Chapter 40: The Chinese Version of Superman Sweeps Across China!
Outside [Huaying International Cinema], the crowd was roaring with noise.
Inside [Huaying International Cinema], there were still more than ten minutes until the movie screening.
Deng Hairong rushed into the restroom, grabbed a bottle of hand soap, and stared fixedly at the cinema staff, who looked utterly bewildered.
“Do we… have anyone make this hand soap? And when did the premiere of [Superman 2] become [Feihe Cinema]?”
“… ”
Under the lights.
The bottle of hand soap in his hand bore the poster of [Superman 2], and beneath the poster, it clearly read: [Watch Superman 2 at Feihe Cinema].
Wrong!
Damn it!
This isn’t [Superman 2]—it’s [Tiao Ren 2]!
The cinema staff were stunned, stammering and unable to speak.
Then…
Deng Hairong marched grimly toward the toilet seat in the restroom!
Every single toilet seat in the restroom had a toilet seat cover on it!
Damn it!
In this sweltering heat, who would put on toilet seat covers!
He lowered his head and read the words printed around the toilet seat cover.
[Not satisfied with Superman 2? Come to Feihe Cinema and watch [Sun Wukong vs Superman 2]! Punches that land, ultimate visual experience!]
???
He turned his gaze to the toilet paper…
He saw that these people had gone completely insane—even the toilet paper was printed with: [Tired and sleepy? Go to Feihe Cinema and watch [Sun Wukong vs Superman 2]!]
…
At this moment!
He felt his blood pressure skyrocket!
“Get rid of them!”
“Remove all of these things—right now!”
“…”
……………………………………
Five minutes before the premiere of [Superman 2]!
Fans and media personnel from all walks of life began arriving one after another.
Film critic Liu Jia Sheng pushed through the crowd, excitedly entering the theater.
In the thousand-seat auditorium, it was packed; posters and merchandise of [Superman 2] were piled prominently around the screening area.
Around him, voices buzzed with anticipation and discussion about [Superman 2] and its plot.
Like Liu Jia Sheng, they all longed to witness once again the glory of the [Superman] IP, and eagerly awaited the visual Zhenhan this [Superman 2] would bring.
Watching the excited faces around him, he took a deep breath, opened his laptop, and typed the title [Superman 2] into his document.
His thoughts drifted back thirteen years.
In the summer of 1987, at age fourteen, he walked into a theater, half-dazed, and watched the premiere of [Superman]—it left him utterly awestruck.
That year, across China’s supermarkets, shelves, malls, and bookstores, he saw countless comic books and stories about [Superman]—as if overnight, a whole new world had opened before him.
That year, [Superman 1] made everyone believe: “Humans can fly!”
Thirteen years later, by chance, he joined the media industry and became chief film critic for [Global Cinema] magazine.
Over the years, he had watched countless films—but none had ever shaken him as deeply as the original [Superman] series.
He sat in the back row, staring at the screen about to light up.
At this moment, he could no longer suppress his excitement; his hands trembled slightly.
To calm himself and remain objective, he took a deep breath, picked up the bottled mineral water beside him, and took a small sip—just enough to steady himself.
Wait.
He instinctively stared at the label on the mineral water bottle.
He noticed something off about the [Superman 2] image on the bottle.
Then…
His eyes widened.
It wasn’t [Superman 2]—it was [Tiao Ren 2]…
Could the organizers be this careless?
As he examined it more closely, he saw bold, unmistakable text on the bottle:
[Watch Tiao Ren 2 at Feihe Cinema]
[Feihe Cinema: Global Premiere Venue for Tiao Ren 2!]
???
Seeing this, he began to doubt reality itself.
He refused to believe it, and carefully checked the ticket for [Superman 2] in his hand.
It clearly said [Huaying International Cinema].
Wait—where the hell did [Feihe Cinema] come from?
…
“Sorry!”
“Sorry, let’s swap bottles!”
“Sorry…”
“Staff error…”
As he stood there bewildered, cinema staff nearby turned pale and hurried over, replacing the bottles with fresh ones one after another.
