Continuity mistake: After being hit by a cab, Lois calls Clark and the people behind her change in a split second.
Continuity mistake: In the big fight scene in Metropolis, after Ursa chokes Superman, Non descends and wires holding him is visible.
Continuity mistake: When Superman is about to stop the elevator, he flies with one arm up the other down. A frame later in a new angle both arms are up.
Continuity mistake: On Krypton, when the guard gets caught, Non's hand is at chest level. In the close-up it is at belly level.
Visible crew/equipment: When Non smashes a glass window at the Daily Planet, everyone ducks, except for Lois, Perry, and Jimmy. However, there's someone in front of Non reflected in the glass, all calm, watching the havoc, wearing a dark jacket and a white shirt with his arms crossed, seemingly a crew member.
Continuity mistake: When the villains enter the Oval Office, there's a civilian in a blue suit on the right. In the aerial angle, he is stepping on the hardwood floor, but in the wide angles, he steps on the rug. This swaps back and forth.
Continuity mistake: When the villains arrive at the Daily Planet, Lois grabs the telephone. An instant later, it has vanished from her hand.
Continuity mistake: When the villains arrive at the Daily Planet, the furniture, decor, and buildings in the background change between shots.
Continuity mistake: After the Metropolis fight, the villains return to Perry's office. In the close-up, the whole background changes: the buildings, the debris around, and even a column and a broken blind appear behind Non.
Revealing mistake: All of the movements of both people and objects on the moon are played in slower speed to simulate the Moon's gravity, except for the last scene where Zod grabs the oxygen tube and it falls on the ground at normal speed.
Audio problem: In the prison, Lex tells an inmate he wants his Liberace record, to which he replies, "It has a scratch on it," but his lips don't match the audio. In the Donner version, it's revealed that the original audio was "Tonight?"
Continuity mistake: At the Fortress, when Lois drinks champagne, she holds the glass at chest level. A shot later, her arm is lowered.
Revealing mistake: When Superman returns the flag, the wide shots show he has really long arms and a brown blob where the head should be, revealing the actor has been replaced with a dummy.
Continuity mistake: Before Non breaks the table in two, the phones are lying next to the edge. When he raises his fist, the phones are further away.
Continuity mistake: Right before Perry White throws a bronze globe at Non, Lois' head is tilted sideways and she smiles calmly. An instant cut later, her head is straight and she stares in awe. After the globe strikes Non's head, we're back to the previous shot where her head is tilted.
Continuity mistake: When Zod is interviewed by the news reporter the people behind him differ or change positions between shots.
Continuity mistake: When Lois comes out of the river she turns to the left to help Clark. Shot changes and she has turned 180ยบ around.
Revealing mistake: When Superman returns the flag to the White House, not only has the shot been reused, but the trees have been badly cut around to change the previous grey sky for a bright, blue and sunny one.
Revealing mistake: When Non burns the side of the cargo bed of the truck, a rectangular spot around the planks is coloured in a lighter shade, giving away where the special FX were placed.
Revealing mistake: When the villains enter the oval office, the whole White House behind is a cheap set with painted columns, furniture, fixtures and switches (even the bullet holes are painted!). (01:16:29)
Answer: In the theatrical cut, nobody really knows why the green crystal restored his powers. However if you watch the Richard Donner cut, it is explained that the green crystal is a communication device that helps Superman talks to the residual essence/spirit/ghost of his father Jor-El. Before he died, Jor-El gave the crystal to his son. Jor-El anticipated that Kal-El might give up his powers, and he also anticipated that Zod might eventually escape the Phantom Zone, so Jor-El lets his son absorb the leftover energy of his spirit, thus restoring all his Kryptonian powers.
Matt Van Gogh