Bumbling goof August “Gus” Gorman (portrayed by late comedy icon Richard Pryor) must have walked under too many ladders, regularly opened umbrella indoors, and frequented the running path of black cats. Luck simply wasn’t on his side. What he did have going for him was a genius-level understanding of computer programming.
After financial desperation provoked him to hack his way to substantially increased pay, his embezzlement caught the attention of his diabolical boss, Ross Webster, who longed for economic world domination. Threatened with jail or servitude, Gus agreed to technically power Webster’s corrupt and destructive schemes, which caught the attention of Superman (portrayed by the late Christopher Reeve).
Gus would learn to manipulate the rarest properties of Kryptonite, Superman’s only known weakness. Its use on The Man of Steel transforms him into the evil Bizarro. Eventually fed up with Webster’s wrong-doings and mistreatment, Gus would aid a remedied Superman in defeating him and saving the world.
DC Comics’ Superman was a big box office draw. The 1983 sequel Superman III had all the makings of another hit. Directed by Richard Lester (Superman II, The Three Musketeers), written by David Newman (Bonnie and Clyde, Bad Company) and Leslie Newman (Superman, Superman II), and co-starring Oscar-nominated acting legend Robert Vaughn as the villainous Ross Webster with Pryor as Gorman, the third film in the series looked like a winner on paper.
Critics, however, panned the movie for its lighter, comedic tone, specifically bashing Pryor for being too silly. Diehard comic readers and Superman film buffs were also turned off while casual movie watchers enjoyed it, and Pryor, overall. Many found a black computer wizard, criminal or not, to be groundbreaking. |THIS.
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
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