Deliberate mistake: The kid who falls into Niagara Falls spends 28 seconds falling before Superman catches him. Niagara Falls is 51 meters in total height. Considering how fast something falls, the kid should have hit the water long before Superman ever entered the scene. (00:39:30 - 00:40:00)
Continuity mistake: When the three super villains attack the astronauts on the moon, as Non lifts the lander's leg, there is a shot of the astronaut inside a collapsing cabin. It is like there is something crushing the roof inwards, but all three super villains are accounted for, with Zod sat in the moon buggy, Ursula standing next to him and Non lifting the lander. This happens twice in the space of a few seconds before Non jumps on top of the lander to crush it. (00:27:25)
Audio problem: In the Fortress of Solitude, when Superman kneels before Zod, we hear Lois sobbing, but her mouth and body don't move.
Deliberate mistake: French officers and firemen speak in English between them.
Continuity mistake: Inside the bar in East Houston, Zod pushes a man backwards, but the next shot shows the man flying as if he had been thrown upwards.
Revealing mistake: When Non goes through the pavement, the hole reveals it's a foam made floor.
Visible crew/equipment: When Non crashes Perry against the ceiling, a crew member's hand is seen holding Perry.
Revealing mistake: During the big fight in Metropolis, the close-up of the pram shows its empty or with blatant bundled pieces of fabric to simulate some sort of baby.
Continuity mistake: When Superman falls on the Marlboro truck, the part reading "Ma" gets more crumpled after Superman leaves the truck compared to when he landed on it.
Revealing mistake: When there are multiple Superman's in his home, Lois Lane runs to one of the fakes. It seems as if she is the fake because her image becomes slightly transparent as she runs through him.
Revealing mistake: Near the end of the film when the 3 villains enter the fortress, Ursa throws Lex Luther off her back and flies away. You can clearly see that it was a stuntman and not Gene Hackman.
Continuity mistake: When the News Beat reporter arrives, the shadow on the satellite dish changes significantly in a couple of seconds.
Continuity mistake: When the elevator falls down the shaft with Lois trapped underneath, Superman flies up to rescue her. He stops the elevator, and when he does, Lois climbs off from the bottom of the elevator and runs to hug him. Problem is, when she climbed off the bottom of the elevator, there should have been nothing but air underneath her.
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)
Revealing mistake: When Superman flies towards the White House, in the close-up his cape and flag flutter at a normal speed, but in the wide shot they move really fast, quite comically actually, revealing that the scene has been speeded-up.
Other mistake: When Clark and Lois return from the Fortress of Solitude in a green car, the footage is the exact same one used in Superman I when Luthor later crashed that very same car (time code for Superman I 1:34:04 vs 1:18:25 for Superman II).
Answer: Superman was well educated regarding his home planet's history. All this information was left for him by his parents at the secret installation at the North Pole.
raywest