………………………………
As he stood there bewildered…
The screen ahead lit up!
The entire auditorium fell instantly silent.
His spirit surged.
Without another thought, he fixed his gaze on the big screen.
The premiere of [Superman 2] had begun!
…
Perhaps the original [Superman 1] had been too successful, making [Superman 2] inherently difficult to make—or perhaps he had grown older, watched too many films, and raised his standards.
Half an hour later, the anticipation in Liu Jia Sheng’s eyes, once burning for the same awe he felt before, began to fade.
[Superman 2] continued the plot of [Superman 1].
[A new villain invades Earth; Superman, who once saved the world, loses his powers due to unforeseen circumstances and becomes an ordinary man…]
For the first half-hour, the film endlessly described how powerful the villain was, how powerless Superman felt, and how dire the world had become…
After thirty minutes, the grand spectacle, the bone-crunching action—he saw none of it. For thirty minutes, the protagonist was sidelined, constantly suppressed.
Was this the film that cost $180 million to make?
Liu Jia Sheng froze.
But remembering [Superman]’s previous reputation, he forced himself to keep watching.
Near the one-hour mark, the oppressed Superman finally regained his powers through relentless effort.
Just as Liu Jia Sheng thought Superman was finally about to unleash his strength…
The main villains suddenly kidnapped Superman’s girlfriend—and to save her, Superman was forced to endure humiliation after humiliation, so much so that Liu Jia Sheng nearly cursed aloud.
You’re Superman—how can human villains step on your head like this?
Where’s your super speed?
Where’s your flight?
Where’s your heat vision?
The plot was already illogical; it wasn’t just power scaling gone wrong—it was actively crushing the protagonist’s strength.
Near the one-and-a-half-hour mark, the film finally picked up some momentum and delivered a few epic special effects…
But…
Having seen [Superman 1]’s iconic scenes—Superman holding up a plane, rescuing a train—Liu Jia Sheng watched the aerial battle in [Superman 2]. The effects looked dazzling, momentarily stimulating the senses—but compared to [Superman 1], this film was packed with countless shallow, meaningless fight scenes, emphasizing violence without any tangible impact.
The pacing was painfully slow; Superman’s decision to give up his powers felt absurdly abrupt; the female lead was nothing but a burden. While the world faced apocalypse, she was throwing herself off buildings, crashing into fruit stands—her stupidity radiated through the screen and made Liu Jia Sheng’s blood pressure spike.
It felt like being strung along for hours, finally expecting release—only to see the AV heroine turn into an old woman and instantly go limp.
Liu Jia Sheng took a deep breath.
His heart sank in profound disappointment.
This film, aside from its impressive effects, was utterly devoid of plot—it delivered none of the awe [Superman 1] had given him.
Even worse!
After watching it…
He had a faint sense of dread!
………………………………
After the premiere of Superman 2…
Amid widespread media promotion and hype, Deng Hairong underwent a series of interviews and promotional events.
Only when it was past midnight did he return to his office.
“Mr. Deng, have the box office numbers for Superman 2 come out?”
“How much?”
“The opening day box office just broke 15 million…”
“Oh, that’s good!”
Seeing this figure, Deng Hairong nodded.
In 2003, an opening day box office of 15 million was absolutely a massive hit.
“But there’s something I’m not sure whether I should say…”
“Go on…”
“Pirated copies of Superman 2 have already appeared on the market!” The assistant took a deep breath, his expression furious: “Worse than piracy, today a film titled Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2—capitalizing on our Superman 2 release—has completely sold out in the pirated market, selling nearly ten thousand copies today alone!”
“…”
“It’s bad enough they’re riding our coattails, but what’s most outrageous is that this film’s quality is abysmal—and the pirated copies are falsely labeled as our ‘Superman 2,’ causing countless fans to be deceived. Many netizens who watched Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2 have now begun viciously attacking our Superman 2!”
(Two chapters delivered…)
End of Chapter
