My name is Jor-El...
and you are Kal-El, my son.
The object you now possess has been attuned to you.
That you now hear these words is proof that you survived...
the journey in space and have reached your full maturity.
Now, it is time for you to learn your heritage.
To that end, I will appear to you five times.
Watch for the light...
listen and learn.
Time grows short, and we continue to search.
The immensity of space is both a blessing and a curse.
In that mere infinite variety, there must be some place suitable.
Hope and desperation drive us in equal measure.
Lara works by my side. She is tireless and endlessly patient.
Considering what is to come, this is my greatest consolation...
that we are together.
Kal-El.
Tell me more about this globe.
It was in the ship that brought me to Earth.
When Lois and I broke into Bureau 39's warehouse...
I hid it from Lois.
I never knew it was more than it seemed...
maps of Earth and Krypton, until last night.
Why now? You've had it for months.
I don't know, Mom. Except that Jor-El...
said that it was attuned to me.
Maybe it and I weren't supposed to be separated for so long.
Maybe it just took a little while for it to warm up.
The people, Jor-El and Lara, any memory of them, at all?
None.
I've gone my entire life...
not knowing how or why I was left on your doorstep.
There are so many questions left unanswered.
What was Krypton like? Who were my parents?
Did everybody there have powers like me?
Will I continue to age normally?
Can I die?
Now I'm about to find out.
What?
According to Metropolis Science Magazine...
the statistical probability...
that any two people living in Metropolis are blood-related is over 90%.
You and I are related?
As long as both our families have lived in the area for the last three generations.
I don't think so.
I don't know.
Definitely a family resemblance.
I don't think so.
You wanna bet...
- Good morning. ... that you and I are blood relations?
Okay. What are the stakes?
If I win, a night of passion.
Yours or mine?
Optimistically, ours.
Realistically, mine.
And if you lose?
When he loses.
Name it.
You...
repaint my condo, top to bottom, every room. Pink fades.
I expect detailed family histories, including charts, on my desk...
no later than tomorrow afternoon. Also, blood tests.
All right, everyone. Listen up.
Your editor-in-chief's got an announcement to make.
- Why blood tests? - She's kidding.
No, I'm not kidding.
Your editor-in-chief has got an announcement to make...
about the employee salary and expense review.
That's better, much better.
Now, it is my great pleasure to announce that the candidates...
for the Meriwether Awards for journalistic excellence...
have just been released...
and the Daily Planet's writing team of Lois Lane and Clark Kent...
are among the nominees.
C.K., you are the man.
- And you are the woman. - More or less.
All right, let's get back to work.
It's just an announcement, not a national holiday.
Okay, good work, you two.
Let's not rest on our laurels.
How are you coming on that piece with the recent crime rise in Metropolis?
Gathering information, checking sources, compiling data, that sort of thing.
- That bad, huh? - I'm looking for an angle.
Well, now, Lois, angles just don't drop from the sky.
We've got to create them.
That committee vote on the Meriwether Awards...
is just a few days away.
Let's show them a nice strong finishing kick.
Yeah.
Clark Kent.
I'll be right there.
What?
My apartment's been robbed. I have to go.
Clark, how awful. I'm so sorry. That must be so violating to have...
some absolute stranger pawing through your personal belongings...
and to endure that sort of...
Wait! I'm coming with you. Thank you.
Don't touch anything. This is a crime scene.
It's my crime scene, Lois.
How do you expect the police to catch whoever did this?
- I don't. - You insist on tainting the evidence.
- Somebody call a cop? - Oh, finally.
All right, Henderson, what's our first move?
- Lois, you live here? - No.
Then our first move is you butt out. Okay? Thank you.
Good morning. Anything missing?
Good morning, Inspector. I haven't finished going through everything yet.
- Fill this and bring it to the station. - What is it?
That's an inventory for stolen property. Don't forget serial numbers.
If something comes up, we'll give you a call...
but I wouldn't hold my breath.
There's been a lot of break-ins in this neighborhood lately.
- Yeah. Thanks. - Welcome.
That's it? That's all?
You're not gonna look for clues, dust for prints?
- Waste of time. - Waste of...
- Let me tell you a little story, Henderson. - Shoot.
It's late at night. Some sweet, little old lady...
probably someone's grandmother, is getting ready for bed.
Suddenly, burglars burst in, knock her down, steal her life savings...
out from under her mattress, and you wanna know why?
Why?
Because some cop like you was too lazy to dust for prints...
and the burglars were never caught.
- That's a good story. - Thank you.
- I got one. You wanna hear it? - Shoot.
Okay.
