Superman-0II

***Superman II*** is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Donner, and finished by Richard Lester, who was given full credit. It is a direct sequel to the 1978 film *Superman: The Movie* starring Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Margot Kidder, Sarah Douglas, and Jack O'Halloran. *Superman II* is notably infamous for its complicated production. Donner had completed, by his estimation, roughly 75% of the movie in 1977 before being taken off the project. Many of the scenes were shot by Lester, who had been an uncredited producer on the first film. However, in order to receive full director's credit, Lester had to shoot up to 51% of the film which included re-filming several sequences originally filmed by Donner.

## Superman-0II

### Runtime

127 minutes
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## Plot

In front of us is a giant red sun and past that the crystalline planet, Krypton. We approach through the clouds, and see a large white dome. Suddenly inside, a large hulking brute comes up behind a chamber guard and quickly breaks his neck. General Zod, his companion Ursa and their evil associate Non have entered the Kryptonian council chamber to begin a coup of the government, however, the council was prepared. Zod and his compatriots are quickly apprehended and summarily tried. One by one, the council declares the trio guilty and prepares the sentence. In a flash of light, Zod, Ursa and Non are projected into the Phantom Zone, a mirror-like prism that holds their bodily essences, to be contained for eternity. The prism slowly heads out into cold, dark space. Only their screams of sorrow can be heard as the crystal disappears into the distance. Zod blames their prosecutor, Jor-El, and swears in a final scream: "You will bow down before me, Jor-El. Both you, and then one day, your heirs!"

Before the destruction of Krypton, the criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non are sentenced to banishment into the Phantom Zone. Years Later, The Phantom Zone is shattered near Earth by the shockwave of a hydrogen bomb, thrown from Earth by Superman. The three criminals are freed and find themselves with superpowers granted by the yellow light of the Sun. After landing on the moon and effortlessly killing a team of astronauts exploring there, they continue toward Earth with plans to conquer the planet.

Many years after traveling through the galaxy, The Phantom Zone is shattered near on The Planet Earth by The Known Shockwave from The Harmless Detonation of An Hydrogen-Bomb Launched into Known Hyper Space by Superman. The three criminals are freed, finding themselves with super powers granted by the yellow light of Earth's sun. After attacking human astronauts on the moon and the small town of East Houston, Idaho, the three travel to the White House and force the President of the United States to surrender to General Zod (on behalf of the entire planet) during an international television broadcast. When the President warns General Zod that Superman will stop them, Zod announces his demand for Superman to come and "kneel before Zod!" **Prior to General Zod's arrival, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are sent on assignment for the Daily Planet to Niagara Falls. Lois becomes suspicious that Clark is Superman and tries to lure him into revealing his identity by throwing herself into the Falls, but Clark manages to save her with subtle use of his powers. That night, Clark accidentally reaches into the room's fireplace to recover his glasses after he trips; when Lois discovers his hand is not even burnt, Clark is forced to admit he is Superman. He takes her to his Fortress of Solitude near the North Pole and shows her the traces of his past stored in the energy crystals of the Fortress, one of which is the green crystal that created the Fortress and opened Superman's contact with his long-deceased parents. Lois misplaces the green crystal under her purse. Superman decides to undergo a transformation to make himself human by exposing himself to the red Kryptonian sunlight to become romantically closer to Lois, despite Lara's warnings. The process that destroys many of the energy crystals, except the green crystal, lying a considerable distance away. After spending the night together, the two return to populated areas by conventional means, and soon learn of Zod's demand. Realizing that humanity cannot fight Zod themselves, Clark decides to return to the Fortress to try to reverse the transformation.** Lex L Luthor, who has managed to escape from jail (with Eve Teschmacher's assistance), has tracked down the Fortress using an alpha wave detector, and infiltrated the Fortress before Superman and Lois arrived, learning from the crystal of Superman's Biological Mother of Superman's connection to Jor-El and of General Zod. He traces Zod to Washington, D.C., and offers to lead Zod to Jor-El's son in exchange for control of Australia. Accepting his offer, the three Kryptonians are directed by Luthor to the offices of the Daily Planet where they abduct Lois. Superman arrives, after having found the green crystal and reversing the transformation process, and attempts to fight the three. Zod realizes Superman cares for the innocent humans and take advantage of this weakness to force Superman into submission. To protect Metropolis, Superman flies off towards his Fortress, with Zod, Ursa, and Non giving chase and carrying Lois and Luthor with them. **At the Fortress, Superman attempts to lay one last trap to stop Zod but fails. As Zod holds Superman in submission, Luthor reveals the ability of the Fortress to revert Superman into a human, a punishment that Zod sets forth. Luthor himself initiates the process by placing the green crystal in the remaining control panel. When Superman steps into the transformation chamber, the rest of the Fortress is bathed in red light. The three villains realize too late that Superman, knowing of Luthor's treachery, altered the transformation process by means of the green crystal to expose everyone outside the chamber to the red light, thus removing Zod, Ursa and Non's powers. With Lois' help, Superman is able to send the criminals into the bottomless depths of the Fortress. Superman returns Luthor to the authorities along with the defeated Kryptonians, despite claiming that he was in on his plan. Superman contacts the U.S. Arctic Patrol to arrest all four thugs outside his fortress and returns Lois to her home. At the Daily Planet the following day, Superman (as Clark) kisses Lois, using his telepathic abilities to wipe Lois' mind of all the events surrounding Zod's arrival on Earth including her knowledge that Clark and Superman are the same person. Superman restores the damage done by Zod, and as he replaces the flag on top of the White House, promises the President to never again abandon his duty.**

