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| “ | (Cocteau: I hadn't counted on this, but I must say you've worked out beautifully. People are terrified of you.) What's new? People have always been terrified of me. | „ |
| ~ Simon Phoenix talking to Raymond Cocteau. |
Simon Phoenix is the main antagonist of the 1993 sci-fi action film Demolition Man. He is the most crazed and dangerous psychopathic criminal of the 20th century, and only the toughest cop could be a match for him.
He was portrayed by Wesley Snipes.
Biography
Phoenix was a wanted psychopathic criminal responsible for many crimes like theft, kidnapping, robbery, and murder. He declared his own kingdom in South Central within Los Angeles, having all other street gangs, drug dealers and even some murderers under his control.
In his last crime in 1996, he made 30 people hostage for trespassing at his building, but when his arch-enemy, LAPD cop John Spartan interfered, he set alight tanks of C4 and after a brief fight with Spartan, he was captured and taken away before the building was blown to pieces.
Meanwhile, other cops found the corpses of the hostages with Phoenix being found guilty of the murders and condemned. But he framed Spartan for not caring about the hostages and as a result of John too was wrongly accused of killing the civilians, and the two were frozen in a cryogenic chamber, remaining there for years.
36 years later, society has changed drastically, with San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles being merged in one large so-called utopia named San Angeles. Phoenix was released from his confinement with a rehabilitation program that gave him astounding new skills and extra strength to help him adapt to the future.
The reason for his programming was to kill Edgar Friendly, the leader of the resistance group called Scraps who lived in the sewers of San Angeles since the society of Dr. Raymond Cocteau. Phoenix reassembles a new gang of not only the hardened residents of the sewers but also half a dozen defrosted, bloodthirsty criminals of the 20th century he requested released from the cryo-prison and decides to kill the man who releases him, setting on his own goals to spread chaos again.
Simon Phoenix in a scene cut out to shorten running time shoots and kills Spartan's friend Zachary Lamb just when Lenina Huxley and John Spartan go after him on the roads of San Angeles. He was pursued by Sgt. John Spartan of the old LAPD once again. During a car chase, Phoenix admits that the hostages Spartan tried to save in 1996 were already dead before he even arrived, meaning that Spartan was sent into rehabilitation for no reason.
With help of Edgar Friendly and Lt. Lenina Huxley of the SAPD along with the armed Scraps, Spartan breaks into the facility and fights Phoenix, who uses his futuristic skills to his advantage. According to what was cut out, John Spartan kills newer henchmen to Simon Phoenix and battles the goon played by Jesse “The Body” Ventura named Adam who did the work for Phoenix in killing Raymond Cocteau and defeats Adam just before going up against Simon Phoenix one last time.
During an intense battle, Spartan smashes a container of the potent cryogenic liquid against the floor and leaps to grab a malfunctioning crane arm overhead, as the floor and everything in contact with it freezes solid, including Phoenix. Spartan then kicks Phoenix's frozen head off after shouting "Heads up!", reminiscing Simon's predictable loss of his head, and it hits the ground before smashing to pieces.
The damaged equipment in the room then explodes, with Spartan escaping just before the cryo-prison is destroyed, along with Phoenix's decapitated frozen body and the criminals he attempted to set free, ending his reign of chaos forever.
Appearance
Simon Phoenix is an African-American man with an athletic and muscular build, shaven blonde curly hair, and a small black beard. Both his eyes used to be brown, but after waking up from cryo-sleep, his left eye changed to blue. Both of his ears are pierced with silver looped earrings, two on the right, one on the left. In 1996, he wore a black leather jacket with red lining and a black and yellow checker pattern on the back, a gray shirt, and black and white striped trousers. In 2032, he now wears blue dungarees bearing the cryo-prison logo on the chest with an orange vest with a silver stripe underneath and later wore grey underground combat fatigues.
Personality
Simon Phoenix is a ruthless and sick-minded anarchist with no other aims than torturing, killing, committing mayhem and driving the society around him into chaos for his own sadistic pleasure. He also loves playing tricks to others, though his tricks are usually incredibly cruel and cause the deaths of dozens of people.
Though impulsive, maniacal, bloodthirsty and barbaric, Phoenix can be highly intelligent, collected, opportunistic, manipulative, polite and even charming if that could work in his favor, as seen when he speaks with Raymond Cocteau. Phoenix also acknowledges that he is completely evil, but doesn't seem bothered and instead enjoys it.
He is also a very humorous man, and seems to not take his atrocious acts or his fight against Spartan very seriously (much like the Joker) - though, at the end of the movie, Phoenix gets frustrated by Spartan's relentless pursuit and escaping his attacks, resulting in him losing his coolness and revealing the monster within, as an incredibly wrathful, narcissistic, shameless and remorseless psychopath.
Videogame Appearance
Simon Phoenix as appears in the game over screen of Demolition Man.
Quotes
| “ | Is it cold in here or is it just me? | „ |
| ~ Simon Phoenix |
| “ | Wait a minute. This is the future. Where are all the phaser guns? | „ |
| ~ Simon Phoenix |
| “ | I took care of Spartan once and I'll take care of him again. | „ |
| ~ Phoenix vowing to rid himself of Spartan. |
| “ | I want you to loot, pillage, plunder! I want ya to steal! I want you to do all the wonderful things that we used to do before all this happened. | „ |
| ~ Simon Phoenix to his fellow criminals of the 20th century. |
| “ | Will you please kill him? He's p***in' me off! | „ |
| ~ Simon Phoenix telling one of his men to kill Dr. Cocteau. |
| “ | This is the best day of my life! | „ |
| ~ Phoenix's last words as he is about to finish Spartan. |
Gallery
"This is the best day of my life!"
Add a photo to this galleryTrivia
- Phoenix's last name simply came from the mythological fire bird of Egyptian legend which indicated the legendary criminal's desire to bring back greed, cruelty, and anarchy into the world, including the seemingly serene city of San Angeles and make all the chaotic madness last forever.
