Superman II

[Wardog]

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest:

I rewatched Superman II yesterday. Is there any official explanation anywhere why Superman's irriversible loss of powers, which everyone made great pains to emphasize was irriversible, could be so easily reversed?


Also, is there anyone, anywhere, in whatever medium, storyverse, or real life, who better demostrates the triumph of hope over common sense than the guy who said "They killed Superman! Let's get 'em!"?


(And finally: in a battle of ham, cheese, and ego, who would win out of General Zod and Khan Noonien Singh?)

[Ravens_cry]

Eh, no more then the entangling cellophane symbol, so no, not really to the best of my knowledge.
Khan is a better villain, we actually have some reason to sympathize with his perspective, so his ham actually carries some weight behind it, while Zod is more of an empty balloon. We know he's evil, and he does evil, but he really has not much motivation beyond 'I must rule!'. Not that he really needs it, some long detailed back-story how little Zod was made fun of by the other little Kryptonian little boys and girls would really have just not worked.

[An Enemy Spy]

Not a huge fan of Superman II outside the narm factor. My main problem is that it can't decide if it wants to be a serious superhero movie or a campy comedy. I mean, right after that part where the people of Metropolis dramatically stand up to Zod, we get a ridiculous scene where the bad guys use superbreath and cause all sorts of silly gags to happen, like wigs flying off and that guy on the payphone. Wasn't this a serious moment a minute ago?
And how do Clark and Lois get back from the Fortress of Solitude after he loses his powers? And how did he get back later when he wanted his powers back? We see him trekking across northern Canada on foot. That would take months, if not years to get back to the north pole!

[Ravens_cry]

He was rescued by Alpha Flight?
Wait, wrong universe.:smalltongue:
Yeah, that was my problem with the Reeve's superhero film as well, though, compared to other superhero incarnations at the time, it was decidedly less campy than it could have been. Also, Reeve's, better than even the comics, sold the Clark Kent been able to disguise as Superman.

[Devonix]

A lot of problems stem from it being started by one creator and finished by another.

The whole thing about his power removal being irreversible is that in the original script and in the Richard Donner cut of the movie it IS Irreversible.

What happens is that Jor El explains to Clark that this is wrong he's being selfish at this point in trying to give up who he is and this great responsibility to his adopted world just to be with Lois.

Supes steps into the chamber and his powers are gone for good.

When Superman comes back he speaks to Joe El and not to his mother like in the theatrical version. Jor El explains that he forsaw this eventuality and set up a backup plan. The Crystal Superman uses to communicate with his father also contains more than his memories it contains his very life force.

Superman does not wish to use the crystal because that would sever the last link he has to his father effectively killing him and leaving him alone in the world with his last parent gone.

Joe El explains that there is nothing wrong, he made a mistake but he's his father and father's do these things He would sacrifice his life to help Kal escape to Earth, and he would do such a thing now because just like then he loves him.

Crystal infuses him with Jor El's lifeforce and bam Clark has superpowers again, His father's power that he proceeds to use to uphold the ideals and faith his father had in him.





Everything does really flow better when you watch the Donner cut. Even that blasted memory erasing kiss is gone. The reason it was put there. is because the execs screwed up the movies in more ways than one. you see Superman 1 and 2 were supposed to be two movies that flowed directly into each other.

The Nuke that Superman stops in the first movie is thrown into space and releases the Phantom zone criminals not some stupid plot in france

The ending with traveling back in time happened in 2 but they made him use it as the ending for the first one.

Zod and crew taking over the whitehouse is super creepy where we see just how little regard they have for people. They just land in and Zod stands there enjoying watching Ursa and Non wade through guards. Zod sees a gun on the ground picks it up, looks at it for a second and then just starts unloading the machine gun into people laughing at how amusing it is that this pathetic toy kills people so easily.

[Traab]

"They killed Superman! Let's get 'em!"

They, they really said that? That is AWESOME! heh. I got flashbacks to that early justice league cartoon where darkseid had beaten superman to a bloody pulp and was parading him up and down main street to break their wills, then that hardass guy whose name I cant remember basically started hurling garbage and speechifying at darkseid about how they are tough new yorkers or something and wont give up. He then proceeds to deck a parademon, steal its weapon, and use it to free superman accidentally. Both epic and silly and I loved it. Especially the ending.

[Janus]

*snip*
Glad someone brought up the Donner Cut. It really is a much, much better Superman film than the theatrical cut.

My problem with the Donner Cut is the restored ending.
I know that the time reversal was supposed to happen in 2, but... dang it, that undoes everything great about the film. I loved Jor-El sacrificing himself for his son, and I felt like Clark had grown up over the course of the film. Reversing time just.... ERGH! :smallfurious: