To the charge of murder
in the first degree, guilty.
Mr. Latterman, before the court imposes
a sentence, do you have anything to say?
I'm innocent, Your Honor.
It is the decision of this court...
that Eugene Latterman
be immediately transported...
to the Metropolis
maximum-security prison.
There, to begin serving a term of life...
without possibility...
of parole.
Next!
Don't tell me about the rules,
I've broken every one of them before.
- I can't let you in there.
- But you know me.
I've been covering this trial for months.
I just want one statement.
It's against the rules.
Are you a football fan?
It depends on where I'm sitting.
How about the 50-yard line?
Ten minutes.
Give me my tickets back.
- Dad?
- Clark?
Don't scare me like that.
Scare you? Are you kidding?
Sorry. But what happened to the lights?
I don't know, I think a fuse blew.
Take a seat, Dad.
I'll just go change.
Is everything okay at home?
No, Son.
I think your mother is having an affair
with a younger man.
Dad, that is ridiculous.
To top it off, he's an artist.
Dad, Mom would never...
I want to show you this.
I found it in the barn covered up.
He painted her. If this isn't proof,
I don't know what is.
Dad, you said he was an artist.
There's nothing wrong with him
painting Mom's portrait.
In the nude?
Mom?
- And when the door opened...
- He was gone.
He accessed the code
from the central courtroom computer.
The evidence room was broken into
and a gun is missing.
- Det. Reed, I don't think...
- You don't think, period.
I'll be mentioning that you opened
the door to Miss Lane in my report.
It wasn't his fault, I made him do it.
He wasn't following procedure.
You're free to go, for now.
Thank you.
Oh, great, another ticket.
Drive.
- Eugene, what are you doing?
- Just drive.
This isn't going to work, Eugene.
Everyone is looking for you.
Now give me the gun
before you get into any more trouble.
- I never would've.
- I know you wouldn't.
Miss Lane, you're the only one
I can turn to.
You know all the evidence against me
is circumstantial.
You know I didn't kill Henry Harrison.
I believe you're innocent,
but you're also an escaped felon.
Now, armed and dangerous.
What are you going to do?
I don't know.
I have to see Lena. Something's wrong.
She didn't look at me during the trial.
She never visited me in jail.
But you were just convicted
for killing her husband.
But she loves me.
And I love her.
Please, I have to talk to her.
Help me.
Dad, it's 5:30.
Oh, sorry.
I guess I'm used to getting up
with the chickens.
Is the couch okay?
Yeah, sure. Fine.
I guess I'm also not used to
sleeping without your mother.
So, what's for breakfast?
Ham and eggs, hash browns.
You want some hotcakes, too?
No, Dad, this is fine.
Where's your potholder?
I never need one, Dad.
Thanks, Clark.
Dad, it's going to be okay, I promise.
Are you sure
you don't want me to call Mom?
She knows where I am.
What did she say when you left?
We had a big fight.
About the painting?
Yeah, and him.
Hello.
Hi, Mom.
How are you?
No, he's fine.
We're just having breakfast.
Really? When?
Okay, great. I'll see you then.
Well, what did she say?
Well, not much.
She says she wants
to talk to you in person.
She's coming in.
- Tonight?
- No, day after tomorrow.
She probably doesn't want to miss
her life drawing class.
Lois, are you doing a follow-up
on the Latterman escape?
Lois, are you with us here?
Yeah, I'm on it, Chief.
- You upset over the verdict?
- The man is innocent.
He is no more a killer than I am.
Wait a minute.
The man signed a confession, didn't he?
He was under duress when he signed it...
and his attorney wasn't even present.
He shot his boss
and then set fire to the room...
to try to hide the evidence.
Fingerprints on the gun...
his clothes had Harrison's blood on them...
not to mention, he and Harrison's wife
were doing the deed.
Jimmy, it's okay to have an affair
if your husband's a brutal sociopath.
No, it's not.
It's not okay.
Assuming it's true.
What's true?
That they're having an affair.
You know, when Priscilla left Elvis,
February of '72...
she went straight into the arms
of Mike Stone, her karate instructor.
Also married.
Forgive me, Chief.
I'm just not in the mood
for another Elvis yarn.
