Flying or Falling? You decide.

[Merfish]

Was it just me or did Clark look like he was flying for a sec when he threw her off the building?

[liebevision]

i thought it was the perfect opportunity... but no... that was a controlled fall. Like power tower at cedar point.

[Dodge006]

Flying!!!! LIKE A ROCK!

[Kalel x2x2]

So Clark basically jumped, did a dive down, caught Lana and 'stood upright' in the air and landed on the ground. Landed isn't even the word for it, lol. More like he controlled a crash landing. :D

[Timester]

The question is since when Metropolis is a ghost town?

[iheartCK4eva]

CLARK ISN'T GOING TO FLY ANY TIME SOON! AND WHERE IS KARA IN THIS EPISODE? IS SHE STILL MAD ABOUT CLARK BEING THE MARTIAN MAN HUNTER FRIEND! WE NEEDED SOME MORE HOTTNESS IN THIS EPY

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by Timester
The question is since when Metropolis is a ghost town?

Since everyone moved to Toronto to watch SV a day early.

[LoveHurts38]

Same thing he did with Lois but, instead of going up he went down...

[iheartCK4eva]

OBVIOUSLY U DIDNT NOTICE THAT THIS BULLETIN ON THIS TOPIC HAS ALREADY BEEN CREATED LOL

[Kalel x2x2]

Originally posted by iheartCK4eva
OBVIOUSLY U DIDNT NOTICE THAT THIS BULLETIN ON THIS TOPIC HAS ALREADY BEEN CREATED LOL
Sorry...:\ It was posted at almost the exact same time.

Obviously you forgot where your CAPS lock key is. ;)

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by Kalel x2x2
Sorry...:\ It was posted at almost the exact same time.

Obviously you forgot where your CAPS lock key is. ;)

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Plus, your's is a vote.

[Hendo]

that jerk! I thought he was going to fly there >:[ when he hit the ground I was so pissed

[Kalel x2x2]

Originally posted by Hendo
that jerk! I thought he was going to fly there >:[ when he hit the ground I was so pissed
Lol, I know exactly what you mean. That was like the perfect opportunity. But he just 'stood' there. Gahhh. :lol:

[galatians221]

No question about it; he flew downward and was able to land but it was flight nonetheless. This was a great episode with a lot of ground covered. Was the WA cape a sign of more to come?

[simaozinho200]

well he was going down or else he was going to fly up

[Dodge006]

You know, it didn't even need to be "Flight", he could have just controlled the landing and maybe looked a little puzzled about it. Then next week we could see him trying to do it again and just pummeling himself into the ground.

[*#~ ClAnAfAn99210~#*]

falling

[pharaoh8]

FALLING

[theotherJane]

Originally posted by galatians221
No question about it; he flew downward and was able to land but it was flight nonetheless. This was a great episode with a lot of ground covered. Was the WA cape a sign of more to come?

He didn't fly. He threw himself off the building, gravity did the rest.

[legolazzz04]

ha thats what i thought but no he didn't at all.

[erikamichelle614]

That part was so awesome. I was sittning there glued to the tv, and the way he was looking at lana while falling, im in love. :-)

[pharaoh8]

HE FELL.

[aqgalaxy]

He didn't fly... he was falling with style lol

[KU Superdude]

Ok, three threads on this? Really?

He fell.

[TheLastKryptonian]

Falling. It's like the same thing as the time he had to catch up with Chloe when she fell off a bridge.

[iheartCK4eva]

HE FELL DOWN FLAT OUT LOL

[TW1977]

Gravity. :\ It was cool though! I'll take it for now! ;)

[TheLastKryptonian]

Sorry but he didn't fly, he was falling. Trust me, when he actually achieve full controlled flight it'll be a "Crusade" like thing. But first he's got to try hovering/floating.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by theotherJane
He didn't fly. He threw himself off the building, gravity did the rest.

Wrong! He would not have gotten to her in time if he was just falling. He had his arms back in his flying style as he did as Kal El on red K and he flew downward and stopped his descent and landed in a controled way. I'm sorry but that was flying.

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by galatians221
No question about it; he flew downward and was able to land but it was flight nonetheless. This was a great episode with a lot of ground covered. Was the WA cape a sign of more to come?
I agree, Lana seemed to expect it...Whats up with that?

[redeem147]

It was closer to leaping a tall building at a single bound, without going up over the building. More dropping than flying.

I thought for a second Lana would break her neck when he caught her.

Wrong superhero.

[ronmanb77]

check out something called wind resistance. He was head down, much like sky divers do to fall faster. Lana was spread out with wind buffeting her along the length of that entire body. More wind resistance = fall slower than someone with less wind resistance.

CK did not fly. He fell. with style.

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by galatians221
Wrong! He would not have gotten to her in time if he was just falling. He had his arms back in his flying style as he did as Kal El on red K and he flew downward and stopped his descent and landed in a controled way. I'm sorry but that was flying.

LOL! Really? Quick education in physics: you experience less air resistance when falling like a stick as opposed to falling horizontally like Lana did. Therefore Clark was able to fall at greater acceleration (and henceforth velocity) than Lana was. It's as simple as that. This is similar to skydivers making themselves fall faster by "diving" instead of assuming the standard position during freefall.

[Kalel x2x2]

Originally posted by Dodge006
You know, it didn't even need to be "Flight", he could have just controlled the landing and maybe looked a little puzzled about it. Then next week we could see him trying to do it again and just pummeling himself into the ground.
Exactly! Even hovering would have been enough or something to show he was able to control it.

Kara has been underwater for 18 years - Knows how to fly.

Clark has been on Earth for 18 years - Technically DOES and SHOULD know how to fly, but is afraid of heights + He's a BDA who doesn't want to figure out how to control it. :(

[Barbara]

Originally posted by TheLastKryptonian
Sorry but he didn't fly, he was falling. Trust me, when he actually achieve full controlled flight it'll be a "Crusade" like thing. But first he's got to try hovering/floating.

He just displayed a fundamental knowledge of aerodynamics. I go with The Toy Story reference.

He was dive bombing with style.

Now what he did in the Fortress of Solitude when he asked Lana to marry him. That was flying.

[Doctor Who]

It sort of like Spider-Man. It's falling anyway. If he flys, then he could grab Lana and fly up the sky.

[ronmanb77]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
LOL! Really? Quick education in physics: you experience less air resistance when falling like a stick as opposed to falling horizontally like Lana did. Therefore Clark was able to fall at greater acceleration (and henceforth velocity) than Lana was. It's as simple as that. This is similar to skydivers making themselves fall faster by "diving" instead of assuming the standard position during freefall.

lol get outta my head! :rotfl:

[theotherJane]

Besides....if that really was flying (which it wasn't), they would have made a much bigger deal of it than just that scene.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by Barbara
He just displayed a fundamental knowledge of aerodynamics. I go with The Toy Story reference.

