wrecking ball towards a park in order to save a building and nearly causes a boat to crash by holding a drawbridge in place. Fortunately, Superman manages to prevent the disasters from occurring. He insists that Superman is not the real Superman.
Later, Bizarro meets up with Lois on the roof of the Daily Planet to go on their date. Superman shows up and is attacked. During the fight the planet is hurled off the top of the building and Lois falls off the roof. Caring about Lois, Bizarro saves her while Superman catches the planet. Since Superman is busy, Bizarro manages to leave with Lois.
Bizarro takes Lois to a restaurant and explains his confusion. During the talk, Lois takes out a tape recorder and learns of the laboratory where Bizarro was created. Lois asks him to take her there and he does. In the lab, Lois discovers that there are several clones of Superman and it's Luthor that's behind it. Luthor explains that he obtained Superman's blood from his museum during Superman's fight with the mechanical dinosaur.[1] Bizarro grows agitated at the sight of the clones but is stopped by an electrical discharge. Luthor decides to destroy the laboratory and thereby all the evidence. Dr. Teng initiates the self-destruct sequence. However, Bizarro recovers and goes on a rampage blocking the exit and destroying the main terminal. Now there is no escape and the sequence cannot be canceled.
Fortunately, Superman had learned of the laboratory from Lois' tape and re-opens the exit. However, Bizarro now has a hatred of Superman and attacks him. While Superman and Bizarro fight, Luthor and Dr. Teng manage to escape from the lab but Lois is trapped under a large piece of cement. Superman goes to save her and Bizarro realizes that his enemy is the real Superman. The ceiling collapses soon after but Bizarro catches and holds it, telling the duo to escape. Lois and Superman leave just as the lab is destroyed. They both hope that Bizarro survived the explosion that claimed the lab.
[edit] Continuity
- Lex Luthor alludes to the mechanical T-Rex that he pitted against Superman and Lois in "A Little Piece of Home." According to him, the Kryptonite rock planted in the room weakened Superman to the extent of making him bleed. Luthor then collected a sample of his DNA and used it to create Bizarro.
[edit] Background Information
[edit] Production Notes
- When Bizarro destroys the lab's terminal, the ensuing explosion is reused footage from the gas canisters that Superman ignites in "The Way of All Flesh."
[edit] Trivia
- This version of Bizarro is based off of the Post-Crisis Bizarro from The Man of Steel #5 and even has scenes from the comic story arc "Bizarro's World," such as his preventing a bridge from opening.
- Dr. Teng sets the self-destruct to two minutes, yet the time between the on-screen activation and detonation is around three minutes.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Tim Daly | Superman/Clark Kent |
| Dana Delany | Lois Lane |
| Clancy Brown | Lex Luthor |
| Lisa Edelstein | Mercy Graves |
| Timothy Daly | Bizarro |
| Robert Ito | Dr. Teng |
| John Rubinow | Helicopter Pilot |
| Joe Lala | Maitre D' |
| Kendall Cunningham | Tommy |
| Ryan O'Donohue | Boy #1 |
| James Cronin | Boy #2 |
[edit] Quotes
Boy #1: What if he dies? |
Superman: All right. Who wants to explain what you were doing up there? |
Superman: It's a date! |
Lois: Hey, Smallville, you alright? |
Superman: (to his clone) Excuse me. I know you're a busy guy, but I'm dying to get your autograph. |
Bizarro: I... have... problem. |
Bizarro: What am me? |
(Bizarro crashes through Lex's Lab ceiling) |
Bizarro: Me am Superman! Me am hero! |
Bizarro: Me no am Superman. You am Superman. Superman save Lois. |
Lois: Do you think he survived? |
| Previously produced episode: "Target" | Episodes of Superman: The Animated Series | Next produced episode: "Mxyzpixilated" |
| Previously aired episode: "Livewire" | Next aired episode: "Target" |
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ See "A Little Piece of Home"
