Passing The Baton

by Tom Nichol

Based on characters and situations from the
“Adventures of Superman”

[Author’s Note: This pastiche is an attempt to resolve the major story line, and especially that of the character of Perry White, of the “Adventures of Superman.” As many readers are aware, John Hamilton, who so aptly portrayed Perry White in the series, passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in November of 1958. The producers of the series had initially planned to replace Mr. Hamilton with actor Pierre Watkin, who, as it happened, had portrayed Perry White in the “Superman” serials of 1948 and 1950, and would have portrayed Perry White’s brother, David, in Mr. Hamilton’s place. The also unexpected death of George Reeves in June of 1959, however, forced the cancellation, not only of the plans I have just mentioned, but also of the series itself. (In passing, Mr. Watkin also passed away in December of 1960.)]

Two years had passed since the death of Clark Kent’s adoptive mother, Sarah Kent. Three years had passed since the Morley gang’s unsuccessful attempts to drive the Metropolis Daily Planet’s owner and publisher, Perry White, to a state of insanity to prevent him from testifying against them in their trial for murdering their criminal leader. Also, Steve Martin, who had so viciously attempted to murder Perry’s nephew, Chris, had just recently been executed by a Federal firing squad. Chris was now in the process of retiring from the U. S. Air Force, so that he could better look after his parents, as well as Perry himself. Although Perry was still in excellent health, time and the aging process were taking an inexorable toll on him. As a result, for some months now, he had been secretly been working on a company succession plan, along with his Last Will and Testament and a Letter of Last Instructions. The recent passing of Perry’s wife, Alice, had been an additional incentive, and so had the fact that Jarvis, his long-time butler, had indicated that he would wish to retire in the not-too-distant future.

Surprisingly, Perry had not informed Clark, or his two colleagues, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, nor their long-time mutual friend, Police Inspector William Henderson, about any of these plans. Only their mutual friends, attorney Tom Clark and Dr. Tom Whitlock, had been advised of these developments—and both of them had been sworn to secrecy!

Then, on a cold but clear Monday morning, Jarvis, as was his custom, knocked on his employer’s bedroom door. To his surprise, however, there was no answer. He knocked again, but, once again, there was no response. Alarmed, he opened the door and went in. “Mr. White!” he called out. A moment later, he went to his employer’s bedside. Again, he called out, “Mr. White?” Then, he gently put a hand on his employer’s shoulder; it was cold and stiff. “Sir?” he called one final time. When again there was no response, he finally realized that Perry White had passed away. With tears now trickling down his cheeks, Jarvis backed out of the room, his hands understandably trembling.

Jarvis knew what he had to do next; Perry had given him a specific series of instructions to follow in the event of this eventuality. He now set himself to the sad task of carrying out those directions. Going into the den, he sat down at the telephone desk, pulling open a drawer, from which, in turn, he extracted a list of names and telephone numbers. Taking a deep breath, he dialed the first number on the list. To Jarvis’s immense relief, the call was answered after only the second ring.

Tom Clark’s sleepy voice answered, “Hello?”

“Mr. Clark, it’s Jarvis, Mr. White’s butler. I just found him dead in his bed!”

Tom Clark instantly snapped fully awake. “Oh, Jarvis, I am so sorry!” he said sincerely. “Have you called anyone else yet?”

“Not yet, sir,” Jarvis replied. “Your name was the first one on the list Mr. White drew up. I’ll be calling Dr. Whitlock next.”

“Do that, Jarvis, by all means,” Tom replied. “I’ll call Clark and Inspector Henderson. Clark will call Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. After I talk to Henderson, I’ll notify Perry’s nephew, Chris. Then one or another of us will join you as soon as we can. We’ll get everything taken care of, and see to your well-being as well!”

A sigh of relief came over the wire. “Thank you so much, sir. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to call Dr. Whitlock.”

“Yes, do that, Jarvis,” Tom replied.

With that, the two men said their good-byes. In rapid succession, the attorney placed calls to Clark Kent, Bill Henderson, and finally to Chris White, passing along the sad news of Perry White’s demise.

Tom Whitlock arrived at the White residence within ten minutes, medical bag in hand. Jarvis was waiting for him, tears still streaming down his face. Henderson and Clark arrived shortly thereafter. They each put a comforting hand on the butler’s shoulder.

“I know this is hard on you, Jarvis,” the attorney said, “but we all knew this day would come sooner or later. Even Perry, however, didn’t know WHEN it would come. At least he was able to complete the necessary forms and documents to enable us to deal with his death in a decent and orderly manner.” Wordlessly, the butler nodded his agreement.

As Whitlock began a preliminary post-mortem examination, Clark opened his briefcase and withdrew the documents that he and Perry had so recently completed. He first perused the Letter of Last Instructions. Then, turning to Bill Henderson, he advised the Inspector to phone the County Coroner’s Office, and set the wheels in motion to arrange for a full autopsy. He then explained to Jarvis that, because his late employer had died so unexpectedly, and without a physician being present, a full post-mortem examination was required by state law.

“I understand, Sir,” the butler responded, in a voice that was understandably dull with sorrow.

As Henderson made the necessary arrangements over the phone, Dr. Whitlock emerged from Perry’s bedroom, clutching his medical bag.

