Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000): Season 3, Episode 11 - The Demon Reborn - full transcript
A desperate Ra's Al Ghul comes to Metropolis with designs on Superman and only Batman can help.
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]
SUPERMAN [NARRATING]:
A black hole.
A collapsed star so dense
that not even light can escape
from its gravitational pull.
S.T.A.R. Labs
had discovered one
less than six light years
from Earth.
And with my ship,
we had the perfect opportunity
to study it,
up close and personal.
After watching the probe being
pulled into the gravity well,
this was about as up close
as I wanted to get.
But I wasn't the only one
observing it.
[ALARM BEEPING]
[ALL SCREAMING]
[ALL GRUNTING]
I had no idea how their ship
got so far off course,
but I didn't have much time.
[♪♪♪]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
They were going to be
all right.
Still, I had to find a place
to take them.
Fortunately, their ship
had left a vapor trail.
It led to
a nearby star system
and one planet in particular.
[♪♪♪]
[ALL GROANING]
[DOOR OPENING]
I hope everyone's all right.
[ALL GASP]
He's one of them.
Excuse me?
WOMAN:
What should we do?
MAN [WHISPERING]:
I don't know. Let's go.
What's wrong?
Run!
[♪♪♪]
I don't understand.
I just saved your lives.
Then maybe you'd
better run too.
[GRUNTING]
So much for gratitude.
[YELLS]
He's still alive.
I think he's one of them.
MAN [OVER RADIO]:
That's not our concern.
Our orders are to take
them all out.
[GRUNTS]
[YELLS]
Maybe you can tell me
why I'm so popular around here.
[SHIPS APPROACHING]
[GUNS COCKING]
Hold your fire!
Stand down at once!
Kal-El, welcome to New Krypton.
[♪♪♪]
You'll find the food
almost as good as on Krypton,
if you can remember
that far back.
Ah!
Idiot.
I see you still have a weakness
for the inferior, Kal-El.
Some things never change.
The last time I saw you,
you were trapped
in the Phantom Zone.
How did--?
Did we escape?
A stroke of luck.
About a year ago,
scientists here
detected two meteors
of lunar proportions
heading towards the black hole.
They sent out a research ship
to study the phenomenon.
[ALL GRUNTING]
When the meteors collided,
the released energy tore open
a rift into the Phantom Zone.
[GASPING]
JAX-UR:
We were free, but helpless.
Had the aliens not been there,
we would have asphyxiated
or been pulled into the hole.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
And to express your gratitude,
you seized control
of their planet.
You see things
so crudely, Kal-El.
ALTERUS:
General Jax-Ur,
your pardon.
What is it?
Four of the escapees
have been recaptured.
Two are still at large.
JAX-UR:
Come back when you
have them all.
Those citizens you so recklessly
saved were criminals.
Anarchists,
condemned by due process.
Even on your world, you don't
interfere with that, do you?
Before we arrived,
this was a planet in chaos,
divided by petty conflicts
and factions,
not unlike Earth.
We have brought to it
the order it needed.
Is that a fact?
Don't take my word for it.
See for yourself, Kal-El.
[♪♪♪]
Production instead
of destruction.
Factories, where there were once
useless forests and wetlands.
JAX-UR:
Workers who now cooperate with
each other, instead of compete.
A job for everyone according
to his abilities and our needs.
[GRUNTING]
To insure a future
as orderly as the present,
we have built new schools
to teach morality, loyalty
and purpose.
Needless to say, disciplinary
problems are now nonexistent.
[ALARM BEEPING]
All over this planet,
we are tearing down
the irrational past
in order to make room
for an efficient future.
In one year, we have put
a new face on this world,
creating the paradise Krypton
would have been under our rule.
Now, if only someone
down there would smile.
I hope you're not thinking
of opposing us, Kal-El.
We've had a year
to develop our powers.
I don't think we have
to worry about that, Mala.
Kal-El knows his place,
and this planet
is simply out
of his jurisdiction.
[MISSILE APPROACHING]
I'll find them.
Anarchists.
These days,
a minor annoyance.
[♪♪♪]
I've had my troopers
recover your ship.
You'll find it undamaged,
though I'm sure you'll want
to x-ray it yourself.
I know I would.
Have a pleasant journey.
[GRUNTS]
You're taking
quite a risk.
How do you know
I won't turn you in?
It's a chance
I'll have to take.
My name is Cetea.
I used to work
for the National Council.
The people you saved in the
execution ship were leaders,
not criminals.
We may have
our wars and factions,
but we are not the barbarians
Jax-Ur portrays.
Even so, I can't fight him,
Cetea.
You must. You're the only one
powerful enough.
If I do, your planet
will be the loser.
A battle between us would cause
more destruction and bloodshed
than all the wars
that came before.
We're willing to risk it.
I'm not.
Not that way.
I understand.
This is not your world.
But I don't believe
our royal benefactors
have given you
the whole picture.
There's something else
you should see.
From what I gather, he was
unconscious for about an hour.
