MONTAGE of a "Reign of the Supermen" sequence. Superboy and The Eradicator in a city-wide game of one-upsmanship, each doing ever-more spectacular heroic deeds, covered by a doting press, with only The Daily Planet not taking sides and publicly endorsing one of them as the "real" New Superman.

INT. LOIS LANE'S OFFICE -- DAY.

CLOSE-UP on her COMPUTER SCREEN. EMAIL from Cat Grant inviting her to guest-host The Cat Grant Show to moderate a super-debate.

She types and uploads her acceptance.

CUT TO:

INT. LUTHOR'S HIDEOUT -- DAY.

Luthor and Mercy are in bed watching breakfast TV. She is dressed like Harley Quinn, and he's wearing her uniform.

MERCY

Admit it Lex! There's nothing like 2 girls together!

LUTHOR

(sings)

Ooh, I'm a head on a Harley!

MERCY

Huh?

LUTHOR

It's a commercial, my sweet. Before your time.

Quiet please. There's a lady on stage.

PAN TO:

INT. TV SCREEN -- DAY.

Lois hosting The Cat Grant Show, with guests Superboy and The Eradicator. Superboy wears a T-SHIRT that says, "Lois Lane marks out for Superboy."

LOIS

Good morning, and welcome to a special edition of

The Cat Grant Show. Sitting in for Cat Grant,

this is Lois Lane of The Daily Planet. Today,

2 would-be Supermen will make their cases,

and you get to judge their merits. But first ...

(through gritted teeth)

Lose the shirt.

SUPERBOY

You heard her folks! Would any of you ladies

like to see me take my shirt off?

TEENYBOPPERS scream. Superboy playfully peels and gets UNDERWEAR thrown at him by the teenyboppers. Lois begins the debate.

LOIS

There have many claimants to the S-shield,

because the world needs a Superman.

Let me list a few: Some drunk named Bibbo,

a 7-foot basketball star from New York,

and a certain Cyborg in Washington

who really had them going until his partner

The Bionic Woman told him to quit it or

she'd break his other arm, and Oscar Goldman

threatened to dock his OSI pension.

Laughter. PAN audience.

LOIS

To start with, why don't both of you "supermen"

briefly tell us your respective claims?

CLOSE-UP on The Eradicator.

ERADICATOR

I remember a battle ...

(beat. it seems a painful memory.)

Bless Krypton and the House of El.

Their legacy, and the technology of my Fortress,

have given me new life. The heart of

Krypton's Last Son will keep beating.

Once I could see to the ends of the Earth,

if I so desired, and now the dimmest light

blinds me. I don't know if I'll ever get used

to that. I must not give in to despair.

I may have lost the gift of supernormal sight,

but I am alive! My senses, my body

may have changed ... but I am still strong!

I can fly free of gravity's hold.

I still posses powers and abilities far beyond

normal men. The people cry out for Superman!

I must be their champion!

LOIS

Um, I guess that will do for an opening statement.

Superboy?

CLOSE-UP on Superboy.

SUPERBOY

Oh yeah? Well I was cloned to have Superman's powers.

And I've been endorsed by the major media, dude!

"Be a clone/ Be a clone/ All the world loves a clone!"

Superman ... that's me. The one and only.

All other claims to the contrary.

I'm here to give you the story of the century, moi!

What's the problem? Don't I look mature enough?

Superboy leans on the PODIUM, adjusting his shades, combing his do and flirting with the CURVACEOUS CAMERAWOMAN.

SUPERBOY

There! Doesn't that make me look older? Whoa! Who is that?

LOIS

(with venom)

She's the camerawoman. Tana Something.

I don't remember her last name.

SUPERBOY

Hey, Lois, baby -- get a hold of yourself!

This jealousy of yours is unbecoming.

LOIS

(sputtering with rage)

J-jealousy! Jealous? Of you? ... Why you conceited,

arrogant little ... You are 5 seconds away, flyboy

-- and Lois Lane means 5 seconds away!

SUPERBOY

There's that green-eyed monster again! It's a curse.

LOIS

Why don't you just take the night off?

SUPERBOY

Finally! I wondered how long it would take

to get under your skin.

He beckons to Teenyboppers.

SUPERBOY

C'mon girls! We're blowing this popsicle stand!

He EXITS with Teenyboppers, glad to be out of there!