## Cast

### Portrayed-Cast

#### From of The Planet Krypton

* Susannah York as Lara-El: Superman's Biological Mother on The Planet Krypton. + Jor-El's wife and Superman's Biological-Kryptonian Mother.
* John Hollis as Kryptonian Forth Elder: .
* Christopher Reeve as Kal-El: Born on Krypton and raised on Earth, Superman is a being of immense strength, speed, and power. Morally upstanding and instilled with a strong sense of duty, Superman tirelessly uses his formidable powers, which he gets from the Earth's yellow Sun, to protect the people of his adoptive homeworld. His alter ego is mild-mannered *Daily Planet* reporter Clark Kent. Superman's abilities include: X-ray and heat vision, vast strength, speed and invulnerability, super-intelligence and flight.
* Sarah Douglas as Ursa: General Zod's second in command and consort, sentenced to the Phantom Zone for her unethical scientific experiments. Caroline Munro turned down the opportunity to play Ursa. + Zod's second-in-command and consort. Ursa's evil will and power-lust are equal to and sometimes surpass those of General Zod's. Her contempt and utter disregard for humans, men in particular, make her a very deadly adversary. She has an inclination to collect insignia and heraldry from people she defeats or dominates, such as the NASA patch from the EVA suit of an astronaut she kills.
* Terence Stamp as An General Zod: The Evil Leader of The Number-Three-Kryptonian Criminals who swears vengeance against Jor-El when he is sentenced to The Phantom Zone. His appearance was to set him and his accomplices as the main antagonists of *Superman II*.
* Jack O'Halloran as Non: Large and mute, the third of the Kryptonian villains who are sentenced to be isolated in the Phantom Zone. + The third of the Kryptonian criminals, Non is "as without thought as he is without voice." At 7 ft (2.1 m) tall, Non is a formidable hulking mute who easily matches Superman's strength, but has the intelligence and sometimes curiosity of a child, and communicates only with guttural grunts and growls. Though he lacks the mental ability to use his powers effectively, he does however possess the same taste for destruction as his Kryptonian companions and his physical strength is even greater than Zod and Ursa's.

#### On of The Planet Earth

* Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor: Criminal genius and Superman's nemesis. Armed with vast resources and scientific brilliance, Luthor's contempt for mankind is only surpassed by his hatred for Superman. Luthor strikes a bargain with the three Kryptonian criminals in an effort to destroy Superman.
* Christopher Reeve as Clark Joseph Kent/Superman/Kal-El: Born on Krypton and raised on Earth, Superman is a being of immense strength, speed, and power. Morally upstanding and instilled with a strong sense of duty, Superman tirelessly uses his formidable powers, which he gets from the Earth's yellow Sun, to protect the people of his adoptive homeworld. His alter ego is mild-mannered *Daily Planet* reporter Clark Kent. Superman's abilities include: X-ray and heat vision, vast strength, speed and invulnerability, super-intelligence and flight.
* Ned Beatty as Otis: Luthor's incompetent henchman.
* Jackie Cooper as Chief Perry White: Mercurial editor-in-chief of the *Daily Planet* newspaper and Lois and Clark's boss.
* Margot Kidder as Lois Lane: The ace reporter for the *Daily Planet* and Superman's love interest. Lois, is a driven career journalist, who lets nothing stand in the way of breaking the next big story and scooping rival reporters while ignoring the potential consequences that sometimes put her in peril. She finds out that Clark is Superman, but her memory is erased when Clark kisses her.
* Valerie Perrine as Miss Eve Teschmacher: Lex Luthor's beautiful assistant and girlfriend who helps him escape from prison.
* Clifton James as Sheriff.
* E.G. Marshall as the President of the United States.
* Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen: Young photographer at the *Daily Planet*.