Superman II (1980) - 151 mistakes

Visible crew/equipment: In the town in Texas when General Zod and his crew first visit, watch when the boy's father (elevated by Zod's finger) falls to the ground. You can see the pad under the dirt when he hits it.

Revealing: Roughly 5-10 minutes from the end, Superman is returning the White House's flag to its rightful place, flying over the fountain on the lawn...which is frozen solid in place. Obviously a photo backdrop.

Visible crew/equipment: Ursa throws the sewer lid at Superman sending him flying backwards into the car windshield. Watch the sewer lid carefully when Superman actually hits the windshield. You can see that the sewer lid was actually attached to a belt around his waist so that it would stay in place for the shots where he is flying backward through the air.

Visible crew/equipment: When Superman is fighting Non under the New York Streets (in the sewers), manhole covers start to jet up in the sky. When the first manhole cover shoots up you can quite clearly see the gas tube in the hole and the gas cylinder attached to the cover.

Factual error: After Superman accidentally frees the phantom zone villains with the exploding hydrogen bomb, they start flying towards the moon. The sleeves in their clothes can be seen fluttering around. This would be impossible because there is no air in outer space, hence nothing to cause resistance against the clothes.

Continuity: There are two external White House shots in the film. The second is a still shot, and should take place at least a few days after the first. However, it is a frame from the earlier shot, with the same person standing in the same spot on the lawn.

Revealing: In the beginning, when Superman is flying to the Eiffel Tower, the last scene that shows him flying towards the tower, you can see the wire Christopher Reeve was attached to as he swoops down. The wire stretches all the way across as Superman glides down.

Continuity: In Niagara, Clark moves to the left to warn a kid from falling and a woman next to him lowers her camera. In next shot the camera is up and she repeats the previous movement.

Visible crew/equipment: In the shot where Zod walks on the lake's water, there is a platform visible just under the water's surface.

Other: At the end of the film Superman puts the US flag back onto the Whitehouse. Whilst he is speaking to the President through the hole in the roof the flag can clearly be seen flying in the wind, but his cape is completely still.

Other: When Clark and Lois are on their way to the diner, the wide shot of their car driving along looked very familiar. In fact, it was footage used in the first movie, where the car was used as part of Lex Luthor's "real-estate" plan and was run on remote control. If you look closely in part II, no one is driving the car yet you hear Clark say to Lois, "Hey, you seem pretty quiet over there...."

Revealing: When Zod lifts the boy's father with the beam of white energy, watch closely when he raises him up past the telephone pole...he 'clips' right through it, or rather the pole clips through him, as if he is transparent.

Continuity: Clark and Lois are undercover in a hotel in Niagara Falls investigating a Honeymoon scam. There is a scene where Clark is removing money from his pocket to tip a porter. You can plainly see that some of the money is falling on the ground. In the next scene the porter walks away with his tip and the falling money has disappeared.

Plot hole: Before the trio crashed into the Daily Planet (just before the battle with Supes), they were heard flying outside the building. For 3 superbeings with the ability to fly unaided, they sure sound heckuva lot like jet-propelled aircrafts. Jet aircrafts are noisy because of their engines, but superpeople?

Revealing: Inside the White House, Non throws a pillar at the soldiers. When it lands on the floor, it starts to move by itself like a puppet, revealing the whole structure was attached to a string.

Deliberate "mistake": During the fight in Metropolis, General Zod is about to throw a wall part at Superman, it cuts to a street scene with people and there is a "keep clear" sign reversed, showing the film was flipped for some reason.

Revealing: When Zod says to Ursa to "blow them a kiss my dear" to the helicopter that's firing on them watch as the helicopter is indeed a real military helicopter, then when it loses control it's an obvious model and just before it crashes into the house it's a full size helicopter again but is completely different from the first one that was originally shown.

Factual error: The moon has no atmosphere. Yet, the Ursa and Zod are able to speak to the astronauts. We even hear wind as Zod kicks one of the astronauts in the air and snaps his cord. We also hear the explosions when the lunar lander is destroyed. If the moon has no atmosphere, then the super villains can't speak and there should have been no sound in this part of the movie.

Continuity: There must be a barber's shop or a cosmetics shop somewhere in the Phantom Zone. At the beginning of the first Superman film General Zod's hair looks as if it has been blow-dried, but all through Superman II he looks like he uses wet-look gel.

Continuity: In the opening scene where the three villains destroy the energy crystal and the lights go dark and the rings descend upon them, the light that surrounds them is shown coming down from the ceiling. But, when the dome opens, the light surrounding them shines up from the floor. (As also seen in Superman: The Movie.)