Rogues Gallery #12 - BIZARRO Pt. 3

John Osborne opened his eyes to see the ceiling of his room in Metropolis General Hospital. The bank robbery had been a complete failure. They failed to kill the big blue boyscout or his “twin”. John’s eyes darted around the room to see Full House on the TV screen. It seemed as if that was the only show ever on. He had grown to hate Uncle Jessie. John couldn’t feel his arm and his whole body ached from his beating a few days earlier. John groaned from both the pain and the boredom.

“Let me guess. Not a fan of Full House?” A cold voice spoke.

John’s head snapped to the left to see Lex Luthor standing in the shadows of the room, a sick grin painted on his face.

“What do you want, Luthor?” John spat.

Lex took a few steps closer to the criminal and stood high above the bed.

“I want to make sure you keep your mouth shut about things that don’t concern you.” Lex’s eyes seemed to be slicing right into John’s.

“Keep my mouth shut about what? That that freak is a monster and nearly killed me? Or that it was you who created him?” It was John’s turn to smile.

Lex just gave a sarcastic sigh. The billionaire put his hand on John’s injured soldier and started to squeeze.

“Ah…what are you doing?” John exclaimed, starting to sweat and cringe in pain.

“You never heard of Bizarro. You were beaten by Superman. He did this to you, not that abomination.” Luthor said, his voice calm yet hiding extreme rage.

“Okay! Okay! Just let go!” John gasped.

Lex released the pressure and then took a step back.

“Remember Johnny. There’s bigger fish.” Luthor disappeared out of the doorway.

John sat for a moment, breathing hard and then turned his attention back to Full House bitterly.



Horns roared on the streets of Metropolis as traffic moved at a snail’s pace. One car in particular, a blue Jetta’s horns honked over and over, in an irritated fasion. The driver, a man in his mid to late forties, grew more and more frustrated by the slow moving traffic every second.

“Come on! I’m trying to get to work!” He shouted above the screeching horns of the surrounding cars.

He tapped his finger on the wheel quickly. TAP TAP TAP TAP…

“COME ON!” He yelled.

Horns continued to fill the streets of the great city.

“I don’t believe this! I’m already five minutes late for my meeting!” He finally decided to pull over into the breakdown lane and started to pass the stalled cars stuck in traffic.

“Ha! Suckers!” He cheered.

The man continued to drive through the break down lane, passing each and every single car that was ahead of him. On the four way stop up ahead, a man who had too much to drink was driving a giant tractor trailer and turned on the red light. The impatient Jetta driver speeded down the breakdown lane but at the last moment saw the tractor trailer turning wildly. A scream left his lips as the two vehicles were seconds away from colliding. The man shut his eyes.

Suddenly, it felt as if the car had completely stopped. He slowly opened his eyes, not sure of what he was about to see. He was in the air, about seven feet off the ground. He opened his window and looked out to see a man holding the car from underneath with one hand. A backwards “S” on his chest. Nearly all of his face was cracked and pale and as was most of his skin all over his body now.
Bizarro.

“Don’t worry. Me save you. Me am hero.” Bizarro proclaimed, a smile stretching across his face, revealing bent teeth.

“Th…thanks…” The man stammered.

“Me let you go now.”

Bizarro nodded but without warning chucked the car high into the air, plummeting towards a skyscraper. Bizarro flew back up into the air as if nothing had happened. The man screamed in fear as the car approached the building when out of nowhere, another man, who looked similar to Bizarro but with better skin and a brighter outfit grabbed onto the hood catching it in mid air.

“I’ve got you.” Superman, The Man of Steel, assured the driver.

“Thank god! That guy’s a maniac!” The man shouted from behind the wheel.

Superman slowly descended to the streets and let the car go. He did not have time to waste, though, propelling himself into the air and in pursuit of Bizarro.

Bizarro soared through the clouds, effortlessly. A merry grin pasted on his face. His eyes were filled with joy, yet, a confusion of what was happening around him. He shook his head for a second and then looked around, stopping in mid air.

