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If you think Superman fans arguing about Superman movies is a new phenomenon, then I have news for you. Superman fans have been at war with one another since the days before the internet. For example, there’s a scene in Superman II that fans have been arguing about since the film was released in 1980.

In the film Clark Kent (as played by Chris Reeve) gives up his powers to begin a new life with Lois Lane. The two go to a diner, where an unruly patron beats Clark up. After regaining his powers, Clark returns to the diner to give the patron a taste of his own medicine. The scene has been a source of controversy for years, with some fans enjoying Superman cutting loose, and others believing it’s out of character for Clark to go after an ordinary man out of revenge.

Tom Welling, who played Clark Kent on Smallville, says that he’s a fan of the scene. In fact, he considers it a quintessential Superman moment.

“With Chris [Reeve], and being Superman, when people say Superman, I still think of him,” Tom Welling says during a Smallville panel at New York Comic Con 2022. “The scene of him in the diner when he gives up his powers and gets beat up, and then goes back and beats up the jerk, that to me is like the Superman moment.”

For more on Smallville, watch the complete panel below.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. Oh, and don't forget our guide to what's coming up for DC projects on the big and small screens.