BLACK SCORPION 2: AFTERSHOCK (1997)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological, sociological*

In the same way that a lot of Golden Age superhero comics started out strong with the "origin story" and then devolved into predictable routine, the second and last BLACK SCORPION telefilm blows whatever good will the original movie established.

It's likely that the filmmakers had less money to work with this time, given director Jonathan Winfrey's heavy reliance both on steadicam and on shooting on video rather than film. Every "action" scene in AFTERSHOCK is complete rubbish, and heroine Black Scorpion (Joan Severance) does as little fighting as possible. This may or may not be a consequence of the fact that Severance is listed as "co-producer," which may have translated to, "I don't have to block arduous fight-scenes if I don't want to."

During the opening credits excerpts from the first film provide a quick recap as to how L.A. policewoman Darcy Walker became the costumed vigilante Black Scorpion. In addition to becoming the scourge of Los Angeles criminals, the Scorpion also became Darcy's fantasy-ego, able to make moves on her cop-partner Michael that she Darcy was too inhibited to attempt. However, as I mentioned in my review of the original telefilm, Michael's existence is erased from the sequel. In his place is another good-looking cop-partner named Rick (Whip Hubley), but this time, Darcy has fewer reservations about on-the-job fraternizing. Darcy and Rick live together, with no acknowledgement that police departments usually don't endorse such alliances. 

Argyle (Garrett Morris) is back as the tech-wizard sidekick to Black Scorpion, and the only one who knows her identity as Darcy. This time he's dating the much younger Tender Lovin' from the first film, who has given up prostitution for honest labor. Mayor Worth returns as well, but with a meatier part to play in AFTERSHOCK, and his exchanges with his mistress Babette provide some minor comic relief to the dull proceedings. All four characters became regulars on the 2001 teleseries, though not necessarily played by the same actors.

The Scorpion's first big bust in the movie involves corralling the Gangster Prankster (Stoney Jackson), a sort of mashup between the Batman villains Joker and Two-Face. However, Mayor Worth commits the movie's first major villainy. Seismologist Ursula Undershaft (Sherrie Rose) constructs a device designed to counter the repeated earthquakes that have been plaguing the City of Angels lately. Worth tells Babette that he needs more earthquakes in order to get federal aid and balance his books, so he sends a couple of henchmen to sabotage Undershaft's preventive device. The result is that the device creates a more extensive quake, and Undershaft is almost killed in the carnage. She escapes death, but in a trope clearly lifted from BATMAN RETURNS, the scientist's trauma causes her to adopt the super-villain persona of Aftershock. 

Aftershock decides to destroy Los Angeles with her machine, but the Black Scorpion gets in her way. Despite the fact that Aftershock wins the steadicam-happy fight, she decides to break Gangster Prankster and his homeys out of jail so that they can keep the heroine out of Aftershock's heavily pomaded hair. The Prankster does so by knocking on the door of his former getaway driver, Argyle. Despite the fact that Prankster doesn't know anything about Argyle's connection to the Scorpion, the crook wants the ex-crook to make him a car just like the vigilante's. Prankster kidnaps Tender Lovin' to make Argyle obey, and so he ends up giving Prankster the Scorpionmobile. However, later both Scorpion and Argyle later storm Prankster's hideout to rescue Tender Lovin', so I don't know why they just didn't do that from the start. Gangster Prankster apparently dies, though he's revived later for the series.

Throughout Darcy's interactions with Rick, he seems to sense that she's not fully engaged with their relationship, but never realizes that it's because of her double identity. There's a lot of jibber-jabber about Darcy wondering if she really nurtures some deep-seated fear, and this plays into the climax, wherein Scorpion and Aftershock compare traumas and bury the hatchet. Aftershock heroically dies to prevent L.A.'s destruction, but she too comes back to life for the TV show, reverting to super-villainy without explanation.

There are a few sex-scenes but they're as dull as the fights. Severance seems distant and affected this time, so if she was offered to reprise her role in the teleseries, her absence was no great loss. The worst episode of the TV show is not as bad as AFTERSHOCK.