Plot hole: After Superman has reversed time the Hoover Dam reverts to its previous undamaged state as it should, but Jimmy Olsen should then have been replaced back on the dam. Instead he interrupts the potential kiss between Lois and Superman and complains of being abandoned by Superman in the desert.
Superman (1978)
Plot summary
Directed by: Richard Donner
Starring: Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder
Superman, also known as Clark Kent, is a refugee on Earth from the long-destroyed planet of Krypton. Although he looks completely human, Superman has many amazing powers, including flight, strength, speed, resistance to extremes of cold and heat, invulnerability to physical wounds, and more.
The story describes how Superman is sent away from Krypton before its destruction, arrives at Earth, then grows to maturity and learns of his true identity and destiny. The story then evolves with the relationships Clark/Superman develops with reporter Lois Lane and others at newspaper The Daily Planet, as well as his efforts to repel the criminal plans of evil mastermind Lex Luthor, all while preserving his secret identity from discovery.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: Superman is moving at speeds fast enough to turn back time. He can spend 5 seconds to yank Jimmy away from the top of a dam he knows is going to be destroyed just to be safe in case he can't actually stop it all from happening again.
Trivia: To get the muscular build required to play Superman Christopher Reeve went on a training regime supervised by David Prowse who played Darth Vader in the first Star Wars trilogy.
Question: Why, in the 3 hour TV version of the movie, does Luthor waste time on that elaborate trap if he already knows, from reading Lois' interview, that bullets, fire, and cold won't stop Superman?
Answer: He wanted to see for himself if the stories were true. Some reporters tend to exaggerate the facts and if he had any other weaknesses. He couldn't be sure the kryptonite would work.
While I don't exactly disagree that Lex wanted to see for himself how invincible Superman is, I don't think that's the main reason why he did it. The bullets and fire were simply a charade to make it look like this was his security system. Keep in mind, he wanted Superman to enter his lair because the real trap was the Kryptonite that he had in the lead box.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.