The Ten Best Things About Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

[MockBot]

Automatically generated comment thread for The Ten Best Things About Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/superman-iv-quest-for-peace/default.php).

[HowardC]

Actually I didn't think Superman IV was THAT bad. I mean by Superman movies it definately was, but looking at some of the crap they release today (xmen 3, spiderman 3, the fantastic four films) it's pretty decent. The only issues I ever had with it were the stupid posion nails bit and the illogical way in which nuclear man was created.

Nuclear man I was AWESOME though. He should have been the main villian in the film. I can kinda see why they cut him though... it's kind of like Superman beating up the retarded kid at the local high school.... even if he wins he loses. But man, if they left that scene in their financial problems would have been over! I saw like 10 product placement shots in there.

And with that I'm strangely craving some Burger King... I think I'll pay for it with my American Express card.

[RevengeVirus]

That eye reconstruction scene from the movie is so bullshit that in the comic adaptation, they just have him use his super speed to re-build it.

[Gourry]

That car crushing scene in the deleted scenes was kinda cool.

[Tetsu Deinonychus]

This movie does look horrible, but I really don't think the first two Superman movies were the masterpieces everyone seems to think they are either.

Gene Hackman's goofy portrayal of Lex Luthor (a villain I prefer to be sly and sinister), and the overuse of Superman's "pulling new powers out of his ass" power, especially the emblem throw, kinda ruin them for me.

Also, while Christopher Reeve was a pretty great actor to play Superman, my nod goes to George Reeves (who played him in the '50s) as the best live-action Superman.

And, yes the original Nuclear Man was hilarious!

[GreenPeaness]

Holy CRAP! That suit Gene Hackman puts on with the cylinder helmet! I remember that. It was used in a Superman toy commercial for the Lex Luthor figure. I saw that as a kid, maybe when I was 5 and I had seen all the Superman movies a dozen times already and I knew that no one wore anything like that outfit. Wow. I haven't thought about that in decades. Damn well done, Pickleman!
You mentioned it in the article, but how can you have a list of the best... most interesting moments of Superman 4 and not include the scene where he spins Lenny in the air? It's all kinds of gay simply because, I think Lenny calls him something like a "Lame-o Fruit" and as soon as he gets spun up in the air, Nuclear Man, with Gene Hackman's voice, repeats the insults "I'm a Lame-o? I'm a fruit?"
Come to think of it, you could have a field day going back to other dramatic Gene Hackman roles and dubbing in the "I'm a fruit?" line. Mississippi Burning, for example.

[robo_rob]

I remember having to wait for this movie to come to HBO as a kid and just staring at the screen confused for the length of the movie. Man, that was a bad movie.

[HeroliciousDeBlanc]

"Quick, Lenny! Put on this welder's mask! Okay now take it off."
"But it's only been five seconds."
"The creation of life is a short process."

[blood_panther]

well about the sun/nuke thing,

you got to realise each second the sun creates the energy equivalent of over 1000 nuclear explosions. so whats a couple hundred more nukes in the sun?

[Protoclown]

My god, the fucking music and sound effects for the first Nuclear Man scene were horrendous.

[Dimnos]

:lol Nuclear Man was my favorite thing from any of the Superman movies because like you said he is "so bad he's awesome"!

[captain516]

Isn't it pretty much a rule that the fourth movie always sucks? Batman and Robin, Crystal Skull, Terminator Salvation...

[Alcibiades]

@captain516: Don't forget Star Wars! (And I mean I, not IV, since it was the fourth released.)

I think they should write a DC comic from one of the Multiverses where there's a Superman who only has access to all the lame powers that movies, TV shows, and old retconned comics think he has (but none of his big ones like Super Strength, Speed, Flight, etc.)

The ones I'm aware of that he would have.
- Big Cellophane S for slightly imbolizing enemies
- Ability to split into two of himself, with each one being half strength
- Rebuild structures with eye lasers
- Mind erasing kisses
- Change the shape of his face

If anyone has any forgotten powers they want to add feel free (I tried to go with not only forgotten but also pretty lame), but I think someone needs to get on writing this series, it'd be interesting seeing how he takes on oh... Darkseid with that power set. Best odds, I think, is to split in two, have one change his face to one of Darkseids minions and have that one 'capture' Superman, then when Darkseid is distracted throw the cellophane S to stun him so he could run up and kiss him into forgetting what he was doing.

[All Hail Duke]

had read about Nuclear Man 1,first time i'd actually seen it though

sad thing is,he was probably the closest thing to Bizarro that we might ever get in a live action Superman movie

[captain516]

Alcibiades- But I LIKE Episode 1...

[Mockery]

Heheh, glad you're all enjoying the footage of Nuclear Man 1 - it really is incredible. Definitely a good call about him being the closest thing to Bizarro we've seen so far in a Superman movie too.

Here's something weird I noticed from the most recent DVD release of Superman IV. Check out Nuclear Man on the cover!

http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/superman-iv-quest-for-peace/superman-iv-dvd-nuclear-man-weird.jpg

Call me crazy, but that does NOT look like the same guy who played him in the movie. I'm pretty sure that's a shot of Gene Hackman from another film since the hair is fairly different too, but Nuclear Man's face looks very different in the movie compared to the one seen on the cover.

[Jaimas]

I can't possibly be the only one that thought of Jerry Jackson (http://www.fat-pie.com/jerryjackson.htm) when I saw Nuclear Man 1.

