12 Darkest South Park Moments Ever

Krazy Kripples (Season 7, Episode 2)

In this controversial episode, the quadriplegic former Superman actor Christopher Reeve’s campaign for stem cell research is lampooned, alongside the controversies raised by opponents to such research. The Boys vow to “stay clear” and not say anything about the debate, consequently featuring little in this episode.

In the world of South Park, the stem cell process is stripped of its medical ambiguity. Reeve is simply shown dipping into his personal supply of dead foetuses. He snaps the neck and sucks out the “juices”. This immediately results in improved body movement.

Rather than be grossed out by Reeve’s crude and potentially immoral process, the citizens of South Park marvel and hail Reeve as an inspiration. However, he soon gains superpowers from his vast consumption of foetuses. He quickly becomes a supervillain with his own Legion of Doom lair. Gene Hackman, who portrayed the antagonist in Superman (1978), is the only one who can stop Reeve’s quest for world domination.

Rather than fight it out, Hackman champions a ban on stem cell research. After this sanction is passed, Hackman declares that Reeve’s “foetus-sucking days are over”. He is sentenced to be exiled somewhere he can never touch another foetus again – the Phantom Zone.