Director Richard Donner first put Superman in cinemas in 1978, with Christopher Reeve's easy charm cementing his place as the definitive film vision of Clark Kent. Superman II was meant to be filmed simultaneously, but production slowed when the producers wanted to be certain they had a hit on their hands. Richard Lester took charge of II and went on to helm Superman III as well, ceding to demands to make the film franchise more campy and fun. The combined results led to some of the weirdest depictions of Superman's powers ever to be seen, and the following is a list of them.
1) Oddly Specific Time Travel
Time travel in fiction may be given a quasi-scientific layer to make it feel plausible, or at least, begs the audience to go with it. The climax of Superman is the latter, with the hero flying aggressively against the Earth's rotation until it spins time backwards. Lois Lane is saved from an earthquake set off by Lex Luthor, and thus the story has a happy ending.
This is not a normal Superman power. It shows up in no other media, nor does his occasional foot-race against the Flash ever cause similar results. Superman doesn't even use it in the sequels to stop General Zod, much less prank his drunken self in Superman III. Time travel in the Donner-initiated franchise is a one-off mystery, its mechanics hotly debated on fan forums every few years, and the director's own breakdown of the scene during the extras of the 2006 Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut edition doesn't help. Even so, it's still incredibly cool to watch.
2) The Fortress of Solitude's Sci-Fi Capabilities
A counterpart to Batman's cave, the Fortress spent decades depicted as a sanctuary where Superman could be Kal-El for a while, surrounded by artifacts collected on his many adventures. The Donner films introduced a glorious crystal vision of the Fortress. The Fortress was also given strange technological capabilities that had barely been hinted at in comics canon. Early in Superman II, Lois discovers Clark's secret identity and they visit the fortress, where, in an act of devotion, Superman uses a red Kryptonian crystal chamber to turn himself mortal.
However, it's never answered why the fortress has such a thing. It's nothing more than a plot device, a way to give the Phantom Zone villains time to make an impact before Superman reclaims his powers. Similarly, the Fortress seems to allow Kal-El to disperse mirages of himself to fool the villains. At least this ability has some internal logic behind it, as it previously displayed a hologram of Jor-El to his son.
The legacy of this version of the Fortress was set for the next generation. Smallville introduced the Fortress in its fifth season, revealing a version that was almost identical to the Donner films, including the same strange tech abilities operated by a Jor-El artificial intelligence. In comics, the Post-Crisis and New 52 Fortresses also drew from the films. So while the Fortress's "gifts" were strange at the time, they added something lasting and interesting to Superman's history.
The Sigil Becomes a 'Shield'
The most infamously weird moment of Superman II is when Superman plucks the symbol from his chest and tosses it at Non, the third member of General Zod's trio. The symbol expands into a cellophane "net," taking Non out of the fight. There's no lead up to this ability, and no explanation. The simplest theory is that it's more Fortress of Solitude weirdness, as this happens at the climax of the film when Superman is re-empowered and within his private lair. But there's no way to say this for certain, and even the strangest Silver Age comics never had anything as bonkers as this device. Donner's 2006 version removed this sequence, and the ability has never been shown again.
4) The Super-Kiss
At the end of Superman II, Superman kisses Lois, and the smooch wipes her memory of several days of romance and danger, rendering Clark the affable loser of the Daily Planet once again. The "Kiss of Forgetfulness" felt cheap to some viewers, a cop-out return to status quo simply used to set the scene for more Superman adventures. Yet this brief snog is both one of the weirdest abilities in the film and the most canonical. Action Comics #306 "The Great Superman Impersonation" by Robert Bernstein and Al Plastino established the super-kiss way back in 1963. A quick smooch at Christmas places a similar befuddling effect on Lois Lane after Superman rescues a Latin American president from an assassination attempt.
5) Split Personality
Not a usable ability but more a temporary curse, Superman is exposed to synthetic kryptonite that's been laced with tobacco residue during the events of Superman III. The last film of the Donner-Lester era trilogy is the weirdest on principle, although Superman himself is a more "normal" Superman here than he was in the previous film. The toxic Kryptonite generated by Richard Pryor's hapless would-be engineer gradually turns Superman into the Florida Man version of himself, a selfish jerk that goes around committing petty pranks and small crimes. Eventually, he ends up splitting into two individuals entirely, and fights himself in a junkyard until his better half comes out dominant.
This trilogy of classic 1980's films created a modern Superman that was charismatic, funny and relatable. Even with a slate of oddball powers that would set the internet on fire if they were filmed today, the films endure, standing firm on the most important power Superman wields: his humanity.