[Commanderraf]

Wow... Superman IV. When I was little (3 or 4 years old), my brother was passing through a "Superman Fixation" period, and I remember us playing that he was Superman and I was Nuclear Man. Those were the days.

And on the footage of the first Nuclear Man, I couldn't believe this movie could be any goofier, but somehow the writers managed to create a completely stupid scene that seems to belong more in a cheese 50s B movie (I mean hazmat suits, "Its Alive!" and SCIENCE!!! being used) or in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (yep, one year has passed and that movie still is raping my childhood). And did my ears deceived me or did Gene Hackman said "nuculear" instead of nuclear?

This movie (and the deleted scene) are prime examples of why people hate comic book movies.

-Commanderraf

[Alcibiades]

@Captain- It's cool, everyones entitled to their own opinions, even when they're wrong.

[Kilgore Cod]

"An explosion of that magnitude would probably knock the Earth right out of its orbit. "

Not really, no.

[Nick]

I'd rather see a whole movie about the first Nuclear Man.

[DaTr0LL]

Looks like the first Nuclear Man went full retard...

[A Bad Enough Dude]

You didn't know that women could survive in space, -Rog-? Geez, what do they teach in science class nowadays?

[DavidFullam]

When talk of a heavy edit hit the street, many fans wrote into Starlog wanting to see the cuts, as they felt they surely had to improve the film. Be careful what you wish for. Nuclear Man 1 would only have made it worse. Why didn't they use Bizzaro? That's basically what the guy was. "An Imperfect Clone of Superman." And I thought Mariel Hemingway's ability to survive the vacuum was the worst!

[JTN]

I just had a realization.
"Nuclear Man"? He's the Sentry.
That's... that's it. Same long hair. Same vast power. It's him!

[Primortal]

god i hate this movie... so much. Really, Donner was the only person (at the time) who seemed to understand Superman more than ANYONE else in Hollywood. Also, love the big sparkly zoot suit they gave Nuclear Man I. That'll strike fear into the heart of Superman!!! Guess Lex has more than enough money to pay for a posh penthouse, super b-movie science equipment, and all that other crap... but won't shill out two pennies for a better suit for his diabolical creation???

And a token to Reeves as an actor keeping a pretty straight face for most of that lame-o scene.

[EchoCharlie]

Ow my eyes!

[Shironu-Akaineko]

Really? Nobody mentionned Super weaving (http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=36&Itemid=53&limitstart=4) yet?

[Jaimas]

Or Superlandscaping (http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=685:superlandscaping&catid=36:stupor-powers-index&Itemid=38)? What about Super Woman's Intuition (http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=698:best-power-ever&catid=36:stupor-powers-index&Itemid=38) or even... Super Friction (http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=691:super-friction&catid=36:stupor-powers-index&Itemid=38)?

[MarioRPG]

Melting... Bazooka.

[slangislayer]

I liked Nucular Man (2 retroactivatedly), he was a American Gladiator with superpowers and even more ridiculous hair!

[Hugh Jerection]

Heh, this was on tv just a couple of days ago.
Amazing how the passage of time has done nothing to heal the
wounds inflicted by watching this steaming pile. It might be better than Superman Returns but it sure as hell isn't a patch on Roger Cormans Fantastic Four.

[testtube]

For some reason when I was a kid I couldn't get enough of this movie, I think its cause I was too stupid to tell the difference between the video boxes at the store so it was rented over and over again. There is something very depressing about how these movies ended up looking to me, its hard to explain but check the pics of anyone flying, it doesn't look right for some reason, anytime I see some piss poor shit from the 80s I get depressed.

[lovely09]

Superman is still in demand and love by people whether a movie,comic or books.It has something to with his adventures and technologies.

[Captain PirateFace]

When Lex took his Welding mask off he threw it off screen... yet, no thud.
Some dude was off camera catchin' that shit yo!~

[Chainsaw: Loved By Japan]

I love how the original Nuclear Man is supposed to be Bizarro, really, but comes out like Dave Coulier wearing one of those glittery fright wigs. And also with some sort of metal clock on his dingus.

Seriously, what the hell WAS that?!

[Output]

From Wiki..."The character of Nuclear Man was originally Bizarro in the 1st draft of the script, but the rights were unavailable at the time, so they made a whole new character"
BIZARRO RIGHTS!

[Abishai100]

Nuclear Man, and his various powers and manifestations, make him Superman's only rival, like Bizarro. Nuclear Man suggests that the magic of Superman's world is in how we perceive and celebrate his intentions towards teamwork. Perhaps this means people want Superman to share his passion for teamwork. Stories like this encourage confidence if we avoid idol worship.

[Speedbump]

Chris Reeve was awesome as Superman, even in this turkey. My favorite scene is when he goes into the United Nations building, announces that he's getting rid of all nuclear weapons, & the place erupts with applause. I met Margot Kidder at a con & she was super-nice (pardon the pun).

[Scooter Atreides]

Wow... Just, wow. I joined this forum just to talk about this awe-inspiringly heinous piece of work. I heard that around 45 minutes of footage were edited out of the final cut of this film(that's why Supes, after being scratched by the press-on nails of doom, goes from a little cold to full blown nuclear space leukemia in about 2 minutes of screen time). If this nugget of Hell is at all typical of the cut footage, then the editor deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his valiant effort to save the human race from the forces of evil.