LOIS

When we return after these brief messages ...

"Superman" will debate me.

CUT TO:

2 COMMERCIALS for Superboy tie-in products: an S-SHIELD LEATHER JACKET and the "Lois Lane marks out ..." T-SHIRT.

CUT TO:

INT. THE TV STUDIO -- DAY.

LOIS

Welcome back. I'd like to call "Superman" here

on both of his main points. First of all,

do you really remember Superman's life?

ERADICATOR

It's my life. Why wouldn't I remember it?

LOIS

In that case, I have a few questions for you.

ERADICATOR

I stand for cross-examination, Miss Lane.

LOIS

What was your father's name?

ERADICATOR

Jor-El. My mother was Lara. I had an uncle named Zor-El,

an aunt Allura, and the world knows about my cousin Kara.

LOIS

Simple enough. What about your Earth parents?

ERADICATOR

You know I can't answer that, Miss Lane.

It would give away my secret identity.

LOIS

Where did your spaceship land?

ERADICATOR

I cannot answer that either, for the same reason.

If people knew where the landing site was,

they could work out who must have adopted me,

and figure out my identity from there.

Cat and mouse suspense. She has to ask things only Superman would know, without eliciting answers that, if he is Superman, will give away his secret identity. When The Eradicator refuses to answer, is he being circumspect, or is he ignorant of the facts?

LOIS

Here's a question that gives away nothing.

Name the first witness who ever saw you

do something "super."

ERADICATOR

(beat)

That would be you, Miss Lane.

LOIS

(beaming truimphantly)

Bullshit! The real Superman had powers

from early childhood. Haven't you ever heard of

"The Adventures of Superman, When He was a Boy?"

The correct answer is Lana Lang.

You just picked the helicopter rescue

because it was well known.

ERADICATOR

(puzzled)

No, Miss Lane. You are mistaken.

I did not mean the time I saved you from

a helicopter crash here in Metropolis.

I meant that time you saw me in Smallville.

Long pause. Lois is speechless.

LOIS

When ... when did I see you ... when did I see

Superman in Smallville? I never lived there.

ERADICATOR

It was years ago. I was helping the

Sheriff of Smallville with a trifling matter.

I needed my super-speed to outrace a train.

I didn't even have a costume yet,

so I ran in my street clothes. There was

a little girl riding as a passenger on that train.

She looked out the window and saw me.

I later found out that you were that little girl.

FLASHBACK to the famous "train sequence" in Superman I.

BACK TO SCENE.

CLOSE-UP on Lois.

LOIS

I ... I remember. I was a little girl ...

I saw a boy running faster than a train.

I told my parents, but they didn't believe me.

They told me I fell asleep on the train

and dreamt it ... all these years I thought

... I thought it was just my imagination!

PAN audience. Astonished reactions. He knew something about Superman that even Lois Lane didn't know!

LOIS

(composing herself)

I concede that you know your Superman lore.

Let's see how good you are on the history of Planet Krypton.

ERADICATOR

Fire away, Miss Lane.

LOIS

What was The Science Council?

ERADICATOR

The supreme governing body of Krypton.

Krypton had world government, and was

a meritocracy. The best and the brightest

were promoted, not elected, to power,

regardless of popularity. My father Jor-El

was president of The Science Council.

(beat)

He was a very unpopular man.

LOIS

And the Phantom Zone?

ERADICATOR

The way we punished criminals, as Krypton

had no capital punishment. The Kryptonian coup-

plotters came from the Phantom Zone.

Don't you remember punching out Ursa?

FLASHBACK to the punch from Superman II.

BACK TO SCENE.

CLOSE-UP on Lois' sadistic smile.

LOIS

I do indeed. The bitch had it coming.

What are the Fire Falls?

ERADICATOR

#1 tourist attraction.

LOIS

The Scarlet Jungle?

ERADICATOR

The Kryptonian Hell. Created by a weird experiment.

LOIS

Of course you remember the guy with the horn,

the one who found the cure for Virus X.

ERADICATOR

Must we resort to trick questions?

There is no cure for Virus X. It ravaged

the planet, even before the Great Explosion.

Audience gasps. She can't even stump him with trick questions.

LOIS

You win round one, "Superman." After this

commercial let's see how well you do ...

in Kryptonese!

