10 Lines That Made No Sense Because Of A Deleted Scene

5. "He Knew" - Superman II

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There are two versions of his Superman II: the good one that Richard Donner directed and the Richard Lester version, which isn't good. Besides throwaway bits in Lester's version that just don't add up (seriously, what was up with the scene when Supes throws a hologram of his own "S" shield, especially when all it does is stun the bad guys for mere seconds?), there's also a line that doesn't make sense because of another deleted scene. When Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent sees Terence Stamp's General Zod taking over the White House, Margot Kidder's Lois Lane tells him, "You didn't know," and Kent replies, "He knew." It's a fairly innocent line until you realize half the audience probably has no idea who "he" is. The "he" in question is Jor-El, Superman's father famously portrayed by Marlon Brando, telling Kal-El himself about the villains from Krypton, but those scenes were omitted from Lester's version. It should be noted that Donner swooped in to save the day like his eponymous hero and restored the missing scenes with Brando, as well as others, including superior takes of similar scenes, in 2006 when Warner Bros. finally released his version of Superman II to the public, the way the movie was originally meant to be seen. Lester continued to assault the franchise by helming the dreadful Superman III, and the only good that came out of that movie was that it was the semi-inspiration for the plot to the superior Mike Judge film Office Space.
Contributor

Michael Perone has written for The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, The Island Ear (now titled Long Island Press), and The Long Island Voice, a short-lived spinoff of The Village Voice. He currently works as an Editor in Manhattan. And he still thinks Michael Keaton was the best Batman.