Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and the Comics

[Silver Nemesis]

Here's the next instalment of the ongoing Superman movie analysis threads. I mostly drew a blank on this one, but thecolorsblend came up with some really interesting parallels between the movie and the comics. So most of the credit (and the blame) for this one goes to him.



Superman IV was produced at the height of the Cold War and reflects the fears many people had at the time regarding the threat of nuclear war. The central plot sees the Man of Steel vowing to rid the Earth of all nuclear weapons in the hopes of preventing such a conflict from occurring. The film's central themes are similar to those explored in 'The Day the Earth Died!' (Superman #408, June 1985).

This story sees Superman mulling over the prospect of nuclear war and considering whether or not he should intervene in human affairs. The inspiration of a child ultimately shows him the error of his ways and gives him hope for the future of mankind. The main difference between that comic book and Superman IV is that in the movie he actually does attempt to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

Superman IV is the only film in the Christopher Reeve series to show Clark change into his Superman costume in a phone booth. This has long been a tradition in the comics.

A subplot in the movie sees the Daily Planet being bought by an unethical news mogul. This has parallels with a story arc from the early seventies where Morgan Edge purchased the Daily Planet and brought it under his Galaxy Broadcasting umbrella. Edge butted heads with Perry White and had no qualms about throwing his weight around, just like David Warfield does in the movie. In that regard, Warfield can be seen as a loose analogue of Edge.

In the film Lex Luthor has a nephew called Lenny. The name Lenny is possibly derived from Lena, Lex's sister in the comics. In the Pre-Crisis canon Lena had a son named Val Colby. Val first appeared in 'Lex Luthor's Outlaw Nephew!' (Adventure Comics #387, December 1969) where he busted his Uncle Lex out of a maximum security prison.

The storyline about Lex Luthor creating a clone of Superman was possibly inspired by issue 5 of John Byrne's Superman: The Man of Steel (1986) miniseries.

The original plan was for Christopher Reeve to play Nuclear Man, but this idea was ultimately scrapped due to budgetary limitations and time constraints. Had this idea gone ahead, the parallels between Nuclear Man and the Bizarro clone would have been even stronger.

Nuclear Man is actually Luthor's second attempt at cloning Superman. There is a deleted sequence from the film depicting the creation and death of the first imperfect clone. And this clone bore a notable resemblance to Byrne's version of Bizarro.

Another comic character that may have influenced Nuclear Man is the sand creature Superman that appeared during a story arc in 1971. This entity debuted in 'Superman Breaks Loose' (Superman #233, January 1971), in which Superman was caught in the blast from a nuclear reactor meltdown. The resultant bombardment of k-radiation created a sand copy of Superman that would return to haunt the Man of Steel in numerous subsequent issues.

The first time Superman encountered the sand creature was in Superman #234 (February 1971). Superman was trying to tame an erupting volcano. Then the sandman Superman showed up and entered the volcano.

The fight scenes between Superman and Nuclear Man visually recall the Superman vs. Bizarro fight in Superman: The Man of Steel.

One of the film's most memorable images is that of Superman's cape being separated from him and flapping in the breeze, symbolising his ultimate defeat. This same type of imagery was used (arguably to a much better effect) in the Doomsday storyline and on the classic Superman #75 cover from January 1993. This could be an example of the movie influencing the comics.

Nuclear Man initially defeats Superman by infecting him with some form of radioactive poisoning. This concept may have its basis in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), where a nuclear blast reduces Superman to a similarly weakened condition.

Eventually Superman recovers his strength and defeats Nuclear Man by pushing the moon in front of the sun and causing a solar eclipse, thereby blocking off his opponent's source of power. Superman pushed the moon in a similar manner during his battle against Hercules in 'Superman's Battle With Hercules!' (Actions Comics #268, September 1960).

Having defeated Nuclear Man, Superman then captures Lex and Lenny. The image of him lifting a criminal's car into the air has been used in countless comics. In fact the cover of Action Comics #1 (June 1938), the very first Superman comic ever published, featured such an image.

By the end of the film Superman has realised the folly of his actions. He delivers a public address where he states it isn't his place to impose peace on the people of Earth. Instead the humans themselves must strive for peace if they are to avoid nuclear annihilation. This is the same conclusion he arrives at in the aforementioned Superman #408.

And that's all we've got for Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.

[Paul (ral)]

Superman 4 gets unfairly (IMO) bundled into the same arena as Batman & Robin film.

I love it's earnest approach. I like the fact that it looks at a real world issue.

Batman & Robin suffered from an over indulgent approach due to a large budget.  SIV was the exact opposite.