CUT TO:

MONTAGE of people around the world in all different cultures cranking the volume on their TV SETS with excited exclamations, all of which are translated in SUBTITLES as "This is it!"

CUT TO:

2 more commercials for Superboy products: ACTION FIGURES and BACK-ISSUES of Superboy in Action Comics autographed by Krypto! (with a pawprint.)

SUPERBOY

They're super! Tell em, boy!

KRYPTO

Arf! Arf!

CUT TO:

INT. THE TV STUDIO -- DAY.

Lois and The Eradicator repeat the previous segment, word for word, in Kryptonese. BACKSTAGE HELP scramble to find someone who knows the language without success. Cat runs out on stage.

CAT

I'm sorry, Lois, but I have to take back my show.

I can't stand the suspense! You've heard enough by now.

Is he or isn't he?

LOIS

(politely, to Eradicator)

Your Kryptonese is fluent. In fact,

you speak it like a native. But Superman isn't.

A native, I mean. Superman, the real one,

was raised on Earth. He learned his Kryptonese

from tapes, like a Berlitz course.

He speaks it with the worst Kansas drawl

you've ever heard. You're a fake!

Now tell us who you really are.

CLOSE-UP on Eradicator. He removes his visor, revealing weird alien ROBOT SENSORS where his eyes should be!

ERADICATOR

In previous visits to this planet I was known as

The Eradicator.

Mass Panic.

PAN the TV studio as people stampede for the doorways, and UNIFORMED SECURITY spill in with AUTOMATIC WEAPONS.

Eradicator raises his fists to project blasts, and ENERGY swirls around him.

Lois lunges in front of him as a human shield.

LOIS

No! Don't shoot! Haven't we had enough of this?

Have you forgotten Doomsday already?

A strange creature appeared from nowhere.

He looked dangerous, so everybody started

fighting with him. Big surprise: he fought back.

For once can't we at least try talking to the

scary monster instead of trying to kill him?

Shamed silence.

HECKLER

The last time he was here he tried to destroy the world!

LOIS

This time, he has done nothing but good deeds.

ERADICATOR

There is a saying on your planet.

By their fruits ye shall know them.

CUT TO:

INT. THE GREEN ROOM -- DAY.

Superboy watching a monitor with a SOFT DRINK and a girl on either arm.

SUPERBOY

He's a fruit! He admits it! Now aren't you girls

glad you're with a real man?

They squeal and giggle.

SUPERBOY

Oops, almost forgot the ol' product placement!

He holds up the soft drink can and turns the label to the camera.

SUPERBOY

Yes folks, Superboy drinks delicious PC Cola!

You don't have to be Post-Crisis to like it ...

but Honey, it sure helps!

CLOSE-UP on his smarmy wink!

CUT TO:

INT. THE TV STUDIO -- DAY.

Eradicator tells his story, assisted by FLASHBACKS.

ERADICATOR

I must seem a strange visitor from another planet.

I am an artificial intelligence from Krypton.

I arrived on Earth years ago on a Kryptoforming

mission (which is terraforming from the

point of view of Krypton.) The scientist who

invented me, Jax-Ur, either didn't know

that Earth was inhabited or didn't care.

On 2 previous occasions, I have tried

to remodel Earth to look like Krypton,

changing the course of mighty rivers ...

Both times I have been foiled by Superman

and hurled into the Sun. But being from Krypton,

I am an invulnerable robot. I cannot be destroyed.

Every time I am exiled, I fly back to Earth orbit

to renew my program. This time is different.

On the flight back from the Sun, I reflected

that Krypton itself was not remodelled to look like

some other planet. To really be like Krypton,

Earth must be permitted to be true to itself,

just like Krypton was. So I have built myself

a Fortress at the South Pole. I have decided

my new mission must be to transform myself

into the image of the Last Son of Krypton.

FLASHBACKS END.

ERADICATOR

Regrettably, I never knew the Last Daughter.

People of Earth, I stand for your judgement.

Lois kisses his metal cheek.

CUT TO:

INT. LUTHOR'S HIDEOUT -- DAY.

Mercy sits 6 inches from the screen, like a little kid.

MERCY

I love Lois Lane! She's my heroine!

LUTHOR

(enjoys her adulation)

Mine too, Mercy, mine too.

CUT TO:

INT. THE ULTRA-HUMANITE'S HIDEOUT -- DAY.

