Christopher Reeve
- For other uses, see Christopher (Disambiguation).
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor and activist for stem cell research, who was best known for his portrayal as the superhero Superman in the original Warner Bros Superman film series. He appeared in the episodes "Krazy Kripples" and "200", in which he is the main antagonist in the former.
Background
In "Krazy Kripples", Christopher Reeve comes to town to promote stem cell research. In order to 'cure' his quadriplegia, he is shown sucking the fluids out of fetuses from a medical bio-hazard container. With each fetus he sucks dry, Reeves' condition lessens. However, even after regaining his ability to move his limbs, he becomes dependent on stem cells to gain superhuman powers.
In a reversal of character, Reeve becomes the villain when stem cell research is banned, making Gene Hackman, who portrayed the villain Lex Luthor, his rival. Reeve forms a supervillain group called Legion of Doom in response to this. Reeve is eventually imprisoned by the passing of a law banning stem cell research in a manner similar to the end of the movie Superman II', trapped in a two-dimensional Phantom Zone in outer space.
He makes another appearance in "200", as one of the celebrities suing South Park.
Appearance
Reeve appears to be confined to his electric wheelchair for the first part of "Krazy Kripples" and after having consumed many fetuses, he was able to walk towards the end of the episode. Reeve has gray hair and can be seen wearing a red collared shirt under a green sweater and blue pants.
Personality
Reeve is portrayed as evil and power-hungry, greedily consuming the blood of aborted fetuses to give himself super-powers, showing his complete disregard for the bioethics of his actions, with the intention to conquer the world as an all-powerful supervillain.
- Images of Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve in "Krazy Kripples".
Reeve obtaining stem-cells from an aborted fetus.
Prominence
- "Krazy Kripples"
- "200" - Seen with the other celebrities suing South Park.
Trivia
- Reeve did not actually consume fetuses, nor is this a known form of stem cell treatment.
- According to the DVD commentaries, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker had been developing the idea of a Christopher Reeve parody for several years but were deterred from doing so due to its potentially contentious nature. However, they eventually decided to go through with it after seeing his appearance on Larry King Live, in which he espoused what they perceived to be an unwarranted sense of self-entitlement, especially in relation to those people who had been born with disabilities.
- In the Mandarin Chinese dub, Christopher Reeve is dubbed as Taiwanese businessman Huang Jen-chung. This celebrity died in 2004, one year before the dubbing aired, and is portrayed in the episode as a resurrected person.
References
- ↑ "South Park" Krazy Kripples (TV episode 2003). IMDb.com.