That same sweet, little old innocent grandmother's...
preparing for bed one night...
and she hears burglars breaking into her house.
So she rushes to the phone, she dials 911...
but by the time help gets there, it's too late.
- Wanna know why? - Why?
Because all the good cops were out someplace else...
dusting for prints.
Calm down, Lois. This is my problem.
I'm sympathetic.
- It's gone. - What's gone? What's missing?
Just some personal items, trophies, keepsakes...
irreplaceable stuff.
That's not bad.
I mean, forget the monetary loss...
it's stealing parts of a person's past.
A sense of vulnerability, a sense of invasion...
urban angst, where you feel...
I'm sorry, Clark.
Don't worry, we'll get your stuff back. Maybe the police can't help...
but I know who can.
What are you?
This is the second of the five times I will appear.
You may wonder that I speak your language...
and not my native Kryptonian.
Jack.
Yeah.
Yeah, here.
- Are you thirsty? - Yeah.
Here you go. All right.
- So, how did you do? - I did good.
Lemme see.
Cheese.
Cut that out.
- What's that? - I took it out of here.
Careful. Don't touch it.
- Why? What'll happen? - Never mind.
- Think it's worth something? - Yeah. A lot.
We just have to find the right buyer.
- How do we do that? - We advertise.
How you doing?
I'm looking for Louie.
He's not here. Let's go.
Louie. Tell him it's Lois Lane.
This is a mistake.
What are you so nervous about?
- Where do you know this guy from? - Around. I'm a reporter, Clark.
I make it my business to know people who know what's going on in this city.
And?
And his daughter was my tennis doubles partner in college.
Hey, kid. Over here.
Kicked the door in? Amateurs.
What do you think?
I think maybe I can find them.
How?
They gotta be able to sell the loot. I know guys who know guys.
I'm gonna need a list from you.
Is there anything special I should watch out for?
No. Look, the police have all the information.
Why don't we just let them handle it?
Clark, this is great stuff, if nothing else, for my article.
Lois, the guys I'm talking about don't exactly wanna see their names...
in the papers.
Louie, this is Lois.
So, you do this for us, what do we have to do for you?
For the kid, it's a freebie. What a backhand she had.
- So when do you think? - I'll call you.
You need any help with the insurance claim...
I know guys who know guys.
No. Thank you.
- Straight arrow. - Tell me about it.
You have something for me?
Who's he?
Where is the item?
It's a $1,000.
The item.
We understand there's some dismay?
This is the second of the five times I will appear.
You may wonder that I speak your language...
and not my native Kryptonian.
Pay him.
You found this, you say?
A dumpster on Third.
People throw away some strange stuff sometimes.
Guess it had something to do with Superman.
If you find any more strange stuff, you'll let us know.
Do that. How do I get in touch?
Just leave word. We'll find you.
Something to do with Superman.
Wait a minute.
Your great-uncle Howard married the same woman twice?
You see, he didn't realize it was the same woman until after.
I mean, Howard had poor eyesight...
and Aunt Millie suffered from a hormonal imbalance.
I mean, she used to go through these huge weight fluctuations.
If it turns out that you and I have any of the same genes...
I'm having mine altered.
"And so the cycle repeats itself. Stolen goods traveling from owner...
"to thief, to fence, to wholesaler, to retailer, and finally...
"to a new and unsuspecting owner. "
You think it's too wordy?
- You're so tight. You're like iron. - Steel.
- What? - Still.
I'm still trying to recover from my loss.
Poor, sensitive baby. I bet you hardly slept last night.
Not a wink.
Clark, it happened.
But you gotta snap out of it, just put it behind you.
- Thanks for being so concerned, Lois. - You're welcome.
- Did you finish that inventory list? - No.
Why are you stalling on this?
- Why are you so curious? - I'm not curious.
Believe me, I have no interest in your collection of bottle caps...
or love letters from Lula Mae...
or that blue ribbon you won at the Smallville soapbox derby.
- I'm just trying to help out a friend. - You are just trying to write an article.
That, too.
I'll put the inventory list in the article...
as an example of how some people get unreasonably...
sentimentally attached to their old junk.
Lois, I'm taking your advice and putting this behind me.
And so I want you off the case.
I appreciate your wanting to help, but like I said before, this is my problem.
But you can't do that.
What about Louie?
That guy isn't gonna come up with anything.
C.K., Line 1.
Are you sure that's him?
That your stuff?
Most of it.
Kid tried to move it through a guy who knows a guy I know.
He had this on him, too.
- Is this yours? - No.
That's my money, lady.
Did you rob this man's apartment?
