Of the DC Comics characters, Batman may be the most popular, but Superman has always been there right along there with him. So to show our appreciation for this classic superhero we had to compile our list of the best Superman movie quotes.
1. Man of Steel (2013)
Directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay by David S. Goyer, the story follows Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) as he learns that he is a superpowered alien from the planet Krypton. He assumes the role of mankind’s protector as Superman, making the choice to face General Zod (Michael Shannon) and prevent him from destroying humanity.
Read the Man of Steel movie review here.
'People are afraid of what they don't understand.' - Jonathan Kent (Man of Steel) Click To Tweet
Lara Lor-Van: He’ll be an outcast, a freak. They’ll kill him.
Jor-El: No, he’ll be a God to them.
Jor-El: Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you.
'Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith first, the trust part comes later.' - Father Leone (Man of Steel) Click To Tweet
Clark Kent (13 Years): What was I supposed to do? Just let them die?
Jonathan Kent: Maybe. There’s more at stake here than just our lives, Clark, or the lives of those around us. When the world, when the world finds out what you can do, it’s going to change everything. Our beliefs, our notions of what it means to be human, everything.
Jonathan Kent: You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Because, whoever that man is, good character or bad, he’s going to change the world.
'If history has proven anything, it is that the evolution always wins.' - Faora-Ul (Man of Steel) Click To Tweet
Jor-El: [opens his coat to reveal ‘S’ shape symbol on his suit] The symbol of the house of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force for good. That’s what you can bring them.
'A good death has its own reward.' - Faora-Ul (Man of Steel) Click To Tweet
Clark Kent: Why am I so different from them?
Jor-El: Earth’s sun is younger and brighter than Krypton’s was. Your cells have drunk in its radiation, strengthening your muscles, your skin, your senses. Earth’s gravity is weaker, yet its atmosphere is more nourishing. You’ve grown stronger here than I ever could imagine. The only way to know how strong is to keep testing your limits.
2. Superman (1978)
'I'm here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.' - Superman, 'You're going to end up fighting every elected official in this country!' - Lois Lane (Superman) Click To TweetDirected by Richard Donner and the we follows the origin of Superman (Christopher Reeve), after he his father Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sends him as an infant named Kal-El on a spaceship to Earth before the destruction of the planet Krypton. Then as he grows up to become reporter Clark Kent, and adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) whilst battling the villainous Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman).
Jor-El: [bidding farewell] You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you, even in the face of our death. The richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I’ve learned, everything I feel, all this, and more, I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you, all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I, all I can send you, Kal-El.
Jonathan Kent: When you first came to us, we thought people would come and take you away because, when they found out, you know, the things you could do, and that worried us a lot. But then a man gets older, and he starts thinking differently and things get very clear. And one thing I do know, son, and that is you are here for a reason. I don’t know whose reason, or whatever the reason is. Maybe it’s because, uh, I don’t know. But I do know one thing. It’s not to score touchdowns.
'Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.' - Lex Luthor (Superman) Click To Tweet
Jor-El: [at the Fortress of Solitude] So, my son. Speak.
Young Clark Kent: Who am I?
Jor-El: Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton. Even though you’ve been raised as a human, you are not one of them. You have great powers, only some of which you have as yet discovered.
Jor-El: [as Clark discovers his heritage] Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. But always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son.
3. Superman II (1980)
Directed by both Richard Lester and Richard Donner. The story centers on three criminals, General Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa, (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O’Halloran) from the planet Krypton, who test the Superman’s mettle. Led by General Zod, the Kryptonians take control of the White House and partner with Lex Luthor to destroy Superman and rule the world. But Superman, who after attempting to make himself human in order to get closer to Lois, realizes he has a responsibility to save the planet.
Clark Kent: General, would you care to step outside?
General Zod: Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!
Ursa: [after using heat vision on a snake] Did you see that? Did you see what I did? I have powers beyond reason here!
General Zod: We all have them, my dear.
Superman: [after admitting that he’s Superman] We’d better talk.
Lois Lane: I’m in love with you.
Superman: We’d really better talk.
Clark Kent: [seeing his seat has been taken] Excuse me sir, you’re sitting in my seat.
Rocky: [referring to the bathroom Clark just exited]You’re seat’s in there, four eyes.
Clark Kent: Somebody ought to teach you some manners, sir.
Rocky: Oh, yeah? Well, let me know when he comes in.
4. Superman III (1983)
Directed by both Richard Lester. Aiming to defeat the Superman, wealthy tycoon Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects to Superman.
Ross Webster: Congratulations. You’re going to go down in history as the man who killed Superman.
Ross Webster: What will it do?
Gus Gorman: Anything I tell it.
Ross Webster: What will it do for me?
Gus Gorman: For you, it will do anything you tell me to tell it to do for you.
Gus Gorman: I don’t want to go to jail because there are robbers and rapers and rapers who rape robbers.
Perry White: I don’t have to tell you, it isn’t easy for me to lose one of my best reporters.
Clark Kent: Oh, that’s okay.
Perry White: But you deserve the vacation, Lois.
Lois Lane: Thank you.
5. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie in Christopher Reeve’s final outing as Superman. With global superpowers engaged in an increasingly hostile arms race, Superman leads a crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons. But Lex Luthor, recently sprung from jail, is declaring war on Superman and his quest to save the planet. clones Superman with radioactive material to create Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) and ignites an epic battle spanning Earth and space.
Superman: You’d risk worldwide nuclear war for your own personal financial gain.
Lex Luthor: Nobody wants war. I just want to keep the threat alive.
Lex Luthor: You know what I can do with a single strand of Superman’s hair?
Lenny: You can make a toupee that flies.
Lex Luthor: Destroy Superman!
Nuclear Man: First, I have fun.
Superman: And there will be peace. There will be peace when the people of the world, want it so badly, that their governments will have no choice but to give it to them. I just wish you could all see the Earth the way that I see it. Because when you really look at it, it’s just one world.
6. Superman Returns (2006)
Directed by Bryan Singer, in this version of the story, Superman (Brandon Routh) returns to Earth after a five-year absence to find that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with her life, and that his archenemy Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is plotting a scheme to kill him and reshape North America.
Lex Luthor: Kitty, what did my father always say?
Kitty: You’re losing your hair?
Lex Luthor: Before that.
Kitty: Get out?
Superman: [to Jason, who’s asleep] You will be different. Sometimes you’ll feel like an outcast, but you’ll never be alone. You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son.
Superman: Listen. What do you hear?
Lois Lane: Nothing.
Superman: I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one.
Lois Lane: [referring to Jason] He’s a little fragile, but he’s going to grow up to be big and strong, just like his dad.
7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Directed by Zack Snyder. Following on from Man of Steel (2013), fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. At the same time, the conniving Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) launches his own crusade against the Man of Steel.
Clark Kent: [to Lois] No one stays good in this world.
See more Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Quotes
8. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Director’s cut of the 2017 Justice League film. Determined to ensure Superman’s ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.
Clark Kent: This is home.
Lois Lane: You spoke.
Clark Kent: Did I not before?
Clark Kent: [to Steppenwolf] Not impressed.
See more Justice League Quotes