Superman IV: Christopher Reeve's Swan Song as Superman
- Ricky Labouve
- Jul 5
- 12 min read
Here we go. The final Christopher Reeve Superman movie…and no I don’t count CGI in The Flash movie. It’s hailed, somewhat rightfully so, as a terrible movie. Admitted as much at the end of the last one, but I’m gonna let you in on a secret. What if this could have been a good movie? What if there was potential to be something pretty decent? Not as great as the first two, but potentially better than the third.
Christopher Reeve was hesitant to do another one after the last one didn’t do so great. Creators tried to move forward with a Supergirl movie (having him off-world during it), but that one didn’t do so well either. Reeve had some demands before he’d sign on to another movie. The first being that they’d make a passion project of his called Street Smart. He also wanted to have some creative input into the script. He wanted to tackle real issues and given the political climate of the 80s was the Cold War, he wanted Superman to be conflicted about wanting to help the world, preventing nuclear war and his mission not to interfere with human history. The deal was made and Superman IV went into production.
Cannon Films at the time, for a lack of a better word…sucked. A lot of the movies were B-Level at best. They really wanted to make a name for themselves so they took on the production of Superman. Budgeted for $36m dollars it was downgraded to $17m dollars. A HUGE disservice to the film. They also slashed the runtown down by about 40 minutes. The original film clocked in around 2 hours 10 minutes, but the finished project was an hour and half. AN HOUR AND A HALF! THis made it the shortest of all the Superman movies so far. A lot ended up on the cutting room floor, most of which added context to a lot of scenes. Some parts you understood why it was taken out, but a number of them needed to be in.
The bright side is that most of the cast did return. Margot Kidder returns as Lois Lane and Gene Hackman comes back as Lex Luthor.
During my breakdown, I’ll mention the scenes and why they were so important. This movie had a lot of potential, but the studio blew up the budget and runtime which ruined Reeve’s final outing, which is the real tragedy.
So, let’s take a deep dive into Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
It begins…with a lackluster version of the theme and opening credits. It’s proof that you needed the magic of John Williams at the helm. The credits lack the blue and space feel of the first two, but a tiny step up from having them fly over a comedic open. The yellowish orange and red tail of the names just doesn’t pop. The S looked poorly made as well.
Not off to a great start here.
Russian cosmonauts are orbiting earth on a mission when space debris hits their ship, knocking the one outside off and floating in space. Superman to the rescue…with the first bad green screen effect you will see over and over and over again as he flies to the camera. He saves the day and speaks while still in space. Because suspenders of disbelief in a comic book movie.
In the theatrical cut, it goes to Smallville. In the original plan, he was going to fly over the earth, kind of how he does at the end of every movie. He looks down on the planet, seeing it for what it is: one world. No borders. No reason to be at odds. Just a beautiful blue orb with billions of people below. A scene that plays an important part at the end of the movie.
Back in Smallville, the Kent farm is up for sale. Ma is probably gone and there was supposed to be a scene where Clark visits his parents' graves. In the barn, he finds a green crystal inside his spaceship, similar to the one that made the fortress and was used to heal Superman in the Richard Donner cut of Superman II. His mom (Jor-El in another draft), gives him that energy module that can only be used once. Pulling it would make him finally alone, no longer able to communicate with his parents.
Realtor shows up and tries to convince Clark to sell the farm to a developer rather than a family, but Clark being Clark, refuses. He wants to give it to a family, a farmer.
Lex is part of a chain gang now. Breaking rocks. In the original plan, he was supposed to be in the muck and the mud when he comes up with the idea to create a Superman like clone. His nephew Lenny (future, and pretty decent Lex Luthor in his own right in the Arrowverse), arrives and helps free Lex to implement his plan to destroy Superman.
Back in Metropolis, Lois is in trouble again. On the train, the conductor has a heart attack and Superman flies into action…with the same green screen effect from the top of the movie. At work, Clark finds out that the Daily Planet has been bought out by Warfield Publications, a tabloid rag. We meet Lacy Warfield who starts to crush a little on Clark and his boy scout tendencies. She comes across a bit spoiled, but does grow a little in the original draft.
An international crisis has begun as the President decides to be “second to none in the nuclear arms race”. At a junior high class, a young boy named Jeremy, who’s class watched the president’s address, said that Superman could do some good and he writes a letter to hopefully get the Man of Steel to do something to prevent nuclear war. As a kid of the 80s, I was around when that was happening, but being so young, I was sheltered from the worst of it. While I don’t think it ever reached the 60s era with Cuba, it did teter to the brink.
Lex and Lenny visit the museum and steal a lock of Superman’s hair so he can create a being more powerful than Superman.
Clark visits Lacy and she wants him to write a story on Metropolis After Dark, navigating the single scene and popular clubs. Lois interrupts with young Jeremy’s letter asking for his help to rid the world of nuclear arms.