I found that junk in a dumpster. I should've left it there.
- How old are you? - How old are you?
Look, I don't know anything, so let me go.
Louie?
Careful. You got yourself a real rabbit there.
Lois, we're not the law. He's just a kid.
Yeah. I could sue you for kidnapping.
You still haven't answered my question. Did you rob this man's apartment?
Where'd you get this money?
Look. We don't have to go to the police.
I just want to ask you questions about personal items...
that are still missing, one in particular.
You could save yourself a lot of trouble if you...
- Clark, grab him! - I got him.
Hey, kid!
A real rabbit, huh?
Problem, sweetheart?
I think Clark may be holding out on me.
Want him tossed around a little? I know guys who know guys.
I'm not gonna hurt you.
Now be straight with me, and I'll let you go. I promise.
- Do you have the globe? - I sold it. I had to.
- Sold it to who? - I don't know. Some guys.
I took some pictures of it, passed it around, you know.
They were older guys. Kind of strange.
- What did they look like? - I don't remember.
Do you have any idea where the globe is now?
No. That's the truth, man.
- What's your name? - Jack.
- Just Jack? - Yeah. Just Jack.
Is the globe yours?
I've been keeping it.
How does it work? Who's the guy with the Superman "S" on...
Wait. How did you... Sorry.
How do you know about him?
When I touched it, a man appeared. He talked to me.
What did he say?
Something like, "This is the second time I'll appear. "
Something like that.
Is that all?
Yeah. It stopped when I dropped it.
You gonna cut me loose?
Where are you gonna go?
No way will I tell you. And don't try to follow me.
I won't follow you. But here. It's my card.
Give me a call if you wanna talk, okay?
Here. Take it.
It's freezing, take it.
I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't just hold him.
You believed him, then. That he didn't have it or know who did?
Yeah, I believed him.
Which doesn't change anything. You have got to get that globe back...
before it gives up any more information about your past.
I know.
I never felt so exposed before, Mom.
And If I'm exposed, then you and Dad...
and everybody close to me is exposed, too.
Even Lois is a problem.
If she puts me and the globe together?
What if she figures out that I am Superman?
We'll jump that fence when we get to it.
You just concentrate on finding the globe.
No luck so far.
I'm spending every waking moment looking for it. But it's a big city.
I mean, that's assuming it's even in the city.
I'll keep you guys posted.
- Bye-bye. - Bye.
Magnificent.
See how the light catches its depth, Nigel?
Like a perfect jewel.
I want it analyzed atom by atom.
As you wish, sir.
We stand on the verge of an historic moment.
Yes. I can feel the vibrations.
Can you?
The accumulated plunderings of a lifetime.
The missing arms of the Venus de Milo, Gainesborough's Yellow Boy...
Beethoven's 10th Symphony.
The better self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh.
The full-figure Mona Lisa.
Unknown, unseen by the world at large. They exist solely for my pleasure...
and yet, my private collection is incomplete.
I am incomplete.
No more.
In many ways, Superman remains a mystery.
And despite my many conflicts with him...
I lack the knowledge, the wedge...
to bend him to my will, to break him.
But now, finally...
this globe will change all that.
No, not the globe.
Unmanned Kryptonian probes...
have explored every corner of the known galaxy and beyond.
For thousands of centuries, we received data back from those probes.
I have every confidence that given enough time...
we can achieve the conversion to a manned vessel.
But will we have the time?
There is an ancient Kryptonian saying.
"On a long road, take small steps. "
Precision and care are the watchwords.
Yet, we still have far to go.
Someone else is using the globe. I saw the message, but so did they.
They're closing in on me, Dad.
- Interesting. - To say the least.
Resting?
- Recharging? - Yeah. Too bad.
I can hardly wait for Chapter 3.
Wait a second. Look at this.
Your mother's half-sister, Elaina, by your grandfather's second marriage...
married for her third marriage, a man named Stanley Nugent.
I never did like that guy.
And Stanley was, in fact, my great-aunt Edna's son out of wedlock...
to a man named Dave Wilson, Uncle Dave, who she later married...
but not until after her marriage to Uncle Harvey.
This is a nightmare.
Well, coz, your place or mine?
Lois. This is a terrific piece.
I love the personal angle.
Yeah, my robbery really came in handy.
I thought you got your things back. No harm, no foul.
Yeah. I guess.
Everything? Are you sure?
Most everything.
There wouldn't be some unimportant item.
A knickknack, meaningless memento that was still missing?
Because if there was, we should keep looking.
Leave no stone unturned, no matter how long it takes.
Just until you get that useless, valueless keepsake back.
