A Terrible Actor
“Batman is a terrible movie.”
“You’re right. It must have been terrible for you.”
Jack Nicholson’s eyebrows shot up at the unexpected response. Sitting across from him, the handsome young man continued with a mischievous grin.
“Sitting in a makeup chair for over ten hours every day is no joke, after all.”
“...That’s not what I meant.”
Facing the legendary actor, who was now narrowing his eyes, the young man pondered for a moment before snapping his fingers.
“Ah, you mean Warner Bros. Since you got a flat fee plus backend points and merchandise royalties... the amount they had to pay you must have been absolutely terrible for them.”
“Kahahah! Just imagining the faces of those executives when the movie blew up and they saw the payout sheets makes the liquor slide down so smooth! ...No, that’s not it, you little punk. Can’t you be serious for just a second?”
Despite his gruff words, Jack’s eyes were filled with deep affection as he looked at Sion.
It was the day after the premiere of the movie Pain Walker. When Jack Nicholson had said, “Let’s grab a drink sometime,” his endearing junior had replied, “How about right now?” and rushed straight over to his house. They say as you get older, it’s these little things that touch your heart.
Jack grinned and offered a glass of whiskey to Sion, who was teasing him while perfectly walking the line of “just slightly too far” that Jack so thoroughly enjoyed.
“Batman created a myth,” Jack said. “And in doing so, it filled the entire film industry with hot air. They thought, ‘Ah, superhero movies make money! We can just grab existing IPs, turn them into movies, and milk them for all they’re worth!’ But that was a massive miscalculation. Batman succeeded solely because it was Batman.”
It was a franchise that had already built a mythical status in the comic book market. But that wasn’t all. The lack of constraints when bringing illustrated ideas into reality also played a huge role in Batman’s success. Bruce Wayne didn’t have superpowers, which meant they could make the film without relying on clunky, primitive CGI.
“All you need is a badass, tricked-out car and a sleek black suit. And as his adversary, a guy in a purple suit who knows how to play a proper lunatic is the icing on the cake. That alone was enough to convince the audience. You could get great shots using nothing but wires and miniature sets, and everyone loved it.”
But could other superhero properties do the same?
“Impossible. Flying through the sky, shooting laser beams from your eyes... As soon as they realized they couldn’t make those look believable, countless studios abandoned superhero movies. A few who couldn’t let go of the dream made things like The Rocketeer or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... but they either flopped or were strictly for kids.”
It seemed like a superhero movie that could appeal to all generations would never appear again.
“There’s no style, no cool factor. They put everyone in fluorescent spandex straight out of the comics—what audience is going to take that seriously? They’d be lucky if people didn’t mistake them for deviants. Anyway, I thought Batman was a one-off. The only property that could actually look good in a live-action film.”
Jack chuckled, realizing he had laid down a massive buildup, and gave a light wink.
“Until Pain Walker came along, that is.”
“Thank you.”
“You little rascal. I heard you took on a villain role to follow in my footsteps, but I didn’t expect you to pull off a performance like that.”
“...”
Sion hadn’t exactly chosen a villain role to follow in Jack Nicholson’s footsteps, but since Jack’s Joker had indeed been a massive help in constructing his own character, Sion neither denied nor confirmed it.
Jack offered his assessment of Sion’s character, James ‘Lucid’ Coleman.
“It was incredibly sophisticated. Even though it’s a superhero movie with superpowers... how should I put it, it felt closer to a modern crime thriller. First of all, the atmosphere of the city, Grandport, at the beginning of the film was fantastic. It had a different vibe from the gloomy Gotham—a massive metropolis, yet somehow deeply sinister. You shot that on location in New York, right?”
“Yes. It turned out quite well, didn’t it?”
It was a confident reply. Grandport, the fictional city created by Tim Burton by blending his signature gothic tones with the original comic’s concept of a “city of stark contrasts between light and shadow,” hinted through its visuals alone that this film would be entirely different from Batman, just as Jack had noted.
“Batman is a figure of power,” Jack continued. “He suffers from the trauma of his parents’ death, but he still exudes an aristocratic aura. But the protagonist of this film, Jack ‘Pain Walker’ Donovan, is nothing like that. Just look at his filthy black coat that looks like it hasn’t been washed in years, and that grotesque, unsettling mask.”