What the…oh no. Not again. Bizarro muttered as he put his hand against his head.

Superman caught up pretty quickly and hovered a few feet behind his clone.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Superman questioned.

“I’m sorry…me…I don’t know what came over me.” Bizarro turned around, nearly all of his face white and cracked.

“Look just come with me. I need to get you to Star Labs. Maybe they can help you.”

Bizarro’s eyes suddenly flashed with aggression.

“No. Bald man…L…Lex… threaten to hurt Bizarro. Me not going to let him. Me need to find…uh…cure.” Bizarro found the right word he was looking for.

“Listen, I can help you find a cure just stay calm and come with me.” The Last Son of Krypton offered.

Bizarro’s eyes widened.

“Why should me…I…trust you? Don’t think me haven’t noticed. You’re jealous of me.” Bizarro said smugly, his grammar skills fading in and out.

Superman couldn’t figure out how to answer the question.

“You think me am a monster. But you wrong! Me am Superman!” A small portion of the doppleganger’s face by his left eye cracked.

Superman snapped his arm forward, reaching for Bizarro, trying to grab him. Bizarro swatted the hand away though and shoved past the Man of Steel, and soared at super speed into the clouds and out of sight. Superman hovered in mid-air, a sigh leaving his mouth.



Lex Luthor stood in the gigantic opening in the side of the lab that Bizarro and Superman had fought in. About half of the building remained after that intense battle. Lex looked around it, planning his next move. He grasped the handle of a metallic briefcase in his hand. It was only a matter of time before his disgrace of a project returned to the lab. Lex knew that Bizarro had discovered that the gift he had received was fading away.

There was a slight breeze in the lab air as Lex looked at the sandy dessert outside. It was a fitting setting for one of his greatest failure’s destruction. Dying out in a wasteland filled with nothing but dirt. To be forgotten.

Lex continued to wait patiently for the fun to begin.



Lois punched away at the computer keys as she typed the article that was due in Perry’s office in a few minutes. She was focused, almost chaotically rushing to finish the paper when she finally typed the last letter.

“FINALLY!” She cheered, triumphantly, printing out the article and beaming at it brilliantly.

CRACK!

There was an explosion behind her, throwing her onto the ground as rubble was flung around the office, smashing into desks, computers, and walls.

“Great Caeser’s Ghost!” Perry White’s voice thundered as a piece of debris collided with the door to his office.

Perry sprinted out of the office to see what all of the ruckus was to find who he thought was Superman for a moment but then saw the nearly completely cracked face of Bizarro grimacing as he stood in the crater he made in the building’s wall. Lois was on her back, slowly inching away from the doppelganger. Bizarro saw her attempt to flee and frowned.

“Why Lois run? Me not hurt her. Me am Superman. Me am hero.” Bizarro stood in the signature Superman pose.

“What are you doing here, Bizarro?” Lois demanded an answer.

Bizarro’s rage filled eyes seemed to steady and his facial expression changed.

“I…I need to find Luthor. Me think you can help me.” Bizarro held his head as his speech skills continued to switch.

“How would I know where he is?” Lois snapped.

Bizarro clenched his teeth.

“You’ve found him dozens of times before. Me already checked everywhere else. Now me need your help.” Bizarro hissed, desperation pasted on his face.

“Sorry but I wouldn’t know where to start.” Lois replied, still crawling away from the clone.

Bizarro’s cracked hand grabbed Lois’ arm and pulled her hard to her feet.

“Tell me where he is now.” Bizarro commanded, eyes fixed on hers.

Security guards rushed from the elevator and pointed their guns at Bizarro. They were as uncertain of this threat as everyone else in the building.

“Let Ms. Lane go!” One of them shouted.

Bizarro gripped her tighter defensively. The guards took a few steps closer to him, guns aimed on his forehead.

“Me need Lois to help.” Bizarro held Lois closer to his chest and leered at the guards.

The security guards formed a circle around Bizarro, guns traced on him.

