I can’t believe one of the most genuinely unsettling deaths in the entire Superman movie roster came about in the original 1978 Superman film, despite the DC movie now being almost half a century old. Before the new DC Universe release schedule or the older DCEU timeline, Superman’s original movie series defined what a superhero movie could be in a lot of major ways. While the films aren’t flawless in every sense, the heart they give to the source material is impossible to ignore, and this is most strikingly true with the series’ first Superman offering.

Superman manages to be an epic depiction of a super-powered hero and his extraterrestrial lore while also being an endearing depiction of Clark Kent’s double life that shows him at his most human even when he’s flying around and using his superhuman strength. However, one notably underrated other feat the film’s story accomplishes is depicting one of the most actively unsettling deaths in the hero’s movie history, even when factoring in the comparative restrictions on bloodshed and violence these classic movies had versus new additions to the Superman movie lineup.

Lois Lane’s Death In The Original 1978 Superman Movie Is Genuinely Unsettling To Watch To This Day

Lois’ Demise Is A Pretty Intense One

The final act of the 1978 Superman movie sees its тιтular hero escape Lex Luthor’s clutches and seek to deal with the two missiles Luthor has unleashed – with one aimed at the San Andreas Fault to try and destroy the current Californian coast, and one accidentally programed to head elsewhere by his bumbling ᴀssistant Otis. Having promised to deal with the latter missile first after being freed from Lex’s trap by Lex’s other ᴀssistant, Eve Teschmacher, Superman finds himself too late to save Lois Lane, whose car falls into a rift in the ground made by the subsequent earthquake, and who dies during this ordeal.

While some of the 1978 movie’s larger-than-life events and stunts stay in the more cartoonish realm thanks to both the time that’s pᴀssed since the movie was made and its often more playful approach to adapting the source material, this isn’t the way Lois’ death is depicted in the story. Because the film needs to underline both the severity of what is happening and make this sequence long enough that you believe Superman may actually save Lois right up until the end, Lois’ car being slowly filled with earth and suffocating her is shown in extensive and surprisingly horrific detail, culminating in her eventual death.

This is exacerbated by the acting talents of both Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve, as Kidder is able to sell Lois increasingly panicking as she realizes her fate appears to be sealed – something that’s especially harrowing given that the character is otherwise depicted as confident and somewhat fearless in the film – and given Reeve truly sells Superman’s devastation upon realizing he’s arrived too late. For a movie that generally leans into its comedic aspects, this ends up being both one of the most intense moments in the movie, and thus one of Superman’s most brutal on-screen movie deaths of all time.

Lois Lane’s Movie Death Feels Even Worse After Decades Of Superhero Movies Because It Goes Against What You Expect To Happen

The Plot Twist Of Lois Dying Works Even Better After Decades Of Superman Movies

Though there was already some considerable on-screen and on-page history for superheroes by the time of Superman‘s initial 1978 release, I think this Lois Lane death actually hits even harder all these years later, with so many other newer superhero movies to compare it to. A movie’s hero saving their love interest from certain doom is one of the most long-running tropes in the superhero genre, and while it’s been toyed with in several interesting ways in the films that have released since, Superman having Lois actively die before Clark turns back time to save her is one of the most impactful ways this has been tweaked.

Ultimately, most superhero movies have a moment like this, but one wherein the protagonist is able to show up just before the worst happens, and deal with things accordingly. As such, the idea that one of the first major films in the genre took such a different approach to things in its own story is all the more striking, and all the more interesting to revisit all these years later, especially given how genuinely unsettling it is to watch Lois slowly be crushed to death and suffocate just before Clark is able to actually appear and lend his superpowered aid.

Looking back now, Superman‘s Lois death plot twist is so effective because it goes against this convention in such a major way, and in an era where there was more room to simply allow stories to follow more traditional and classical comicbook stories and tropes like having the Man of Steel arrive just in the nick of time to save the day. That said, this also makes this sequence even more lastingly horrific as well, since it’s so at odds with much of the rest of the genre, and the length of it underlines how brutal this death actually is for Lois to experience before it’s eventually undone.

Lois Lane’s Death Being So Awful Justifies Superman’s Decision To Turn Back Time To Save Her

The Major Superman Power Moment Makes More Sense Given How Brutal Lois’ Initial Death Is Shown To Be

Lois’ death famously leads Clark to turn back time in order to save her life and get another chance at protecting her from certain doom, with him flying around the Earth as fast as he can to travel back to before Lane’s car had even fallen into a faultline. This colossal move is one that many who haven’t even seen the film are aware of because of its place in pop culture, especially since it raised many questions about the Kryptonian wonder’s powers, and whether he could just theoretically undo any suboptimal results of his hero exploits by doing the exact same later down the line.

However, Superman going to these extremes does feel more justified because of how exceedingly awful we know Lois’ last moments were, given the viewer has to experience them with her and then see the painful aftermath as well. Indeed, the movie arguably pulls this off far better than it’s given credit for in later years, as the way these events take place lets you feel that Clark is a person capable of making mistakes and not always being able to save the day, even when he’s able to accomplish truly extraordinary feats like turning back the clock to save Lois with this second chance.

Almost 50 years after Superman‘s movie debut, much has changed, but the original film still holds its crown in many senses – and contains many scenes that are all the more interesting because of how the superhero genre and its movie offerings have changed in the years that have come since. That said, I’m oddly glad that Lois Lane’s death in the Superman movie remains one of the most lingeringly haunting in the hero’s roster – partially because it helps keep the plot feeling poignant despite all the time that’s pᴀssed, and partially because it’s such an impressive feat from a relatively violence-free movie.