He was dive bombing with style.

Now what he did in the Fortress of Solitude when he asked Lana to marry him. That was flying.

That was leaping just as he did with Lois to Oliver's apartment. He flew downward, caught her and turned himself around and landed in a controlled manner. That isn't just aerodynamics. Sorry.

[Ardiem3]

He had to accelerate to be able to catch Lana before she hit because she was over the ledge before he was so there was some flight involved IMO.

[Ardiem3]

Originally posted by theotherJane
He didn't fly. He threw himself off the building, gravity did the rest.

Is that why he had to accelerate a little to be able to catch Lana before she hit the ground for she was off the ledge before he was??

[Mr. Clark Kent27]

Originally posted by galatians221
No question about it; he flew downward and was able to land but it was flight nonetheless. This was a great episode with a lot of ground covered. Was the WA cape a sign of more to come?

Look man, I know how hard you want to believe that he was really flying, but he wasn't. I thought he flew in Hidden and Reckoning but I was wrong. It was a jump, and this was falling with style.

[SmallFarmGirl]

If he was flying then why did he hit the vehicle so hard when he landed?

[Randy G.]

Mod Note: We had 3 threads on the question of Flying or Falling, so I merged them into one.

Randy G. ;)

[Minela]

Originally posted by Dodge006
Flying!!!! LIKE A ROCK!

Word.

Still that scene pissed me off like no other. That is Lois Lane's scene. Superman always saves her like that. Damn you Lana! Damn you to hell!

[theotherJane]

I honestly don't believe the results of this poll.

10% of you don't know and over 20% of you sheep (excuse that) actually think that he flew.

Seriously. If that was flying, don't you think that Lana would have said something after along the lines of "Wow, Clark. So many powers and now you can even fly. Amazing," or whatever.

Secondly, he hit the ground like a rock, and if that was seriously flying he would have been able to control himself and not land on that car with full force like he did. He would have been aiming for something else.

[KU Superdude]

As of now, 7 people are in Lala Land and 3 people are in denial.

[RKryp]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
LOL! Really? Quick education in physics: you experience less air resistance when falling like a stick as opposed to falling horizontally like Lana did. Therefore Clark was able to fall at greater acceleration (and henceforth velocity) than Lana was. It's as simple as that. This is similar to skydivers making themselves fall faster by "diving" instead of assuming the standard position during freefall.

This is the only plausible explanation for those who say that he wasn't flying. However, wind resistance is not that great until you have accelerated to a certain velocity, so I think it would take several seconds for it to become significant. He caught her very quickly.

I think instinct took over and he flew for an instant, then sort of lost it and made a semi-crash landing.

I'm defining "flying" as moving through space in a way that can't be explained by normal laws of physics, not flying like a bird. Obviously he didn't look much like a bird--unless it was a drunk bird. :p

[lillie_poo_pod]

He was falling.

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by Randy G.
Mod Note: We had 3 threads on the question of Flying or Falling, so I merged them into one.

Randy G. ;)
thanks

[Timester]

For those that believe that he was flying, go rent some skydiving videos or something...

Seriously, he crashed the jeep. How can that be flying?

[Crispin Glover]

He dove off the building, coming at us making us think and letting TPTB give us something resembling a Superman esque flight since they have the stupid no flight rule. He then fell, not worrying about the fall since he's "Superman."

It was a sweet geek out moment, but I thought it would have been a perfect opportunity to have him fly off, oh well. It was still cool.

[Alexander III]

He's skydiving!

[Kid Collins]

I'd say it's a combination of Flying and controlled landing.

He flew head down to catch Lana and reversed direction when he caught her and controlled his landing.

It was an awesome scene since Lana wasn't knocked out and she could appreciate Clark saving her.

[Dodge006]

Geez, maybe this weeks super power is he had chili for dinner and that's how he got to her so quick.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by theotherJane
I honestly don't believe the results of this poll.

10% of you don't know and over 20% of you sheep (excuse that) actually think that he flew.

Seriously. If that was flying, don't you think that Lana would have said something after along the lines of "Wow, Clark. So many powers and now you can even fly. Amazing," or whatever.

Secondly, he hit the ground like a rock, and if that was seriously flying he would have been able to control himself and not land on that car with full force like he did. He would have been aiming for something else.

If he would have hit the ground "full force" Lana would not have survived. He didn't land softly I'll agree but he definitely slowed down. That is controlled and that is flight.

[fxrsteve]

I really thought that he was flying...until he landed. What a downer.
If I had been a physics major or into sky-diving videos then I would have known, he was just falling faster than Lana because of...ahhhh...Why exactly?

the "yes" votes are catching up

[Timester]

Originally posted by galatians221
If he would have hit the ground "full force" Lana would not have survived. He didn't land softly I'll agree but he definitely slowed down. That is controlled and that is flight.

Lana most certainly survived it because he was holding her.

Look. At. The. Jeep...

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by RKryp
However, wind resistance is not that great until you have accelerated to a certain velocity, so I think it would take several seconds for it to become significant.

Wrong. Falling off a skyscraper produces significant air resistance. An object does not need to fall too far to build high speeds. It only takes you 7 seconds to reach terminal velocity.

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by Doctor Who
It sort of like Spider-Man. It's falling anyway. If he flys, then he could grab Lana and fly up the sky.
Spiderman would kick Clarks butt

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by Timester
Lana most certainly survived it because he was holding her.

Look. At. The. Jeep...

This has been one of those "physics of Superman" arguments forever. It cracks me up when the writers expect us to believe Lana wasn't killed instantly upon landing simply because Clark absorbed the shock by bending his knees!

[Timester]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
This has been one of those "physics of Superman" arguments forever. It cracks me up when the writers expect us to believe Lana wasn't killed instantly upon landing simply because Clark absorbed the shock by bending his knees!

"Lois & Clark" came with a nice explanation, that he could expand his force-field to protect something close to him. That's why the suit is always intact.

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by Timester
Lana most certainly survived it because he was holding her.

Look. At. The. Jeep...

One of the Superman powers are that he can project himself to a degree to the person he's holding/touching. That's why whenever he's taken Lois half way to space she's not freezing, or (and I know this is going to open a can of worms) when he flies with Lois he can do it with one hand. This could have been that power unknowingly being used, but not flying. Last time I checked, planes and birds go up, and don't smash into the ground at...well BAM!!

[Timester]

Originally posted by Dodge006
One of the Superman powers are that he can project himself to a degree to the person he's holding/touching. That's why whenever he's taken Lois half way to space she's not freezing, or (and I know this is going to open a can of worms) when he flies with Lois he can do it with one hand. This could have been that power unknowingly being used, but not flying. Last time I checked, planes and birds go up, and don't smash into the ground at...well BAM!!

