Superman II - Nostalgia Critic 

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"Kneel before Zod! "Lay down on your backs before Zod!" "Now using your lower abdominals, raise your legs and hold on a five count before Zod!" "One before Zod!" "Two before Zod!" "Three before Zod!"

Robot Chicken actually did a skit about Superman using the amnesia kiss on his villains. It ends with them showing up at his apartment to go out on a date.

Fun Fact: Despite Lex Luthor always being depicted as bald in the comic books, Gene Hackman refused to wear a bald cap for the movies, so it was agreed that he would instead wear a series of ill-fitting wigs that would imply baldness. Hackman relented to wearing the bald cap for the prison scenes, however, as it was unfeasible that Luthor would be allowed to keep his wig collection while locked up.

Favorite moment is when the President kneels and says "Oh, God" and Terrence Stamp corrects him: "Zod."

Kneel Before NostZodgia Critic!

I prefer the version in *"SUPERMAN II"* (from Richard Donner's Cut) where Lois Lane shoots Clark with a blank bullet, tricking him to revealing his identity as Superman, rather than Clark clumsily tripping on a bear-rug and getting his hand on the fire without it getting burned. Granted, the scene is obviously a mish-mash of Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder screen tests (you can tell with Reeve's different hairstyles), but had Donner not been fired, it's possible they would've filmed it for real.

Fun Fact: Gene Hackman did not return to do reshoots for the second film. All of his scenes were originally filmed by Richard Donner. Other scenes shot by the new director that required Hackman used a look-a-like and a voice impersonator to add any lines needed.

Doug, I’m a new mother with a newborn leaving an abusive relationship, I’ve had an incredible long day of nonstop crying, running around, exhaustion, and ppd. It’s 11pm I finally got her to rest and I get to sit for a moment and turn on a NC video and for 22 minutes everything feels normal. Thank you so much for all of the content over the years 🩷 please know you’re making a huge difference in someone’s life.

Still prefer The Richard Donner Cut, it’s edgier and even more dramatic while still being fun. Hell the scenes where Zod guns down soldiers sadistically, and Clark’s redemption is way more powerful.

"Kneel Before Critic!" 40+ years later, this movie still has the best version of General Zod. Also, the cellophane S is one of the goodies powers I've ever seen, and I can't thank whoever thought of it enough.

I personally prefer the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II. It uses all the footage filmed by Donner and uses screen tests and pieces from the theatrical cut to fill in the elements he never got a chance to film

Robot Chicken did the whole kiss memory wipe and it's fricking hilarious.

A Scary Fact: During one take of the shot in which Lois punches Ursa, Margot Kidder accidentally punched Sarah Douglas and knocked her unconscious.

If he erases memories through a kiss..that off-screen sex scene must have been filled with some confused and terrified moments.

“Kneel before Doug!” You can only ask so much from your fans.

Terrance Stamp’s Zod is one of my favorite over the top performances. Even when he’s threatening the world, he doesn’t just stop at “Kneel before Zod!” He then shoves the president to his knees and screams his name at the camera. “ZOD!” The ham is just premium stuff, and he does a good job playing what’s basically this larger than life bully while still being amazingly entertaining

Now come on, be fair. The glasses weren't the only part of Clark/Cal El's disguise. He also combed his hair slightly different.

I thought I forgot what day it was. “Nostalgia Critic posts on Wednesday, I thought it was Monday!”

Another Fun Fact: Anti-smoking campaigners opposed the film, as the largest sponsor was the cigarette brand Marlboro, who paid $43,000 (approximately £20,000), for the brand to be shown twenty-two times in the film. Lois Lane was shown as a chain smoker in the film, although she never smoked in the comic book version. A prop included a truck sign written with the Marlboro logo, although actual vehicles for tobacco distribution are unmarked, for security reasons. This led to a congressional investigation.

Here is a fun fact about the disguise in terms of the official explanation, it's not just the glasses it's the way he carries himself as Superman and Clark respectively. to the point some villains have figured it out only to be met by the other hand full of villains who figured it out to have a meeting with them, The conversation goes to the effect of "All you'll accomplish is pissing off superman, just take advantage of the little time we have he's not Superman."