Cetea!
We should have killed her
the first time she crossed us.
She doesn't know much, but
still, we'd better find them.
You have performed well,
Alterus.
As you always do.
Business before pleasure, Mala.
Ugh.
This is what
they didn't show you
on your little tour.
Interstellar ships,
manned by robots.
They're building an armada.
[BUTTONS BEEPING]
What are you doing?
Activating the guidance system.
I wanna know where these ships
are headed.
Here.
Earth.
Why am I not surprised?
[ALARM BEEPING]
They know we're here.
[♪♪♪]
JAX-UR:
Fall back.
Well done, Kal-El.
[GRUNTING]
The restraints create
a magnetic field
not even you can break.
You should have left
when you had the chance, Kal-El.
Ha!
JAX-UR:
Mesmerizing.
Of all the phenomena
of nature,
none fascinates me
more than a black hole.
It is the one true force
of absolute power.
Everything it touches
becomes its own.
You would admire that.
We're within range, Jax-Ur.
Think of it, Kal-El.
You might actually
last long enough
to get a glimpse
inside the hole.
I almost envy you.
Almost.
Ah!
Great Ral!
Alterus, what's happening?
We've hit
a gravitational anomaly.
Navigation is off-course.
We're being
pulled into it.
Keep an eye on them
while we adjust the navigation.
Come.
A short reprieve
at best, Kal-El.
[♪♪♪]
Plague on you
and your self-serving treachery,
Alterus.
My dear Cetea, I deserve
much worse than that.
We have to hurry. It won't take
that witch long to realize
it was I who disabled
the navigation.
JAX-UR:
Look for yourself, Mala.
There's no anomaly here.
Your soldier boy
has been playing tricks.
[ALARM BEEPING]
What's that?
An escape pod.
[♪♪♪]
It's ejected
with two passengers.
Two?
I decided to stick around.
I thought we might find
a new planet.
A nice, cozy one,
just for the two of you.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
I mean it,
you're not going back.
[GRUNTS]
Ah!
We're caught
in the gravity well!
[BOTH GRUNTING]
JAX-UR:
Mala!
Put it on.
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
Ah!
[GASPING]
Your lungs are going to burn.
[GROANING]
Forget Kal-El.
He'll never survive without air.
[BOTH GASP]
[SCREAMING]
[SCREAMING]
[♪♪♪]
SUPERMAN [NARRATING]:
Although Cetea's people
were grateful for my help,
I wondered if it wasn't I
who should be grateful.
They reminded me of the saying,
"Evil triumphs
when good men do nothing."
I won't forget it again.
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]
SUPERMAN [NARRATING]:
A black hole.
A collapsed star so dense
that not even light can escape
from its gravitational pull.
S.T.A.R. Labs
had discovered one
less than six light years
from Earth.
And with my ship,
we had the perfect opportunity
to study it,
up close and personal.
After watching the probe being
pulled into the gravity well,
this was about as up close
as I wanted to get.
But I wasn't the only one
observing it.
[ALARM BEEPING]
[ALL SCREAMING]
[ALL GRUNTING]
I had no idea how their ship
got so far off course,
but I didn't have much time.
[♪♪♪]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
They were going to be
all right.
Still, I had to find a place
to take them.
Fortunately, their ship
had left a vapor trail.
It led to
a nearby star system
and one planet in particular.
[♪♪♪]
[ALL GROANING]
[DOOR OPENING]
I hope everyone's all right.
[ALL GASP]
He's one of them.
Excuse me?
WOMAN:
What should we do?
MAN [WHISPERING]:
I don't know. Let's go.
What's wrong?
Run!
[♪♪♪]
I don't understand.
I just saved your lives.
Then maybe you'd
better run too.
[GRUNTING]
So much for gratitude.
[YELLS]
He's still alive.
I think he's one of them.
MAN [OVER RADIO]:
That's not our concern.
Our orders are to take
them all out.
[GRUNTS]
[YELLS]
Maybe you can tell me
why I'm so popular around here.
[SHIPS APPROACHING]
[GUNS COCKING]
Hold your fire!
Stand down at once!
Kal-El, welcome to New Krypton.
[♪♪♪]
You'll find the food
almost as good as on Krypton,
if you can remember
that far back.
Ah!
Idiot.
I see you still have a weakness
for the inferior, Kal-El.
Some things never change.
The last time I saw you,
you were trapped
in the Phantom Zone.
How did--?
Did we escape?
A stroke of luck.
About a year ago,
scientists here
detected two meteors
of lunar proportions
heading towards the black hole.
They sent out a research ship
to study the phenomenon.
[ALL GRUNTING]
When the meteors collided,
the released energy tore open
a rift into the Phantom Zone.
[GASPING]
JAX-UR:
We were free, but helpless.
Had the aliens not been there,
we would have asphyxiated
or been pulled into the hole.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
And to express your gratitude,
you seized control
of their planet.
You see things
so crudely, Kal-El.
ALTERUS:
General Jax-Ur,
your pardon.