“Stop!” Lois turned to face Bizarro as he held onto her arm. “Where did Superman find you and Lex before?”

Bizarro’s eyes widened, realization spreading through his mind. He ‘gently’ tossed Lois to the floor.

“In house in canyon. That where bald man is!” Bizarro made a move for the opening in the wall but the guards all fired at him, the bullets bouncing off him like tennis balls.

Bizarro, irritated, swung around as his eyes flashed with a bright blueish gray light and the guards froze on the spot. The clone exploded out of the Daily Planet and into the air, towards the laboratory. His intelligence fading every second.



Superman heard about the attack at the Daily Planet and flew there, arriving to see paramedics carrying out what looked like security guards frozen in chunks of ice. He found Lois, covered in dust sitting on the back of a police cruiser, being interviewed by a cop about what had happened.

“Lois!” The Man of Steel called and she looked up at him, wincing for a moment before she knew it was really him.

The cop stepped aside as he walked towards her.

“What happened?” Superman asked, a slight tone of impatience in his voice.

“Bizarro showed up. He wanted to know where Lex Luthor was.” Lois explained the situation.

Superman remained silent, his eyes full of thought. He knew this wasn’t good. Bizarro was nearly back to being the abomination he once was.

“Do you have any idea where he was going next?” Superman continued his questioning.
“Uh…yeah he said he was going back to the ‘house in canyon’.” Lois answered.

Superman nodded then taking off into the air as fast as he could. There wasn’t a moment to lose.



Lex stood in the middle of the lab where the machine that had accidentally turned Bizarro into a nearly perfect replica of Superman lay destroyed from the previous fight between the two titans. The villain continued to clutch the briefcase in his hand.

A dark red and blue blur shot into the lab and stood in the entrance gazing at Lex. Lex Luthor turned, an arrogant smile on his face.

“I’ve been expecting you, Bizarro.” Luthor said in a low and devious tone.

Bizarro’s fists were clenched. His eyes were bloodshot and his entire body was completely pale and cracked. Rage seemed to ooze from his very being. Luthor just chuckled wickedly.

“What’s the matter, Bizarro? Something on your mind?” Luthor grinned, maliciously knowing where to press Bizarro’s buttons.

“Me want you to turn me back.” Bizarro spat.

“Oh of course, Bizarro!” Luthor pleasantly said.

Bizarro seemed taken aback by the friendliness of Luthor.

“Why you help Bizarro? You am mean man.”

“Honestly, my friend, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Luthor turned, putting his briefcase on the table.

Bizarro slowly approached him, looking over Lex’s shoulder, trying to see what was going on. Lex turned back around holding a chunk of what appeared to be a blue rock.

“Pretty pebble.” Bizarro gazed, at the rock, brilliantly.

“This’ll cure you. I just need to put it up to your chest.” Lex explained.

Bizarro scratched his head, then shrugged.

“Ok.”

Lex drew his arm back slowly, then lunged forward, clasping the chunk of blue kryptonite in his hand. To his surprise though, Bizarro’s hand shot up and clenched Lex by the wrist, squeezing hard.

“Ahhh. What are you doing, Bizarro? This will…cure you.” Lex exclaimed as he was brought to one knee by the pain in his wrist.

Bizarro’s eyes were fixed on his. Lex realized that there was an awareness there now.

“Come on Lex. Me…I’m not fully turned back yet.” Bizarro hissed, his senses still present.

Bizarro grasped the billionaire by the collar and growled, throwing him across the lab room, sliding across the floor and letting go of the blue kryptonite. Lex coughed as he looked up from his position on the floor to find Bizarro strolling toward him.

Luthor struggled wearily to his feet.

“Get the hell away from me.” Luthor commanded.

Bizarro ignored his order and raised his fist and swung. A second before his fist struck Luthor however, a hand caught it. Bizarro blinked and suddenly Superman was standing in between him and Luthor, holding the clone’s fist.

“We need to get you help Bizarro.” Superman pleaded.