One more thing about the Donner cut though, it's way more satisfying to see how Loise figured out that he was superman, I always thought it was stupid that just... a lack of a burn after putting his hand in a flame for one second was what made the difference in PROVING he was superman. Even with the gun thing, it wasn't actually the gun that proved anything, it was Clark admitting that he was in fact superman that did the thing, the gun was just Lois' ploy to make him say it. That feels WAY smarter and WAY more Lois.

My favorite part of Zod firing the gun is him laughing as he realizes “No way, this actually hurts you?”

There are so many bloopers in this movie. 1) In the first movie Superman flies around the Earth dozens of times in a few seconds, but in this movie he flies from America to France in what feels like 10 minutes. "Lois is in danger, so I guess I'll fly close to the ground as slow as possible? 2) The three criminals are released in space but don't quite have their powers yet. How did they survive? We clearly see them slowly developing powers on Earth, after the moon bit. 3) How is an astronaut in an air tight suit, in a vacuum, hearing Ursa ask him a question? How can he speak back to her? 4) Why do these Kryptonian criminals fresh out of the Phantom Zone speak perfect English anyway? 5) How are they talking to each other in the vacuum of space? 6) Why does Ursa say "Ow" and drop the snake when it bites her? Isn't she Invulnerable? She surely was on the moon. 7) Why does General Zod touch water and say "What a strange surface." You've never seen water before? For all intents and purposes, you have a humanoid body. On Krypton you pretty much lead a human-like existence, AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WATER IS! 8) On the moon Ursa says "I tore those metal fibers like paper..." You know what paper is but not water? 9) On the moon Zod says "The closer we come to an atmosphere with only ONE sun, a yellow sun, the more our molecular density gives us unlimited powers." The way he says it makes it sound like Krypton had two or more suns. For the record, it didn't. 10) Where did all the funky new powers come from? Superman never had those in the comics. 11) A world wide global disaster has three aliens taking over the Earth and people in Metropolis are just gonna go to work, go on dates, go to KFC, go roller blading...like nothing's wrong? 12) When Superman and Zod and company start disappearing and reappearing and Superman says to Lois "I used to play this game in school, I never was very good at it." What is he talking about? He went to Earth school, so he was disappearing in Earth school? 13) Superman whispers to Luthor about the molecule chamber knowing Luthor will betray him. But Zod couldn't hear them whispering with his SUPER-HEARING?!

The reason the "turn back time" ending was in the Donner cut was because that WAS the ending for Superman 2. Superman 1 was just supposed to end with him catching both rockets (which is what releases Zod, Ursa, and Non). It's less that they repeat the ending than they restore the intended ending for both.

I remember being confused about the TV show having a different guy, and somebody explaining that superman was paralyzed. Broke my little heart.

Plastic wrap...Zod's one true weakness!

Another Fun Fact: The 1984, ABC Television broadcast of the film used over 30 minutes of footage deleted from the theatrical release, almost all directed by Richard Donner. The ABC scenes include: Superman flying past the Concorde (intended for the first film), extra dialogue between Luthor and Otis in jail, extra dialogue between Luthor and Eve flying to and within the Fortress of Solitude, the death of the young boy trying to escape East Houston, Idaho, the soufflé, and scenes between Superman and Lois. Nearly 15 minutes of extra footage with Gene Hackman included a pivotal scene in the Fortress, where Luthor begs forgiveness from Superman. While these scenes were included in the Australian theatrical release, subsequent television screenings there had them deleted.

Zod's Chest Hair Rectangle makes me deeply uncomfortable.

I’m glad you mentioned the Donner cut, as I felt there were moments in it that were better than in the Lester version. Not just the Brando scenes, which I felt were the best part of the film, but also using the missile Superman sends into space to free the villains. This makes more sense to me than using an elevator with a bomb, and I think would have been a better tie in to the first film. Also the scene where Lois tricks Clark into revealing himself by shooting him. Clark points out that if she was wrong Clark would have died and she asks “With a blank?” Showing she’s clever. The Donner cut made use of what Richard Donner had at the time. It would have been cool if he was allowed to finish his original version.

