| The Gertrude | |
 | |
| Appeared in | Superman Returns |
| Status | Destroyed |
The Gertrude is Lex Luthor’s yacht. The original owner and namesake of the yacht was Gertrude Vanderworth, who was Lex Luthor's elderly wife. On her death bed, Gertrude gave the yacht, as well as her fortune and mansion, to Luthor. The yacht was destroyed by the creation of Luthor’s artificial landmass.
History[]
Superman Returns[]
Previously owned by wealthy heiress Gertrude Vanderworth, The Gertrude was one of the largest assets of her estate inherited by Lex Luthor after her death. Its first appearance is when Luthor and his girlfriend Kitty are leaving the mansion, a scale model of the ship can be seen in a display case in the mansion's foyer.
Luthor's first use of the yacht was to travel to the Arctic Circle to reach Superman's Fortress of Solitude. After arriving, Luthor and his associates used The Gertrude's onboard helicopter to reach the Fortress.
After retrieving the Kryptonian crystals from the Fortress, the yacht was returned to the Vanderworth Estate for Luthor to run experiments on the crystals and to put other parts of his plan into motion. A short time afterwards, some of Lex's henchmen stole a missile launcher and attached it to The Gertrude's stern, as part of his plan.
When Luthor was ready to launch the final part of his plan, he and his henchmen and his girlfriend Kitty boarded The Gertrude in preparation for departure. However, while Luthor was preparing to depart, Lois Lane and her son Jason White boarded the yacht while investigating the blackout caused by Luthor's experiments. The two were captured and imprisoned in the ship's Marine Gallery, where Luthor told them his plan to flood America, and noticed that Jason seemed to be affected by the Kryptonite that he was holding, leading him to question Lois as to who the boy's father was. He then left Lois and Jason under guard of one of his henchmen, while he carried out his plan.
Luthor, Kitty, and his remaining henchmen gathered on The Gertrude's stern, where Luthor inserted a crystal into the Kryptonite tube that he'd shown Lois earlier. The crystal and Kryptonite were then loaded into the stolen missile launcher, and fired into the ocean to grow. This act caused the yacht's electricity to short out for a short time, as well as power in Metropolis.
Lois used the yacht's fax machine to call for help, but was attacked by Luthor's henchman, before he was killed by the Marine Gallery's piano, thrown by Jason, revealing his true father to be Superman. This act is witnessed by two of Luthor's other henchmen, who lock Lois and Jason in the yacht's pantry, and inform Luthor, who decides to abandon the yacht with the onboard helicopter.
Lois and Jason are freed from the pantry by Richard White, but a spire or rock from Luthor's new continent impales the underside of the ship, and all three are trapped. The rock spire lifts the yacht out of the water, before The Gertrude breaks in two, with the bow and stern sections falling into the water and sinking. Trapped within the pantry, Richard, Jason, and an unconscious Lois are rescued by Superman, who lifts the stern section out of the water and pulls the three of them to safety, before dropping it and allowing the remains of The Gertrude to sink.
The Gertrude's helicopter reappears parked on Luthor's continent, where Luthor and Kitty use it to escape when Superman lifts the continent out of the ocean to throw it into space. It is last seen on a deserted island, dry of gas, while Lex and Kitty are marooned.
Description[]
The Gertrude was an extremely large yacht at about 300 feet long. It was primarily painted white, with the hull painted blue towards the bow and under the waterline. The Gertrude's most striking feature, however, was its glass bottom that was located within the Marine Gallery. The yacht possessed its own helicopter and helipad, located on the topmost deck, as well as a swimming pool and poolside bar. Rooms that the yacht possessed other than the cabins and bridge included a forward salon, a ballroom, a gymnasium located just off the pool deck, and the Marine Gallery.
The Marine Gallery is easily the most impressive room seen on the ship, with art-deco inspired designs and artwork built into the walls. The wall behind the spiral staircase was made up of stained glass with mermaid designs, with a door on either side leading to the ship's pantry, galley, and likely engine room.
The main portion of the room was covered by the glass floor, allowing a bottomless view of the ocean. This section of the room possesed several armchairs, a coffeetable, and a grand piano. Walkways above and on either side of this section of the room possessed bookshelves and small tables containing artifacts.
The far end of the room was largely an office, with the far wall containing a fireplace, more shelves of artifacts, and a mechanism to display maps above the fireplace. To one side of a raised section of the office space wwas a desk and office chair. This desk contained items ranging from books and a laptop, to a fax machine and several more artifacts. Other artifacts were located next to the desk on the sideboard, but they were bolted to it to prevent them from falling. On the other side of the office space was a billiard table, a rack of cues, and some alcohol and glasses on another sideboard.
Gallery[]