Great comparison guys...really enjoyed it. It's cheered my up no end.

[gordonblu]

Yeah, the only problem with Superman IV was a lack of budget (and a few minor nitpicks but not enough to warrant absolute hatred), and how much the film was chopped up to get it down to 87 minutes from 100+.

Supes IV has IMO the best score of the sequels thanks to John Williams composing new themes (Nuclear Man is a fave of mine), and Alexander Courage's expert adaptations and orchestrations that completely overshadow Ken Thorne's contributions to II and III.

[Azrael]

And to think, this came out at around the same time Batman was about to start filming.

[Bobthegoon89]

John Williams wrote Nuclear Man's theme??? This I didn't know. No wonder it sounded good! Why was he not credited for this?

I never saw a problem with the plot of Superman tackling a real world issue (as Tom Mankiewicz advised Reeve against).

[Kamdan]

Good work! Especially with the Bizzaro and Nuclear Man I comparisons. Is Superman II in the works?

[thecolorsblend]

Good work! Especially with the Bizzaro and Nuclear Man I comparisons. Is Superman II in the works?

Probably, although I've got a lot less positive stuff to say about Superman II as a film. Plus, a lot of the comics Superman II arguably takes inspiration from tend to be the same as what inspired STM.

[Bobthegoon89]

I too would like a Superman II comparison. I gather it's difficult given it's close connections to the first. But please can it be a comparison of the REAL Superman II? That is the Theatrical 1980 release? Not that awful Donner cut.

I guess you could perhaps (if you have difficulty) show how that movie perhaps inspired comics. The scene from the John Bryne Man of Steel era in which Superman reveals his identity to Lois looks quite similar to me to the scene from the movie in the way it's staged (also in the fact he reveals himself by choice rather than Lois holding him at gunpoint).

I have an old Superman comic (#322 "Superman Versus The Parasite"). I think this one came out just after the film, could be wrong. It has an excellent exciting cover of a big battle scene in Metropolis that looks very "Superman II final battle". Exploding manhole's with plumes of smoke, terrified citizens, even blasts of heat vision as weapons. So perhaps the covers took inspiration or inspired things themselves.

[thecolorsblend]

I too would like a Superman II comparison. I gather it's difficult given it's close connections to the first. But please can it be a comparison of the REAL Superman II? That is the Theatrical 1980 release? Not that awful Donner cut.

Assuming they want me to participate, that's the version I was going to use. Never did care for Donner's version. That said, not sure if the specific influences would vary much from one cut to the other.

I guess you could perhaps (if you have difficulty) show how that movie perhaps inspired comics.

Might've spoke too soon. Found scans of comic panels I made for a different (though similar) project that I believe could've served almost as storyboards for certain shots. I'll need to dig up the issues from which the scans come because I really do think fans might get a kick out of knowing how close some of these shots really are.

The scene from the John Bryne Man of Steel era in which Superman reveals his identity to Lois looks quite similar to me to the scene from the movie in the way it's staged (also in the fact he reveals himself by choice rather than Lois holding him at gunpoint).

Mmm, that gives me an idea, actually...

I have an old Superman comic (#322 "Superman Versus The Parasite"). I think this one came out just after the film, could be wrong. It has an excellent exciting cover of a big battle scene in Metropolis that looks very "Superman II final battle". Exploding manhole's with plumes of smoke, terrified citizens, even blasts of heat vision as weapons. So perhaps the covers took inspiration or inspired things themselves.

I think I've got that one around here somewhere. I'll have a look at it when I get a chance.

[gordonblu]

John Williams wrote Nuclear Man's theme??? This I didn't know. No wonder it sounded good! Why was he not credited for this?

I just received my "Superman Blue Box" from FSM (only $130, but well worth it, especially for Supes IV). In the booklet, it mentioned that Golan Globus wanted wanted John Williams to score the whole film, but budget constraints and Williams hectic schedule prevented it. He WAS able to contribute Lacy's Theme, Jeremy's Theme, and Nuclear Man's Theme. In addition, Williams and Alexander Courage were in constant communication about the score. I believe the credits read "Themes by John Williams" which would encompass the new stuff, plus a soundtrack release at the time would have probably made it clearer in the liner notes. Unfortunately the planned album was scratched mainly because most of Paul Fishman's tech/disco contributions ware dropped from the film (as well as the scenes they were to accompany).
If you can afford the Blue Box, I highly recommend it, the scores are fantastic (except for Superman II which has kind of a "been there, done that" quality), and the booklet is even more thorough than most liner notes, breaking down the musical styles and idioms and things of that nature (which is lost on me, because I cannot read music at all, even though I've tried to learn).