Steel Venom was a steel shuttle coaster that operated at Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio, opening on May 5, 2000, as Superman: Ultimate Escape under the park’s original Six Flags ownership. Manufactured by Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel, it was one of the earliest “twisted impulse” coasters ever built, using a linear induction motor (LIM) launch to fire trains through a U-shaped track between two vertical spikes.
When Cedar Fair purchased the park in 2004 and restored the Geauga Lake name, the ride was rebranded Steel Venom. It quickly became one of the park’s signature thrills, launching riders backward and forward at up to 70 mph while climbing roughly 180 feet into the air, with the front spike twisting 180 degrees as trains crested the top.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Geauga Lake (Aurora, Ohio)
- Manufacturer: Intamin
- Opened: May 5, 2000 (as Superman: Ultimate Escape; renamed Steel Venom in 2004)
- Closed: 2006 (never reopened after a July 2006 malfunction)
- Height: About 180 feet
- Top speed: 70 mph
- Length: About 630 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Steel Venom’s train launched from a standstill using LIM propulsion, rocketing riders out of the station and up a twisting 180-degree spike before free-falling backward through the station and up a second, straight vertical spike fitted with a magnetic brake. Because the layout never formed a complete circuit, the coaster was classified as a shuttle ride, sending its single seven-car train forward and backward through the same course.
With zero inversions but a top speed of 70 mph and G-forces reaching around 3.7, the ride relied on sheer verticality and hang time at the top of each spike rather than loops or twists for its thrills.
A Sudden End and a Second Life
Steel Venom’s run at Geauga Lake ended abruptly in July 2006, when a malfunction destroyed part of a train and an LIM launch motor, forcing the ride to close for the remainder of the season. It never reopened in Ohio. Cedar Fair confirmed in early 2007 that the coaster would be dismantled and relocated, and Geauga Lake itself shut down permanently in September 2007.
The ride resurfaced at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Pennsylvania in 2008, briefly as Voodoo before being renamed Possessed in 2009, a name it still carries today.
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Steel Venom Photo Archive: 2000 & 2002, as Superman: Ultimate Escape
These are original ThrillZing photos of the Intamin impulse coaster at Six Flags Ohio (later Geauga Lake), taken in 2000 during its opening season and on May 4, 2002, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. At the time it ran as Superman: Ultimate Escape in red-and-blue Superman paint; it became Steel Venom when Cedar Fair restored the Geauga Lake name in 2004, and moved to Dorney Park as Possessed after the park closed in 2007. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Steel Venom FAQs
What happened to Steel Venom at Geauga Lake?
It closed abruptly in July 2006 after a malfunction damaged a train and launch motor, and it never reopened before Geauga Lake closed for good in September 2007.
Where is Steel Venom now?
The ride was relocated to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Pennsylvania, where it reopened in 2008 and now operates under the name Possessed.
What company built Steel Venom?
Intamin manufactured the coaster, with the layout designed by Werner Stengel, as a twisted impulse shuttle coaster.
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Photo: Dpwhip (talk) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.