Nuclear Man

Next, we have 1987's Superman IV, The Quest for Peace, starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Mariel Hemingway, and John Cryer.

This fourth quill sees Superman trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons while Lex Luthor answers by creating nuclear man.

to me superman 4 is one of the more fascinating canon movies because the idea behind it is actually pretty sincere reeve as part of his negotiations was a given limited creative control and he helped curate a lot of the plot and i think giving superman a story about nuclear disarmament was not a bad concept at all he's not just stopping a bank robbery or punching a villain through a wall he's trying to take on one of humanity's biggest fears which is all fine and good.

The problem with that is, though, this movie didn't have the size, the polish, or the support system to pull anything close to that off.

This is the studio grabbing one of the biggest superhero IPs on Earth and trying to make it work with pure nerve, a reduced budget, and a lot of wishful thinking, and the result is not good in a traditional sense, but it is hard to ignore.

Reeve still gives plenty of effort, which makes the whole thing a little bittersweet, A Hackman brings back Lex Luthor with his usual confidence, and I think John Cryer adds a strange little dose of comic energy as Luthor's nephew.

Then there's Nuclear Man, who is both unforgettable and completely baffling, which is honestly a very canon film's combination.

But in retrospect, the bigger impact was what this movie did to the Superman film series overall.

What was the name of the Man of Steel's nemesis in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace?

Oh, uh, that's Nuclear Man.

Yep.

[laughs] That movie is so bad.

It's so horrible.

It's so bad, it's so good.

You can't forget Nuclear Man.

Nu- I know, [laughs] that's what it's like.

IMDB's synopsis says, With the world on the brink of nuclear war, Superman takes it upon himself to destroy all nuclear weapons.

However, and this is a big however, Lex Luthor creates nuclear man for reasons.

No, I'm editorializing the IMDB synopsis.

It's already started.

was Muriel Hemingway.

Yes.

And there was nuclear man.

And Gene Hackman and John Cryer were in it.

It was a race to the bottom.

Nuclear Man with Gene

Hackman's voice,

everybody.

Was that Shadow Stevens? No, it looked a lot like him, though.

I had you for a second.

I totally believe Shadow Stevens was Nuclear Man.

But you're right, though, that, you know, we all talk about how Henry Cavill was done dirty and this and that.

If you got creeps in there, it doesn't bother me.

I never wanted a pillow fort, but I did want to get, share a tree house with the Nuclear Man.

I mean, just stand up.

Like, that's what I would do in a pillow fort, right? Like, if, if the creeps are in there with me, I just, I just escape by standing up, you know? Perfect.

everywhere.

Can I talk about how Superman defeats Nuclear Man in the movie?

Also, why is the evil...

No, not too

much on Nuclear Man.

He had aura.

He had no horn.

He