The Meteor Man (1993)

The Meteor Man (1993) Full Recap

In a small neighborhood in Washington, D.C, a man named Jefferson Reed wakes up in his apartment and gets ready for work. After he leaves his apartment, he sees his neighbor, Mr Moses, trying out his new wigs. Jefferson finds this strange, but Moses just appears to be enjoying himself, and he greets his neighbor. Jefferson then asks if Moses can give him one of the music records that he plays every morning.

Moses finds this funny and jokes that he can't let go of any of his vinyl records because they're precious to him. After this, Jefferson leaves the apartment and meets his landlord, Mrs Walker, who thanks him for the tickets he gave her for a show later that night. Jefferson says it's nothing, and he tells Mrs Walker that when his band becomes popular, he'll make sure to give her a shoutout for always being patient with him whenever his rent isn't ready. Mrs Walker smiles when she hears this, and Jefferson heads to the school where he works as a teacher.

When he gets there, his friend, Michael, asks if he's ready for the show tonight, and he says he is. Michael then mentions that the first show is sold out already, and that he has even invented a machine that can monitor the vibrations of the audience. He adds that after the show, he wants Jefferson to meet some girls with him. Jefferson says he's not interested in that, but Michael mentions that it's high time he forgets about his ex.

Shortly after, the school principal, Mrs Laws, calls Jefferson to her office. When he gets there, Mrs Laws seems pissed and tells Jefferson to take a look at a student named Louis, who got badly injured after he was bullied in the school. His parents also happen to be in the office, and they look quite pissed. Jefferson then asks what happened to Louis, but before he responds, his mom interrupts him and says that her son got bullied after listening to his teacher's advice.

She says that she and her husband always tell Louis to stand up for himself to fight the bullies, but he doesn't listen to them. She adds that Louis recently told her that Jefferson teaches his students to run from bullies and try to avoid them as much as possible. Jefferson says he was only trying to help, but Louis’ mom mentions that he's not really helping her son because every bully at the school is now beating him up. She still seems pissed and mentions that a younger girl recently beat up Louis and left him with multiple injuries.

After this, she asks if Jefferson has ever stood up to anybody, but before he responds, she goes close to him and nearly attacks him. Mrs Laws then stops her and says that she'll handle the situation. As Louis’ mom steps back, Mrs Laws tells Jefferson that he has to remember that he's a substitute teacher at the school, and that he shouldn't be giving the kids bad advice. Jefferson says he was simply talking about how life is, but Mrs Laws tells him that she doesn't care.

She adds that he has to teach them only from books and not from his philosophy on life. Jefferson says he's sorry for that, and he eventually leaves the Principal's office. Later that day, after work, Jefferson sees Moses and his parents, Mr and Mrs Reed, walking home together. As he joins them, his parents talk about the gangs in the community and how they have to do something to stop them.

Almost immediately, Jefferson sees some members of the neighborhood's most popular gang, Golden Lords, harassing someone on the sidewalk. Jefferson says that they have to cross the street, but Mr Reed says he won't do that because he's not scared of them. Moses tells Mr Reed that he's making a mistake, but he still insists that he'll stand up to them. As Jefferson, Mrs Reed, and Moses cross the road, Mr Reed walks up to the gang members and intentionally bumps into one of them named Goldilocks.

Goldilocks’ cigarette falls to the ground, but he decides to pick it up without doing anything to Mr Reed. Suddenly, Mr Reed steps on the cigarette, and Goldilocks looks pissed. As he nearly punches Mr Reed, his partner tells him that there are cops in the neighborhood, so he stops. He then walks away and says that he'll come back later to see Mr Reed.

Mr Reed still doesn't look bothered, and he insults the gang members while saying that he won't cross the street for anyone. Much later, Jefferson gets ready to leave for his show, but he realizes that there's no gas in his car. He then goes to meet his parents while they're in the community center for a meeting with the other residents in the neighborhood. As his parents see him, they ask what he wants, and he mentions that he just needs some money for gas.

His mom helps him out with this, but his dad seems bothered that he keeps missing the community meetings. Almost immediately, Mrs Walker distributes some caps to the residents and says that they'll also be given a whistle which they can blow to alert people to call the police when the Golden Lords are around. Moses doesn't like this idea because it's dangerous, and another resident agrees with him. Jefferson then tells his parents that he has to go to his show, but that he believes Moses and the other resident are right.