“Me know. And bald man can help!” Bizarro replied a blustered tone.

Bizarro made a quick movement and Superman threw him through the roof of the lab and into the canyon outside. The Man of Steel turned back to Luthor.

“That won’t stop him for long.” Superman assured him.

“I know. Which is why you may need this.” Lex reached down and picked up the blue kryptonite.

Superman took it from Lex’s hand and nodded, unsurely. Gripping it tightly, he rocketed into the air and out of the lab in pursuit of his warped reflection. Superman, zipped through the cloud filled sky, watching carefully for any sign of where Bizarro may have ended up. He used his X-Ray vision to search through the rocky terrain of the canyon but to no avail.

Out of nowhere, the Man of Steel was tackled from above. Tangled by the powerful arms of his doppelganger, Superman was being dragged descending towards the earth below. The two titans’ speeds were picking up, Bizarro clinging onto his enemy tightly. The crash into the canyon below caused a shockwave which made the whole planet appear to tremble.

The dust clearing, Superman’s face was shoved into the dust as he lay in an enormous crater, Bizarro’s palm forcing his head into the dirt. The Blue Kryptonite lay a few feet from the two opponents, Superman’s hand outstretched towards it. Bizarro picked him up by the leg and hit him against the hard ground a few times before tossing him, his back skidding against the rocky terrain.

Bizarro gave a snort of glee, waiting to see what his twin would do. Superman slowly got to his feet, dirt smeared on parts of his suit.

“You have to stop this, Bizarro.”

“Me want to. Bald man tried to hurt Bizarro so me hurt him!” Bizarro blurted out defensively.

Superman frowned. This would be harder than he had hoped.

“Look, we can find a way to cure you…just don’t try to do it like this.” Superman’s attempt to persuade his duplicate failed as Bizarro propelled off of the ground, flying at Superman.

The two moved at speeds faster than the human eye could even attempt to catch. Bizarro snarled, throwing an uppercut that Superman barely managed to dodge then proceeding to grab onto his double’s leg and flipping him onto his back. Superman barely had time to blink before Bizarro was back onto his feet and blowing an inferno of flames from his lips, the Man of Steel leaping from range just in time, the end of his crimson cape catching ablaze.

Superman rolled on the ground, putting out the fire only to get hit into a wall of rocks by a punch from his double. Bizarro gave a dumb smirk, proud of his accomplishment. Turning around, he got ready to head back to the lab when he heard a cracking behind him. The doppelganger shifted around to see the avalanche of rocks that had fallen on the Man of Tomorrow explode, boulders flailing through the air and crashing into the area surrounding the two combatants.

Stop…this…this isn’t right. A drip of sweat flowed down Bizarro’s cheek.

Superman emerged from the rubble and spat out some blood. His eyes wandered from his disgrace of a reflection to the shard of blue kryptonite on the ground a little ways away.

“Bizarro, please listen to me. You don’t know what you’re doing.” Superman pleaded with him.

Bizarro flinched in pain and gripped his head. I am in control. I am in control.

“Me…yes I do.” The remaining intelligent part of Bizarro spoke out.

“You told everyone that you were not going to fall prey to being the pawn of Lex. You were going to be your own man. A hero. This is NOT being a hero, it’s being a vigilante.” Superman said.

“Luthor deserves what’s coming to him! He made me revert back to being…like this! You think me…I…want to go back to being this thing! I finally had everything I’ve wanted. A city that needs a hero. I can be that hero!”

“Metropolis has a hero.” Superman replied sarcastically.

“Then why haven’t you done anything about Luthor!?” Bizarro countered.

Superman was caught off guard by this remark but continued to stare straight into his own warped eyes.

“Because it’s not my place to judge whether a man lives or dies.” Superman explained.

Bizarro rolled his eyes.

“Then me will judge.” Bizarro’s mind continued to deteriorate and he wouldn’t be able to maintain understandable conversation for much longer.

“No you won’t.” Superman said as he saw things were breaking down fast.

