LogFAQs > #910229607

Superman II (1980)
Nominated by: Cybat

Superman II is my favorite film in the original Superman series, and that might be why I have more to change in regards to this film than others. Since this entire series was nominated, I'll start with how I would adjust this film in relation to the films around it, and then I'll break down a couple changes I would make regardless of series.

I think what Superman II succeeds at is building off of the sweeping and epic nature of the previous film. With that in mind, there is less of a historical perspective to this film and, for my money, that's what needs to be brought back in full force. I think one aspect of this movie that is overlooked is the role Lex could or should play. To this end, I would have him create Metallo in this movie in order to seek out the Phantom Zone and bring it to Earth to serve Lex's own agenda. In the process of releasing the prisoners from the Phantom Zone, Metallo would be dispatched and Lex would be left begging for his life as Zod, Ursa and Non announced their plans to seek world domination. At this point, they would essentially decimate the LexCorp forces and work their way out of a laboratory where Lex keeps many of his greatest experiments - different colored pieces of kryptonite, something called "the toy room", etc. These glimpses are important simply because they would give us material with which to work in Superman III and IV. And, honestly, that's the only major change I would make for this film as it pertains to the series itself.

But Series-Less-ly: From here, the film would largely play out the same way. This is the Zod show, and we're just living in it. I think I would raise the stakes of Zod to a point where we see flowing Zod banners in various major cities, if only to convey that Superman, after retreating, was forced to spend time licking his wounds and planning a comeback. All of this comes on the heels of Superman declaring his love for Lois; instead of removing his powers, I would simply have the Kryptonians beat Superman back with raw strength. It's three-to-one. So after Superman returns following his first defeating, we get a smarter Clark. He plays the Batman a bit, picking off Ursa and Non one-on-one. Zod, however, has taken Lois hostage in order to bargain his way out of defeat. In the end, though, we have Lex team with Superman (briefly), using his alternate-colored kryptonite to depower Zod and send him back into the Phantom Zone. This kryptonite causes a form of amnesia, and the film would end with Superman kissing Lois with kryptonite lipstick in order to erase her memories of his secret identity. He knows that Lois will never be safe if he continues to expose her to larger-than-life threats, and he has to make this sacrifice.

Ultimately, the film would end with Superman offering Lex the opportunity to work with him in changing the world. Lex would refuse but, after Superman leaves, seemingly at least give the offer some thought. Superman himself would fly off to stop some natural crisis, and the film would cue credits.

I think it's important that the film have some more emotional beats, and the fact that this will always be the one film where it feels like Superman is truly outmatches matters. I want to embrace the emotional stakes as well as the physical stakes to Superman, and I think remove the plot-convenient devices and replacing them with Superman just being smarter than his opponents would really sell it to audiences.
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful