Otis (Superman)

Otis is a character in the 1978 film Superman and it's 1980 sequel Superman II. He is portrayed by Ned Beatty.

Biography

Otis is the incompetent henchman of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). He is treated with very little (if any) respect by Luthor. Despite this, Otis is staunchly loyal to Luthor, always addressing him as "Mr Luthor".

In his first appearance, Otis is followed by a detective wanting to find the hideout of Luthor. However, Luthor, who is hiding in an underground subway station, watches the detective on security camera and kills him by pushing him onto the railway tracks causing him to be hit by a train.

Luthor's diabolical plan was to destroy the entire West Coast of the US and replace it with a new one. To achieve this, Luthor was to direct a US nuclear missile to hit the San Andreas faultline and trigger a major earthquake. However, Otis got the calculation wrong casuing Luthor to direct a second missile. Luthor's plan goes awry when Superman flies to prevent the detonation. Superman arrests Luthor and Otis and delivers them to prison.

While in prison, Otis shared a cell with Luthor. Otis unwittingly annoys a fellow inmate Fogelstein by calling him a "bedwetter". Luthor had arranged for his girlfriend Eve Teschmacher to break them out of prison in a hot air balloon. Unfortunately, Otis is too heavy for the rope ladder and Luthor abandons him. It is likely that Otis was given an extended sentence and solitary confinement for his excape attempt.