From the very first sequence, the movie showed this man brawling with thugs in a back alley. There were no exaggerated, cartoonish movements typical of superhero films—just raw, physical combat. Watching it, Jack had genuinely wondered if he had walked into a noir film instead of a superhero movie.
The aesthetic immersion of the film was undeniably brilliant, but had he gotten the genre wrong? ...Just as that thought crossed his mind, a man with a gun appeared, and Pain Walker unleashed his superpower. When he raised his hand, a black pistol rendered in CGI materialized in his grip. *Bang!* Instead of muzzle flash, black smoke poured out. Instead of a bullet, the sound of screaming echoed. And a violent wind whipped through the alley.
“It was quite fascinating when that hulking brute shrieked, ‘Mom?!’ Damn, I wondered how this guy could possibly be a hero. A superpower that manifests the opponent’s trauma... Watching those thugs tremble and spill everything they knew, I wondered if a superhero movie was allowed to go this far.”
Indeed, Pain Walker showed no mercy. He crushed villains ruthlessly, and to achieve his goals, he didn’t hesitate to use his superpowers for acts bordering on torture. The film was rated PG-13. Although Batman and Batman Returns had received the same rating, this film felt like it pushed the audience much further psychologically.
“But it might suit the kids of today much better. The CGI has advanced significantly since Batman, and combined with Tim Burton’s signature gloomy directing, it became a highly unique and incredibly gripping story.”
Pain Walker was a man who had lost his pregnant wife and six-year-old daughter to a driver under the influence of drugs. When he entered his dilapidated apartment, his heavily pregnant wife and young daughter welcomed him, covered in blood. But with a single shake of his head, they vanished in an instant—as if to say such trivial ghosts of the past didn’t matter right now.
From there, alongside his ally ‘Whisper,’ who appeared early on, Pain Walker began to drive the narrative forward. Drug-related crimes were rampant in Grandport. It was the very drug the driver who killed Pain Walker’s family had been using. Corrupt police covered it up, taking bribes from the mafia. Grandport was a grand and massive city, just as its name suggested, but the early scenes of the film painted a starkly contrasting picture of decay. Pain Walker pursued the drug ring for his family’s revenge, becoming a target of police surveillance.
“It was an unexpected find. That fellow... I don’t know his name, but the rookie cop who represents the police force and chases after Pain Walker? Ha, his pathetic, loser-like acting was absolutely adorable.”
“It probably wasn’t acting.”
“Really? He has a pretty face, but that’s his actual personality? What’s his name?”
“...It’s probably some name that sounds like a vegetable.”
“Hmm, I see. Anyway, both him and Mickey Rourke... well, it was quite a relief.”
Jack gave a bittersweet smile, thinking of Mickey Rourke—the prodigal son who had half-retired to boxing before returning—finally being recognized as an actor who “actually has chops” through this film.
“That’s the life of an actor. You can’t always get the roles you want. He was a guy under a lot of stress from his career and personal life, but in this film, he seemed to completely unleash his true self.”
It was as if the real-life Mickey Rourke was roaring on screen, wearing the mask of Pain Walker.
“The problem is you, who came after him. Sion Lee.”
“...”
“This is the review I want to give you. You...”
Jack’s next words were simple.
“...are a terrible actor. In the sense that you are following in the footsteps of Batman.”
Sion’s ‘Lucid’ was bound to deceive the studios once again. Because of the charming villain he played, this film would undoubtedly be a massive hit, and seeing that, the studios would surely try to franchise superhero movies all over again.
For an actor, it was a review bordering on the ultimate praise—especially coming from Jack Nicholson, the man who had played the Joker in Batman.
Yet Sion accepted it with a touch of arrogance. Well, he’s not wrong. That was how much effort he had poured into portraying Lucid.
June 12, 1994. Pain Walker was released.
Having previously captured massive public attention through all kinds of “blockbuster marketing,” the film made its presence known like a bomb dropping across America. From its very first day of screening, it became an explosive hit, with crowds packing the box offices.
Of course, most of the attention of the gathered crowds was focused on Sion Lee.
“So the Sion Lee is appearing in a superhero movie.”
“He’s the only ‘real’ one among Hollywood actors.”
“Heh, he paid respect to Spider-Man through Ryan, after all.”
“Damn it, we had no choice but to recognize that level of detail.”
“We have a duty to watch any movie he’s in.”
These were stocky men suspiciously passionate about comic books, looking as if they would push up their glasses with a stern face the moment a movie deviated from the source material.
