Don’t think about it, that’s the first rule. Just…don’t.
Mopey isn’t super-knowledgeable about superheroes, but she’s seen enough Superman movies (i.e. that specific one) to know that you can reverse time by reversing the planet’s rotation…by flying around it into the opposite direction really fast. On top of that, she has the instinctual understanding of her new powers and their limits which the majority* of superheroes seem to have upon being freshly-minted. So she knows it’s possible and she knows she can do it, so she does it…likely for the only time ever, since the ability to reverse time is just too problematic in terms of getting the plot to make some semblance of sense. So this particular new-found power of hers is certain to be quickly and mercifully buried after this single application.
But that’s not the things you shouldn’t think about…those things are:
– reversing the planet’s rotation so abruptly would be very bad for its geological stability. It’s not a solid object, after all…and exerting that kind of force onto a rotating mass of a viscous liquid would have certain unfortunate consequences of any potential solid crust such a mass might have. So Mopey would be causing an extinction-level-event at the very least…if she’s a bit overenthusiastic or clumsy, she might even manage to cause the planet to break up.
– while the effects on the planet would be drastic and tragic, the effects on time would be nil. We measure time by the planet’s rotation (among other things, nowadays), but the rotation doesn’t cause or control the flow of time.
Of course I stated all of that only so you can not-think about it better. Just lean back and go with the moment. Cheesy and silly as it was, I have a soft spot for that particular scene…and would hope that this homage could be enjoyable on similar grounds. XD
More on Thursday.
*Admittedly, some creators avoid that inexplicable trope and even make it a plot-point that newly-empowered superheroes struggle to understand and correctly apply their new-found powers.
Of course, there’s also believing that an alien identical in appearance to humans survived a multi-galaxy trip in five-ish years without food, air or toilet facilities, arrived bare in Kansas and didn’t kill the Earthers on sight, grew up unnoticed until time to reveal himself and was NOT immediately attacked as a threat to human life OR became overwhelmed with the sheer volume of humans who began doing stupid crap because they counted on being saved… why not turning back time by reversing the orbit? By that point in the movie, one had accepted so many things thru suspended disbelief that the final miracle shouldn’t be an issue.
“It is FORBIDDEN to interfere with human history…” Okay Pops, whaddya gonna do about it?
Yeah, it starts with an alien race identical in appearance to humans…who automatically have super-powers on Earth due to differences in light frequency and gravity. Convergent evolution in radically different environments, you hear of that all the time. >_> And, as hard to believe as that sounds, it was still one of the more logically and scientifically based origin stories of that day and age. And, also yeah, the chain of events taking place in Kansas, and the mindset Clark has upon leaving it, are also highly implausible – but it’s Kansas, so nothing is impossible.
But nothing of that can really diminish the cheesy glory of that scene…the staging is just perfect, from the pacing to the music, and the absence of acting. You have to turn your brain off completely to enjoy the scene, but I feel it’s worth it. XD