| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | |
| Season 4, Episode 18 | |
 | |
| Air date | April 19, 1997 |
| Written by | Grant Rosenberg |
| Directed by | Philip Sgriccia |
| Episode Guide | |
| ← previous Faster Than a Speeding Vixen |
next → Voice from the Past |
In this second episode of a three-part arc, Superman tries to stop a seemingly unstoppable villain, and it is revealed that Leslie seeks to re-establish Lex Luthor's financial empire.
Plot[]
Dr. Martinelli, a robotics specialist, calls Lois and Clark, saying that the people who built Vixen are trying to kill him. Moments later, he is murdered. The coroner says he was strangled, but the room he was in was locked and barricaded with no signs of entry. Martinelli recently got a large payment from Caribbean Imports, which Lois and Clark begin to suspect is a money laundering front for whoever built Vixen.
Martinelli's killer is Edward Hanson, who as a result of a lab accident can transform his body into the form of a shadow. The condition makes his cellular structure vulnerable to light, so he is killing off Vixen's creators for Mr. Smith and Leslie Luckaby in exchange for an antidote that will let him again lead a normal life. This covers Smith and Leslie's trail so that no one can tie them to Vixen.
The Daily Planet owner Leslie Luckaby gets Lois and Clark a place in the ultra-prestigious International Association of News Writers convention in Atlantic City. Clark sends Lois ahead while he follows up on the latest locked-room murder, and when he drops by the Planet Leslie tells him he got him an exclusive interview with death row convict Peter Massey. Clark jumps at the unique opportunity, allowing Leslie to take Clark's place with Lois at the convention. While there he makes a pass at her. Lois immediately and angrily tells him off. Leslie is apologetic, but urges her not to tell Clark because he might quit the Daily Planet in outrage. Once they have all returned to the Daily Planet, however, he apologizes to Clark, saying he assumes Lois already told him what happened. When Jimmy mentions that Clark looked upset after talking to Leslie, Lois realizes what he did. Leslie continues to attribute his actions to misjudgment. Clark becomes angry at Lois for not telling him.
Hanson, having overheard Leslie and Smith saying there actually is no antidote for his condition and that they intend for Lois to marry Leslie, decides to take revenge by killing Lois. Jimmy digs up that Walter O'Neil is the man behind Caribbean Imports. Looking at a photo of O'Neil, Clark spots a list with "Luckaby Enterprises" on it. While Clark is telling Lois about this, the phone line goes dead, cut by Hanson. He attacks Lois, telling her that his next victim is "the son of the man who knew Superman's identity". Observing him carefully turn off a light switch, she realizes he is vulnerable to light. Superman arrives and she tells him this, so he refracts his heat vision off the chandelier, making Hanson discorporate.
Suspecting that Leslie may be a target due to his ownership of Luckaby Enterprises, Lois and Clark race back to the Daily Planet just in time to catch Leslie standing over O'Neil's dead body, a gun in his hand. Leslie says that O'Neil threatened him and he accidentally shot O'Neil during the struggle, but because there were no eyewitnesses, people will assume he murdered O'Neil (as the episode hints is what in fact happened). Lois and Clark assure him that they have proof O'Neil was behind Vixen, the Shadow Killer, and Caribbean Imports. Leslie thanks them profusely, and Lois and Clark make up. Reviewing the list of companies O'Neil took over, and the list of companies Leslie owns, they realize they add up to Lex Luthor's former empire. Further taking into account what Hanson said, they suspect that Leslie may be Lex Luthor's son.
Smith finds and restores an audio diary left by Lex Luthor, including an entry from just before his death which mentions that Superman is Clark Kent. He shares the recording with Leslie.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Dean Cain as Clark Kent/Superman
- Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane
- Lane Smith as Perry White
- Justin Whalin as Jimmy Olsen
- K Callan as Martha Kent
- Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent
Recurring cast[]
- John Shea as Lex Luthor (voice)
- Kenneth Kimmins as Dr. Bernard Klein
- Keith Brunsmann as Troll/Mr. Smith
- Patrick Cassidy as Leslie Luckaby
Guest starring[]
- Matt Roe as Edward Hanson, the Shadow Killer
- Michael Keenan as Lawrence Rankin
- Leonard Kelly-Young as Detective
- Pierrino Mascarino as Dr. Angelo Martinelli
- Ben L. McCain as TV Anchorman