In the opening sequence, the Exalted Ruler (John Elliott) is solemnly exhorting all the members (at a secret "special meeting" of the fraternal order) o "meet the situation with determination." [The old friend is architect/engineer Hjalmar Poelzig who is introduced shortly.] While she sleeps with her head bowed, he gently touches her hair, and then explains to an annoyed Peter that she reminds him of his lost wife:I beg your indulgence my friend.A second kryptonite gas grenade was fired at Superman, again choking him.Batman smashed a bathroom fixture over the newly-weakened Superman""s head, knocking the latter unconscious.Gandalf wandered a slight distance into he forest away from others, where he telepathically heard a message from Lady Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) recommending that he venture on his own to the High Fells of Rhudaur - the location of the tombs of the Nine in the mountains - to confront the shadowy forces of he Necromancer:Something moves in the shadows unseen - hidden from our sight.