Scene Anatomy 101: Superman II
Posted by George H. Sirois on 05.31.2006
Plugging up the plot hole...
In exactly one month, we'll be seeing an interesting experiment play itself out on screen. Audiences will discover just what it was that lured director Bryan Singer away from the X-Men franchise, and we will be shown the results of what happens when a filmmaker wants to create a whole new franchise, yet honor the good parts of the previous franchise. It's an interesting scenario, a sequel to Superman II (the second in a four-film franchise) and the first film in a new trilogy.
Whether or not Superman Returns accomplishes its mission to bring back the Man of Steel in triumphant fashion (and sweep Superman III & IV under the rug), we'll find out on June 30. My own hope is that they tie up the loose end at the second film where Superman tells the President: "Sorry I've been away so long. I won't let you down again."
But this column's not about what should happen in Superman Returns; it's about how the filmmakers were able to get past one major problem in the 1980 hit Superman II. One of the most beloved comic book films ever, this story picks right up from the original 1978 classic and brings the three villains that were trapped in the Phantom Zone to Earth. And each one of them has the same powers that Superman has.
The interesting structure the film has is that it keeps Superman away from General Zod, Ursa and Non until the last act. He doesn't even know that they're on Earth, or even that he mistakenly caused their release. He just went to Niagara Falls (disguised as Clark Kent) with Lois Lane, the two of them sent by Perry White for a story. During the first day there, however, Lois discovers the truth about Clark and he reveals his true identity to her.
While the super villains are causing havoc in Houston, Texas – before moving on to Washington D.C. – Superman and Lois are spending time in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. He tells her everything since she already figured out who he was on her own, and one of the things he shows her is the crystal he found after his father died. This is the crystal that called to him and directed him north, so that it could create his fortress.
The more time they spend together at the Fortress, the more Superman realizes that this is the woman that he wants to spend the rest of his life with on Earth. So as Lois changes into "something more comfortable," Superman consults the essence of Lara, his Kryptonian mother, about his dilemma. Lara answers him by saying that, if he so chooses to live his life with a mortal, then he must live AS a mortal. She tells him that, once he enters the crystal chamber that has been embedded with the rays of Krypton's red sun, all his powers would disappear FOREVER. He makes the decision, enters the chamber, and allows his powers to be pulled away from him. Once the act is complete, all of the crystals housed on the main control console explode, literally showing that what has been done cannot be undone.
Clark and Lois find out what has been going on while they've been absent from the rest of the world, that General Zod has succeeded in gaining control over the planet Earth. Clark feels incredibly guilty about this, since he could have easily stopped the villains if he wasn't thinking about himself, but Lois keeps telling him that there's nothing he can do now. He still has to do something, though. He has to go back to the Fortress.
The next scene, we see Clark walking his way north. He sees a truck passing by him and he tries to flag it down to get a ride. But the truck driver doesn't even pay him any acknowledgement.
Finally, he makes it back on his own, but when he gets there, there's no life at all. There's no light, no overseeing spirit of his parents. It's just an empty shell. Pieces of the exploded crystal control console are at Clark's feet as he walks up to the wall that once held his parents' images.
CLARK: Father? Mother?
No answer. This really disturbs Clark since he always had some sort of parental figure in his life. As soon as his father died, he discovered the crystal that led him to find out who he really was. And from then on, he had both his Earth mother in Martha Kent and the essence of Jor-El and Lara waiting for him at the Fortress of Solitude. Now the people he yearned to hear from aren't there.
CLARK: Boy, I really wish you could hear me… cause I need you.
Again, no answer. He finds it really hard to come up with the next few words that he not only has to confess to his parents, but to himself.
CLARK: See, I… I, uh… I failed…
Clark's confession is met with nothing but silence. At the end of his options, he calls out one more time, desperate for help.
CLARK: FATHER!
Again, nothing. Clark kicks the rubble at his feet and is about to walk away completely dejected. But something catches his eye before he walks off. There's a gleam of light a distance away from him. Clark walks over to see what it is, and he finds…
A crystal! Not just any crystal, but the crystal that was calling to him after his father's death. This is the key that will re-boot his Fortress of Solitude, and he can re-format the crystal chamber so he can never be given the option to give up his powers again. He cradles the crystal, thankful that he has been given a second chance to do what is right.
Now, this was a moment in the story that has been labeled by many people – including my esteemed colleague Chad Webb – as a plot hole. How could this have happened? If there was no turning back, how could he just been given back his powers like there was no problem? Was this a deux ex machina on the part of the screenwriters, Jor-El throwing one last bone to his son?
I felt the same way for a lot of years. I knew that Clark got his powers back, but I had no idea how. It always just seemed like a cheap little cop out, and the black eye on the film.
But then I watched it again recently, more specifically, the sequence when Superman flies away to get the food for the two of them. While he's off getting the flowers, food and champagne, Lois is sitting at the Fortress looking around. When Superman comes back, Lois is seen holding onto the main crystal. When she gets up for dinner, the crystal drops to the ground, and the camera lingers on that image for just a little longer before moving on to the next scene.
If this crystal had been returned to its rightful place with the rest of them, it would have been destroyed when the console exploded. But because of Lois – the one who he gave up his powers for – holding onto the crystal while he was away, he was given the chance to stand up to the super villains. Just as he gave up his powers for her, without knowing it, she restored his powers for him.
Take another look at the film. Watch this scene and you'll see just how what we all thought was a plot hole, was instead a powerful moment of one man's sacrifice for the woman he loved and how her actions helped once again make him into the man he was always supposed to be.
75 columns and counting! Next week, we'll continue along the look at the Superman franchise, with a scene from one of the two movies that are being swept under the rug. Until then, Class Dismissed!