- Lois, what are you talking about? - Obviously nothing.
I have to go.
Then go. If that's what you need to do.
You should go.
Lois, are you okay?
No.
Nature's calling.
Okay, lay it on me.
What?
I suppose you expect me to pry into your life...
to try and find out what's bothering you...
and then relate it to some obscure event in the life of Elvis Presley.
I'm just not gonna do that.
Why not?
For one thing...
any connection I made would probably be vague...
and not particularly useful.
And for another, if I did that...
it would seem like I cared more about telling my story...
than helping you with your problem.
I don't think I can trust Clark anymore.
- Would you care to tell me why? - He lied to me.
- Don't you lie to him? - Of course. I lie to him all the time.
I'm just not gonna go near that.
What do you want to do about this? Have you tried facing him?
You just saw.
I just gave him every opportunity.
Did you tell him that you know that he lied to you?
- No. - See? Maybe there's a reason.
- How could there be? - Just ask and find out.
Now, look, Lois...
sometimes it's easier to fix something when it's still together...
than it is to, well, let it fall apart and try and fix it later.
Assuming that it's still worth fixing. So...
Chief?
I think I like the Elvis stories a lot better.
Next time. I got a million of them.
Jack?
What are you doing here? How did you find me?
Louie. He knows guys who know guys.
Look, I need an answer to a question.
Who's there?
It's all right. I need you to take a walk.
- Come on, Jack. - Do it!
Not too far.
Jack, you can't live here like this.
I got a plan, as soon as I get enough money together.
By stealing?
Ask your question, then get out.
- Who's that other kid? - What's it to you?
He's my brother.
What about your parents?
Isn't there someplace you can go, somebody...
We tried that. Lots of times.
Better off this way.
What's your question?
The men who bought the globe...
what did they look like?
The truth.
I only saw one. Tall, skinny English dude.
Never saw him before or since.
Jack, I can help you. Both of you. If you let me.
You want to help us? Leave us alone.
"Lmpervious to harm by any force known to man.
"Heat, cold, radiation, pressure, puncture. Nothing.
"So dense it cannot be scanned for content or composition.
"Warm to the touch...
"but with no obvious moving parts or power source.
"Definitely of alien origin. "
Definitely.
- Shall we? - After you.
There is no longer any doubt. The chain reaction has begun.
As panic spreads, the population awakens too late to its fate.
Our future is inevitable.
At last the computers have located a suitable destination...
a planet physically and biologically compatible with Krypton...
whose inhabitants resemble ours...
and whose society is based on ethical standards...
which we, too, embrace in concept...
if not always in deed.
The inhabitants call it simply Earth.
"And the inhabitants call it simply Earth. "
- Better than cable. - Much better.
And the production value. Sound, visual clarity.
It's truly remarkable.
Every home in America should have one.
Clark, you and I are gonna talk.
- I want the truth. - About what?
About why you had in your apartment a mysterious globe...
that projects an image of a man wearing Superman's "S."
And why you never told me before...
and why, when it was stolen, you lied to me.
You're a weird guy, Clark. That's a given.
But you're my partner, and I thought my friend.
But half the time I don't know where you are...
or where you're coming from.
And that's usually okay, but this time it's not.
I want an explanation and I want it now.
What's going on?
I thought it was for the best...
but I guess I owe you the truth.
You better sit down.
Patience.
Right, now there is something you could do for me in the interim.
Ask away.
I am suddenly more than ever interested about where this came from.
Could we do something about that?
Bureau 39. My Bureau 39.
I was right there and you didn't even tell me.
Picked it up, put it in your pocket, took it home, kept it?
- Yes. - Knowing full well...
that it probably had a connection to Superman...
and that I, your partner, would kill to know about it.
- We weren't partners then. - Then, Clark? Try never again.
- You lied, you stole... - Betrayed.
Don't edit my tantrums, Clark! I won't be responsible.
And you never lied to me, Lois?
You grew up on a farm in Kansas. I grew up in Metropolis.
- So? - They're completely different standards.
That is so ridiculous!
What if it belongs to Superman? What if it's something he needs?
How did you feel when somebody took your stuff?
- You know, he has feelings, too. - Yeah, I know.
This is about Superman?
No! This is about us. How can I ever trust you again?
- Don't pick that up. Don't you pick that... - Clark Kent.
This is Denny, Jack's brother.
Something's happened. They took Jack.
I don't know who. Men.
They're gonna hurt him.
Where are you?
I want you to go straight to the 12th Precinct Police Station...
and ask for Inspector Henderson. Got it?
Inspector Henderson. And tell him I sent you.