Yeah, the force-field explanation that I wrote a post above yours.

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by Timester
Yeah, the force-field explanation that I wrote a post above yours.

:D Saw that, just took me longer to write mine.

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by Timester
"Lois & Clark" came with a nice explanation, that he could expand his force-field to protect something close to him. That's why the suit is always intact.

That's a band-aid explanation I would expect from crafty writers, but it still doesn't explain why the negative acceleration she experiences wouldn't break her neck instantly. It'd be the worst case of whiplash ever.

[Randy G.]

Or at the very least, seriously mess up her hair. :lol:

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
That's a band-aid explanation I would expect from crafty writers, but it still doesn't explain why the negative acceleration she experiences wouldn't break her neck instantly. It'd be the worst case of whiplash ever.

That's right, I forgot about the band-aid Lana had on.


Originally posted by Randy G.
Or at the very least, seriously mess up her hair. :lol:

And maybe a change of underwear needed.

[supergirl945]

it did look like he was flying, but, if he was flying he wouldn't have destroyed that guy's car.

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by supergirl945
it did look like he was flying, but, if he was flying he wouldn't have destroyed that guy's car.

Great post!

[Thil_EL]

OK i don't know if this has been mentioned before but Lana fell BEFORE Clark so in theory Clark couldn't catch up to Lana because there was a time difference (unless the laws on physics don't work on smallville )..then again Lana was lying flat while falling creating air resistance which could slow her rate of velocity..but Clark was diving in a vertical fashion and he didn't catch much air resistance because he had a lower surface area compared to Lana so he could've caught up with Lana

SO I'm gonna say he didn't fly

but it doesnt explain why Lana's neck didnt break...

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by Thil_EL
OK i don't know if this has been mentioned before but Lana fell BEFORE Clark so in theory Clark couldn't catch up to Lana because there was a time difference (unless the laws on physics don't work on smallville )..then again Lana was lying flat while falling creating air resistance which could slow her rate of velocity..but Clark was diving in a vertical fashion and he didn't catch much air resistance because he had a lower surface area compared to Lana so he could've caught up with Lana

SO I'm gonna say he didn't fly

but it doesnt explain why Lana's neck didnt break...

LOL! Thanks for taking the time to read the thread before repeating everything all over again.

[fxrsteve]

This whole "air velocity" thing is getting old...he is SUPERMAN, He crushed.the.jeep.because.he.was.caught.in.the.mome nt,staringinto Lana's baby blues

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by fxrsteve
This whole "air velocity" thing is getting old...he is SUPERMAN,

The "air velocity" thing can get as old as you want, but it's physics. It's not gonna change in your lifetime.


Originally posted by fxrsteve
He crushed.the.jeep.because.he.was.caught.in.the.mome nt,staringinto Lana's baby blues

Are you implying he crushed the jeep with his erection?

[Ireallylikethisshow]

dude, that was SO a flying moment. Even though I don't want it to be. 'cause Clana shouldn't be Supes inspiration to fly. Any romantic reason shouldn't be his reasoning.

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
The "air velocity" thing can get as old as you want, but it's physics. It's not gonna change in your lifetime.



Are you implying he crushed the jeep with his erection?
Physics changed the moment Kal-El landed on this planet

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by Ireallylikethisshow
dude, that was SO a flying moment. Even though I don't want it to be. 'cause Clana shouldn't be Supes inspiration to fly. Any romantic reason shouldn't be his reasoning.

With all the evidence you present here, your argument is flawless. You win.


Originally posted by fxrsteve
Physics changed the moment Kal-El landed on this planet

Wrong-o. Kryptonians obey the laws of phyics too.

[paolinki25]

Nah. He wasn't flying. Free falling

[SuperWoman88]

well he did super speed and jumped off so that may have given him a greater push. and no he did not fly, poor lana doesn't know what its like to be saved in style, but lois will :D

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
With all the evidence you present here, your argument is flawless. You win.



Wrong-o. Kryptonians obey the laws of phyics too.
Then I guess Superman doesn't fly. Interesting twist Einstien

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by SuperWoman88
well he did super speed and jumped off so that may have given him a greater push. and no he did not fly, poor lana doesn't know what its like to be saved in style, but lois will :D

The speed at which he jumps on the roof has no bearing whatsoever on the speed at which he starts falling. It's simple projectile motion. His vertical speed will reach 0 at the peak of the jump off the roof, and then gravity is the ONLY force acting on him at that point. He then goes into a freefall.

[SuperWoman88]

whatever it's not like i actually paid any attention in physics. but that was still not flying.

[xrayvision]

If he was flying, he wouldn't have landed on the car. He fell.

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by fxrsteve
Then I guess Superman doesn't fly. Interesting twist Einstien

Wow. Are you somewhat new to the Superman story? Before you try to be a know-it-all, read "The Physics of Superman." Once you read that, then you can run your mouth.

[SteveS]

Sorry, there was no sign of him jumping down but he accelerated down to catch Lana in the same way as Christopher Reeve flew up to save Lois. Even a superhero doesn't fall like a rocket. ClarkMan willed himself to catch Lana just as he did in the tornado and he flew even if he didn't know how to do it consciously.

So Lana is the first female to fly with ClarkMan which is completely fair in the Smallville world.

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by SteveS
Sorry, there was no sign of him jumping down but he accelerated down to catch Lana in the same way as Christopher Reeve flew up to save Lois. Even a superhero doesn't fall like a rocket. ClarkMan willed himself to catch Lana just as he did in the tornado and he flew even if he didn't know how to do it consciously.

So Lana is the first female to fly with ClarkMan which is completely fair in the Smallville world.

Any living human can do what Clark did to catch Lana. They just wouldn't be able to nail the landing as nicely....

[Minela]

He didn't fly. Lana was falling horizontally and he jumped bullet-style vertically, meaning he would be faster and catch up to her. Than he landed on his feet with her in his arms. Simple. How is that flying?

[jazzylg]

This was a great scene, and I was yelling at the screen: Fly Clark fly!...and he just fell. That was one heck of a tease..

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

clark loves lana this proves it hes falling for her again

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by Minela
He didn't fly. Lana was falling horizontally and he jumped bullet-style vertically, meaning he would be faster and catch up to her. Than he landed on his feet with her in his arms. Simple. How is that flying?

I've been saying that for the last 2 pages it seems. Either the "Clark flew" people are insanely stubborn or they don't even have an 8th grade education.

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by SteveS
Sorry, there was no sign of him jumping down but he accelerated down to catch Lana in the same way as Christopher Reeve flew up to save Lois. Even a superhero doesn't fall like a rocket. ClarkMan willed himself to catch Lana just as he did in the tornado and he flew even if he didn't know how to do it consciously.