You're not in the mood for an Elvis yarn?
Chief, Eugene and Lena...
Speak of the devil.
I'm very worried.
I haven't heard from him.
Eugene wrote me,
told me how much he trusted you.
You were the only one
who believed in him.
What can we do for you?
They'll find him.
They'll track him down and kill him.
My husband...
was a violent and cruel man.
There were nights...
so many nights that I thought,
God forgive me...
if only he were dead then Eugene and I...
He did it for me.
Lois, can I see you for a minute?
I have to be going anyway.
Det. Reed.
Miss Lane.
Lena Harrison have anything interesting
to say?
She's just worried about Eugene.
She wants us to write a story
telling him to turn himself in.
Good idea.
We've been telling her since last night.
- No sign of Eugene?
- No, a fugitive still at large.
Detective, is there anything specific
we can help you with?
No, not really.
It just seemed to me that during the trial...
Miss Lane and the escaped felon
became well, friendly like.
I'm a journalist. I covered the trial.
I was wondering if you had information
as to the whereabouts of Mr. Latterman.
He hasn't called you, has he?
No, he hasn't called me.
Well, just in case he does...
do give me a call, will you?
And don't worry, Miss Lane...
I brought him in once, I'll do it again.
- Tell me the biggest secret you have.
- What?
The biggest secret you have. Something
you've never revealed to anyone.
Why?
I'm about to tell you the biggest one I have
and I need blackmail material.
- I can't.
- Spill it.
Okay.
The truth is that my mother might be
having an affair with a younger man.
- Not big enough.
- What?
My parents have been married
for almost 30 years, Lois.
Okay.
What I'm about to tell you
cannot be repeated. Swear it.
- I swear.
- On the lives of your future grandchildren.
And no matter what I tell you,
you can't do anything about it.
Got it.
Eugene Latterman is hiding out
in my apartment.
What are you doing?
- You are calling the police.
- You swore!
- Lois...
- On the lives of your future grandchildren.
You cannot make me swear
to something that's illegal.
You are harboring a fugitive. A murderer.
The man is dangerous.
- He killed Harrison and he can kill you.
- He's innocent.
He was tried and convicted
by a jury of his peers.
Leave the truth and justice stuff
to Superman, would you?
See, I knew I shouldn't have told you.
But you're my partner.
Right?
When it's convenient for you, yes.
Come to my apartment. Talk to Eugene.
If you still think he's a murderer,
then you can call the police.
Deal?
Yeah.
You had an argument
the day before he was killed.
- That's true, but that doesn't...
- And you admit that you hated him.
It was the way he treated Lena.
You were having an affair with his wife.
It wasn't an affair. We were in love.
But Lena didn't want to...
- consummate until...
- Until you killed him.
No.
Until she left him.
You didn't know him.
Lena would come to work
with bruises on her.
Tell Clark about Henry.
He developed his own software
and started his own company...
after he got fired from LexCom.
He worked for Lex Luthor?
For 20 years. He was a loose canon.
One day I found a new program
he was working on:
The Ides of Metropolis.
When he discovered I'd seen it,
he went berserk...
threatening me, threatening Lena.
Why didn't Lena testify
as a witness for the prosecution?
She was subpoenaed.
She had to tell the truth.
And the truth was...
there was no way she could prove
I didn't kill her husband.
Well, she thinks you did it.
She said so today.
You saw Lena?
I'm going to make some coffee.
- Make the call.
- Clark, I can't do that.
We had a deal.
I haven't heard a single thing...
that makes me think he's less guilty,
or less of a threat to you.
Please, I am sure about this.
- You are always sure.
- Two days. 48 hours.
The man is about to go to prison
for the rest of his life.
Eugene, what is it?
Lena told you that I killed Henry?
She said you did it for her.
Lena's right about one thing.
I did do it for her.
- You killed Harrison?
- No.
Originally I confessed...
then later I refused
to take the stand to protect her.
She's the one who did it.
She killed her husband.
No one knew Mr. Harrison
better than I did.
I was his personal secretary for 15 years.
He was a genius, you know.
We interviewed several people
that say he was also a tyrant.
He had a company to run.