This is where a missing scene would have added context. After the scene with the letter we jump to Warfield issuing a press conference with Jeremy. He tells the people that he wished Superman would have said yes. What you DON’T see is that Superman flew to Jeremy’s class and explained why he couldn’t help with this. That when he arrived on Earth he couldn’t interfere with the progress of human history. Instead we get this with an over the top headline that says “Superman Tells Kid to Drop Dead”. Which is something he’d never say, but whatever sells right? Sensationalism hasn’t changed much in forty years.
The guilt hits Clark because he wants to do something. Another scene here is him, as Clark, having a talk with Jeremy. The kid never wanted all of this to happen and felt bad that Superman was being dragged through the mud. So, he headed to the Fortress and spoke with the Elders. You remember those guys from the first one right? The same ones who ignored Jor-El when he warned them the planet was in trouble and it blew up anyway.
We get a lot more story after this. Lex made an original Nuclear Man. He was big and muscled, but also kind of an idiot. He attacks while Clark and Lacy were out working on that story she pitched to him at The Metro Club. He was defeated rather quickly once Superman tossed him into a power pole. The first one, I understand why they got rid of him in the final edit. It stretched out the time for sure, but the scene at the club with Clark and Lacy did add some more to her character.
She wanted to be more than the spoiled princess she appeared to be. She has depth and her father actually forbade her to see Clark because she was changing. Those scenes would have been good to keep around. Just not the OG Nuclear Man. That was a mess. Could have had Superman have to run off to go stop a robbery or something to get him to leave.
Clark broods while watching the news, thinking about what the Elders said and what he wants to do in his heart. Lois shows up and he takes her off the balcony and jumps with her (yeah, could have done it another way). They fly as they did in the first two all around the world, letting her fly for the first time solo (instead of falling like she did in the first). He tells her about his dilemma and she tells him he’ll do the right thing. They kiss and she forgets again…still find this trope to be really lame.
Superman finds Jeremy and the two take a walk to the UN Building and he gives a passionate speech promising to rid the world of all nuclear weapons. Not able to stand by to see the Earth fall to nuclear destruction. For a comic book movie, noble and easy to do. Real world? This could never and would never happen. Thankfully for this imaginary world, Superman starts taking all the bombs and hurls them into the sun.
We finally see Lex again as he meets with some nuclear arms dealers. He tells them he can destroy Superman and make a lot of money selling nuclear weapons. They can sell missiles and Luthor gets a profit. Lex and Lenny do some comic book magic and put a box on a nuclear weapon and once Superman hurls it into the sun, it becomes Nuclear Man played by Mark Pillow. Comfy name.
In lieu of the dance club scene, we get one at a health club where Clark and Lacy work out together. Clark aerobicizing only as Clark could. They have some good chemistry together and a couple cute scenes there. She really does seem to care for Clark because he’s not like the usual jerks in her socialite circle. He’s genuinely nice and what you see is what you get…you know, save for that one thing.
Nuclear Man arrives on Earth and finds Lex, even sounds like Lex. NM proclaims himself in charge. Lex, the greatest criminal mind of our time, puts him back in his place by luring him into the shadows. Nuclear Man’s only weakness.
Lois and Lacy get ready for their double date with Clark and Superman. This part leans hard into the sitcom/comedy trope here. He distracts each one so he can go to the other. Thankfully, Lex appears on a monitor in the city to lure him into the fight with Nuclear Man.
It still amazes me that Superman never stops Luthor immediately. He just keeps letting Luthor talk about his plans. Kill Superman and make millions rearming the world. The two superpowered beings meet and the fight around the world begins. The point of the fight was never for him to kill Superman in the battle, it was always to scratch him, dosing him with radiation from the sun.
The first part of the fight, the pair head to China. Nuclear Man destroys The Great Wall and he uses some kind of supervision to fix it. Much like the cellophane S, that never made sense to me, even as a kid. He doesn’t have any kind of power like that as far as I know. Anyway, the head to space, Nuclear Man freezes Superman in a cube and while he’s trapped, Nuclear Man launches an attack using a volcano. Superman breaks free and flies to help…with the same bad cgi flying we’ve seen at least four times already. Seriously, slashing the budget really hurt this movie.
Superman of course saves the day and freezes the lava, saving the small Italian town. Back to space! Brawling! Kicking! He gets away and heads to the Statue of LIberty. Hitting all the popular destinations in this movie. Nuclear Man steals it and drops it on the city below. Superman grabs it and while his hands are full, gets scratched in the neck by Nuclear Man. This causes exactly what Lex was hoping for, radiation poisoning. He falls and is defeated by his sun created nemesis, leaving nothing but his cape behind.