So Lana is the first female to fly with ClarkMan which is completely fair in the Smallville world.
Thank you. This is Smallville. NOT "the Superman comics on T.V."
If it was that then he would have had all his powers as a boy

[KU Superdude]

Originally posted by fxrsteve
Thank you. This is Smallville. NOT "the Superman comics on T.V."
If it was that then he would have had all his powers as a boy

What are you thanking her for? She really didn't even make her position that clear.

[fxrsteve]

Just being friendly

[Closet Cloiser]

He didn't fly, I think if he would've been flying he'd have scooped her up and taken her away, or, at the very least, not completely ruined some poor sap's SUV. :\

I think it would have been amazing if they would have had him fly though, or at least hover, like, keep the shot on Clark and Lana's face, and then pan out to show him hovering right off the gound. It would have been shocking to see him do it, and easily dismissed as a fluke because Lana's life was in danger, he was more in tune with his powers due to the urgency. However, this is Smallville, and I'm not surprised they did what they did.

I did, however, think the opening sequence when Clark saved the actress was one of the coolest sequences in SV's history. It was well shot, I thought how he scooped her up was neat, and then the car door whizing by his head just topped it off. Great special effects as well. I know that's a little off topic, but oh well. :rolleyes:

[galatians221]

Originally posted by supergirl945
it did look like he was flying, but, if he was flying he wouldn't have destroyed that guy's car.

Did you see Superman land on the surface of Lex's new world in Superman Returns? He split the ground open and sent seismic waves throughout the whole area. Clark didn't try to land softly, if you watch again he and Lana are making goo goo eyes at each other and he has her cradled like a baby. He wasn't the least bit concerned with landing.

[savingpeoplething]

Clark fell down, but did not fly UP.
When he goes UP, he will be flying.

[svtwamedfan05]

Sadly no flying

[galatians221]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
The "air velocity" thing can get as old as you want, but it's physics. It's not gonna change in your lifetime.



Are you implying he crushed the jeep with his erection?

If Clark had time for an erection he was definitely flying.

[Closet Cloiser]

Originally posted by galatians221
Did you see Superman land on the surface of Lex's new world in Superman Returns? He split the ground open and sent seismic waves throughout the whole area. Clark didn't try to land softly, if you watch again he and Lana are making goo goo eyes at each other and he has her cradled like a baby. He wasn't the least bit concerned with landing.

I'm pretty sure the point of the post you quoted was the same as my post. If Clark was flying, he wouldn't have landed on that car that way. In Superman Returns he wasn't landing on some guys property, he was landing on the ground. There's a difference. Clark cares too much about people to just disregard someone's property like that, even if it was Lana he was saving.

[fxrsteve]

Originally posted by savingpeoplething
Clark fell down, but did not fly UP.
When he goes UP, he will be flying.
yeah, and give'n the shows history and the fans wanting him to fly, it won't be subtle, they will make an episode devoted to it

[galatians221]

Originally posted by fxrsteve
yeah, and give'n the shows history and the fans wanting him to fly, it won't be subtle, they will make an episode devoted to it

You negative flight folks need to step back and look at the big picture. We've had statements from Kara, MM and now tonight Ben the crazy guy, Lex and Lana all tell Clark that it's time for him to save the world. We have our first glimpse of a red cape and you don't think that this was a precurser to flight? They are slamming us over the heads with a drum beat for Clark to become Superman. I won't argue that this was classic flight like we all want to see but it was flight. Do you think Clark would have dived off of that building and caught Lana and just gazed into her eyes if he was not in control? He had no fear of landing. He flew downward and slowed down his trajectory. He obviously will get better at it but this was a preview and it's the closest we've come to seeing Clark as Superman.

[jimmyolsenblues]

physics dictates that if he left the building significantly after lana, the only way he could have sped up in air to catch her , he would have to be accelerating faster than lana falling, that would imply flight, or increased falling acceleration at least.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

Originally posted by galatians221
You negative flight folks need to step back and look at the big picture. We've had statements from Kara, MM and now tonight Ben the crazy guy, Lex and Lana all tell Clark that it's time for him to save the world. We have our first glimpse of a red cape and you don't think that this was a precurser to flight? They are slamming us over the heads with a drum beat for Clark to become Superman. I won't argue that this was classic flight like we all want to see but it was flight. Do you think Clark would have dived off of that building and caught Lana and just gazed into her eyes if he was not in control? He had no fear of landing. He flew downward and slowed down his trajectory. He obviously will get better at it but this was a preview and it's the closest we've come to seeing Clark as Superman.

i was waiting on the car owner saying "you SOB you crushed my car"

:rotfl:
___________________

it was falling otherwise the car wouldnt have been crushed

clark would have just done a matrix with lana and caught her :rolleyes:

[KryptoKnight]

Definitely flying because, if it was a fall, he fell faster than Lana. I think Galileo proved this was flying. Unfortunately, Clark doesn't know he can fly so his brain is stuck on "jumping/falling" mode. Once his brain figures out how much control he has, it will be a different story.

[SteveS]

Not necessarily so, the car being crushed is merely a result of ClarkMan not having mastered the art of flying. There was no jump shown, all we see is him hurtling downward to save Lana and her finally seeing him catching her. Not having mastered flying, he merely landed on his feet and absorbed the shock. The landing was the equivalent of a jump, the catching of Lana was the flying.
You are free to think otherwise.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

lets all tell skydivers to wish happy thoughts and believe they can fly then

it was falling, clark straightened his body to gain more speed

[thehenry89]

forget about flying or falling, who's gonna pay for the body damage to that persons' car.

[LexLuv180]

He wasn't flying but he was able to slow them down for a landing. He can do the floating thing slightly. If he hadn't slowed them down there would have been a much larger crash.

[MrZeppo]

It was falling. I'm not going to repeat everyone's argument. The physics of it all point to falling then just landing hard on the car.

It doesn't make it any less cool. That scene was definitely neat and very classy in the way they did it.

[Superbeard]

Are you kidding!!??!?! He was flying down!!!! That was way too fast to be falling!

He flew to catch up, slow down and catch her, and then dropped like a rock. There is no doubt in my mind that there was flying involved. He was flying down.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by Superbeard
Are you kidding!!??!?! He was flying down!!!! That was way too fast to be falling!

Thank you. I'd like to see a skydiver fall head first off of a twenty story building and then half way down turn around and go down feet first while holding his girlfriend and smiling about his erection.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

Originally posted by Superbeard
Are you kidding!!??!?! He was flying down!!!! That was way too fast to be falling!

were you watching it in fast forward then :lol:

clark didnt do anything different than what a skydiver does when they wish to gain more speed when falling they keep there limbs stucked in as much as possible to gain more velocity

[Absentee]

Flying. Falling. Who cares.