“Oh my god, seriously. I want to steal the poster.”
“They’re giving out promotional pamphlets. Didn’t you grab one?”
“Not that! The giant poster hanging outside the theater!”
“Hey, quiet down. You’ll blow our cover. I’m stealing it first.”
“Wow... Sion is absolutely stunning in this movie too. How can a face look so handsome and never get tiring no matter how much you look at it?”
These were the female fans who would watch anything as long as Sion was in it.
“But it is a bit out of nowhere. A superhero movie all of a sudden?”
“Yeah. I watched Revenge Fist or whatever last time, and it was so childish.”
“But with that face, and how amazing they made the trailers and posters look, there’s no way I can skip it.”
This was the general public, offering their own cold assessments of the current state of superhero films.
Most of them were in their teens, twenties, or at most, thirties. Released during the vacation and holiday season when people flocked to heavily air-conditioned theaters, the film drew even larger crowds.
With theaters packed to capacity, projectors across the nation began to spin.
And the movie, perfectly catering to the tastes of those craving something different, left the audience utterly spellbound.
Following the whirlwind opening sequence of the film, a man dressed in a pristine white suit stepped out of a car with a bright smile.
Just that single moment made countless audience members—mostly women—feel as if they had literally been struck by a vehicle.
Height: 185 centimeters. Weight: 82 kilograms. A lean, sculpted physique with just the right amount of muscle and zero excess fat.
Sion had meticulously sculpted his appearance to absolute perfection for this film.
James Coleman, the head of a massive pharmaceutical conglomerate who seemed to embody the ideal man, was portrayed as the city’s sole beacon of hope.
The contrast with the shabby Pain Walker who had appeared just moments before made this point stand out even more.
He was undertaking various initiatives to dispel the lethargy that pervaded the entire city.
In addition to basic donations and investments, he gained immense popularity by launching diverse social campaigns.
Someone suggested to James that he should run for mayor in the future, and his response was exquisite.
A line loaded with double meaning.
The audience fell for him, recalling how much Sion’s public image had softened compared to his wild brat days.
Since Sion had recently presented himself as an actor deeply immersed in his craft, the goodwill he had built up over time made his performance feel all the more authentic to the audience.
This, too, was a strategy an actor could employ to draw the audience deeper into the work.
Of course, from a cinematic standpoint, it was inevitable. When a man of flawless beauty constantly displays a benevolent attitude and contributes to public society in every way, who could possibly harbor any ill feelings toward him?
Whoa... is he really the villain?
No, his acting is insane. How are they going to drive the plot forward like this?
This is fascinating. It’s a type of villain we’ve never seen before.
Hmm... it feels very different from the original comic. But this isn’t bad either.
Thus, the audience accepted Sion Lee’s James without any resistance.
But as the ‘day’ passed, the ‘night’ returned.
A prominent figure of the city, a mafia boss, was raging at his underlings.
Everyone trembled at the wrath of the man who had risen to become the king of the underworld by distributing the drugs that plagued the city.
The subordinates complained that more and more members had been deserting the gang lately, subtly hinting at the existence of ‘Pain Walker,’ but their words fell on deaf ears.
He brutally sliced his subordinate’s ear with a knife. Yet, despite his violence, the boss’s face was strangely pale. A deep-seated fear seeped through his heavy build and imposing stature.
The scene shifted. As the boss finally calmed down and took a drink, a man in a pristine white suit suddenly stood behind him.
"Y-You..."
"It was my mistake to trust you."
Sion Lee’s clear voice echoed. As he took another step forward, his leather shoes clicking softly against the floor, the mafia boss spun around in a panic and threw himself to the ground, begging pitifully.
A hand gently touched his head, soft as an angel’s caress. The boss began to ‘dream.’ His mouth hung open, and the life drained from his eyes. In his dream, he was blissfully surrounded by beautiful women. But in reality, the female hand touching his face was a cold blade.
Unlike before, the boss’s ear was sliced off while he wore a vacant smile. A subtle, static madness unfolded on the screen.
The man’s hand tossed the severed ear onto the floor like trash. As a sudden chill ran down the audience’s spines, the camera panned to reveal his figure.
A man wearing a featureless, stark white mask. Lucid.
From his blood-stained hand, the boss’s dream briefly drifted up like smoke. When he brought his hand to his face, the dream materialized on the blank mask like an abstract painting before fading away. Everyone watching was utterly transfixed, frozen in awe.