DESCRIPTION:
As Jeremiah and Kurdy deal with a youngster who's assumed the identity of a superhero,
Markus keeps a surprising secret: he's in love with a woman who survived exposure to the
Big Death virus by remaining sealed in a isolation chamber.
Full episode
summary and viewer comments >>>
STARRING:
^ Top ^
ADDITIONAL INFO:
- The phrase at the beginning of the episode that Shashona says, "Miquè Tah-goov"
means "Hello Friend" and the symbol he drew was a ward against misfortune.
- Pay attention to the comic book shown at the end of the episode and you might find
something familar on the top left corner.
- The German title for this episode is "Mann aus Eisen, Frau hinter Glas" and is a literal
translation of the English title.
- This episode was originally written on Oct.12.2001.
MONICA'S REVIEW:
I was really pleased to see more of an indication of where this series will take us. JMS
really put me through the wringer with this episode as he made me laugh outloud, cry and also
made me think about issues like morality and religion. It was a well balanced episode which
developed the characters of Markus and Jeremiah quite a lot.
The first story was about the "Man of Iron" or Captain Iron as he calls himself. This
storyline revealed how strongly JMS feels about comics and how they shaped -his- morality. It
was especially moving to see how important they became to this young man and ultimately, the
impact it had on Jeremiah and the rest of the world. Also, Jeremiah's speech in the Iron Cave
to God was quite powerful and thought provoking.
The second story was the "Woman Under Glass" or Meaghan (AKA Typhoid Mary) who somehow survived
the Big D even though she has the deadly virus. When Erin found out about Meaghan, she was
faced with the decision to share it with the others or trust Markus. I hope we get to see
more of Meaghan in future episodes because she was a very complex character who was portrayed
quite convincingly. Plus, she could be the key to curing the disease at some point!
THEO RATING: 8
^ Top ^
QUESTIONS RAISED:
- What area did Jeremiah and Kurdy happen upon?
- What does it mean to be "married" in this world?
- What does John (Captain Iron) know about the Valhalla Sector and why did that name send
him into panic mode?
- How, why and when was John apparently used as a lab experiment?
- What information does Captain Iron's laptop have about the Valhalla Sector or did the
Captain delete it?
- What long term affects will the teachings of Captain Iron have on the kids that he
visited?
- When the council at Thunder Mountain learn about Meaghan?
- What role will Meaghan play in finding out more about the Big D and/or a cure?
- Is there a significance to the code (5433) Markus used when he saw Meaghan?
- Will Thunder Mountain stock up on forks from Millie's Diner? ;)
RELATED INFO:
See all photos from this episode and read
our collection of favorite quotes as well.
JMS AT RASTB5M SAID:
MAR.7.2002
It should be particularly fun for comics fan, given the first half
of that title and how it plays in the story....
FEB.18.2002
[This is] a somewhat fanciful tale of a guy who grew up after the
Big Death believing that some day the super heroes he read about as a kid would come back
and fix things...and a tale of a most unusual romance between another of our main
characters -- Markus Alexander, head of what was once the
NORAD Thunder Mountain complex -- and a woman whose existence has been kept secret from
everyone for years.
WARNER AT TV ZONE SAID:
DEC.1.2002
When I first read this script I thought, "This feels corny to me."
However, after we filmed it, I recieved a rough cut of the story to watch. By the time it got
to the end when Jeremiah dons the Captian Iron costume and goes off to fight the bad guys I
had tears in my eyes. It was such a wonderful, magical episode. The overall message of the
show is that in all the darkness there is light or hope. It's difficult to get that point
across without being corny. Luckily Joe Straczynski and Sam Egan are both able to ride that
fine line rather smoothly. This was just one example of that and I was suitably impressed.
The story turned out to be one of my favorites in the first season.
