10 Jokes In Old Superhero Movies They Wouldn't Get Away With Now

There's nothing like smacking around a child to provide a little levity in your superhero film.

Yes, in the original Superman from 1978, our hero rescues a cat from a tree, has a pleasant conversation with a little girl, and departs. The girl tells her mother what happened, and receives a slap for it.

This is meant to be a funny little aside, a tangential bit of laugh, unrelated to the main story.

But it's a very jarring moment. You could've had the same effect if the mother simply brushed off the girl's account as just another childish tale. Or even built up a running gag throughout the film of the little girl seeing Superman's impossible feats, but her mother repeatedly missing them.

Instead, it's one-and-done domestic unpleasantness. Ick.