It wasn't easy
starting his own line of software...
and then to find out
that Lena and Eugene were...
He didn't deserve to be two-timed.
There's some evidence that indicates
Harrison was abusive towards his wife.
Nonsense.
He loved her.
He would never touch a hair on her head.
In his will he left her everything.
All the stocks...
The debts.
That's not fair.
All these accusations against Mr. Harrison.
He's not here to defend himself.
No, he's not.
- Thank you for your time.
- You're welcome.
I know it's your business to dig around
looking for new angles on stories...
but Eugene Latterman killed Mr. Harrison.
That's the real truth.
Pull.
Yes, excellent shot, sir.
Yes?
Right.
Miss Lane and Mr. Kent are here.
Good, show them in.
Do come in.
Welcome.
What happens if you miss?
That's an interesting question, Mr. Kent.
Well, let's see.
This clay pigeon weighs 2 ounces.
We're on the 110th floor...
approximately 1,500 feet
from street level...
considering the G-force and the speed
if this object hits some hapless passerby...
it would strike at the speed
of about 200 miles per hour.
My guess is that it would kill,
unfortunately, him or her instantly.
I never miss.
Lois, nice to see you.
Nice to see you, too, Lex.
Please, come in.
About Henry Harrison.
Yes, when I received your call...
I requested the head of LexCom personnel
to pull his file.
I'm afraid there's not much there
to help you.
Did you know him personally?
Yes. He was quite an ambitious
and talented man.
When I hired him he was
an original thinker, ahead of his time.
Is it true he was fired less than a month
before he was eligible...
to retire with a full pension?
Yes, when we downsized the company
during the recession...
hundreds of employees were forced out.
We did our best to relocate them.
Henry wanted to be his own boss.
Still, it's a shame about the murder.
Now, have they caught the man yet?
No, not yet.
Is there some doubt in your mind
as to this man's guilt?
Yes, a great deal of doubt.
Thanks for your help.
Nigel...
the technicians at LexCom.
Are they still having that same problem
with the computer slowing down?
I believe so, sir.
You'd better get me
LexCom internal security.
So I followed her to the Lexor Hotel.
Wait till you see this.
I don't believe this.
Jimmy.
I got distracted.
How did you get this?
And what about Reed?
Weren't her men tailing Lena as well?
Two guys in a car in front of the hotel,
some stakeout.
So much for the grieving widow.
Now what?
Dad, I think getting in shape
is a great idea.
But you're doing it for the wrong reasons.
Now, if you want to feel better,
that's one thing...
but I think Mom loves you
just the way you are.
Hi, guys.
First time here? Can I show you around?
Thanks, anyway, but I pretty much
know my way around the gym.
I could use a few pointers.
Great. Why don't we start off over here?
Okay, Dad, just a few light reps
and then we hit the showers.
That's my machine.
I didn't see anyone using it.
Everyone knows I use this machine
at this time every day.
So buzz off, four-eyes,
and take grandpa with you.
- Come on, Son.
- No, Dad, we'll wait.
It might be a while.
Because once I start pumping...
it's hard to stop.
Really?
The stinking machine's broken!
Really?
I don't know. Here, Dad, jump in.
Show him how it's done.
- Just grab these grips here.
- Right.
Breathe in, and when you exhale, push up.
Exhale, push up.
Here you go.
Okay, Dad.
Once he gets pumping,
it's hard for him to stop.
Jonathan?
Would you like to spot me?
Spot you?
Sure.
I straightened out your files, Lois,
gave you a simpler directory.
Those are personal files.
I have a password.
I know.
Superman.
It wasn't too tough to figure out.
Eugene, let's go over what happened
the day of Harrison's death.
It's like I said. I found this new program
he was working on.
Henry asked
how much of the program I'd seen.
Suddenly, he was screaming at me...
saying I had stolen his wife and now,
the Ides of Metropolis.
And I started yelling back at him.
I said I'd kill him...
if he hurt Lena again.
- It's Reed.
- How do you know?
Well, that was a police kind of knock.
Quick, into the bedroom.
I have a warrant to search the premises.
My apartment? Are you crazy?
I don't think so.
Call me wild. Call me crazy.
But I have a hunch that
you are hiding something or someone.