"Kneeel before Doug!" is the best funniest line. I love it XD

Reeve was such a perfect Superman/Clark that in the scene in the hotel where he burns his hand, dressed as frumpy Clark, when he confesses, he resumes the Superman, straight back posture and somehow makes a dowdy, oversized cardigan look buff, all just in how he holds himself. Incredible acting!

Clancy Brown is the best Lex Luthor to me

The diner scene and Superman helping rebuild the White House are my favorite scenes

To all the complainers hating on Lois in My Adventures with Superman because she jumped off a building, she has been doing this shit for years! Especially in the beginning

The scene on the moon really freaked me out as a kid. The idea of suffocating in space was an existential fear to little me.

The theatrical or Donner cut? Or a side-by-side comparison of the two?

Man. I can't wait until NC covers Superman III. That's the movie where Richard Pryor is the goofball computer genius guy. He even wears a pair of skis down a skyscraper. That movie is wild.

RIP Akira Toriyama. He gave us so much

“Kneel before Zod” I love this quote

Raimi's Spiderman trilogy took a lot inspiration from the Reeve's Superman trilogy. Superman 1/Spiderman 1: Hero's origin story Superman 2/Spiderman 2: Hero loosing power and get it back again! also being the best entrance of the trilogy Superman 3/Spiderman 3: Hero become evil and accidentally become hero we know again!

I like how Ursa didn’t actually mean to kill the astronaut by ripping off his badge. As we see later, she just likes collecting little badges and pins like an Applebee’s waitress. Cute little detail. 🥰

my favorite perry deciding on wich story is surperman returns, where after sueperman falls from the kryptonite, and it says, "Superman dead" and then you see, "Superman lives." as he has both papers ready.

I didn’t know the cast was so randomly stacked with names I know. Terrence Stamp, Ned Beatty, John Ratzenberger, Clifton James, Shame Rimmer, Richard Griffiths!? What a lineup.

I never noticed before, but Christopher Reeve's eyes were a bright radioactive blue! I can't wait til you do Superman 3 and get to the robot machine.

13:27 Damn, you are the ONLY person Doug that agrees with me on this! There are certain bits that are better in the Donner Cut, such as Brando appearing and restoring Clark to Superman-ness, but overall, despite the annoying, childish humour and the sloppier shots, I prefer the theatrical release. And that's despite me being TOTALLY on Dick Donner's side against the Salkinds.

Another Fun Fact: Apparently Richard Lester had to (re-)shoot a large volume of the film to gain a sole director credit, rather than just shoot the remainder of the Richard Donner version scenes to "fill in the gaps." This is why there is a portion of duplicate alternate versions of certain sequences, and scenes in one director's version not appearing in the script of the other version, rather than two alternate edits of one combined source of shot material. Hence why the Donner and Lester cuts are radically different, yet confusingly similar.

Zod and his crew were wearing the same clothes for 30 years. The super BO alone would probably be enough to take over Earth.

For years I was frustrated by both cuts of the film as I preferred some scenes over others , disliked a lot of the comedy and slapstick of Lester's cut and disliked a lot of the changes of Donners. Having editing experience I finally decided to recut the entire film myself using the scenes I preferred from both cuts and make tweaks to make the tone more in line with the first film, Took me months to get it as seamless as I could but ended up with a Superman II I was finally completely satisfied with.

Definitely prefer the Donner Cut. Especially since they removed a lot of the over the top corny physical gags Lester polluted the film with. There are really only two negatives. One, they didn't get a chance to refilm the scene where Lois tricks Clark into revealing he's Superman, which I like much better than the ridiculous tripping over the bear rug. It just helps show how clever Lois is. And two, they didn't get a chance to create a new ending. I forgive these flaws, though, as it is still the superior film and it's understandable that there was no way to do those new scenes at the time they re-edited the film.

