5 Easter Eggs from Henry Cavill's Superman Movies No One Even Noticed
Henry Cavill has already hung his Superman cloak but fans are still finding new references and Easter eggs in his Man of Steel movies. Here are the five most obscure!
5. Man of Steel Induces LexCorp Paranoia
Throughout numerous generations and iterations of Clark Kent’s story, some things remain unchanged — and Superman ’s rivalry with the powerful mogul Lex Luthor is one of them. LexCorp, Luthor’s global corporation, stretches its tentacles all across the globe, so it only makes sense that we see its signs and name all over the place.
Sure enough, as with all things comics, fans decided to find every last Easter egg related to the corporation in Man of Steel, but one of them proved too obscure.
For the longest time, fans believed there were only two LexCorp references in Man of Steel, but then the third one was discovered. The elusive sign was found on the construction site where Superman fought General Zod, making LexCorp’s presence ever so slightly more significant in Metropolis. Corporations truly are everywhere!
_27800.webp)
4. Man of Steel Honors Superman’s First Flight
What first jumps to mind when someone says “Superman?” A bulky flying man with a near-indestructible body shooting laser beams from his eyes is the first thought — but in fact, Clark Kent wasn’t always designed like this. Superman’s first version didn’t have the ability to fly; instead, he jumped between buildings in massive leaps.
It probably looked rather impressive considering the superhero’s physique, but the damage to the skyscrapers’ window panels must have cost a fortune to repair.
Man of Steel’s First Flight scene paid tribute to the iconic superhero’s origins by showing his struggle to take off. In the movie, Superman has to take several huge leaps before finally taking into the sky, which is a direct — but overlooked — reference to his first design. Imagine if he was still frog-jumping around Metropolis!
3. Man of Steel Salutes Superman Lives
There may be more live-action Superman adaptations than we can count, but there should have been even more. Back in the day, Tim Burton’s Superman Lives saw a grim finale when it was axed before entering production — and while we only know a few details about the movie, it’s sometimes subtly referenced in modern installments.
Apart from the endless pre-production issues, the movie had one too many problems to proceed: some members of the Superman Lives crew demanded…weird details.
When Man of Steel’s Superman contacts his father, there’s a seemingly random shot of a polar bear in the surroundings. Most people didn’t think twice about it, but it was actually a Superman Lives reference: the canceled movie’s producer wanted his villain Brainiac to kill a polar bear. Snyder wasn’t this cruel to the animal, though.
2. Man of Steel Gives a Shoutout to Smallville
While not nearly as big as DC’s high-budget Superman movies, Smallville used to be a reasonably popular TV show about Clark Kent’s upbringing. As a teenager, the future Superman learns to deal with his exciting powers while also facing the harsh reality of coming of age. The series adds new characters, including Chloe Sullivan.
Even if you’re a staunch DC fan, this name might not ring a bell but don’t worry. Pretty much no one apart from Smallville fans ever learned about her existence.
In Smallville, Chloe is Lois Lane’s cousin, but her presence was only limited to this show for the longest time. Man of Steel recognized her as a relevant character by adding a small reference: when young Clark is being bullied, his father watches it from Sullivan's Truck & Tractor Repair shop which was a neat little detail.
1. Man of Steel References the Book of Exodus
Often recognized as “the most perfect superhero,” Superman is a virtuous person who doesn’t know fear and would go to any lengths to make things right. For that, he’s compared with the biblical figures, and several iterations of Clark Kent’s story made use of such comparison by referencing various scenes from the Bible.
The urge to make your movie more epic by adding some divine details must be too strong when your hero is the modern Jesus, and Snyder also gave in to that desire.
One of Superman’s first superhero feats saw him save workers from a burning oil rig — and while the Man of Steel is on fire, he doesn’t burn or hurt from it. This is a direct reference to the Burning Bush from the Book of Exodus which once again highlights Superman’s godly nature. As if Cavill’s charming smile wasn’t proof enough!