Without warning, Bizarro lunged forward at his enemy. Superman was able to block a kick from his clone. Bizarro was momentarily surprised by the Man of Steel’s quick reaction and was even more shock when the Kryptonian’s fist made contact with his gut. With a jerk, Bizarro launched himself high above the ground, glaring down at his reflection.

“Me…m…I am sorry, Superman. But I guess the only way I’ll be able to be the hero Metropolis deserves is to…get rid of you.” Bizarro concluded, sighing.

Superman watched his airborne opponent very closely. Bizarro descended slowly toward the earth, hovering slightly as his foot stepped down onto the terrain, his eyes fixed upon hero.

“W…why do you deserve to be the hero? Why can’t I be one too? Me…I’ll tell you why. You’re jealous of what me will become! M…I will outshine you! That’s what you’re afraid of isn’t it!?” Bizarro’s eyes flared with an icy chill as a blast of coldness emitted from his eyes and approaching Superman fast.

Superman didn’t have even a second to think and pure instinct overtook him. The world seemed to slow down from his perspective. A shining silver beam closing in on him. Out of pure reflex, heat released from the Last Son of Krypton’s eyes, colliding into the ice vision coming from Bizarro. Steam filled the air nearly immediately. The two beams tried to overtake each other pushing forward and forward but never reaching the target. As the heat vision started to force the chill back towards Bizarro, the clone grew frustrated, his mind growing more primitive each second.

“Me had enough!” Bizarro shrieked, taking a deep breath of fire that sprayed at the Man of Steel as the two blasts of vision continued to duel.

Superman countered his opposite again by blowing out his freezing breath. Coldness and heat could be felt through the air as the heat and ice vision clashed at the same moment the freeze breath and heat breath battled together.

Bizarro’s concentration began to waver and Superman used the opportunity to turn his powers up a notch, unleashing a mighty explosion of heat vision from his eyes that hit Bizarro hard. The blast bashed into the doppelganger, throwing him far across the canyon and out of sight. Superman gave a sigh relief but knew it wasn’t over. He had gotten a good shot in but it wasn’t enough. Maybe killing Bizarro would be the only way to stop his rampage…but that was only if absolutely nothing else would work. Superman eyed the indigo glow of the blue kryptonite to his left and began to walk to it, uncertain of what he would choose to do.

Bizarro lay on his back in the clay like dirt of the canyon, staring up at the sun.

“Pretty.”

He got to his feet slowly and grinned, looking in the direction of where Superman was. And his mind got back on track. But it wouldn’t be for long. Soon he wouldn’t have a clue of what he was doing.

I need to stop him now!

Bizarro shot off of the ground and raced back to Superman who was a few feet from the blue kryptonite. The failed lab experiment appeared behind Superman and, holding the back of his head, smashed the Kryptonian’s face into the ground. Superman turned, now on one knee to be met by Bizarro’s fist smacking him across the face.

Bizarro’s eyes were filled with hatred, a desperate man pulled apart piece by piece.

“Why can’t me be a hero!? Why!?” Bizarro punched Superman in the face, the ground shaking beneath them.

“Why!?” Another punch.

“WHY!?” Another punch.

“WHY!!?” The next punch collided into Superman’s jaw, knocking him onto both knees, dizzily. The aggression of Bizarro was maddening.

Tears rolled down the confused clone’s face, blood covering his hands. Superman looked up at him from the ground, blood covering his face. Bizarro’s brutality had been unexpected and sadly, Superman knew that he could not defeat him with just his strength alone.

Bizarro cracked his blood stained knuckle and prepared for his next assault. Superman’s arm was reaching for the blue kryptonite only a few inches away…it seemed so close. Bizarro struck him in the forehead with his knee and the Man of Steel crumbled onto his stomach, fingers fumbling through the dirt, attempting to find the blue kryptonite.

“Me am hero.” Bizarro whispered to himself lifting an enormous boulder off of the ground and raising it above his head.

