I would have liked "Lethal Weapon" better had they chosen something besides red kryptonite, which is obviously the most versitile rock ever since it does something completely different every time Superman is exposed to it, and yet somehow it's always exactly what the bad guys expected it to do. Go figure.
It DIDN'T do exactly what the bad guys expected it to do. The bad guys are just able to think on their feet when it DOESN'T do what they expect it to do--except their plans still fall through and they get caught.
When the red K was first discovered in Individual Responsibility, Bill Church Jr. was originally looking for GREEN Kryptonite, in hopes of killing Superman. The red K was found instead, and Billy thought it would do the same exact thing as the green. But then they tested it, and Superman just became apathetic instead--it affected him mentally instead of physically. Not what Jr. expected it to do.
The second time, in Ultra Woman, the Newtrich sisters expected their red K beam to make Superman apathetic. Instead, it just transferred his powers to Lois. Again, not what the villains expected.
The third time, in Lethal Weapon, those who knew about red K pretty much knew it was "unstable," (I have a theory that it really isn't--see
this thread ) but that it WORKED. I don't think Jerry really EXPECTED Superman's powers to go out of control--just that Superman would be disrupted in some significant way which would let the people paying Jerry get away with whatever they wanted to get away with.