The alternate cut where Zod catches the boy escaping on horseback and ordeing Non to throw the police light at him and explode off screen was darker that anything in Man of Steel or BvS.

So regarding the Donner cut; I would say there are two other scenes that are much better in it than in the Original. Even though it looks a bit odd because it was much older footage, I feel like the scene where Lois confirms Clark is superman by shooting him with a blank puts Lois in a much more intelligent light than Clark...tripping over a fire? The first one has Lois putting Clark in a position where he thinks he can't fake it, while the other just makes Clark look more clumsy and doesn't add anything to Lois's character. The second for me is the first scene in the fortress between Clark and Jor El, where Clark is a lot angrier about why he should be denied his happiness for the sake of his duty. It is a lot more heartfelt and understandable than what makes it in the theatrical cut where he talks with his mom. She does a fine job but it is so much less impactful and dramatic. Aside from that, yeah, the pacing and the ending was terrible. But Those two scenese should NEVER have been cut.

Superman & Superman II remind me of what happened with Batman & Batman Returns. Both had positive critical reception, the second film had creative liberties, and both received 2 sequels that destroyed the franchise (Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin).

One correction is that Superman 1 and 2 weren’t shot back to back but rather simultaneously. This is why the ending of Superman 2 was recycled for Superman 1 (the time travel) because they spent so much money on that effect they really wanted to use it in Superman 1 in case the movie failed and they couldn’t make Superman 2. Much to the dismay of Richard Donner.

Holy Krypton does this mean we're gonna get the return of Doug's version of Zod. We haven't seen him since the Too Boldly Flee special PLEASE CRITIC BRING HIM BACK

The image of Superman going around and kissing all his enemies is sending me lol 😂😂

I think the NC should review the Donner cut somewhere down the line just because it shows another amazing way to view this movie and is a pretty good addition to the Superman movie lore

I also think the Donner cut does a better job calling out Superman for giving up his powers to sleep with Lois. They don’t outright say that, but Jor El’s disappointment hits pretty hard. He calls the decision to sacrifice his responsibilities and higher calling for her selfish and begs him to reconsider

It always cracked it me up when Ursa was bitten by a "rattlesnake" (8:25), when it was an obvious non-poisonous and non-biting Gopher snake! LOL!!

Superman II featured a new director in Richard Lester after the Salkinds fired Donner; by the time Lester was brought on board, around three-quarters of the second film had been shot concurrently with the first film, but the time and budget overruns led to the Salkinds getting cold feet and shutting down production until they saw the box office returns for the first film. When production started anew, Lester didn't just have to film the remaining scenes, but he also had to re-shoot scenes originally directed by Donner due to Directors Guild of America regulations. Both Brando and Gene Hackman both refused to work with Lester, forcing the producers to cobble together the film using some footage from Donner and some from Lester. Some of the scenes were filmed two years apart from each other, leading characters to look different from scene to scene, have completely different hairstyles, or even different hair color. Brando's scenes were cut out completely so that they wouldn't have to pay him.

i hope he talks about the donner cut.

I'm surprised Doug didn't make a Superman Nicolas Cage joke with the clip he used from Con Air. I know he already mentioned it in The Flash review, but still it wouldn't hurt to have more Nic Cage.

Zod: Well, if I'm going to be the messiah, I better start the water walking. Brian's Mother: He's NOT the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

If you found the "super kiss" to be creepy at the end of this one, you'll find Superman IV's version (where he can apparently restore Lois' memory through life threatening trauma and then take them away again as he wishes) to be down right unsettling.

I bet Judge Judy could still demand respect from the three Kryptonians and make them submit.

I think there’s an even better Superman II movie if you re-edited and combined both Donner and Lester’s movies into one two and a half hour movie (Superman II is 2:08:00) so it’s only twenty mins longer. For example the way he gets his powers back in the Donner cut is better than this cut. Because I agree with you the Donner cut isn’t great but parts of it are. Another one is it having Brando and Hackman scenes all added back in.