The doppelganger, tears in his eyes, held it above Superman, ready to smash it on top of him. Swinging downward with the boulder at great speed, Bizarro believed he had won. Then all of his hopes disappeared as Superman used the last of his remaining strength to leap upward, crashing through the large rock, the shard of blue kryptonite held in his hand. Bizarro’s tear filled eyes widened in shock and fear as Superman wedged the blue kryptonite into the clone’s stomach.

The universe appeared to darken as Bizarro took a step back, his chest pierced by the blue kryptonite. He looked up find Superman standing in front of him, regret etched in his face. Bizarro thought for a moment that gravity had pulled him downward as his back slid across the canyon wall. Bizarro lay against the wall on his bottom, looking first at the weapon sticking out of his body then to Superman. His eyes then fixed upon the S symbol pasted proudly on Superman’s suit.

“Me…am NOT Superman?” Bizarro came to a realization, looking directly into the eyes of the man he believed he could be.

Superman frowned, sympathetic of the creature that sat before him. Bizarro’s eyes brightened for a moment but then remained still, unblinking, still staring in admiration at the symbol of hope on the Man of Steel’s chest.

“No Bizarro…you’re not.” Superman sighed, his eyes closed, respectively bowing his head.



The next day, the front page headline of the Daily Planet read:

BIZARRO’S RAMPAGE STOPPED; THE WORLD LOSES A HERO AND REGAINS ONE

Clark Kent read the headline and looked the picture underneath it of a proud Bizarro standing in front of the bank he had saved in front of a dozen reporters. Clark sat at his desk and pushed his glasses up, examining the damage to the building’s wall from Bizarro’s last visit. He turned back the headline and gave a small smile.

Bizarro would have been happy to know that people thought of him as a hero.

“Hey Smallville! Get your head out of the clouds! There’s a big fire in Metropolis General.” Lois whisked by him, pen and pad in her hands as she ran towards the elevator.

“Ok! I’ll be right behind you!” Clark called to her as she got into the elevator.

Clark tripped as he got up from his chair and knocked down a bunch of papers on his desk when he did. The doors closing, Lois couldn’t help but giggle about how clumsy Clark was. It was like he was born with bad luck or something.

When the doors shut, Clark got to his feet, easily, standing tall and looked around. The room was empty. He gave a last view of the newspaper headline and then removed his glasses and unbuttoned his shirt.



Deep within the Arctic Circle, a research facility stood. Its dark features stood out amongst the white snow and ice surrounding it. The inside of the facility was just as dim lit and metallic. Dr. Richard Lawrence sat at a computer typing away at data. The door to the laboratory inside the facility opened with a creak and Lex Luthor stepped in, dressed in his usual expensive business suit, but a long trench coat draped over it. He looked around at the dark lab and then at Lawrence.

“Making any progress, Doctor?” Luthor questioned, his voice cold and grim.

“Yes…Mr. Luthor… sir. Just working on fixing a few k…kinks in the machine. The subjects though are per…perfectly healthy. It’s just a matter of if they stay that way once released from the containment tubes.” Lawrence explained, quivering.

Luthor didn’t reply and just stepped down the stairway and next to Lawrence.

“Due to…complications, I’m going to have to leave the public life right now. I’m a wanted man. But that doesn’t mean Project: Man of Tomorrow is canned. You will continue to work on it. I will make monthly check-ins of the progress. No one would be able to find us out here anyway.” Lex told his former employee.

“B…but Mr. Luthor…if…if you don’t own LexCorp any…m…more, do I still h…have my job there?” Lawrence asked.

“Of course not. You will be paid by ME personally for your efforts. Just continue to work on the project.” Luthor commanded, without emotion.

Lawrence gulped and began to sweat realizing that he was aiding a fugitive. Luthor caught his expression and smirked arrogantly.

“And remember, Doctor. Your efforts could change the world. This is not the end…”

Lights flickered on in the lab, revealing dozens of containment tubes with a body in each of them. An identical body. The body of…Superman.

“This is only the beginning.”