REYNOLDS

The battle-suit you requested is complete, Master.

But we understand little of its actual workings.

HUMANITE

That's because it's from Krypton, Reynolds!

You do not need to understand it. Now, let us begin.

We must leave this Fortress before its owner returns.

It is lucky for us the fool stays away for months

at a time, helping those snivelling weaklings

in his beloved Metropolis! Go, and make preparations!

Henchman EXITS. Humanite glares at a SUPERMAN POSTER on the wall.

HUMANITE

How soon you forget, Kal-El. How soon you forget

your oldest and most implacable foe. So Lex Luthor

is your worst enemy, is he? No one else is even in

2nd place? You will regret those words my friend.

The whole world will rue the day you said them!

As far as I'm concerned Lex Luthor is a

second-rate lab rat!

DISSOLVE through wall and pan away, over Humanite's maniacal laugh.

CRANE SHOT reveals THE ERADICATOR'S FORTRESS in Antarctica.

CUT TO:

INT. PERRY WHITE'S OFFICE -- DAY.

LOIS

Silver Age monster, I told Jimmy. I was wrong.

Golden Age monster. The Ultra-Humanite.

Jimmy strikes his forehead at how obvious it all was.

JIMMY

The Ultra-Humanite! Of course, The Ultra-

Humanite! Who else could it be but The Ultra-

Humanite? I just have one question, Chief ...

who's The Ultra-Humanite?

PERRY

Olsen, you're giving me a headache.

JIMMY

Sorry about that, Chief.

Perry narrates his origin story, in a CARTOON SHORT.

(done in the Golden Age style of a Fleischer Brothers production.)

PERRY

Once, he was a brilliant scientist, sadly trapped

in a wheelchair. His great mind snapped at his

inability to cure himself and he turned to crime,

organizing a vast ring of evil enterprises,

the largest and most extensive criminal underground

in Metropolis history, outfitting his men with

weapons of super-science designed from his chair

and built by others, including death-rays and

invisibility devices. He was defeated by Young Superman,

during his first year as a Metropolis crimefighter

20 years ago. This opened the door for Luthor,

who has been the local crimelord ever since.

But the Humanite's greatest power is his ability

to transfer his mighty mind into the bodies of others.

He has been underground for years, occasionally popping up

to bedevil the Man of Steel in various incarnations.

Men, women, old, young, black, white ... Nobody knows

how many people The Ultra-Humanite has been. Not even him!

CARTOON ENDS.

LOIS

At this point no-one has heard from the

Humanite since, in the form of an albino gorilla,

he chaired a crime syndicate called

The Secret Society of Super-Villains.

This was a few years ago, in what you kids

would call The Silver Age. It has been presumed

that the Humanite died in the Crisis. Until now.

JIMMY

What makes you so sure?

BATMAN

The statue. The one in that phoney Luthor's Lair.

It showed the Humanite in his true form.

Silver Age Luthor would have had a statue of

a gorilla, the only Humanite he ever knew.

LOIS

I became suspicious shortly after I

interviewed Doomsday. He was feeble-minded.

Why would anyone genetically engineer

the ultimate monster but give him the

huge limitation of making him stupid?

Doomsday's brain must have been a temporary one,

to animate the tissue until the body was ready

to receive its permanent brain -- the brain of

the Ultra-Humanite. You can see now why

Superman stole the body.

LUTHOR

Good God yes! Imagine if the Humanite

had gotten it back! Can you imagine

an intelligent Doomsday, armed with a death ray

and the power of invisibility?

We might as well give him the city!

LOIS

(thoughtful)

Yes ... The only thing worse would be if he had

a Kryptonian battle-suit.

CUT TO:

EXT. ANTARCTIC FORTRESS -- DAY.

Door opens, and Doomsday EXITS, wearing a KRYPTONIAN BATTLE-SUIT. He tests his RAY-GUN by melting a nearby ICEBERG.

CLOSE-UP as he smiles evilly.

Then he climbs aboard a huge SNOW-CAT VEHICLE and drives off. The snow-cat disappears, leaving only the continuing TRACKS of it's invisible presence as it heads to the harbour, where a depression in the water indicates the presence of an invisible submarine. Doomsday's maniacal laughter echoes through the barren wastes. Metropolis is in big trouble!

To be continued.

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