Because Jor El got rid of the toxic atmosphere.
No, earth air doesn't give sensory powers. The sun gives powers. The masks block sensory powers.
The only wacky bit is why the Kryptonians need he masks in the first place.
So, about those Man of Steel reviews...
- Thread starter Morrus
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Because Jor El got rid of the toxic atmosphere.
No, earth air doesn't give sensory powers. The sun gives powers. The masks block sensory powers.
The only wacky bit is why the Kryptonians need he masks in the first place.
Snapdragyn
Explorer
He awoke on the table before 'Jor-El' ever did anything to the air. He appeared recovered (wasn't passed out or coughing up blood) & tried to escape - he couldn't. The doctor told him he was as weak as the rest of them there.
This of course raises another point - if it's 'sun gives powers, Kryptonian air takes it away from Kal-El only since he isn't used to it', then why didn't all of the other Kryptonians have super strength on the ship? They're used to the air, & they've been exposed to the yellow sunlight when they went down to the surface to get him - but they're not shown using any super strength or speed.
If the masks block sensory powers as you hypothesize, then as I asked previously - why weren't we shown the Kryptonians being overwhelmed by sensory input on the ship when they didn't have masks to block them? Again, they'd been exposed to our sunlight already, so they should've required masks all the time at that point.
Really, there is just NO way of looking at the variety of 'this character has this power under these circumstances while those characters have these powers under that circumstance' mishmash of the film & coming up w/ any sort of consistent logic to explain it all. It's a big, lazy, messy, FAIL.
This of course raises another point - if it's 'sun gives powers, Kryptonian air takes it away from Kal-El only since he isn't used to it', then why didn't all of the other Kryptonians have super strength on the ship? They're used to the air, & they've been exposed to the yellow sunlight when they went down to the surface to get him - but they're not shown using any super strength or speed.
If the masks block sensory powers as you hypothesize, then as I asked previously - why weren't we shown the Kryptonians being overwhelmed by sensory input on the ship when they didn't have masks to block them? Again, they'd been exposed to our sunlight already, so they should've required masks all the time at that point.
Really, there is just NO way of looking at the variety of 'this character has this power under these circumstances while those characters have these powers under that circumstance' mishmash of the film & coming up w/ any sort of consistent logic to explain it all. It's a big, lazy, messy, FAIL.
Dragonblade
Adventurer
Essentially a combination of the sun's radiation and the atmosphere is what gives them power. Not completely one by itself. Aboard the ship, most of the Kryptonians were not much above Earth normal. For the Kryptonians this is because they hadn't yet absorbed much yellow sun radiation (partially blocked by the ship's hull) and hadn't breathed a lot of Earth air. Supes was effectively poisoned by the ship's air becoming weaker. Initially very weak when he collapses, but eventually gets back to Earth normal as his body adjusts. When Jor-El changes the atmosphere back, he immediately recovers enough of his superhuman strength (which he still mostly had from prior residual radiation storage) to break free and punch a hole in the ship, where the unfiltered sun restores him back to full strength.
The air change also temporarily weakens the Kryptonian scientist Jax-Ur because his body wasn't used to it. The same reaction Clark had when he was a baby as mentioned by Martha Kent earlier in the movie. It has a similar effect on the other Kryptonians too. Though as they breathed more of it, they would gradually get stronger again. On the ship, they weren't significantly stronger than humans because of the air and radiation shielding, but when on Earth, the sun and air gives them a big boost. Though they are all weaker than Superman until the end of the movie when Zod finally reaches near Superman level ability.
The helmets primarily helped block the sensory overload effect, and helped filter enough Kryptonian air with Earth air so that it would mitigate the atmosphere adjustment period. Later Zod gets slammed with sensory overload when he loses his helmet, and later Faora does too.
The air change also temporarily weakens the Kryptonian scientist Jax-Ur because his body wasn't used to it. The same reaction Clark had when he was a baby as mentioned by Martha Kent earlier in the movie. It has a similar effect on the other Kryptonians too. Though as they breathed more of it, they would gradually get stronger again. On the ship, they weren't significantly stronger than humans because of the air and radiation shielding, but when on Earth, the sun and air gives them a big boost. Though they are all weaker than Superman until the end of the movie when Zod finally reaches near Superman level ability.
The helmets primarily helped block the sensory overload effect, and helped filter enough Kryptonian air with Earth air so that it would mitigate the atmosphere adjustment period. Later Zod gets slammed with sensory overload when he loses his helmet, and later Faora does too.
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Snapdragyn
Explorer
Except that the actual information we're given in the film about the helmets is that they're called 'breathers' (Faora calls one this when she fastens it around Lois before they cycle through the airlock onto the ship) & that they have to do with breathing (again from what Faora says to Lois).
We're now at the point of ascribing abilities to props that are never stated in the film in order to develop a way to cover the glaring plot holes in the film. Why bother?
