Terrorists threaten to destroy Paris with a hydrogen bomb.

French commandos detonate explosive charges on the Eiffel Tower elevator cables in order to capture the bomb in the car, unaware that it has been primed and so inadvertently start the countdown to detonation, as well as the fact that Lois is riding it underneath. Superman arrives to stop the car, and after removing Lois from it, pushes the car through the roof of the tower's shaft and into space to explode harmlessly. Superman is buffeted by the explosion's shockwaves which also destroy the Phantom Zone crystal, releasing the prisoners.

The Phantom Zone prisoners murder three astronauts on the Moon.

Upon arriving on Earth in a rural area, the Prisoners attack various people and police officers as they take control of the town. A young boy attempts to escape to bring help, only to be killed on Zod's orders when Non throws a police car's rotating light at him with super strength.

The US military attacks the Trio but they are no match for them as their weapons explode harmlessly around their invulnerable bodies. Ursa uses super breath to cause a military helicopter to crash.

The trio attack Mount Rushmore, defacing three of the faces into their own likenesses and destroy the Lincoln face.

The trio attack the White House. A heavy military guard attacks the trio to keep them from the Oval Office, but their weapons are useless against them. Lex Luthor attempts to engage his hand with Ursa's, only for her to start crushing his fingers.

Attempting to find Superman, the trio invade the Daily Planet offices, causing considerable damage and knocking out Perry White. l:ois Lane swings a punch at Ursa's face, only to end up clutching her hand and crying out in pain. Superman, newly repowered, arrives to challenge Zod and the Kryptonians engage in an extremely destructive battle in which the trio threaten civilians to gain the upper hand. At one point, Superman appears to have been killed when the trio throw a city bus loaded with people at him. At that point, an armed mob attempts to attack the trio but they use their combined superbreath to literally blow them all away. At this, Superman reemerges and attempts to thwart the attack, but decides to withdraw to lure the trio to his Fortress where he can fight them without endangering civilians.

1 use of 'Jesus H Christ', 1 use of SOB in the cinema cut but replace to son of a gun in the international cut, uses of hell, kick ass, Butt.

Lex Luthor and Perry White are seen frequently smoking cigars

Ursa meets an astronaut on the moon and attempts to grap his badge. He then runs away with Ursa chasing him. When she appears in front of him, she rips a hole in the shoulder of his spacesuit. We here him struggling for breath and gurgling and then he falls to the floor. In the next shot, we see either him or his spacesuit inflate, before being kicked in the crotch into outer space. This is the most violent, brutal scene in the film.

Convinced Clark is Superman, Lois deliberately jumps into a fast moving river hoping to force him to reveal his powers to save her. Although Lois is in deadly danger of drowning, Clark manages to save her without exposing his secret identity by severing a large tree branch with his heat vision and having it become a floatation device for Lois while he descends on foot to the river bank to pull her out.

When Superman enters the molecule chamber for the first time, most of his flesh is shown to melt away off of his body.