Lois quits after seeing the headline, “SUPERMAN DEAD?” and purchasing Superman’s cape. Stacey apologizes, again, showing growth on her end. Especially when she tells her dad to stuff it. Our favorite reporter visits Clark, who is still seriously affected from his fight. I think at this point, Lois knows Clark is Superman. Be it subconsciously or that last kiss not having the full effect that he’d hoped. After having a nice talk, she gives him Superman’s cape, just in case he hears from him.
While this is going on, Lex is working every side in the deleted scenes. He goes to both USA and Russian leaders to sell them weapons. That’s why when we see Lex again, he’s behind large stacks of money. His plan’s working and both sides are paying for weapons.
Clark is getting worse. He’s aging and looking raged as he grabs that mcguffin crystal to heal himself as he did in Superman II.
Nuclear Man sees Lacy on the front of the Planet paper and goes to get her. Again, this is where a number of missing scenes add context…He somehow had some of the OG Nuclear Man’s memories and remembered Lacy from the club Lacy and Clark were at. Now obsessed with her, he goes to find her.
Nuclear Man burns all of Lex’s money and gets his hands on Lacy, bringing her back to Lex’s condo. He holds her and the two Luthor’s hostage as he turns himself into a nuclear bomb and attempts to make each side think the other is firing first.
Superman arrives and saves Lacy as Lex flees like the coward he really is. Superman and Lacy team up with a very dangerous plan to save the world. He takes her and flies her to catch up with Nuclear Man and drops her, distracting him long enough to no longer appear as a missile, averting nuclear war. Superman catches her and hides her away.
This is where the theatrical run picks up and why Superman suddenly appears fine and is asked where the girl is by Nuclear Man. They fight again as he lures him into his trap. The battle itself remains unchanged between the two versions. He tricks his foe into an elevator and kills the power, weakening him. Superman flies it to the moon, but forgets to ensure it was on the dark side of the moon or not facing the sun. Sunlight appears in the crack and powers him up again.
DING DING…round 2 of the final fight begins as they fight on the Spirit of Tranquility.
He’s too much for our hero and Nuclear Man literally buries Superman on the moon, giving him the opportunity to head back to Earth and kidnap Lacy. In a companion piece to the movie, a comic book, Lacy was hidden at a cabin where she would be safe, but would be found there as Superman moved the moon to create an eclipse to stop Nuclear Man.
Here, Lacy is finally standing up to her father, telling him she wants to tone down the headlines. Their job is journalism and reporting the truth. Nuclear Man shows up and takes her into space…where she can breathe and doesn’t freeze and can scream. Superman does the eclipse thing and stops Nuclear Man and saves Lacy. Once she’s safe on Earth, he takes Nuclear Man down and tosses him into a power plant juicing the city for the next decade.
Perry White returns, reclaiming The Daily Planet from Warfield Publications and all's right with the world again. The first big story? Superman at a press conference saying he was wrong to step in the way that he did. That the world can and will know peace when it’s ready. Rushing to get there wasn’t the right way. He just wants them to see the world the way he does…which leads to another scene that would have both been dumb but added something good.
Superman takes Jeremy into space (the dumb) to see the Earth the way he does…one world.
It ends as it should. Superman finds Lex and Lenny. He drops Lex off in jail and Lenny at a boys home where he has a chance to reform and do some good before slipping too far into the Luthor dark side.
His final words to Luthor, “See you in 20.” With this being released in 1987, that puts it in 2007. 19 years later would be…SUPERMAN RETURNS!
But before that, he has to do the usual…fly into space, smile for the camera, yadda yadda yadda.
And that was Superman IV, a very flawed film, but it was up against a lot of odds. Cannon killing the budget made it look awful. Important scenes were removed that provided a lot of context. Granted having the first Nuclear Man would have slowed things down, but a few tweaks in the script and you could have worked around it.
This may never be anyone's “favorite” Superman movie, but it had great potential that got wrecked due to the studio. This was Reeve’s swan song as Superman, but not from the Superman universe. Despite his accident, in 2003 he appeared as Virgil Swan on Smallville. The billionaire scientist that helped Clark discover who he truly was, giving him a message that he received from the stars about young Kal-El.
While these films are like the 90s Batman ones, great at the start, teetering to bad in the final two, these movies remain my favorites when it comes to Superman. Even in this poorly made movie, Reeve shines as Superman. No one can deny that. He put 100% of himself into the role and his the benchmark on what Superman is and should be.
I remain hopeful each time a new movie is released that I feel what I did as a five year old child watching these movies. How I still feel when I hear that John WIlliams theme. As time went by, Superman had an animated series on the WB, a popular drama on ABC, and an origin story that lasted for 10 seasons on the WB/CW networks.
It took some time, but Superman returned to the big screen. How’d that one turn out? Stay tuned.
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