- Don't worry about Jack. I'll find him. - Okay.
- Don't leave. I'm not done yet. - Could you go to the 12th...
and stay with a kid named Denny? He's 13 or 14.
- I'll check in with you. - I will not!
I admit I haven't been truthful with you, okay?
But I can't talk about that right now.
Please. As my partner and my friend, just leave it there.
Will you? Just this one time?
- So, how's the patient? - He should come around soon.
Sorry for the delay, but the lad put up quite a struggle.
The boys thought it best to zap him.
Oh, the boys.
So, what did we learn from the fingerprint check?
Tell me about our Jack.
You see, abandoned by his parents, raised in a succession...
of foster homes and state institutions.
Escaped from the last...
with his younger brother three months ago...
living on the streets, supporting himself...
by acts of petty crime.
- Another young life failed by the system. - Yes, I'm afraid so.
Good. Then no one will miss him.
And now, if young Jack will just tell us where he got the globe.
But that will have to wait.
It's showtime.
We have installed the hyper-light drive and tested it as best as we can.
So much is unknown.
Contained within this sphere is the navigational computer...
that will guide the ship through the maze of hyperspace...
as well as this account of our final days.
- Incoming. - Activate defenses.
- Level 1 breached. - Can't be.
- Level 2. - It's him.
Three.
Emergency evacuation on my count. Activate self-destruct mode now.
Self-destruct sequence initiated.
- No, leave it. Leave everything. - The boy?
Him, too. There's only one thing I want.
Level 4.
Sir, we must...
No!
We haven't time, sir. We must evacuate immediately!
No, it's mine!
I try to picture where you are now as you hear this last chapter.
What you look like. Are you alone? What have you become?
Lara and I will never know.
But that you should live to experience this, that is enough.
We are content.
We give you to Earth...
to a realm called America...
and a place called Kansas.
Remember us.
Do not regret our passing.
All is fate.
I wasn't abandoned by my parents. I was saved.
But why couldn't they save themselves?
I don't know. Maybe it does.
Maybe it'll tell me someday.
Jack will be all right? And his brother?
We got Denny into a good foster home...
and Jack into a decent halfway house and a job.
He's a good kid.
He just didn't end up on the right doorstep like I did...
until now.
- No idea who took him or the globe? - No.
You could always visit them on exhibit, I suppose.
- Wouldn't be the same. - No. You're quite right.
If I may say so, you seem remarkably composed considering your loss.
Give and take, Nigel. Win some, lose some.
One step backward, two steps forward.
Before we were so rudely interrupted by Superman...
I had just learned that a Kryptonian infant...
the last Kryptonian infant, was about to be sent here.
Superman didn't arrive when we assumed he did.
He arrived here as an infant.
He was raised as a common earthling.
But, if that's true...
He walks among us.
And when I discover his earthly identity...
as I will, he and all the people who share his secret...
will be at my mercy.
- A pleasing thought. - Very.
No, it's an incredible piece of journalism, Lois.
I mean, it's too bad about that Meriwether Award...
but maybe next year.
Thanks, Chief.
I, for one, am not satisfied.
Big surprise there.
We still have no idea where the artwork came from...
or who was hiding it in a secret vault underneath the museum.
I hear questions. I see follow-up stories. Lots of them.
Now... Hey, you!
Bring us a round of coffee here.
I don't do coffee. It's not in the job description.
Read the manual, gramps.
Who is that kid?
Hey! Come here!
I love it. I no longer occupy the bottom rung of the food chain...
but you better hide the silver.
What about the big night?
Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that.
I'm afraid I'm gonna have to declare that bet null and void.
Null and void?
You know, Jimmy, I've always thought you were really cute.
And before...
who knows what might have happened.
But now that I know we are related by blood...
I just can't go through with it.
I mean, after all...
we're family.
It's not illegal.
You didn't have to give me the whole story.
I would've been happy to share some of the credit with you.
No, I owed you. I just hope this gets us even.
Partner.
Partner?
Yeah. Partner.
- I decided to forgive you. - Thank you, Lois.
Why?
Because I thought about what you did and realized something.
What's that?
If I'd seen the globe first...
I would've taken it and hidden it, and not told a soul, just like you did.
We're not that different after all.
- You think? - Sure.
In fact, Jimmy says...
if we go back far enough, we're probably related.
Somehow, I doubt that.
- I'm from Kansas, remember? - How could I forget?
I just wish...
What?
I wish I knew what the globe really was.
Superman wouldn't say.
He just said that he was happy to have it back.
I wonder where it is now.
I'm sure Superman has it someplace very safe.
I guess.
I got it.