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The Meteor Man (film)

Meteor Man (1993)

Theatrical one-sheet for The Meteor Man

The Meteor Man is a 1993 American superhero comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Robert Townsend and featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Marla GibbsEddie GriffinRobert GuillaumeJames Earl JonesRoy FeganDon Cheadle,Bill CosbyBig Daddy KaneFrank GorshinSinbadLuther VandrossTommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, and John Witherspoon. Townsend stars as a mild-mannered schoolteacher, who becomes a superhero after his neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is terrorized by street gangs.   Although the film is set in Washington, it was mostly filmed in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. Robert Townsend named the film’s protagonist Jefferson Reed, after one of his childhood heroes, his favorite teacher.

Plot

Jefferson Reed (Robert Townsend) is a mild mannered school teacher in Washington D.C. His neighborhood is terrorized by a local gang called The Golden Lords. One night, Jeff steps in to rescue a woman from the gang only to end up running from them himself. Hiding in a garbage dumpster, he manages to escape. As he climbs out, he is struck down by a glowing green meteorite. His spine is crushed and he receives severe burns. A small fragment of the meteor was left over and taken by a mute vagrant named Marvin (Bill Cosby). Reed awakens several days later in the hospital, but when his bandages are taken off, he is miraculously healed of all injuries.

Jeff soon discovers the meteorite has left him with abilities such as flight, x-ray vision, superhuman strength and speed, invulnerability, healing powers, absorb a book’s content by touch, freezing breath, telepathy with dogs, and telekinesis. Confiding this to his parents Ted (Robert Guillaume) and Maxine (Marla Gibbs), they convince him to use his powers to help the community. His mother designs a costume and as The Meteor Man, he takes on the Golden Lords and their leader Simon Caine (Roy Fegan). He shuts down 15 crack houses, stops 11 robberies, brings peace between the police, the Crips (Cypress Hill), and Bloods (Naughty by Nature) where they begin to work together to rebuild the community they destroyed, and plants a giant garden in the middle of the ghetto.

The Golden Lords learn Meteor Man’s secret identity and his slowly diminishing powers. As the violence gets out of hand and The Golden Lords continue their attacks, the community members plan to make a deal with them, but Jeff instead teaches them about fighting for their beliefs. A now powerless Jeff fights Simon and is beaten up. Simon points his gun at Jeff, but Jeff’s neighbor Earnest Moses (James Earl Jones) throws a record at him, successfully knocking the gun out of Simon’s hand. Suddenly, the neighborhood fights back and the Marvin uses the meteor fragment to strip the Golden Lords of their guns. This enabled the locals to stand up to the Golden Lords as they fight them alongside Marvin’s dogs. Marvin accidentally drops the meteor and both Jeff and Simon grab a piece of the rock, gaining superpowers and engage in a brawl, with Meteor Man winning.

Later, drug lord Mr. Byers (Frank Gorshin) confronts Meteor Man, but is outnumbered by the Bloods and the Crips (who show up to protect Meteor Man). Byers is then arrested by the police after attempting to “take a vacation to the Bahamas.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meteor_Man_(film)

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