"Where There's Smoke" is the forty-second episode of Superman: The Animated Series. It depicts the appearance of Volcana, a woman possessing massive pyrokinetic capabilities. At first she seeks only to steal things for money but it's soon revealed that an ex-government agent seeks to capture her for his own means. Now Superman must fight to save his newest enemy.
Plot
A special private event is being held at Metropolis Harbor and a large group of people is trying to get in. However, the guard is good at his job and won't allow anyone. Just then, a woman comes in and flirts with him. The guard allows her in.
Inside the ship, Jimmy and Clark are covering the event: the sale of rare nautical memorabilia. Jimmy sees the woman and starts to take her picture. She touches the camera and leaves him. When Jimmy tries to use the camera again, he finds that the film has melted.
Now inside the kitchen, the woman removes her disguise and throws flames from her hands into the ventilation system of the ship. A fire is started and the people panic. Clark starts to lead Jimmy out of the boat but retreats into the smoke to make the change into Superman.
Superman easily manages to open new escape routes and rescue the people. He sees Volcana but when he tries to save her she attacks him with a jet of flame powerful enough to send him out of the building. Superman puts out the fire by using a propeller to hurl water at the building.
Later, Clark tries to enter into the building but is stopped by a guard who lies about the reasons for why the place is closed. Clark leaves but then finds he's being followed. He ducks into an alley and his stalker finds he has disappeared. The stalker then goes to a phone booth and disappears in a flash. Now in a building, the man removes his disguise. Superman witnesses this and makes note that the building is the Metropolis Federal Building.
Back in her hideout, Volcana calls up her fence and offers him the stolen goods but he turns it down. Volcana tells him that she needs to get out of town but he still won't take it. She then sees something in the newspaper that interests her. Donnie agrees to meet her in the "usual place" but as soon as the phone call is over, he is confronted by a few men in suits who ask where the "usual place" is.
Clark continues his investigations by going to an institute for children with paranormal abilities. Here, they help children with special mental powers both to deal with their abilities and develop them. Clark learns that the government funds the institute. However, when he asks about anyone having pyrokenetic abilities, the doctor becomes pensive and leaves. He goes to his office but finds men in suits waiting for him. They force him out claiming that they'll take him to a safe house but he's afraid. The tires blow on their car and he makes his escape. He then runs into Clark who offers to take him somewhere safe in exchange for information. The doctor tells Clark that the government had kidnapped a teenage girl, Claire Selton who had massive pyrokinetic potential. They gave her the codename "Volcana" and tried to turn her into the perfect weapon, but she escaped.
With this new information, Superman confronts Volcana and attempts to offer help in exchange for her agreement to stop stealing, but she attacks him. After a brief fight, Volcana is able to escape by distracting Superman with a flame crafted her shape. She then goes to see her fence but runs into one of the dark-suited men, named Kurt. Kurt and Volcana talk, revealing he was the one who kidnapped her. Before Volcana can react, she is doused with a powerful flame retardant and captured.
At the Daily Planet, Clark overhears Jimmy telling Lois about a hotel room that was covered in fire retardant foam but without any signs of fire. Superman heads to the hotel, where he finds some government agents and demands to know where Volcana is. One of the agents takes out a powerful weapon, but Superman moves and crushes it before he even finishes explaining its capabilities. Holding the other agent out a window, he repeats his question.
Later, in an underground facility, Volcana is kept in a tank of inert gas, rendering her powers useless. Kurt reveals that Volcana is to be sold to another government looking to dissect her and discover the source of her abilities. Superman arrives and points out that Kurt is doing this for personal reasons, as Project: Firestorm lost funding years ago. His men attack Superman with weapons powerful enough to hurt even him, but he easily overcomes them. During the fight, Volcana's tank is ruptured and she manages to break free. She then starts to wreak havoc on the facility, seeking out Kurt to repay him. However, her mad rampage ignites several tanks of hydrogen. The resulting explosion is enough to stun her while Superman evacuates the endangered combatants.
Superman takes Volcana to a deserted island where she resides as a comfortable prisoner in a tropical paradise.
Continuity
- The events of the episode are later recalled by General Hardcastle in Justice League Unlimited "Fearful Symmetry."
Background Information
Production Notes
- When Volcana is throwing fireballs at Superman in the parking garage, she hits a car and as it blows up, there's an explosion featuring splinters flying about. This is footage from the Batman Beyond episode "Splicers," specifically the scene where Carmin's Taxidermy Studio explodes.
- When Superman gets hit by a laser in Kurt's lab and crashes with a machine, the resulting explosion is reused footage from the gas canisters that Superman ignites in "The Way of All Flesh."
Trivia
- This is the only Superman episode dealing mostly with government conspiracy.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Tim Daly | Superman/Clark Kent |
| Dana Delany | Lois Lane |
| Peri Gilpin | Volcana |
| William H. Macy | Director |
| Peter Gallagher | Kurt |
| Dennis Haysbert | Agent #1 |
| David Kaufman | Jimmy Olsen |
| Gregg Berger | Agent #2 |
| John Mariano | Agent #3 |
| Debi Mae West | Billy |
Uncredited Appearances
Quotes
Woman: (After seeing guard let Volcana in) Hey! What has she got that I haven't got?!" |
Volcana: The whistle was touched by the
President's lips. |
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