As he mentions that they can't win the battle against the Golden Lords, Mrs Reed tells him not to get his father pissed. Mr Reed then stands up to encourage the other residents in the community to stand up for themselves against the gangs. After Jefferson leaves the community center, he sees that someone has broken into his car to steal his radio and his bass. He looks disappointed by this, but since he can't do anything, he just picks up the bottles beside the road and puts them inside the garbage can.

Suddenly, he sees a lady getting robbed in the corner by one of his students, Dre, and another young boy. Jefferson is shocked by this, and he goes into the corner to ask Dre what he's doing. Dre looks shocked by this, but the lady quickly escapes before she gets hurt. Almost immediately, the Golden Lords arrive at the scene, and their leader, Simon, tells his men to grab Jefferson for him.

Jefferson runs away after hearing this, and shortly after, he decides to hide inside a garbage dumpster. Interestingly, Dre has now been initiated as a member of the Golden Lords, and he joins the others to look for Jefferson. He eventually finds Jefferson inside the dumpster, but since his teacher is always nice to him, he tells the others that no one is there. Following this, the Golden Lords leave the scene, but Jefferson remains inside the dumpster.

After a few hours, Jefferson gets out of the dumpster and sees a homeless man named Marvin sleeping on the ground while his dogs are with him. Suddenly, Jefferson sees a bright light in the area, and as he looks at the sky, he sees a large meteorite heading toward him. Despite trying to run away, the meteorite still follows Jefferson and hits him. A large part of it gets absorbed into Jefferson's body while he screams in pain.

He eventually falls to the ground and goes unconscious after his bones get crushed and his body suffers severe burns. Almost immediately, Marvin walks up to him and sees a small fragment of the meteorite on the ground. After he takes it away, someone calls an ambulance for Jefferson, and he's taken to the hospital. When he gets there, the doctors rush him into surgery but are left shocked when his body absorbs one of the fragments that had been sticking out.

Shortly after, the surgery is completed, and Jefferson's head gets bandaged due to the severity of his condition. Michael eventually comes over to see Jefferson, and he prays for his friend. Before he leaves the room, a nurse named Vanessa comes in to check up on Jefferson. Michael tries to flirt with her, but she just ignores him and tells him to leave because visiting hours are over.

After he leaves, Vanessa tells Jefferson that he's doing much better. She adds that he just needs to continue resting so he can fully recover. Shortly after, a number of tests are carried out on Jefferson, and the doctors are left intrigued by the results. The next day, they all head to Jefferson's room, and when they get there, a doctor named Jones tells a nurse to take off Jefferson's bandages.

After she does this, the doctors look shocked to see Jefferson's face, and this leaves him confused because he doesn't look different. Jones then mentions that Jefferson was likely diagnosed improperly, but another doctor says that he was actually suffering from third-degree burns. She adds that there's just no scar tissue on his face anymore, but Jones tries to explain what might've happened. Almost immediately, one of the doctors accidentally places a book on Jefferson’s hand, and the contents get absorbed into his brain.

He then corrects Jones and says that the theory he's trying to explain is wrong. He also tells another doctor to confirm what he just said from the book. Surprisingly, Jefferson gets it right, and one of the doctors questions Jones’ knowledge of the medical condition. Jefferson also tells Jones that he has to read one of the chapters again to understand what he's talking about.

As Jones asks why, Jefferson tries to explain the contents of the chapter, but he suddenly forgets everything. Jones then mentions that he'll run a few more tests on Jefferson before allowing him to leave. That night, while Jefferson is in his room, he suddenly realizes that he has X-ray vision, and he can see through anything. He finds this strange, but he also starts wondering if he has superpowers.

The next day, Michael picks Jefferson up from the hospital and takes him home. When he gets home, Jefferson looks happy to see his dog, Ellington. As he then opens the cupboard to get something for Ellington to eat, he hears his dog telling him what he wants. Jefferson looks shocked by this, but he realizes that he can now understand Ellington.

Shortly after, Michael enters the room, and Jefferson tells him about what happened. He also mentions that he can see through things and absorb the contents of a book for a few seconds. Michael doesn't believe this, but Jefferson proves it to him by absorbing the contents of one of Michael's magazines. Michael looks impressed by this, and he also realizes that Jefferson only retained the book’s contents for thirty seconds.