Why don't you just have a seat right here
on that couch, Miss Lane?
This won't hurt much
and it'll be over real soon.
Nice jacket.
No sign of him, Det. Reed.
Not in here, ma'am.
I am sorry
to have bothered you, Miss Lane.
It appears that I was mistaken
for the time being.
Eugene didn't kill Harrison.
Well, do tell.
Lena Harrison killed her husband.
Interesting theory.
Unfortunately, at the precise time
of Harrison's death...
Lena was at
a neighborhood watch meeting.
She was seen by at least 20 people
who positively identified her.
Reed, why would a man
set fire to the room...
with the body in it to destroy the evidence
and then wait for the police to show up?
Good night, Miss Lane.
Make sure you lock the door
and windows before you go to bed.
We got an escaped killer on the loose.
Lois, what happened?
- What did Reed say?
- Not much.
Just that Lena has an ironclad alibi
for the night of her husband's death.
Clark, men and women lie to each other
all the time. It's a national pastime.
I mean, sometimes it's okay to lie.
It's never okay.
So you're saying
you will never lie to your wife.
That is, assuming someone...
is crazy enough to actually say
"I do" to you.
- That's right.
- Transfer me to who?
No, I've been holding for 10 minutes.
I don't want...
All right, here's the scene.
Yes, I can hold, sure.
Your wife has spent the entire day
at the beauty parlor.
She's dyed her hair red.
Cut it all off just to please you,
only it looks ghastly.
She comes home, you open the door...
and she's standing there all hopeful,
"Honey, do you like it?"
What do you do?
My wife would know that I loved her
just the way she was.
Why would she dye her hair red?
That is just...
Okay, I'd tell her the truth.
That I loved her, and that I liked her hair
better the way it was before...
but that if she's happy,
then that's the important thing.
No, I don't want to leave a message.
I already left one. Never mind.
Poor woman.
Who?
Your wife.
She's married to Mr. Right.
Mr. Always Right.
Lois, Clark.
A moment of your time, please.
Is there something...
the two of you want to tell me?
No, not really, Chief.
Are you sure there's nothing
you want to get off your chest?
Chests?
We'd like to tell you, Chief, but we can't.
It's better this way.
Better off not knowing, Chief.
It's a little late for that.
I know.
You know?
What exactly do you know?
You know...
about him.
Where he is.
So you do know.
How do you know?
It's better you don't know...
but I don't know officially.
But then if a man in my position
didn't know unofficially...
I wouldn't be a man in my position.
So, now that you know unofficially...
are you going to tell anyone that you,
you know, know?
No.
I just wanted you to know.
Thank you, sir.
I feel much better knowing that you know.
Me, too.
There is something
you should know, though.
What's that?
The minute you step outside that door...
I no longer know.
And I don't want to know anything else...
worth knowing in the future.
Good, you're back. You told me
not to use the phone or go out.
- I couldn't get in touch with you.
- What happened?
Nothing happened.
It's what's going to happen I think.
All the programs on your computer
were sluggish today...
so I tapped into the Daily Planet bank.
Their systems are slowed down, too.
Eugene, there are more important things
going on...
than a temporary computer slowdown.
That file that Henry was working on,
it wasn't a program. It was a virus.
A virus designed to destroy
all other software programs.
A polymorphic encrypted virus.
That makes sense.
The man was about to lose everything.
Why not take
everyone's system down with you?
Can a virus just start up without
the programmer there to initiate it?
Maybe, if it has
some kind of doomsday code on it.
How bad could this virus make things?
In a nation entirely dependent
on computers...
it could mean disaster.
Banks, the stock exchange,
air traffic control.
Even our nuclear missiles.
They're all run by computers.
- What can we do?
- You have to break me into MUT.
MUT?
Metropolis University of Technology.
I need a powerful central computer system
to work off of.
I have to find the antidote.
I teach a class there,
my students can help.
Security has confirmed your suspicions.
There is a virus.
See, no one is invulnerable.
No system is guaranteed secure.
At no time in history...
has the power of one
destructive individual been so amplified.
It is the ultimate terrorism.
And I've often wondered
what would it be like...
if our entire infrastructure...
dissolved.