What is it?
Four of the escapees
have been recaptured.
Two are still at large.
JAX-UR:
Come back when you
have them all.
Those citizens you so recklessly
saved were criminals.
Anarchists,
condemned by due process.
Even on your world, you don't
interfere with that, do you?
Before we arrived,
this was a planet in chaos,
divided by petty conflicts
and factions,
not unlike Earth.
We have brought to it
the order it needed.
Is that a fact?
Don't take my word for it.
See for yourself, Kal-El.
[♪♪♪]
Production instead
of destruction.
Factories, where there were once
useless forests and wetlands.
JAX-UR:
Workers who now cooperate with
each other, instead of compete.
A job for everyone according
to his abilities and our needs.
[GRUNTING]
To insure a future
as orderly as the present,
we have built new schools
to teach morality, loyalty
and purpose.
Needless to say, disciplinary
problems are now nonexistent.
[ALARM BEEPING]
All over this planet,
we are tearing down
the irrational past
in order to make room
for an efficient future.
In one year, we have put
a new face on this world,
creating the paradise Krypton
would have been under our rule.
Now, if only someone
down there would smile.
I hope you're not thinking
of opposing us, Kal-El.
We've had a year
to develop our powers.
I don't think we have
to worry about that, Mala.
Kal-El knows his place,
and this planet
is simply out
of his jurisdiction.
[MISSILE APPROACHING]
I'll find them.
Anarchists.
These days,
a minor annoyance.
[♪♪♪]
I've had my troopers
recover your ship.
You'll find it undamaged,
though I'm sure you'll want
to x-ray it yourself.
I know I would.
Have a pleasant journey.
[GRUNTS]
You're taking
quite a risk.
How do you know
I won't turn you in?
It's a chance
I'll have to take.
My name is Cetea.
I used to work
for the National Council.
The people you saved in the
execution ship were leaders,
not criminals.
We may have
our wars and factions,
but we are not the barbarians
Jax-Ur portrays.
Even so, I can't fight him,
Cetea.
You must. You're the only one
powerful enough.
If I do, your planet
will be the loser.
A battle between us would cause
more destruction and bloodshed
than all the wars
that came before.
We're willing to risk it.
I'm not.
Not that way.
I understand.
This is not your world.
But I don't believe
our royal benefactors
have given you
the whole picture.
There's something else
you should see.
From what I gather, he was
unconscious for about an hour.
Cetea!
We should have killed her
the first time she crossed us.
She doesn't know much, but
still, we'd better find them.
You have performed well,
Alterus.
As you always do.
Business before pleasure, Mala.
Ugh.
This is what
they didn't show you
on your little tour.
Interstellar ships,
manned by robots.
They're building an armada.
[BUTTONS BEEPING]
What are you doing?
Activating the guidance system.
I wanna know where these ships
are headed.
Here.
Earth.
Why am I not surprised?
[ALARM BEEPING]
They know we're here.
[♪♪♪]
JAX-UR:
Fall back.
Well done, Kal-El.
[GRUNTING]
The restraints create
a magnetic field
not even you can break.
You should have left
when you had the chance, Kal-El.
Ha!
JAX-UR:
Mesmerizing.
Of all the phenomena
of nature,
none fascinates me
more than a black hole.
It is the one true force
of absolute power.
Everything it touches
becomes its own.
You would admire that.
We're within range, Jax-Ur.
Think of it, Kal-El.
You might actually
last long enough
to get a glimpse
inside the hole.
I almost envy you.
Almost.
Ah!
Great Ral!
Alterus, what's happening?
We've hit
a gravitational anomaly.
Navigation is off-course.
We're being
pulled into it.
Keep an eye on them
while we adjust the navigation.
Come.
A short reprieve
at best, Kal-El.
[♪♪♪]
Plague on you
and your self-serving treachery,
Alterus.
My dear Cetea, I deserve
much worse than that.
We have to hurry. It won't take
that witch long to realize
it was I who disabled
the navigation.
JAX-UR:
Look for yourself, Mala.
There's no anomaly here.
Your soldier boy
has been playing tricks.
[ALARM BEEPING]
What's that?
An escape pod.
[♪♪♪]
It's ejected
with two passengers.
Two?
I decided to stick around.
I thought we might find
a new planet.
A nice, cozy one,
just for the two of you.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
I mean it,
you're not going back.
[GRUNTS]
Ah!
We're caught
in the gravity well!
[BOTH GRUNTING]
JAX-UR:
Mala!
Put it on.
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
Ah!
[GASPING]
Your lungs are going to burn.
[GROANING]
Forget Kal-El.
He'll never survive without air.
[BOTH GASP]
[SCREAMING]
[SCREAMING]
[♪♪♪]
SUPERMAN [NARRATING]:
Although Cetea's people
were grateful for my help,
I wondered if it wasn't I
who should be grateful.
They reminded me of the saying,
"Evil triumphs
when good men do nothing."
I won't forget it again.
[♪♪♪]