We're now at the point of ascribing abilities to props that are never stated in the film in order to develop a way to cover the glaring plot holes in the film. Why bother?
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Dragonblade
Adventurer
Jor-El specifically stated that Clark's "cells have drunk in the radiation of Earth's younger sun, and that Earth's atmosphere is more nourishing than Krypton's". So that part is pretty straight forward and right there in the movie.
We know Kyrptonian's have to adjust based on baby Kal struggling to breathe per Martha. And we know from Zod's reaction to his helmet getting breached that he hadn't previously been affected by sensory overload, but he did have super strength and durability already. Its possible that the combination of air and sun is what finally triggered it, and not the helmet blocking it per my prior conjecture. I don't think we know enough how exposure grants their powers to really say whether its a plot hole or not.
Man in the Funny Hat
Hero
I liked the revisions to the origin story, but there were a LOT of failings and missed opportunities in the story as it developed further.
You can argue about plot holes if you like. I enjoyed the 143 minutes well enough I suppose and I retain hopes that a sequel will do MUCH better, but this movie lost its grip on me fast enough not to care about about plot holes.
The ending was a very tediously choreographed fight. It was highly unimaginative and as endless as the slugfest between Nada and Frank in They Live. It was like 20 minutes of nothing more than Supes and Nod tossing each other into buildings. This time they go in one side and out the other. This time they go in and come back out the same hole. This time they go in at an upward angle. This building is brick. The next one is glass. Then there's one that's not finished... Seriously? _I_ can write better fights than that and I'm a talentless amateur without even enough experience to call myself a wannabe.
In the beginning he's still a kid being told by his Earthly dad to keep his abilities secret. When it comes to saving a bus full of his classmates and dad tells him again it was a bad idea. Clark asks if he should have stood idle and WATCHED them die. That should have been a VERY pivotal moment. It SHOULD have been made the pivotal conflict of the entire movie - raised by Kent to live in fear and in secret, but then told by Jor El that he should be the most conspicuous man on the planet leading humans to be greater by all being BETTER. But the scene passes with a non-committal shrug and the interesting conflict that up to that point had been utilized very well in the story, was allowed to be entirely forgotten and supplanted by a dull, alien-invasion, save-the-earth SFX spectacle.
In the beginning he's still a kid being told by his Earthly dad to keep his abilities secret. When it comes to saving a bus full of his classmates and dad tells him again it was a bad idea. Clark asks if he should have stood idle and WATCHED them die. That should have been a VERY pivotal moment. It SHOULD have been made the pivotal conflict of the entire movie - raised by Kent to live in fear and in secret, but then told by Jor El that he should be the most conspicuous man on the planet leading humans to be greater by all being BETTER. But the scene passes with a non-committal shrug and the interesting conflict that up to that point had been utilized very well in the story, was allowed to be entirely forgotten and supplanted by a dull, alien-invasion, save-the-earth SFX spectacle.
You can argue about plot holes if you like. I enjoyed the 143 minutes well enough I suppose and I retain hopes that a sequel will do MUCH better, but this movie lost its grip on me fast enough not to care about about plot holes.
On one level, it's a quality movie. All the acting is top notch. Directing is better than your average eye-candy movie. Script is tight--not big plot holes or fuzzy explanations.
So...why didn't I love this movie?
I thought it was OK. I'm glad I saw it.
But, it sure didn't rock my world the way I thought it would.
I think it's because it came across to me as more of a science fiction movie than a movie about a superhero.
I went with a buddy, and he LOVED it, giving it 4/5 stars (we reserve 5 stars only for the best, earth-shaking, bestus films we've ever seen).
So, what do I know?
Prolly nothing.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
So...why didn't I love this movie?
I thought it was OK. I'm glad I saw it.
But, it sure didn't rock my world the way I thought it would.
I think it's because it came across to me as more of a science fiction movie than a movie about a superhero.
I went with a buddy, and he LOVED it, giving it 4/5 stars (we reserve 5 stars only for the best, earth-shaking, bestus films we've ever seen).
So, what do I know?
Prolly nothing.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
tomBitonti
Adventurer
Thought a lot the same.
I found the
city smashing at the end to be over the top; talk about PTSD or post 9/11 triggers.
There were minor issues. Superman
stealing cloths
to be explained in too much detail
Mostly, though, there was much much too much huge
city smashing
how many people would have died
Thx!
TomB
Grumpy RPG Reviews
Explorer
I understood it to be both, air and sunlight. Just one or the other would not be sufficient for the full range of powers (endurance, strength, flight, vision, the ability to be a forum moderator).
sabrinathecat
Explorer
So, I have a potentially dangerous question: Was Darkmatter2525 (youtube) off-base with his comments about christian imagery being forced into the movie/onto the character?
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