It was awesome and it was with Lana.

No complaints from me :cool:

[Mr. Clark Kent27]

FALLING! and we know it! I was thinking why not make him fly for a surprise? He could have at least tried. I mean falling would be more scary. They're doing a good job on that, NO TIGHTS, NO FLIGHTS RULE!

[Superbeard]

Originally posted by SV'S_immortal_hero
were you watching it in fast forward then

clark didnt do anything different than what a skydiver does when they wish to gain more speed when falling they keep there limbs stucked in as much as possible to gain more velocity

Admittedly I was on kind of a high thinking that he was going to fly, and then he did. Kind of.

BUT

I'm pretty sure Clark isn't familiar with the physics of wind and gravity or anything related to being a skydiver. Even though skydivers can go into a dive to drop faster, come on, she was a third of the way down the building and he caught her halfway. That was Clark unwittingly using his powers to speed up, flip around and catch her, and then let gravity do the rest. Up until the landing on the car, that was way too graceful for ol' amateur at being airborne Clark to just go "durrrr I'm gonna go into a nosedive!"

I can settle for saying it was some of both. But there was flying involved. Hands down.

[Alexander III]

Originally posted by thehenry89
forget about flying or falling, who's gonna pay for the body damage to that persons' car.

Ollie will pay for the damages. Isn't everything done clearn by Ollie. Escorting that blind meteor freak to Ollie, lending his tower and feeding his satellite photos to Clark. Wut else? Man, Ollie has become Clark's new biatch!

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

if only kara had been in this

*while clarks in the air speeding down to catch lana*

kara: come on clark you can do it fly, fly with me clark fly!

clark: for the last time kara i cant fly

kara: well now is a good time to start trying

:lol:

[Who]

I was expecting him to finally take off. What a tease! He was definately falling, though he did seem to slow down a bit before they hit the ground.

[sgreen236]

Falling, how did no one notice a guy falling from a big building? He didn't stick the landing either, the russian judge will be taking points. And the car damage, bleh, it was a domestic.

[Randy G.]

Originally posted by Superbeard
I can settle for saying it was some of both.....


Originally posted by Absentee
Flying. Falling. Who cares.

It was awesome.........

No complaints from me :cool:


Sounds good to me. ;)

[moody12381]

The car belonged to the PA. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Khyla]

Originally posted by Merfish
Was it just me or did Clark look like he was flying for a sec when he threw her off the building?

Clark threw Lana off the building? :eek:
:lol:


Originally posted by Dodge006
Geez, maybe this weeks super power is he had chili for dinner and that's how he got to her so quick.
:rotfl:


Honestly I think everyone's posts have validity!
They obviously wanted to give us all the impression that Clark was flying, and they did. BUT they also made a little point about what foolish silliness we get when being so ga-ga over each other (in Kara's words) interferes with being an adept Superhero. it was almost funny when he landed on the car, though I'm sure whoever owned the car didn't think so :\

[Randy G.]

Wouldn't it just ROCK, if a little old woman came over with a cane, & started beating Clark with it?!

"Look what you did to my car you little punk!" :eek: :lol:

[Brizzle]

He fell

[LegendaryU2K]

Originally posted by Timester
The question is since when Metropolis is a ghost town?

LMFAOZ:rotfl:

[ginnyfan]

Falling.

[moviefan2k4]

I honestly think Clark flew. There was a brief moment where his pose looked similar to "Kal-El" flying in the Season 4 opener. It was right before he caught Lana.

[Zod in my pocket]

i'd say it was as much a flight as the season 2 premiere in the twister, not free fall, not true flight, somewhere in between. There was no way clark just fell fast enough to catch her, gravity don't work that way

[JudasAce]

He had to have at least manipulated his falling speed, because not only did he fall faster than her, he had to slow down enough so that she wouldn't be hurt on impact.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

if assuming hes using a power to catch lana the only power almiles is going to have clark use is superspeed

i dont believe that it was flight as lana would have made a big deal out of how clark managed to control the landing lana knows all about clarks powers and if he uses 1 she aint seen you have to assume that shes gonna be curious about the flying 1 :rolleyes:

but hey we cant have that as persona isnt even close yet :rolleyes:

[Chokito]

falling

[falcon64z8]

Originally posted by JudasAce
He had to have at least manipulated his falling speed, because not only did he fall faster than her, he had to slow down enough so that she wouldn't be hurt on impact.

Exactly, he was more like floating slowly than flying or falling... Cause wasn't Clark floating in pilot episode.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

if clark was floating lana would have noticed and she would have said something about the power

and if clark was floating he wouldnt have crushed the car no matter how many people want to believe he flew its not what happened otherwise the landing wouldnt have happened the way it did

[maryjanewatson]

boy, clark sure got over his fear of heights reeeeeeal fast jumping off that building to save lana.


see, that would have been the perfect opportunity to have him fly. Like Will stronghold in "Sky High." Will got thrown out a window, and it scared the flight right out of him! Jumping off that building would have been the perfect time to scare the flight right out of Clark, since he's afraid of heights!

that would have been awesome. I can see it now.

Clark: LANA!!! *jumps off building* omigosh, the ground is coming really quickly.....*worried face* *catches lana* *worried face that makes lana worry*

Lana: Clark?

Clark: Lana, I'm afraid of heights.

Lana: WHAT?!?! AAGAHAGAHHAGAH!!!!!

Clark: AGAHAGAHAGHAHA!!!!!

Ground: AGHAGAHGAHAG!!!!

*both lana and clark close there eyes waiting to stop falling.........and then open them to find clark floating a foot off the ground*

Lana: Wow clark, I didn't know you could do that....

Clark: Neither did I.

*end scene*

[skywalker28]

Not Flying complaint 1548:

An optimal time to have Clark at least float and they blow it. He should have caught Lana and floated down to the ground instead of smashing some poor guys car.

[MidgardDragon]

Originally posted by Merfish
Was it just me or did Clark look like he was flying for a sec when he threw her off the building?

It was a "super fall" or "super jump" with hints at him having control. They won't just give him the power out of nowhere, but he certainly looked like he had some control, and I think that was intentional hinting at by TPTB. But in the end, yes, it was a fall/jump.

[Estro-gen X]

clark did not fly. It was filmed to look like he could fly to the audience but no he fell with a large thump. As kara says flying is being able to defy gravity and we saw he couldnt

[MidgardDragon]

Originally posted by skywalker28
Not Flying complaint 1548:

An optimal time to have Clark at least float and they blow it. He should have caught Lana and floated down to the ground instead of smashing some poor guys car.

Because we all know Clark randomly starting to fly/float without an introductory episode would make perfect sense?

