In the opening, stage-setting rescue of the film "Superman Returns," there are several reporters trapped on the stricken jetliner with Lois Lane as it plummets miles out of the sky. Naturally, the camera focuses mostly on Lois...but it's no great leap of faith to speculate that all those other reporters would be submitting stories to their editors, too, as quickly as possible. What follows is a possible Op-Ed piece written by one of those other passengers.
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Experimental rocket fuel...merely saying it should send shivers up and down your spine. Or, at the least, raise an eyebrow. NASA touted the new fuel as more potent and less volatile than previous materials, so efficient that it would 'significantly' reduce the amount of fuel needed to put a Shuttle Orbiter into space. Instead of one of those big, orange, disposable exterior tanks, the interior volume of the shuttle would suffice. As a further cost-cutting measure, the Orbiter could be launched from the stratosphere on the back of a modified Boeing 777, rather than on a pad, which would then land and prep for the next launch. On paper, it sounded like a reasonable method to extend the Orbiter's lifespan beyond it's 2010 retirement date.
You have to question NASA's sensibilities, though, when they decided to put reporters on the maiden flight of the piggy-back structure (undoubtedly a publicity stunt to garner interest from a fickle public). In retrospect, that decision was a real doozy.
This reporter was one of those selected to ride in the cabin of the 777, with the Orbiter strapped on top of the plane. The actual take-off was uneventful, if impressive, and things seemed to be following the script faithfully. That is, until a glitch messed up the launch routine, the Orbiter refused to disengage, and it tried to pull the jet into space with it. After that, objects and passengers got a taste of zero-gravity and centrifugal force in rapid succession. The sky outside the cabin windows went from black to blue to gray, a swirl of hues as the plane spun towards the ground. It was obvious that the flight crew had completely lost control of the aircraft.
But Fate intervened. Dramatically.
The 777 has a max takeoff weight of 632,000 pounds, and a dry weight of 314,000 pounds. That's 316 tons and 157 tons respectively, for those who can't handle large numbers readily. Factor in the acceleration as it fell, and that plane weighed...a lot. It would make a tremendous explosion upon impact, whether hitting city streets or just off the beach. Everyone aboard the plane expected to be vaporized.
Yet, to the utter amazement of those still conscious, the stricken jetliner actually slowed in the final stages of its descent. The view out the shattered cabin windows revealed row after row of stadium seats filled with ecstatic spectators. The whistling wind was replaced by cheers and chanting. And then, the plane righted itself and settled to the ground with a jarring, but hardly lethal, jolt.
The passengers exchanged shocked expressions, barely able to believe what had just happened, let alone determine how.
Moments later the door was ripped from its hinges, and the answer strode into the cabin.
Superman had returned!
Everyone knew in an instant what had caught the hundreds of tons of metal and fuel in mid-air, and put it safely on the ground. Such an action was patently impossible for mere mortals. But this was no mere mortal: this was the Last Son of Krypton. Normal, rational limits simply do not apply to him. What do you expect of the product of umpteen-thousands of years of genetic engineering and who-knows-what kind of quantum tinkering? Face it, Kryptonian science was far in advance of human knowledge. Recall, please, Sir Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magick. Just accept the fact that Superman routinely breaks just about every law of physics known and makes it look easy. It's magick.
The first thing you notice about him is the bubble of energy that envelops him; some feel it as heat, others as an electric-like tingling. A miniature sun stood in the cabin like the yellow sun standing in the sky, bathing everyone and everything in it's radiance. This reporter felt it wash over him and the effect was immediate: a massive infusion of strength and resolve, like a second wind. He's been down before, many times, but never out; he always found the heart to climb back on his feet and try again. That's what makes a winner, that's what inspires others to do the same. Standing there, watching him breathing hard and sweating from that tremendous exertion, you knew that he simply would not stop until the plane was safely on the ground. You felt it, like heat or electricity.
The second thing you notice is the compassion he projects. It's palpable; the Demigod Who Gives a Damn. He can't be everywhere at once, he proved that years ago. The choice to interfere and save one person means that someone else, someplace else, will not be saved. This is the Hero's Dilemma. And if you try too hard, you'll burn out too quick. Perhaps this is why he left; we don't know, and may not fully ever know. And frankly, it's none of our business. But he chooses to try, to intervene on behalf of as many as possible, rather than letting everyone suffer or perish.
The third thing you notice is the red-and-blue costume. A normal man parading around in such attire would draw smirks at best, and ridicule at worst. Not so the Man of Steel: you can see the muscles rippling beneath the fabric, the long cape regally sweeping around his legs. This is no costume, it's a uniform, worn with dignity and respect. No one else on Earth could wear it with such aplomb.
The fourth thing you notice is his sense of humor. One doesn't normally expect dry wit from deities, but it's there. Specifically, after making sure no one was seriously injured, he started to exit the aircraft, but then he stopped, turned, and said, "I hope this hasn't put you off of flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel." At least one reporter reacted audibly to the quip, the same person who later passed-out in the cabin doorway and slid down the emergency evacuation chute head-first. I guess you had to be there to really appreciate the humor.
There was a moment, just before he flew away, that he stood in the open cabin door and hesitated. Some say he was basking in the adulation of hundreds of thousands of cheering fans (after all, it was a televised game, the entire country got to see it). This reporter disagrees...in fact, this reporter is willing to bet good money that the Man of Steel hardly noticed those people. Why, you ask?
Because this reporter was watching Superman's face through one of the blown-out cabin windows, and saw his smile. And this reporter has seen that same smile before, on professional athletes who have pulled themselves out of a major slump, or returned from a long absence, and are once more preeminent in the ring or on the gridiron.
That smile had little to do with the seventeen souls aboard the aircraft that he'd just saved, or a fair percentage of the 35,000+ fans in the stadium who would have been roasted by the fireball had the plane cratered in the in-field. No, it had more to do with accepting the simple truth that This Is Where He Belongs. Fate put him on this planet to do heroic deeds, and he would never be happy until he had once more taken up the mantle destined for him. And you could see by the smile, by the glint in his eyes, that's exactly what was going through his mind.
And then he heard the sky beckoning, and like the hero he is, he flew off to help others.
It's going to sound terribly un-PC, but this reporter Thanks God he lived long enough to see Superman return.
And this reporter Thanks God that Superman chose to return.
Despite the assertion of others that the world doesn't need him, this reporter again disagrees. Superman provides hope to some, a puzzle to others, and something constructive for the rest of us to talk about.
Welcome back, Superman, you've been missed.
* * * * * AUTHOR'S NOTES * * * * *
Superman and all related elements are TM of of DC Comics, Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson, Details available here: .com/dccomics/legal/. This story, its characters and author, and any content related to Superman, are not authorized by DC Comics or the Siegels. Use of these trademarked and copyrighted properties is not intended to challenge said ownership. Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
"Superman Returns" is the property of Warner Bros. Pictures, details to be found here: .com/title/tt0348150/companycredits.
This story, while incorporating names and situations held under copyright by others, is copyright 2009 by Jeffery L. Harris. This story comes entirely from my imagination, and is not, nor intended to be, canon. Please do not send the legions of lawyers after me...it's not worth their time, or mine.
Any questions or comments should be directed to:
Jeffery L Harris Subject: "The Op-Ed Piece"