Tbh both versions work, lester for the humor and donnor for the emotional depth

The two scenes that the Richard Donner cut does much better is the scene where Lois tricks Clark into revealing he's Superman using a gun with blanks in it and the Marlon Brando scene mentioned in this episode. The Lois/gun scene is so clever, I really wish they had done kept that in the script when they reshot with the other director.

15:40 Ok, I get it now: “Neal Before Zod”, a play on “Kneel before Zod”! 😂

I always thought that was JW Pepper as the deputy in the town that Zod took over. There by putting James Bond in the Superman universe.

Sarah Douglas as Ursa gave me funny feelings as a kid.

I honestly like the Donner cut more than the theatrical cut of Superman 2 mainly because of the addition of Marlo Brandon's Jor-El. I still like the theatrical cut Superman 2. Also, in both versions of Superman 2, the depowered kryptonians weren't killed.

Antony Sher (the bellboy) was actually considered one of the UK's greatest stage actors.

11:49 That’s actually a scene from the First movie. It was during the scene where Lex Luthor, Otis, and Miss Tessmacher were changing the Army missile coordinates when Luthor Remote Controlled the car and crashed it to Stop the Army mid route. You can tell it because of the background, the car itself, and even the roadsigns and rail guards. I don’t know why they stole that footage from the first anyway.

Didn't realize the scene of Zod having a blast blasting away with an AR10 was in the Donner cut. Seeing the clip on RU-vid I just assumed I had forgot about it after not having watched Superman 2 in decades.

Kneel before tye Nodzodgia critic! All hail Doug!

Superman Did Not Spin The Earth The Other Way! Einstein thought, when you travel faster than light time goes the other way, So the earth doesnt change its spin, it simply seems that way as hes flying.

This movie was actually the first superhero movie/CBM I ever watched as a kid back when I was around 7 years old, and though I wouldn't say this movie is better than the first one, I was still immediately hooked on this movie, Superman as a character, but honestly, I think this movie got me into superheroes, comics and pop-culture in general even now in my life as Im 21

I love both versions of the movie. Even though the Donner Cut has a great epic feel, I still have an attachment to the slightly goofier theatrical version. Either way, General Zod, Ursa, and Non were awesome in both edits.

It’s funny how Diner Guy was perfectly fine picking a fight with Clark. Yes, he didn’t have his Superman powers at the moment, but he was still a towering Greek sculpture of a man with a square jaw and shoulders wider than Dwight Howard. And when you meet someone like that who’s soft spoken and doesn’t really like to fight… you do NOT want the heat with them.

CORRECTION: When you compared the Donner and Lester shots in the beginning, all the Donner shots you used were actually shot by Lester, i.e., Clark and Lois walking slowly to bed and Superman walking away from Lois in the Fortress of Solitude.

Supe using reverse psychology to trick Lex is peak nemesis behaviour

Critic pulling out a altered beast reference 10:14 fills my soul with joy that people remember that classic

I actually think I prefer this to the original. The original is great too, but I felt it was still finding its feet and had quite a few issues in the writing department and I don't think quite got the size and scale that this movie had.

SUPERMONTH IS SUPER! ❤

The thing with the "old" SUperman movies is: they have more fun moments than bad. As for the more present movies: they are just boring, with interesting ideas, but boring.

Critic Zod: You believe your Superman film is safe, I will review him, I will review him… I!! WILL!! REVIEW!! HIM!! Lol

When it comes to the theatrical release and the Donner cut, theirs scenes I like in both. The Jor-el scenes are important, especially because it’s shows how Clark got his Superman powers back, in the Donner cut Lois Lane actually figures out Clark is Superman, which is more suitable for her character because she is supposed be a good reporter; while in the theatrical release Lois finds out Clark is Superman from dumb luck. But Superman rewinding time a second time in the Donner cut, I give a thumbs down because already did it in the first movie, so doing it again is a disservice to the second movie. Also the kiss 😘 erasing memory power is super dumb

The ending of the Donner cut for supes 2 was the original ending that ended up becoming the ending for Superman 1. They had to stop filming of Supes 2 because of money issues and finish Supes 1, with the plan to return to Supes 2 with a new ending. But as Donner was fired, he never got that chance. So, sadly, the ending used was the turn back time again. So, really, they had no choice but to include it. I think overall the Donner cut would have been better. I think many of the scene that replaced Lester's (exception being the screen test Lois finds out scene) are better. Heck, removing the slap stick was the best thing they did in the Donner cut. And I might add, Zod under Donner feels more menacing.