/sarcasm

Uh, no.

[superpal1]

he fell, but the way he turned in midfall to catch lana hints at his ability to control himself in the air. Still I would love to have seen him gently hit the ground, not smash the car.

[FiReFTW]

he FELL

[Theshadow129x]

he didn't fly, he's too stupid to figure it out. it was a nice Superman reference though. I thought Lana was goign to say "Great you got me, whose got you?"

[skywalker28]

Originally posted by MidgardDragon
Because we all know Clark randomly starting to fly/float without an introductory episode would make perfect sense?

/sarcasm

Uh, no.

Yeah, your right, they would never do that.........*cough* Season 1 - Metamorphosis *cough*

[Nazmul]

Lets look at the whole thing through Laws of Gravity. And according to Law of Gravity, all things fall at same speed, then why Clark falling much later managed to catch Lana if he wasn't flying.

[Theshadow129x]

doesnt matter, he's an idiot and still cant see lana is holding his a$$ back

[skywalker28]

Originally posted by Theshadow129x
doesnt matter, he's an idiot and still cant see lana is holding his a$$ back

Now that, I can agree with.

[SuperMania69]

I think it was flight. Reason being is that Clark is afraid of heights why would he dive. I think he fell granted but he turned and landed on his feet. I think that was his first attempt at the flight thing. It probably perked Clark's interest in flying.

As far as Lana she creeps me out, how she is acting all innocent. When she was thrown off the building (duh) of course she knew Clark would save her. Just wish that she hit the pavement cause she is the one holding back Clark and his destiny.

I for one wanted Lana Cheese cake pavement style.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Who]

Originally posted by Nazmul
Lets look at the whole thing through Laws of Gravity. And according to Law of Gravity, all things fall at same speed, then why Clark falling much later managed to catch Lana if he wasn't flying.

In a vacuum that is true. When things fall through the Earth's atmosphere there is resistance.

[TOMophilus]

When you jump down from somewhere after someone else, it is physically impossible to pass her so as to save her, unless you accelerate yourself. So Clark must have done something to increase his speed relative to Lana´s. Which can only mean he flew downward. Analogy: If you drive with your car at the same speed as the car in front of you, you can´t pass that car, unless you speed up. It´s the same with falling. :cool:

As for the resistance mentioned in the previous post, for two human bodies it kicks in only when you have something big like a parachute. The difference between a man and a woman concerning air resistance is negligible.

[Kal-alien]

I guess this means clark is over his fear of Heights?

[SSX]

Originally posted by Dodge006
You know, it didn't even need to be "Flight", he could have just controlled the landing and maybe looked a little puzzled about it. Then next week we could see him trying to do it again and just pummeling himself into the ground.

This is exactly what I expected to happen. Sadly it's just in our heads.

[kate_lang]

This scene was amazing! I loved the way that clark caught her .

[caseybrn]

I didn't watch the before moment closely but was it a straight jump or did he push off before he jumped down therefore increasing his speed which is why he fell faster than Lana

[Krypton935]

IDk it looked like flying but there is no way tptb would brake their 'no flights' rule. It was totally awesome though!

[Guidron]

Nah, he was in a controlled dive, then fall... I was kinda hoping that he would somehow land softly, but his landing proved it was just a fall. As for his catching up to Lana, he was using the same technique skydivers use to move faster.

On a side note though, he certainly overcame his fear of heights quickly.

[AlwaysAround]

Originally posted by Dodge006
Flying!!!! LIKE A ROCK!
Bingo. There wasn't even a tiny bit of opposing force being used. He completely totalled that car. Had he not been invulnerable, Lana would have been a grease spot. The only stuff that would have been left of her is something that looks like shattered chicken bones, a few dots of blood, with the majority of the mess being a very large wad of hair. I must say though, that she would have been just about the prettiest little grease spot I have ever seen. :p

[Khyla]

Originally posted by Randy G.
Wouldn't it just ROCK, if a little old woman came over with a cane, & started beating Clark with it?!

"Look what you did to my car you little punk!" :eek: :lol:

That would have been GREAT! :D

[sithius]

It was falling but AlMiles need to take a physics lesson imo.

Lana would be seriously injured. Clark holding her doesn't take away from the force of the impact (she suddenly stopped just as Clark hit the car).

Fail.

[maryjanewatson]

well, actually, it is possible to fall faster than another person by how you position your self. if you ever watch a video of a sky diver, if they are just free falling parallel to the ground, then they fall a bit slower than the sky diver pointed towards the ground.

also, lana was dropped, and Clark could have super jumped downward off the roof, and if you throw something as apposed to dropping something, it's going to fall faster.

[SuperMania69]

Also if you fall it depends also on the weight of the person whether you call or jump. Whats the old saying the taller you are the faster you fall. Basically Clark outweighs and is taller then Lana so therefore Clark will fall faster!!

:p

[GaidinDre]

Originally posted by SuperMania69
Also if you fall it depends also on the weight of the person whether you call or jump. Whats the old saying the taller you are the faster you fall. Basically Clark outweighs and is taller then Lana so therefore Clark will fall faster!!

:p

This is completely wrong. Drop a crumpled piece of paper and a text book, if you drop them at the same time they will hit the floor at the same time. The book will hit with more force due to the difference in mass, but the speed will be equal.

[SuperVille =) CK]

He didn't ..
Because as far as we know clarck didn't succeed getting over gravity. In this scene it was just the opposite, he went trough the ground not up.
But if we're checking it trough physics(Newton's statutes), clarck must did some moves in the air,means he flew. cause two falling objects have the same crush time, and Lana have been pushed before. unless Clark was running on the building faced down, and that action gives him initial speed which can help him to catch up with Lana's fall.

[Mischael12]

I was considering the same thing about Lana getting her but than i noticed that Clark had bent his knees in order to absorb the majority of the impact. Lana would have been a jostled but nothing serious.


He was just falling, the part though were he managed to shift his body upwards like that to catch her...that well that was damn good control, he resisted gravity there for a moment, its damn hard to pull out of a dive like that.

[Minela]

Originally posted by SuperVille =) CK
He didn't ..
Because as far as we know clarck didn't succeed getting over gravity. In this scene it was just the opposite, he went trough the ground not up.
But if we're checking it trough physics(Newton's statute's), clarck must did some moves in the air,means he flew. cause two falling objects have the same crush time, and Lana have been pushed before. unless Clark was running on the building faced down, and that action gives him initial speed which can help him to catch up with Lana's fall.

No, Lana was falling horizontally and therefore slower than Clark who was falling bullet style vertically with arms to his side to decrece resistance. So, that is how he caught up to her. Any human being could do that...except the landing.

[All about Clark]

He was in superspeed mode, so that should create an accelerated fall. As far as I'm concerned, it isn't flight til he does a direction change.