As he wonders if his friend has superpowers, Jefferson says that he got hit by a meteor, and that he thinks the accident gave him powers. Michael looks amazed by this, and he asks if it's possible that someone else got hit, but Jefferson says he doesn't know. Meanwhile, Marvin still has the small meteorite fragment with him, and as he touches it, he's able to see through a nearby apartment. He then confuses the couple living there by changing the TV channels a few times.

After this, he makes some tea for himself and seems to be enjoying the benefits of having the small fragment. The next day, Mr Reed gets attacked by the Golden Lords for what he did the other day. Elsewhere, while Jefferson is in a staff meeting at the school, one of the teachers complains about how some of the students have refused to change their bad ways despite his efforts to help them. Jefferson then stands up to defend the students, but as he's talking, he sees through the walls and watches some of the kids doing bad things around the school.

He looks disappointed by this and eventually appears to be short of words, but another teacher continues from where he stopped. Later that night, after Mr Reed returns from the hospital, Goldilocks and some of the Golden Lords come to the neighborhood again. As Goldilocks tries to touch Mr Reed, Jefferson stops him and tells him not to do that. Goldilocks looks shocked by this, and he tells two of his guys to beat up Jefferson.

As they approach him, Jefferson throws them away with his bare hands, and everyone looks shocked. One of the gang’s big guards then punches Jefferson, but he breaks his hand in the process. Another one tries to hit Jefferson with a car, but he just stops it with his bare hands, and the gang member flies out through the windshield. Goldilocks looks shocked by this, and he tells his fellow gang members that they have to leave.

He also tells Jefferson that they'll come back for him soon. After they leave, the residents of the neighborhood look amazed by what Jefferson did, and his parents also ask what happened to him. Jefferson then explains that he got hit by a meteor, and his parents look shocked. However, Jefferson tells them that he doesn't want anyone else to know.

Mrs Reed says that everyone saw it already, but Jefferson tells her to make something up. The next day, Ellington tries to wake Jefferson up early, but he doesn't listen to his dog. He eventually wakes up very late and looks disappointed by this. As he leaves the building, Goldilocks and his men stop their car in front of Jefferson and start shooting at him.

He eventually falls to the ground, and Goldilocks looks happy about this. After they leave the scene, Goldilocks talks about how they've gotten rid of Jefferson, but one of his men suddenly looks back and sees that Jefferson has stood up again. The Golden Lords are shocked by this, and Goldilocks tells them to go back to finish the job. Before they get to Jefferson, he runs away and eventually flies toward a pole in the neighborhood.

Goldilocks and the other guys are shocked by this, and they leave the scene immediately. As Jefferson then lands on the ground, he causes an earthquake and looks shocked by this. After he returns home, his dad mentions that he and Jefferson's mom have been thinking a lot about his powers. Jefferson says he's scared because the Golden Lords know who he is, but Mr Reed tells him to relax.

He then mentions that his son has to use his powers to stand up to the gang and make them leave the neighborhood. Jefferson doesn't think this is good, but Mr Reed takes him to meet Mrs Reed, who is already sewing a costume, which she says her son will wear as a superhero named Meteor Man. Jefferson doesn't seem sure about this, but his parents tell him that he has to use his powers to help the community. Elsewhere, Goldilocks reports to Simon that they encountered someone who could fly in the neighborhood.

Simon doesn't believe this, and he tells Goldilocks to stop making things up. Goldilocks insists that he's telling the truth, and Simon instructs him to send two recruits to monitor Jefferson. The next day, at the community center, Mrs Walker commends Jefferson for helping the community the other day. She adds that Mrs Reed already told her that Jefferson got hit by a meteor and now has superpowers.

Jefferson cannot believe that his mom really told Mrs Walker, but she mentions that she's just proud of her son. Mrs Walker then announces that Jefferson has to help the community by patrolling the neighborhood a few times every week. She adds that he'll also be given a phone that can be used to call him when there's an emergency. As she also suggests a few other ways for him to protect the neighborhood, he looks disappointed and doesn't seem interested in becoming Meteor Man.

Later that night, as he prepares to tell everyone that he can't become Meteor Man, he arrives home and sees a resident of the neighborhood being taken away in an ambulance after she was attacked by the Golden Lords. Moses looks sad about this, and Jefferson hugs him while saying that something like that won't happen again. Following this, Jefferson starts training with his powers, and he also realizes that he has the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes. Shortly after, his mom finishes up with his costume, and Jefferson flies out of the house to begin his work as Meteor Man.