I never minded the phantom prison shard shattering scene. It's explained by Holo Jor-El well enough. They exist in another dimension, nuke explosion open's door for them to escape.

Ah, my absolute favorite Superman Film. (In terms of live action.)

1. Honestly, if we could have a version of this movie where the only addition is that Marlon Brando scene, this movie would honestly be a much stronger sequel. Mainly because it would have *actual consequences* to him giving up and then taking back his powers like a few days later. Clark losing the only memory of his Kryptonian father forever actually hits really hard considering how much of the last movie was him exploring his alien heritage and balancing it with the life he alredy has on Earth. 2. While this movie is, overall, a bit worse than the original, I do think that the way Superman solves the conflict is more clever and satisfying here. He basically realises that his fight with Zod and his goons would sooner tear the world apart before they could do any serious damage to each other, an unstoppable force meets and immovable object type of scenario, so he tricks them by taking their powers away by simply reversing the machine he used on himself earlier in the movie, while also using Luthor's ego and selfishness against him. PS: Superman turning back time, telelporting while making clones of himself and erasing memories is ,for better and for worse, 100% a product of the time as his powers were still kind of all over the place when this movie was made. With him able to casually pull a new one out of his arse with no consistency whatsoever. But, then again, the 1st movie at least balanced it somewhat well as they heavily imply turning back time was the *peak* of what Clark can do in these movies. So there's really no excuse.

Good luck with discussing the feud Richard Donner (& most of the cast) had with the Salkinds.

Krypton: "You are exiled for being a douchbag!" Zod: "Kneel before Zod!"

Another Fun Fact: Margot Kidder was very unhappy during filming, as her marriage to Thomas McGuane was ending, she missed original director Richard Donner and was aware that she was being very well-paid to do a small amount of work. In a 1981 interview with Rolling Stone, she recalled that "for several weeks I sat around my dressing room, listened to music, read The Great Shark Hunt and Orwell and a lot of French literature, wrote letters, worked on a screenplay, went through the divorce, and every so often I went on the set and said a line like, 'Oh, Superman, Superman.'"

I always felt sorry for Non. He clearly had so much intelligence, but never got a word in edgewise.

Doug, it would mean a lot to me if you reviewed these following movies: - Wild Thornberrys Movie (starring Tim Curry and Lacey Chabert) - Blast from the Past (starring Brendan Fraser and Christopher Walken) - Undercover Brother (starring Neil Patrick Harris and Dave Chappelle) - Igor (an animated film starring John Cusack and Steve Buscemi) - Spiderwick Chronicles (starring Freddie Highmore and Seth Rogen) - Penelope (starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy) - Aliens in the Attic (starring Kevin Nealon and Doris Roberts) - The 10th Kingdom (a miniseries starring John Larroquette and Dianne Wiest) Thank you very much and please accept my requests.

How?? How does Doug skip the speech Clark says after that terrible "Father!!" Line delivery...About trading in what is right in life and what is hard. For essentially a life of comforts etc. And Brandos response/speech about "I will see myself in your eyes.etc..And now the father becomes the son. As a son becomes a Father" EPIC STUFF ❤ First night I put my newborn son in his crib, I said that speech line for line. I think he got the idea..Daddy luvs him ❤

Just throwing this out there: There's a thrash metal song called "In the court of General Zod" by Gama Bomb Definitely check it out

I've always preferred this movie to the original. Mainly because the villain here is a lot more menacing. I mean, Lex Luthor may be a genious, but he is just a human. When the hero can literally kill the villain with a slap, the situation is not that threatening (even if he uses kryptonite). Also, I like that Superman loses his powers and Jor El (in the Donner cut) must sacrifice himself to give him his powers back.