[SuperVille =) CK]

Originally posted by Minela
No, Lana was falling horizontally and therefore slower than Clark who was falling bullet style vertically with arms to his side to decrece resistance. So, that is how he caught up to her. Any human being could do that...except the landing.

It can be one acceptable possibility. but everything i said is correct, i just performed the options .

btw the decrece resistance of hands stick to body doesn't change alot, maybe a second nothing more, and clarck avoid more than one second, maybe even more than 5.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by All about Clark
He was in superspeed mode, so that should create an accelerated fall. As far as I'm concerned, it isn't flight til he does a direction change.

He did, he went from head down to head up at just the right time and controlled his landing; not perfectly but it's clear that he wasn't even thinking about his landing as he stared goo goo eyed into Lana's face. He knew what he was doing and he was in control. I agree it wasn't full flight but it was a form of flight and the episode concluded with the red cape which sealed the movement towards Superman and that was what this episode was about. This wasn't just another rescue, it was groundbreaking in advancing the character of Clark Kent to being Superman.

[GaidinDre]

Originally posted by Minela
No, Lana was falling horizontally and therefore slower than Clark who was falling bullet style vertically with arms to his side to decrece resistance. So, that is how he caught up to her. Any human being could do that...except the landing.

Physically anyone can do that, but there is a fair amount of skill involved (that Clark does not possess). I think there was a level of defying gravity in that scene, whether or not that is flight is a matter of interpretation.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by GaidinDre
Physically anyone can do that, but there is a fair amount of skill involved (that Clark does not possess). I think there was a level of defying gravity in that scene, whether or not that is flight is a matter of interpretation.

It was a controlled fall. We can argue about whether he flew downward but his control in catching Lana and landing so that she survived would be like a helicopter landing. It was faster than that but when the helicopter is coming down it is flying. It isn't full flight, but it's an element of flight. Adding the red cape to the episode at the end tells me that this week was in large part about Clark inching closer to real flight. This was a warmup but it was real flight imho.

[theWatcher]

I was so hoping that some kind of instinct was going to take over and he would fly the rest of the way down. Maybe this will motivate him a litle more to start learning how to fly

[Mello Penelo]

The question is, was Clark's terminal velocity faster than Lana's? If it wasn't, there's no way he could have caught up with her without some kind of thrust assisting him.

It's iffy. Like when he caught the ICBM in Hidden.

[GuardianAngel]

I don't agree. The way he managed to get close to Lana reminded me of when he flew towards her during the tornado in the first episode of the second season. He managed to grab her and turn around because he wanted to.

[All about Clark]

Originally posted by galatians221
He did, he went from head down to head up at just the right time and controlled his landing; not perfectly but it's clear that he wasn't even thinking about his landing as he stared goo goo eyed into Lana's face. He knew what he was doing and he was in control. I agree it wasn't full flight but it was a form of flight and the episode concluded with the red cape which sealed the movement towards Superman and that was what this episode was about. This wasn't just another rescue, it was groundbreaking in advancing the character of Clark Kent to being Superman.

No he didn't. He superspeeded into his dive, he rotated his body from diving into catching and landing, however, his descent did not change directions in any way. One can control their body in a fall, but a fall is just that no matter how many times they do summersults while in the air "falling". Clark also didn't even control that descent by slowing it down and landing softly, so no, NO FLIGHT. Sorry

[FaaipDeOiad31]

Did anyone else notice he was going down head first, then somehow, had the time to turn right-side-up? Plus, the background slowed a bit. He flew, but it was a really ugly flight.

If he truly landed hard, Lana would have a pretty nasty case of whiplash.

[JorEl23]

It wasn't graceful and I'm by no means a physicist or anything but scientifically it had to be flight imo!! How else could he have caught up to and in fact passed Lana on the way down if his speed didn't increase? And other than weighing more than her (which if I remember my science correctly doesn't factor in) there is no other reason to explain how he was able to defy gravity enough to pass her in the air after leaving the top of the building at least a minute or after she did. Any scientist types that can weigh in here?

[kal-el_Girl]

Originally posted by FaaipDeOiad31
Did anyone else notice he was going down head first, then somehow, had the time to turn right-side-up? Plus, the background slowed a bit. He flew, but it was a really ugly flight.

If he truly landed hard, Lana would have a pretty nasty case of whiplash.
yet she was there free falling not even a scream?? waiting for her "hero" to rescue her LIKE ALWAYS!!!!! :(
i'm jealous sorry...:p

[galatians221]

Originally posted by kal-el_Girl
yet she was there free falling not even a scream?? waiting for her "hero" to rescue her LIKE ALWAYS!!!!! :(
i'm jealous sorry...:p

Great point, I wish I had thought of that. She looked up in anticipation knowing that Clark would rescue her and then had a look of perfect contentment in his arms. Free fallilng? I think not.

[hansioux]

Originally posted by FaaipDeOiad31
Did anyone else notice he was going down head first, then somehow, had the time to turn right-side-up? Plus, the background slowed a bit. He flew, but it was a really ugly flight.

If he truly landed hard, Lana would have a pretty nasty case of whiplash.

people can do that when they are sky diving.

[AndiGirl]

Originally posted by FaaipDeOiad31
Did anyone else notice he was going down head first, then somehow, had the time to turn right-side-up? Plus, the background slowed a bit. He flew, but it was a really ugly flight.

If he truly landed hard, Lana would have a pretty nasty case of whiplash.


If Clark was flying...he definitey needs to work on the landings. I think without a doubt he just fell really fast.

I think the whiplash thing is just bad writing. :lol: Someone else said in another thread that Lana would have broken her neck at least...which is true.

As for the turing in the air....if they were falling long enough, thats not impossible. Dont' skydivers do tricks while they are diving? :confused: I'm really not sure about the statement i just made...but it sounds good!:p

[All about Clark]

Originally posted by JorEl23
How else could he have caught up to and in fact passed Lana on the way down if his speed didn't increase?

When Clark went over the side of the building to catch Santa last year he used superspeed and ran. He could have easily done that at the top which we didn't get to see before turning it toward a dive because she was probably too far from the building to stay attached to it. He was clearly in superspeed after he heard Lana cry out, so I have a really hard time understanding why people are questioning his speed to get to her.

[AndiGirl]

Also...he was doing that thing skydivers do (yes...I am a skydiving dork...just go with me on this) He folded his body in...and did that downward dive thing. Where Lana was on her back falling. Which means her area or volume would have better greater then his. So maybe it's possible he caught up to her? Wow...this is a dorky comment....even for me. haha. :)

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by KU Superdude
Wow. Are you somewhat new to the Superman story? Before you try to be a know-it-all, read "The Physics of Superman." Once you read that, then you can run your mouth.