Perhaps we are too...
dependent.
Perhaps. I never thought of myself
as dependent on anyone or anything...
but I'm a slave.
Nigel, like you, like everyone else...
I'm a slave to the systems we create.
What would it be like,
a world without Luthor Technologies...
no Luthor Industries,
no Luthor Communications.
Could I weather it, Nigel?
It might be for the best.
I could get back to nature.
Buy a pair of hiking boots, get in my car...
a car without a driver,
and drive as far as I could...
before I fell off the edge of the world.
Could I?
Would I?
I think...
not.
Yes, quite right.
- Mom!
- Hi, honey.
Hi.
Where's your father?
He went to the store. You're here early.
Is he all right?
Yeah, he's fine, Mom...
but I'm not so sure I am.
Dad thinks that you're having an affair
with that artist teacher of yours.
Is that true?
Clark, there are things that happen
between man and woman...
between husband and wife
that you have yet to experience.
Mom, what are you saying?
Clark, I found the peonies.
Your mother always loved...
peonies.
Are those for me?
There's no one else.
For me, either, Jonathan.
Is that true, Martha?
Yes, you're the first man I ever kissed
and you'll be the last.
So, no affair?
Well, unless you call two cups of coffee
at Mazzie's an affair.
Martha, I should never have doubted you.
- I know you too well.
- Yes.
And you should also know, that because
I may qualify for membership...
with the Gray Panthers,
that doesn't mean I'm slowing down.
And it doesn't mean that I have
to stop growing and experimenting...
and thinking and making friends
with interesting people.
I just hope I can keep up with you, Martha.
You don't have to.
Just understand me like you always have.
Just be there for me...
like I know you always will.
You dug up Henry Harrison's body?
I dug up a body, but it wasn't Harrison's.
If the body found
in the generator room wasn't Harrison...
who was it?
A homeless man who lived in
the generator room in Harrison's building.
His family reported him missing.
It seemed he called them every week.
Dental records matched.
Why weren't these checked at the trial?
They were. There was a match.
How is that possible?
Computer records can be falsified,
especially by computer experts.
Besides, Lena identified the body.
So, Eugene was telling the truth.
You can call your manhunt off now.
I got a dead body on my hands
and Harrison is still missing.
For all we know,
Eugene might have killed two men.
- You can't be serious.
- I got a job to do.
Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't.
But right now I intend to bring him in
by any means necessary.
Lois, Clark, check this out.
I'm trying to get in to do a spell check...
and look at this.
What is this?
The Ides of Metropolis appeared
this morning on the screens...
of over a million computers.
And with its arrival came a catastrophe
of unparallel proportion.
World financial markets are collapsing.
Banks and other financial institutions
have closed their doors...
creating a mass panic.
Doctors are performing
emergency surgeries...
under war zone conditions.
Airports are shutting down.
Several near misses
have already been reported.
Nothing seems to have escaped
this deadly virus with no end in sight.
Great shades of Elvis.
The Army and Navy are on full tactic alert.
You got that right.
What exactly are we looking for?
An entry code so we analyze the virus
and find a cure.
I've tried all the ones Henry ever used.
Every member of his immediate family.
Now we're trying number combinations.
What about the name of the program,
The Ides of Metropolis?
Ides refers to the 15th day
of certain months.
I've tried some letter number
combinations using that factor but so far...
What about the dramatic reference?
Julius Caesar,
"Beware of the ides of March. "
We'll give it a try.
The play is about conspiracy.
Politics, traitors.
I think there is some other connection.
Police!
Step aside from the desk.
- Latterman, down and kiss the floor.
- No, you can't.
Eugene is working on the antidote
for the computer virus.
He may be close.
He's the only one who can do it.
Detective, you all right?
Are you ladies finished?
Yeah, we are...
Mr. Law and Order.
Don't you see what's going on?
I mean, haven't you read the news?
Eugene may be our only hope.
He worked under Harrison.
He saw Harrison develop
the computer virus.
He's the only one
that can find the antidote.
For God's sake, let him try.
All right, stay here.
Don't let anyone in or out of this room.
Where are you going?
Harritech. I followed Lena there last night.
- She's got some explaining to do.
- I'm going with you.
