It’s a great time for Superman fans, with the Man of Steel soaring into movies, TV, animation and comics. To help us stay on top of it, writer Tim Beedle shares what's grabbed his attention and why in this monthly Super-Family column.
 

Superman III is hardly a perfect film, but I’ll admit, I’ve never really understood all the hate.

Of all of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, it’s Superman III that I probably saw the most as a kid. I was just old enough to see it in theaters when it came out in 1983 and I remember watching it on TV and on VHS (the streaming of its era) numerous times afterwards. At the time, I thought it was fun and exciting, though as a pre-adolescent, I don’t think my standards were that high. What’s interesting to me, and what made my recent rewatch of it something of a revelation, is that unlike the original 1978 Superman, I hadn’t seen Superman III since this early period of my life. I watched it numerous times as a child in the 1980s, and then never saw it again until this past weekend.

And you know what? I think it holds up better than the first two films in some ways. The visual effects are better than the ones in the otherwise far superior Superman and I think it’s more tonally consistent than Superman II. Admittedly, the tone is that of slapstick comedy, but once director Richard Donner was replaced by Richard Lester, the director of A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, that was always the likely direction of the Superman franchise. At least with Superman III, they’re unwavering with it. Heck, I’ll go so far as to say the opening credits sequence is as good an example of physical humor as you’re likely to find. If watching it doesn’t at least make you grin, you might want to check your pulse.

But I could understand why you may not want your Superman movie to be a silly comedy. In fact, I’d say that’s probably true of most people, so I can understand why so many consider Superman III to be the beginning of the end for Reeve’s Superman. But is slapstick all it really has to offer? I don’t think so.

For starters, it features known Superman fan Richard Pryor in his prime. Gus Gorman may not be drawn from the comics (though I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t since made his way into actual DC continuity), but he effectively carries on the tradition of the Reeve franchise’s lovable bad guys like Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor and Ned Beatty’s Otis. Plus, as silly as Gus may be at times, he’s arguably one of the smartest characters in the whole film series. His abilities as what amounts to an early computer hacker are extremely impressive, and nothing that Superman III’s true villains, Ross and Vera Webster, accomplish in the movie would be possible without him.

And if that’s not enough on the star front, I give you Annette O’Toole, who is absolutely breathtaking as Lana Lang. It may sound like sacrilege, but I can’t say I missed Lois all that much—though fortunately, she does still appear in the film briefly. Of course, O’Toole would go on to play Clark Kent’s mother Martha on Smallville nearly ten years later, which starts to feel a little strange as we see her making doe eyes at Reeve’s Clark here, so I suggest just putting that out of your mind.

But beyond some charismatic new additions to the cast, and a handful of still entertaining action sequences, what may be most noteworthy about Superman III is what it has to say about Superman and Clark Kent. I said in my last column that Superman’s relationship with Lois Lane helps him hold onto his humanity. It’s one of the single biggest factors, in my mind. (Of course, just for the sake of argument, I think O’Toole’s Lana could do the same thing. Just sayin’. #clanaforever) However, the other key to maintaining Superman’s humanity is Clark Kent.

Superman was born as Kal-El, but he came to Earth as a baby. His earliest memories are going to be of his childhood as Clark Kent. In fact, considering in most continuities, including that of the Christopher Reeve films, he doesn’t become Superman until he’s at least 18 years old, that’s nearly two very formative decades helping out on his family farm in Smallville, Kansas. Superman may be a Kryptonian with remarkable powers, but he grew up as human as they come, right in America’s heartland. I firmly believe that’s why he chose to maintain a second identity as Clark Kent. There’s really no reason for it otherwise. If Superman wanted to live entirely off the grid, removing any connections to the family that raised him so that they’d never be threatened, he could do that easily. He already has the Fortress.

But he doesn’t want that. He’s human and needs all the things that we as humans need—connection, friendship, community, love. All of those human elements he nurtures and gets as Clark Kent.

Famously, Superman III contains a subplot where some erroneously constructed kryptonite turns the Man of Steel evil for a while. (He becomes a super-powered bully and drunk, which is far quainter than the evil Superman we would eventually get in things like Injustice and Superman & Lois.) The situation is finally resolved when a struggling Superman splits into two individuals—his evil Man of Steel and his human Clark Kent—and the two battle it out for the soul of Superman. Evil Kal-El largely dominates, at several times inflicting damage on the non-powered Clark Kent that should be fatal, but Clark doesn’t die. He keeps coming back, eventually putting down evil Superman for good.

For 1983 audiences, many of whom were likely children, the sequence probably played pretty strangely. After all, isn’t Superman the good guy? Yes, he is. He’s the good guy because Superman is Clark Kent. It’s who he is at his very core. Clark is almost certainly the name he calls himself in his mind and whom he identifies foremost with being. Sorry, Kill Bill, but you’re wrong. Superman is the secret identity. Not Clark Kent.

So, there’s absolutely no killing Clark Kent. That’s what that scene makes clear. Evil Superman could have thrown Clark into the sun and he would have somehow made his way back. Superman is truly good at his heart because Clark Kent is truly good at his heart. That goodness was strong enough to overcome the corruption of the kryptonite, just like it’s strong enough to overcome all of the challenges he faces.

Superman III has some real flaws and there’s a lot it may not understand about Superman. But it does understand that.
 

Tim Beedle covers movies, TV and comics for DC.com, writes our monthly Superman column, "Super Here For...", and is a regular contributor to the Couch Club, our recurring television column. Follow him on Bluesky at @TimBeedle and on Instagram at @notabard.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Tim Beedle and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.