Darkman 1990

As the sun dips below the horizon in an unnamed metropolis, the streets are set ablaze with tension as Eddie Black (character name), a ruthless gangster, awaits the arrival of his arch-nemesis, Robert Durant. Durant’s encroachment on Black’s turf has sparked a fire of retaliation that threatens to engulf the entire city. The air is thick with anticipation as Black’s henchmen stand at attention, their eyes fixed on the entrance of the warehouse where this showdown will play out.

When Durant and his cohorts finally arrive, they’re subjected to a thorough search for any weapons that might give them an edge in the impending confrontation. Satisfied that these interlopers are unarmed, Black ushers them into the dimly lit warehouse, where he delivers his ultimatum: abandon your claims on my territory or face the consequences. Durant’s response is a nod to one of his loyal followers, Smiley, who springs into action with an unexpected flourish.

With an Uzi cleverly concealed within the prosthetic limb of one of his comrades, Smiley opens fire on Black’s men, catching them off guard and sending them crashing to the ground in a hail of bullets. As the dust settles, Durant emerges victorious, his terms laid bare before the defeated gangster: retreat from my territory or suffer the same fate as your fallen cohorts.

As Black’s pleas fall on deaf ears, Durant takes matters into his own hands, using a cigar cutter to exact a gruesome revenge. For each of Black’s demands that go unheeded, Durant snips off another finger, adding it to his growing collection of macabre mementos - trophies that serve as grim reminders of the price of defiance.

Meanwhile, in a world far removed from the violence and bloodshed that has just unfolded, Dr. Peyton Westlake toils away in a science lab, consumed by his quest to create artificial skin cells that can withstand even the most intense exposure to light. Despite his best efforts, however, Westlake’s experiments are met with failure after failure, as each sample he creates proves unstable and prone to disintegration.

The stress of his work is temporarily alleviated when Julie Hastings, his lovely girlfriend, drops by his apartment with a private memorandum from her office. As they share a romantic evening together, the pressures of Westlake’s professional life seem to fade into the background, replaced by the warmth and intimacy that only love can bring.

As Julie delves deeper into the enigmatic memo, she uncovers a web of deceit tied to her boss, Louis Strack, whose true nature she begins to question. When Strack issues a stern warning to cease her investigation, Julie refuses to back down, her determination fueled by a growing sense of unease. Meanwhile, Westlake (actor name), ever the devoted suitor, proposes marriage to Julie, only to be met with hesitation and uncertainty from his would-be bride.

As Westlake retreats to his laboratory, the clock ticks closer to 99 minutes, punctuated by an unexpected blackout that plunges the room into darkness. Yakatito, his trusted assistant, reveals a groundbreaking discovery: skin cells remain stable beyond the 100-minute mark. Westlake’s eyes light up with intrigue, as he posits that the key to the experiment lies in the realm of light.

Just as Westlake steps away to make a phone call, Durant (actor name) makes his presence known, unleashing a brutal assault on the unsuspecting doctor and his team. The ruthless leader demands the incriminating memo Julie had discovered, which she had foolishly left at her apartment. Westlake, defiant in the face of torture, maintains his innocence, even as Durant’s goons subject him to a vicious beating, culminating in Yakatito’s gruesome shooting and Westlake’s subsequent brutalization.

As the cruel punishment reaches its climax, Durant’s henchmen discover the memo, leaving Westlake for dead amidst the chaos. The doctor is then forced to watch as his lab explodes, sending him flying through the roof and into the river below, where he succumbs to flames, mere moments before Julie arrives at the scene of the devastation.

In the aftermath, Julie attends Westlake’s funeral, a somber affair marked by the stark absence of any physical remains.

As a medical team stumbles upon Westlake (played by) amidst the ruins of his life, they whisk him away to a neurological clinic, where surgeons intervene to sever the nerve pathways transmitting agony from his ravaged hands and face. Though this procedure brings welcome relief from the torment, it also unleashes a torrent of amplified emotions - specifically, anger and fury - and imbues Westlake with physical strength that’s hard to ignore. Confined no more, he makes a break for freedom, only to find himself shrouded in the shadows of his own destruction. Disguised in a tattered raincoat, he encounters Julie as she exits her apartment, but his disfigured face, still wrapped in filthy bandages, renders him mute and invisible to her; she rejects him with a mixture of pity and revulsion.

