Classic Scene: “If you’ve got me, then who’s got you!?”

“If you’ve got me, then who’s got you?!”

from Superman

by Richard Donner 1978

The Scene: Thanks to a freak helicopter accident, Lois Lane is sent falling from a tall building with only the cold hard concrete beneath her to break her fall. But out of no where comes; Superman, making his first appearance to the people of Metropolis. The Man of Steel calmly reassure Lois by telling her, “Don’t worry miss, I’ve got you,” in his best super hero voice. But the awe struck reporter panics and yells, “If you’ve got me…then who’s got you?!”. The Man of Steel just smiles and flies her to safety.

The Deconstruction: This film was promoted with the tagline, “You will believe that a man can fly” not “It kinda looks like a man can fly” so the special effects for this scene had to be perfect. The idea that Superman made his debut to the people by saving Lois Lane from a fall is well established, but this was the first time this classic moment would be seen on screen.

The build up to this scene was perfect, Lois dangled off the side of a helicopter forcing Clark Kent to fin

ally change into the red and blue suit he’s been dying to show off. He quickly tries to duck into a phone booth, but Donner establishes this clearly modern take on Superman by having Clark only find a broken down pay phone. As Lois goes soaring to the ground Kent finally changes into his suit and flies up to catch her. The scene definitely plays to the sense of fantastical wonderment in the film by not only having the Man of Steel show up in such grandiose fashion but he also gives everyone a bit of home spun wisdom on the safety of flying…statistically speaking. The scene also gives us a perfect example as to why Christopher Reeve was the perfect Superman, he had to sell the fantasy of it all while making a generous completely non-cynical character cool and he succeeds on all accounts.Thus is born one of cinema’s greatest heroes.

Best Bit: Everyone remembers Lois’ freakout to being caught by a flying man in tights, but they often forget Superman’s response. Superman just gives off a smile and continues on his way, a simple gesture that speaks volumes about the character, for all of his powers Superman is just a humble regular guy.