You know it:
Superman: The Movie, 1978.
Lex wins, nuclear missile hits, Lois dies, Superman screams.
So he takes off, flies fast, flips Earth’s rotation, turns back time and everything is great again.
Nope.
Just nope.
Listen, I love Superman, I love Christopher Reeve, I am willing suspend science and critical thought for an Alien who looks like a human, flies, is impervious to weapons, has super strength, is not corrupted by it, has ice breath, laser eyes and finds Margot Kieder attractive. I can even do the red underwear over the pants thing.
HOWEVER!
This scene is beyond stupid.
Let’s break it down:
- Superman flying really fast around the Earth would not change the direction of its turn on its axis. It just won’t. Something flying around isn’t what causes the Earth to turn. So this wouldn’t work… But let’s say that it did…
- Even if superman managed to stop Earth spinning and then caused it to turn on its axis the other way round… What the fuck does that have to do with time?! Time wouldn’t move backwards. Nothing about the events thus far would change… But let’s say that it did…
- Wait? Superman can time travel? Then why not prevent Lex from messing with the missiles in the first place? And you know what? This guy Jonathan Kent could really benefit from a fast trip to the ER. Not to mention Jor El and Lara… I guess Superman didn’t really like his parents…But let’s say that he did…
- Superman just killed everybody on Earth and destroyed every building on the planet. I mean, sure, Lex killed some people, people but Superman killed ALL the people! I’m sorry but suddenly stopping and reversing the Earth's rotation would cause cataclysmic damage. Everything and everyone not anchored to the bedrock would be instantly subjected to immense forces due to inertia and if that catapulting didn't kill you, then the massive winds, tsunamis, earthquakes, and the total collapse of all structures, would likely result in global extinction… But - man, this is a tough one - let’s say that it didn’t…
- Superman double tapped humanity. He killed everyone, but he needed to make sure. So he stopped the Earth again (!) and then flipped the rotation again. Why does he hate us? Lex at least got a real estate deal done, but Superman? Why?! A potntial hookup? And not a very good one at that. For Miss Teshmucker maybe,… mmmm, Miss Teshmucker… No, focus! Please Batman, stop him! He murdered everyone!… But let’s say that he didn’t…
- It wouldn’t matter. If Superman turned back time, it wouldn’t just reverse the Missile hit and Lois’s death, it would place the missile back in trajectory. In a couple of seconds the missile hits again, Lois dies again and if Superman stops it… Well, bye bye Hackensack, New Jersey, the target for the other missile. So… what’s the point?
So in the name of Truth, Justice and the American way I ignored it.
But, seriously, there could have been another way - Superman flies so fast that he just barely manages to stop the 2nd missile, somehow that speed jeopardizes Luis but he manages to - scream, of course and then - get her to a hospital in time, to finish this with dramatic effect and without killing humanity for one reporter. With the most annoying voice ever recorded.