That night, Jefferson takes down several drug warehouses and stops a number of attempted robberies. During a battle between two inner-city street gangs and the police, Jefferson steps in and urges them to make peace. Meanwhile, Simon checks out one of the warehouses that was raided, and he looks pissed when he realizes what happened. The next day, a news reporter named Janice talks about Meteor Man on the news, and Michael says that he finds her attractive.

Jefferson doesn't pay attention to this, and he looks pleased when he hears about what he did. Janice also mentions that the two inner-city street gangs that made peace with the police have vowed to work together to rebuild their community. Just then, Janice mentions that she has gotten in touch with Meteor Man, and she's going to interview him. Surprisingly, it turns out that someone else has called Janice and claimed to be Meteor Man, and this gets Jefferson pissed.

The next day, a drug lord named Byers meets up with Simon and some other gang leaders in the state. He then complains about how his drug warehouses have been raided. As he asks Simon if he knows who Meteor Man is, because the raid started in his territory, he says that he doesn't know. Byers then places a bounty on Meteor Man and says that anyone who kills him will be given two million dollars.

Later that night, Jefferson clears a field and plants a giant garden in the middle of the ghetto. The next morning, everyone looks shocked by this, and Janice reports it again on the news. She then mentions that if Meteor Man is ever in her neighborhood, she wouldn't mind paying for his lunch. Jefferson and Michael look happy about this, and they continue watching the news.

The next day, at the school, Simon and his gang members try to attack Jefferson because they think he's Meteor Man. Jefferson denies this, but Simon still doesn't believe him. Suddenly, Michael comes into the classroom to tell Jefferson that he's late for a meeting with the Principal. Michael also gets held in the room, but he mentions that he just heard that Meteor Man has busted another warehouse.

Since there's no way Jefferson can be Meteor Man if Michael is telling the truth, Simon says sorry for bringing his boys to the school. Goldilocks says he's sure that Jefferson is Meteor Man, but Simon ignores him and leaves with his gang members. Later that night, someone sneaks into Jefferson's apartment and steals his costume. Ellington tries to wake him up, but he appears to be in a deep sleep.

The next morning, Jefferson figures out that someone broke into his apartment, and he realizes that his costume is missing. As he wonders if the Golden Lords took it, he hears on a radio show that Meteor Man has come around for an interview. Interestingly, Jefferson hears Michael's voice and realizes that his friend stole the costume. Michael also mentions that he's at the Washington City Mall, and that he would like to invite Janice to join him for a meal.

Goldilocks hears this in his car and says that it will be his last meal. Simon also calls Byers and tells him to get his two million dollars ready because he's about to kill Meteor Man. Shortly after, Michael appears to be using the costume to speak to girls at the mall. The Golden Lords eventually arrive, and as he sees them, he looks shocked and tries to run away.

Unfortunately, the Golden Lords happen to have surrounded the mall, and Michael looks scared. Suddenly, Jefferson arrives at the mall and uses his laser eyes to sabotage the gang’s guns. He then carries Michael out of the mall by using his hand to make his friend fly. Everyone looks shocked by this, but Simon sees Jefferson and realizes that he's the real meteor man.

After Jefferson gets out of the mall, he scolds Michael for stealing his costume. Michael tries to explain himself, but Jefferson just collects his costume and flies away. Later that night, Mrs Walker and Jefferson's parents organize a party to thank him for his efforts in protecting the community. Jefferson appreciates this, but he suddenly hears a loud gunshot outside the community center.

As he heads outside, he sees that the Golden Lords are around, and they're about to attack his mom. They eventually release her, and as everyone gathers outside, Simon says that he came to give Jefferson a message. Suddenly, Simon and his men start shooting at the residents, but Jefferson moves very fast to stop the bullets. After this, the Golden Lords stop shooting, and Simon tells Jefferson that he can't be everywhere, and that he can't surely save everyone.

As they leave, Jefferson looks disappointed by what happened, and he also looks worried when he checks his hand and sees that he's bleeding. The next day at school, Michael apologizes for what he did, but Jefferson says it's nothing. As they then shake hands, Michael realizes that Jefferson is now feeling pain, and he asks if his friend is losing his powers. Jefferson says he doesn't know, but that he'll have to leave school early because he's feeling sleepy.

