| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | |
| Season 2, Episode 7 | |
 | |
| Air date | November 13, 1994 |
| Written by | Gene Miller Karen Kavner |
| Directed by | Lorraine Senna Ferrara |
| Episode Guide | |
| ← previous Operation Blackout |
next → A Bolt from the Blue |
A scientist clones famous criminals of the 1920s and 1930s in order to experiment in altering human behavior through DNA modification, but the criminals are more interested in getting back to their old tricks than in being lab rats. When Lois and Clark investigate, Clark is forced to play dead to preserve his secret identity. This episode is the first appearance of recurring character Bobby Bigmouth.
Summary[]
Jimmy Olsen visits Perry White's garage to try to repair his car. Also in the garage is a car once owned by Bonnie and Clyde, which was loaned by a collector for The Daily Planet's 60th anniversary celebration. The real Bonnie and Clyde show up, take the car, and tie up Jimmy and Perry in the garage with Perry's car running. Jimmy tries to open the moon roof with his head but accidentally shifts the car into reverse in the process, busting him and Perry out through the garage door.
Lois and Clark have heard that a man resembling John Dillinger stole a gun collection, and suspect a link. They visit every lookalike agency in Metropolis. None of them represent Bonnie and Clyde lookalikes, but one mentions a man named Dr. Emil Hamilton rented a bunch of gangster costumes from him. Overhearing a bank robbery by Dillinger, Bonnie, and Clyde, Clark leaves and changes to Superman. Dillinger diverts Superman with a lit stack of dynamite. Superman then has to take the security guard to a hospital, allowing the crooks to escape.
Jimmy looks up the cemeteries where Bonny and Clyde were buried, and learns that a few years ago Hamilton had their bodies dug up and took bone and hair samples. Hamilton's papers reveal he was working on behavior modification through DNA alteration, and suggested experimentation on violent criminals. He had also found a way to accelerate the maturation process of clones. They realize that the "lookalikes" are actually clones Hamilton created to experiment on and then lost control over. Before Jimmy can tell Perry their findings, a clone of Al Capone enters Perry's office, returns Clyde's car to him, and offers a bribe for biased reporting. Taking this for a con, Perry throws him out.
Lois and Clark turn to their most reliable informant, Bobby Bigmouth, who only accepts food in exchange for his info. He informs them Capone has been leaning on an illegal gaming club, wanting a "piece of the action". Lois and Clark go undercover at the club, where Lois learns from a patron that the club owner was murdered just hours ago. Capone arrives with his gang and announces he has taken over the club. When Dillinger hits on Lois, Clark tries to protect her and Clyde guns him down. Clark plays dead in order to preserve his secret identity. Dillinger disposes of Clark's "corpse" in a streetside pile of trash.
The apparent death of Clark Kent.
Everyone at the Daily Planet is stunned by Clark's death. Perry decides not to cancel the anniversary party and tells Jimmy that by celebrating the paper, they honor Clark. Perry tries to comfort Lois but to no avail. She believes Clark died to protect her and regrets never telling him he was her best friend. Detective Wolf has Lois sign her witness statement. While there he gets a call about a possible hideout for Capone and writes the address on Lois's pad for noting phone calls. He tears off the address, but Lois reads the carbon copy. Lois goes to it and finds Hamilton's lab. Hamilton says Capone is forcing him to recreate more gangsters. Lois tries to get him out, but they are caught by the gang. They put Lois and Hamilton in a fenced in area and pour concrete on them.
Clark goes to his parents' house in Smallville and tells them what happened. Jonathan and Martha try to reassure him that he can still see his friends as Superman but Clark tells them how they all treat him differently as Superman. Jonathan says that everyone in Metropolis is still in danger and they need Superman, and advises him that the police caught the real Dillinger coming out of a theater because Dillinger is a huge fan of movies.
Superman flies back to Metropolis and locates Dillinger coming out of a movie theater. To get Dillinger to reveal where Capone's hideout is, Superman flies Dillinger to the top of a skyscraper and threatens to throw him off, claiming that due to anger over Clark's murder he is no longer observing respect for human life. Dillinger tells him the location. Superman goes to Dr. Hamilton's lab and reads a manual on DNA. He then goes to The Daily Planet to tell Lois that Clark is alive, but she is not there and Jimmy tells him he has been paging her with no response. Superman tells him to continuously page her, allowing him to locate her by the sound of her beeper.
Superman pulls Lois and Hamilton out of the cement and flies away before Lois can tell him about Capone's plans to kill everyone at the anniversary party. He then returns to them as Clark. Lois runs to him and hugs him. Clark tells her that Superman found his body, froze it with Super Breath, took it to Hamilton's lab, and used Hamilton's notes on cryonics to restore him. Overjoyed that his work finally came to some good, Hamilton excuses himself. After Lois tells him about Capone's plan, Clark tries to excuse himself as well in order to change to Superman, but Lois won't let him out of her sight in light of his near death. However, after they arrive at the Daily Planet he slips away while Lois is calling the police.
A classy anniversary celebration is underway when Capone and his gang arrive and shoot at everyone. Superman catches all the bullets and crushes them, then uses Heat Vision to make their guns too hot to handle. Everyone at the party attacks the gangsters. Jimmy punches Clyde in the stomach "for C.K." and Lois piggybacks on Bonnie, making her fall into the huge cake for the party "for pulling the lever on the cement mixer". Capone retreats but is caught by Superman. Dr. Hamilton says he destroyed his lab and burned all his notes. Detective Wolf takes him in for questioning but decides not to press charges. Lois gives Clark a ride home. She begins to tell Clark how she feels about him but he falls asleep before she can finish.
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 role[]
- Sal Viscuso as Bobby Bigmouth
Guest starring[]
- William Devane as Al Capone
- John Pleshette as Dr. Emil Hamilton
- Joseph Gian as Clyde Barrow
- Amy Hathaway as Bonnie Parker
- Robert Clohessy as John Dillinger
- Lonnie Burr as Morey
- Ray Abruzzo as Detective Wolf
Trivia[]
This is the first episode to reveal that Lois keeps a photo of Superman in her wallet. Later glimpses of the photo include "Season's Greedings".
Quotes[]
Dr. Hamilton: "Miss Lane, you must believe me, it wasn't supposed to be this way! I wanted to benefit mankind."
Lois: "Hollywood's created a dozen versions of Frankenstein and you still didn't get the point."