Continuity mistake: Superman is putting the antenna back on the Empire State. first its base is brightly lightened, despite the antenna being on top. When he is about to anchor it, a split second afterwards, the base is totally dark.
Continuity mistake: After Superman holds the antenna falling on the woman's pram, in a matter of 3 seconds the parked cars she was standing in between (a yellow cab and a black car) come much closer together.
Continuity mistake: Lois is in the diner and the waiter serves her a Coke and leaves. Angle changes, the bad guy sits next to her and the waiter appears serving the Coke again. In the next shot, the angle changes again and he disappears.
Audio problem: When the villains are trapped in the Phantom Zone glass Zod cries out something against Jor-El, but his mouth isn't in sync with what he says.
Continuity mistake: Atop the Eiffel tower the climate keeps changing from sunny to cloudy within seconds depending on the angle.
Continuity mistake: Zod throws the Sheriff's rifle away and it lands next to the wheel. When the angle changes it has moved behind the wheel.
Continuity mistake: When Lois is making an orange juice the position of the oranges differs between wide and close shots.
Continuity mistake: During the scene where villains arrive to the Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen's haircut changes from long to very short.
Continuity mistake: When Clark comes back to the diner to take revenge, a dish next to the bad guy suddenly appears.
Continuity mistake: When Super arrives at the Daily Planet to defy the 3 villains, the outside shot shows three piles of books lined along the window. From the inside, all of the books are piled to the right. Also, the number of trophies on the bookshelf on the right, and the type and number of books changes between shots.
Continuity mistake: At the end of the movie, in the diner, the bad guy's food keeps changing appearance.
Continuity mistake: When Superman reveals his identity to Lois, the liquid in the top of the lava lamp changes from filled to empty in half a second.
Visible crew/equipment: Crew members are seen wandering inside Lois' apartment at the end of the movie.
Revealing mistake: When Non and Zod break in through the White House window, a black strap is seen attached to each one's body to help them descend safely.
Continuity mistake: After Superman throws Zod against the ice wall, Non's position changes between shots: First he is way behind Luthor, and a second later both are side by side.
Continuity mistake: When Non enters the Daily Planet there's a wood shelf with four sheets of paper, the ones in the middle are yellow and the rest are black and white. When the shot changes to a wide angle, all the papers are black and white.
Revealing mistake: When Zod throws a man against the wall in East Houston, the man goes through the wall into a truck. Before he crashes against the truck, wires holding him are visible.
Continuity mistake: When Ursa sits down to arm wrestle, coasters magically appear on the table.
Continuity mistake: When Non rampages the Daily planet, the grey file cabinet lying on the floor changes positions before and after he enters.
Continuity mistake: Superman descends to stop the big truck from exploding and lands in front of it, by the cabin. A frame later he is seen landing a meter before the truck.
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