Later that day, while Jefferson is sleeping at home, Byers brings his men to the neighborhood, and they find Jefferson's apartment. Ellington tries to wake Jefferson up, but when he doesn't answer, the dog drags him to a good hiding spot. When Byers and his men enter the apartment, Simon shows up and asks what they're doing in his territory. Byers says he's doing Simon's job, but Simon mentions that he has everything under control.

He adds that he has just learned that Jefferson is losing his powers, and that he'll soon become weak. After this, they all leave the house, and much later, Jefferson wakes up. Mr Reed says that the Golden Lords came earlier, and Jefferson asks why they didn't wake him up. Michael says they tried, but that he didn't wake up.

He adds that he has figured out what's wrong with Jefferson. He says that the meteorite changed Jefferson's molecular cell structure, which causes him to sleep more while his powers are being re-energized. As he mentions that Jefferson gets drained every time he uses his powers, Mrs Reed tells her son that he has to go away for a few days to get better. Jefferson says he can't just leave the community, but his dad mentions that it's the best option he has.

Jefferson doesn't like this, and he says that he's not leaving. Later that night, Jefferson sees what the Golden Lords did to his community, and this makes him sad. He eventually goes to the community center and hears Mrs Walker telling the other residents that they have to find a way to send Jefferson out of the neighborhood because he's the reason why the Golden Lords have been terrorizing them recently. She adds that if they can send him away, they might be able to make a deal with the Golden Lords.

As she suggests voting on it, Jefferson says that they don't have to, because he'll leave willingly. He says sorry for what happened earlier, but he mentions that he cannot believe what they're talking about. He adds that he doesn't know how they can stop crime if they continue pretending like they don't see it. After he leaves, he heads to his room to pack his things, but Michael tries to convince him to stay.

Jefferson says he can't, and as he continues arranging his things, Dre and his partner call the Golden Lords to inform them that the Meteor Man is still around. Suddenly, Simon brings his men to the neighborhood, and as Jefferson sees them, he decides to head down to meet them. Michael says he can't do that because he no longer has powers, but Jefferson mentions that he can't just stay back and do nothing. After he goes downstairs, Simon and his boys start beating him up, and everyone in the neighborhood looks disappointed by this.

The Meteor Man (1993) Ending Explained

Marvin also sees this and decides to head out with his dogs and the remaining fragment of the meteorite. Just as Simon is about to shoot Jefferson, Moses throws one of his vinyl records at the gangster’s hand to make his gun fall to the ground. Simon looks pissed by this, and as he picks up the gun, Moses’ head gets stuck in the window. Before Simon does anything, Dre and his friend decide to help Jefferson.

As Simon’s gun gets snatched and thrown away, Simon looks pissed and tells his other gang members to shoot the boys. Before this happens, Marvin strips them of their guns, and they look shocked. The residents then come out of their houses and attack the Golden Lords. During the fight, the meteorite fragment falls to the ground, and Simon and Jefferson end up holding it together.

This gives both of them powers, and they start an intense battle. After a while, Simon gets the upper hand, and as he's about to throw a dumpster at Jefferson, he hears Ellington encouraging his owner. This gets Simon pissed, and he throws the dumpster on Ellington. Jefferson looks devastated by this, but there's nothing he can do.

Simon then throws Jefferson on the roof and tells his men to shoot at him to show that he's bulletproof. As they do this, Simon looks happy and tells them that he's going to be a god on Earth. Suddenly, Jefferson stands on top of the roof while wearing his costume. He then attacks Simon and takes him down.

He also ties Simon up and takes his powers. After this, Jefferson goes to see Ellington, and he wonders if he can save his dog. Just then, Marvin shows up and uses the powers he has left to save Ellington. Almost immediately, Byers arrives with his gang and says that it's nice to meet Meteor Man.

Before he and his men can do anything, the gangs that Jefferson helped the other day show up at the scene to defend him. As they appear to have surrounded the neighborhood, Byers looks scared and says that he's leaving already. After he returns to his car, though, the cops arrive at the scene to arrest him and all his gang members. Jefferson smiles when he sees this, and he looks happy because his community will now be free again.

Even though Jefferson didn’t initially like the idea of confronting bullies or standing up to the Golden Lords, he eventually changed his mind after he got superpowers. Unfortunately, his powers didn’t last long, but this didn’t stop him from fighting Simon and his men alone. Seeing this, the residents of the neighborhood became encouraged, and they decided to stand up for themselves, after years of doing nothing. In this story, we learn that, even without powers, it only takes one brave person to inspire a whole community to take a stand.