As Westlake returns to the ruins of his lab, salvaging what’s left of his equipment, he sets up shop in an abandoned factory, driven by a burning need for revenge against Durant and his goons. Utilizing his computer systems and a faded photograph of his own face, now nothing more than a distant memory, he crafts a mask that will eventually bear his likeness. The process will take weeks, but Westlake is undeterred, fueled by an insatiable fury.

In the shadows, Westlake begins to stalk Durant’s henchmen, starting with Rick, a loyal foot soldier in their operation. Kidnapping him, Westlake extracts the information he needs to get close to his nemesis. With a calculating ruthlessness, Westlake dispatches Rick by feeding him into the maw of a speeding semi-truck, then uses his technological wizardry to replicate the faces of Durant’s thugs.

Westlake’s first test subject is Paulie, whom he sedates and replaces with an identical duplicate at a cash drop, pilfering the briefcase in the process. When Durant discovers the switcheroo, Westlake plants false evidence - two tickets for Rio, one for Durant and one for Rick - to further fan the flames of his enemy’s ire. Infuriated, Durant has Paulie hurled from a window to his death, while Westlake watches from afar, still masquerading as Paulie in a synthetic disguise. As the artificial skin begins to decompose and a woman screams in horror, Westlake flees the scene, vanishing into the night once more.

As Westlake (played by [actor name]) continues to struggle with perfecting his skin formula, a peculiar turn of events unfolds. His computer, having reconstructed his own face, allows him to reunite with Julie, only to reveal that he had been in a coma-like state in a specialized institution. The two rekindle their romance, but Westlake’s attempts at normalcy are short-lived. During a trip to the carnival, he is cheated out of a prize by one of the staff members, prompting him to unleash his rage and break the man’s fingers. As his false face begins to deteriorate, Westlake hastens back to his refuge, where Julie discovers his work and attempts to reach out to him.

Undeterred by this setback, Westlake turns his attention to Durant (played by [actor name]). He meticulously studies Durant’s voice and mannerisms until he can mimic them with uncanny precision. Donning Durant’s face, Westlake orchestrates a daring convenience store heist, ensuring that the security camera captures his new identity. The authorities promptly arrest Durant, allowing Westlake to exact revenge while the gangster languishes behind bars.

Meanwhile, Westlake meets with Hung Fat, a Chinese crime lord who owes Durant a substantial sum of money. With a menacing intensity, Westlake uses a lit match to burn himself severely, prompting Fat to cough up the payment forthwith. As Durant posts bail and arrives at the meeting site in Chinatown, he is met with an unexpected surprise: Westlake, still donning his disguise, confronts him. Amidst the chaos that ensues, Westlake’s mask begins to fail, allowing him to slip away unnoticed as Durant and his henchmen fire a barrage of shots after him.

As Julie’s association with Westlake continues to pose a threat to her life, Strack reveals the gravity of the situation to her. With Westlake’s existence now a liability, Strack orchestrates a plan to eliminate him. He dispatches Durant, a ruthless operative, to track down and terminate Westlake. Julie unwittingly becomes the lure when she returns to Westlake’s hideout, only to be snatched by Durant’s gang. The ensuing chaos sees Westlake expertly dispatch several of Durant’s henchmen, donning various disguises as he takes them down.

However, it is Durant himself who becomes Westlake’s next target. From the air, Westlake seizes a hook attached to a long cable and is lifted into the city skyline. As Durant flies by in his helicopter, Westlake creates a diversion that culminates in the destruction of the chopper as it plummets towards the ground.

Undeterred, Westlake adopts Durant’s persona once more and meets with him at one of Strack’s construction sites, accompanied by an unwitting Julie. However, this time, Strack is prepared to reveal Westlake’s true identity. As tensions escalate, Westlake finds himself surrounded by Strack’s thugs. In a desperate bid to save Julie from harm, he fights valiantly against the henchmen.

As Westlake manages to defeat his opponents, he uses his ingenuity to swing in and rescue Julie, who had been left dangling precariously from cables. But just as all seems well, Strack corners Westlake, pinning his hand to a girder using a bolt gun. In a stunning display of strength, Westlake rips his hand free and retaliates against Strack, ultimately sending the villain plummeting to his death.

As they descend in the elevator, Westlake reveals his deep-seated shame at his disfigurement and acknowledges that he can never be with Julie again. With a heavy heart, he dons one final disguise – a cameo appearance by Bruce Campbell – before disappearing into the shadows, vowing to continue his crusade as Darkman.