“What’s the verdict, Doctor?” the attorney inquired.

“Heart failure is what it looks like to me,” Whitlock replied. “Unless the Coroner finds something to indicate otherwise, I think we can classify his death as being due to natural causes.”

In due course, the Coroner conducted the autopsy. As Dr. Whitlock had expected, the cause of Perry White’s was officially classified as being due to natural causes. Perry’s body was then released to the funeral home that Perry had chosen in advance, and the formal preparations for his funeral got under way. A preliminary Death Notice was prepared for submission to the Daily Planet. Chris White arrived at the funeral home to formally supervise the funeral arrangements.

An hour or so later, Clark, Whitlock, and Henderson joined Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen in Perry White’s former office at the newspaper he had run for so many years. As might be expected, Jimmy and Lois were both in tears, and even Clark Kent’s face was unusually solemn. By prior arrange-ment, Clark had taken over as Acting Editor-In-Chief, and work had already begun on a special edition of the Daily Planet, announcing Perry’s passing, and paying an appropriate tribute to his many accomplishments. Lois and Jimmy naturally did what they could to help out, despite their grief.

Clark telephoned Chris at the funeral home to obtain his approval for the Death Notice. Chris promptly gave that approval, and advised that he would join them shortly, once the funeral arrangements were fully underway.

Sure enough, an hour later, Perry White’s nephew was sitting with Clark Kent and his friends and colleagues in his late uncle’s office. As Perry’s attorney, and as executor of his estate, Tom Clark took charge of the gathering. He explained the details of the company succession plan, as well as Perry’s Last Will and Testament and the Letter of Last Instructions.

To the others’ surprise, Tom Clark informed them that, once Perry’s funeral had been concluded, his nephew, Chris, would take over as Editor-In-Chief. He explained that, during his military service, Chris had taken classes in journalism, and had in fact earned a Master’s Degree in the field, thereby becoming fully qualified to take the reins of the Planet. The others sighed in relief, realizing that the younger White’s training and experience as an officer would stand him in good stead in this regard.

“I should also explain,” Tom went on, “that, prior to his death, Perry decided that some slight changes in the organization of the company should be made. To be specific: Clark, you will become the new Associate Editor-In-Chief. Lois, you are now the official Women’s Editor. Finally, Jimmy, you will become the official Chief Photographer for the Daily Planet. All of you will receive appropriate raises to reflect your new duties.”

“Mind you, folks,” Chris put in with a smile,” that most definitely does NOT mean that ANY of you will be stuck behind a desk all day! Despite your new titles, I still want and expect that all of you will continue to work on the street as you always have! Uncle Perry was very emphatic on that point!” The three journalists grinned in relief.

Then, somewhat reluctantly, Jimmy brought up a question that he knew had been a concern to all of them: “If you gentlemen don’t mind my asking, how is the Planet doing financially?”

Now it was Tom’s turn to smile. “I was wondering when someone was going to bring that up,” he replied. “I’m sure you’ll all be glad to hear that the Metropolis Daily Planet is in better financial shape than it has ever been! That being the case, Chris and I can assure you that NO ONE at this newspaper will lose their job as a result of this transition!” That brought a sigh of relief from Clark, Lois, and Jimmy, who had naturally been worried about that very possibility.

At this point, Lois spoke up. “What’s going to happen to Jarvis, now that Perry is no longer with us? I remember that he had mentioned in passing that he wanted to retire soon, but I’m sure he never thought that something like this would happen, or that it would happen so soon after Perry finished his plans!”

Tom nodded his understanding. “You needn’t be concerned about that, Lois! Before he died, Perry set up a trust fund specifically for Jarvis’s benefit—a fund that will enable Jarvis to live out his retirement years in peace and comfort!”

“Oh, thank God!” Lois replied fervently. “AMEN!” the others replied just as fervently.

With that, Tom led them all to a large meeting room on the ground floor. There, by prior arrangement, a general meeting of all the employees of the Metropolis Daily Planet was held. During that meeting, Tom soberly explained what had happened, and the changes that would now have to take place in the company’s organizational structure. The employees were all relieved to hear that their jobs were secure, and they warmly welcomed their new Editor-In-Chief with open arms. Once their questions had been answered, the entire staff of the Daily Planet whirled into action to complete the Special Edition announcing Perry White’s death, and paying tribute to his long and brilliant career.

Perry White’s funeral took place four days later. Numerous local, state, and Federal officials and dignitaries attended. As had been expected, Superman made a brief appearance, in which he offered his heartfelt sympathy on the sad occasion. Shortly thereafter, Perry White was formally laid to rest next to the grave of his late wife, Alice.

As the crowd slowly dispersed, Clark, Lois, Jimmy, and Chris began what would be a series of discussions as to the future of the Metropolis Daily Planet. While they all agreed that the editorial policy which Perry had so firmly established must and would remain in place, all of them knew that numerous changes were unavoidably in the offing. All of them, however, knew that, in large measure, Perry White’s careful planning had laid a solid foundation for the future of the Metropolis Daily Planet, one which all involved could look forward to with confidence. The proverbial baton had now been passed into their hands, and they were all resolved to handle that baton with courage and respect.

Posted: January 8, 2025
Jim