Good evening, Miss Lane, Miss Reed.
Permit me to introduce myself.
I'm Henry Harrison.
So you were in on it all along?
Of course.
I believe in marital fidelity.
What about your loyalty to Eugene?
He loved you.
Oh, yes, poor Eugene.
I thought the legal process
would finish him off.
Now I'll just have to do it myself.
- Why?
- I can answer that.
Harritech was about to fail.
His virus would make
all other software systems obsolete.
That's quite correct, Miss Lane.
Billions of dollars were at stake.
I needed to disappear
beyond suspicion, like dead.
And Eugene was the perfect foil.
Forget the clich,
but you're not going to get away with it.
Eugene is working on the antidote
as we speak.
That really doesn't matter, Miss Lane...
because within the hour...
every computer system
in the country will be shut down.
The nuclear missiles?
Please, Miss Lane, give me a little credit.
Surely you don't think I'd destroy
all those potential customers.
Of course, a few shutdowns
here and there...
medical facilities, control towers,
automated machinery...
You know there are bound to be
a few glitches.
I can get you a deal.
I doubt that very much.
So, what are you going to do now? Kill us?
Got it!
Lois was right. The play is the thing.
Et tu, Brute. That's the password.
What now?
By our calculations,
for the virus to reach full distribution...
it has to pass through these three centers.
So we contact the centers
and have them apply the antidote?
- No?
- It has to be done on the premises.
We have to manually insert this
antidote disk in each of the centers.
How much time do we have?
None.
By the time we'd fly them there,
it might be too late.
The virus has already
penetrated the network.
I know a way.
- Great, now you've done it!
- Me?
You're the one who said,
"What are you going to do now? Kill us?"
They teach you that in journalism school?
Well, I suppose you called for backup...
and told them to come in 10 minutes
if we didn't get out.
Did they teach you that
in detective school?
Yes, that's one.
Come on.
What is this place, anyway?
How do you get that to do that like that?
What?
Your hair. You know, the bounce thing
when you turn your head.
I don't know. It just does it.
Like that.
I wish I could get my nails
to look like yours.
You can. $1.98 at LexSave.
Get out of here. They look so real.
Go into the sub routine, okay?
Right.
Now let me write some new codes.
Come on. Get to...
He did it. Please, please.
It must be tough being a reporter,
especially for a woman.
Not any tougher than being a detective.
It's a boy's club.
Tell me about it.
Find a brace, anything.
That's good, put it right here.
It's no use.
What does the manual say to do
in a time like this?
- Is it in "C"?
- I don't know, my LAN isn't talking.
Shall I reboot?
Please.
Somebody help us!
Come on.
Look, I can't crack it back in.
It's debugging.
No!
I can't believe it.
Thank God.
Overtype the base.
Now go back into the operating system.
All right.
Maybe it's collapsed
into another subdirectory.
Scroll down.
Check each of the paths, okay?
Right.
Okay, boys and girls, the fun's over.
You're under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say or do can
and will be used as evidence against you.
Pull.
You know, it is amazing,
all things considered...
LexCorp came through this computer virus
relatively unscathed.
Yes, tragedy averted, for now.
For now?
Yes, you never know
when another virus might hit.
One that has no code
or no code that could be broken.
Yes, I suppose so.
What a horrible and desperate act.
Utterly unthinkable.
Unless...
Unless it belongs to me.
Pull!
Nigel, call...
- the lawyers.
- The lawyers, yes.
Right away, sir.
Lois, this is a great story.
Eugene Latterman's a free man,
thanks to you.
Thanks, Chief.
And thanks for not
blowing the whistle on us.
Well, I'm not much of a whistle-blower.
Well, go ahead, I'm waiting.
- For what?
- The morality play.
The "you should have trusted me...
"and my infallible
reporter's instinct" lecture.
Clark, you don't need me to remind you
of your shortcomings.
I would've thought by now
they'd be obvious.
Come on, I'm starving and you're buying.
And just in case you did miss
the moral to the story, thank you...
you should trust what's in people's hearts,
not just the facts, ma'am.
You know, I have a funny feeling
that you didn't tell me your biggest secret.
Well, just to put your mind at ease, Lois...
you're right.