True! A good read.;)


Originally posted by KU Superdude
Any living human can do what Clark did to catch Lana. They just wouldn't be able to nail the landing as nicely....

Yeah.... SPLAT!


Originally posted by galatians221
If Clark had time for an erection he was definitely flying.

Not true, when Alicia was on, even I was faster then a speeding bullet.:D

[lilkoolmaria]

It was hilarious that Clark and Lana actually had time while they were falling to stare longingly at each other. :lol: I laughed.

[ClLaLeChFAN01]

Originally posted by Kalel x2x2
So Clark basically jumped, did a dive down, caught Lana and 'stood upright' in the air and landed on the ground. Landed isn't even the word for it, lol. More like he controlled a crash landing. :D


lol.....yeah thats true, i like how you put that!

[Dodge006]

Ok, Smallville, comics, movies, L&C. They are all different when it comes to many details (Ex. Clark's father is alive in L&C). But the one thing they all have in common, and I know some people are going to hate to hear it again.....No tights, No flights!

There are no excuses like in other eps. Not a dream, not on Red K, not in "Kal-El" mode, and didn't switch bodies with Lionel and he maybe figured out how to fly....(in case it happens).

Chevy trucks aren't the only thing that's "Like a Rock".

[CallMeClark]

He didn't fly.

[Mischael12]

I've yet to see a Skydiver pull out of a Dive the way Clark did.

[dvg89]

NO, when clark does fly for the first time we all know they will make a huge deal about it.

[Serynarpc]

He dove- caught her- and somehow, landed on a feet. Like a kitty cat.

AImiles took Superman Jr and made him into a Kitty cat.

[australian infected]

it was a controlled dive :)

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

does any1 remember "dichotic" the freak iain split himself into 2 and tossed chloe over the dam bridge thats just the same as this

chloes body went over the edge moments before clark had time to see it actually happen and when he heard her scream he reacted, jamp off the side and fell, passed by chloe hit the ground and waited to catch her there wasnt any flight in that yet he managed to pass chloe who was already falling before him to save her

so what makes this save any different with lana, besides acrobats can move easily in the air so clark turning himself would be easy

had to edit this been saying duplicity instead of dichotic for sum reason :o no wonder people hadnt replied to my msgs regarding these scenes id have been :confused: as well :lol:

[HiroofTime]

When I watched him 'falling' I shouted "FLY! FLY!" at the TV. Then when he spun around and caught Lana, I was waiting for the background to stop shooting past and him slowly hover to the ground.

It was still awesome and a pre-cursor to him flying, plus the effects where brilliant, alot better than the Bizarro flying effect.

He obviously fell, but there was an element of stability in the way he just turned around and caught Lana, we all know his body can fly, he can do it as a sort of instinct in small doses, for instance you can control himself in the air, the Tornado for example, when he jumped to the rocket etc. Btw, I'm still pissed they've never explained just how clark got back to Earth when he threw the warhead into space and rode it back to earth, did he just sit on it until it collided with the ground or what?

Reading the previous posts, I have to agree there was an element of flying.

He propelled himself faster than the speed he would normally be falling at, otherwise he would never have reached Lana in time. Everything falls at the same speed, so if Clark was going faster than that, he was moving himself through the air quicker than gravity.

[SteveS]

You are correct, in my view of the scene. A free fall it was not.

[Pimson]

I don't think he flew, he just fell in a controlled way. But it would have been cool if he had flown, but unfortunately, we're probably not going to see that in season 7 either.

It would have been so cool to see him fly to the roof with her or something.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

if clark flew in that scene he flew in "dichotic" its unbelievable how many people forget that dichotic scene, as its practically the same minus the midair catch, chloe was falling before clark got over the edge yet clark got to the ground before chloe

just noticed i kept saying duplicity instead of dichotic im such a dumba$$ :o

[Who]

I would say there was an element of flying. Though they have shown us elements before. Certainly he is over of his fear of heights. And a don't recall him purposely running and falling off a building before.

[Dodge006]

Come on people, he was superspeeding. He has the ability to get from point A to point B faster then anyone! (Yes I know the Flash, shut up) He has jumped from building to building in a few eps before, moving faster then anyone normally would both up and down....AND while holding Lois once! It wasn't flight then, it's not now.

Furthermore...it has been argued before that it's not always Clark moving faster, but everything else slowing down (as displayed in multiple "bullet time" action sequences), so that too would explain everyone that wants to battle with the whole "physics" arguments.

[GottaLoveHotSuperHeros]

he JUMPED.

[Humdinger]

He jumped, and landed like an anvil.

[Crusader]

If ever there was a time for Clark to fly, this would have been it.
I mean, he's falling about 1000 feet and trying to rescue the woman he loves, wouldn't it have been sensible for Clark to subconciously tap into his flight power and fly Lana away? I know that Clark knew what he was doing, coming from the way he was looking at Lana, but still, a fall like that could have killed her even in the arms of Clark.
I guess the writers have their reasons though, this kind of event is season finalle cliff hanger material.
Regardless it would have been a great oppurtunity for Clark to fly.

[TampaVille]

Like almost everybody has said, it would have been a great opportunity for Clark to fly.

He didn't though.

It was just a streamlined fall. It was just about identical to the stunt pulled in most James Bond movies, and one of the few things those movies actually get right. When falling, you can affect your speed of descent somewhat by how much surface area you expose. More means more friction with the air, equating to a slower speed of descent. Clark was streamlined, so he fell faster than Lana.

Would he actually have been able to catch up with her in the distance covered? I don't know. My initial instinct is that he didn't have enough distance to make up the lost time. BUT, I haven't run the calculations, nor will I, nor do I suspect anybody from SV did. Nor (I know, a lot of nor's) would I have wanted them to. It was a fairly straightforward scene. It was obviously suggestive of Superman's ability to fly, but that's not what it was.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by TampaVille
Like almost everybody has said, it would have been a great opportunity for Clark to fly.

He didn't though.

It was just a streamlined fall. It was just about identical to the stunt pulled in most James Bond movies, and one of the few things those movies actually get right. When falling, you can affect your speed of descent somewhat by how much surface area you expose. More means more friction with the air, equating to a slower speed of descent. Clark was streamlined, so he fell faster than Lana.

Would he actually have been able to catch up with her in the distance covered? I don't know. My initial instinct is that he didn't have enough distance to make up the lost time. BUT, I haven't run the calculations, nor will I, nor do I suspect anybody from SV did. Nor (I know, a lot of nor's) would I have wanted them to. It was a fairly straightforward scene. It was obviously suggestive of Superman's ability to fly, but that's not what it was.

It was good enough for him to earn his cape (wings)

[Bruce Knight]

he did kind of a skydive down to lana and caught her then just held her till he slamed into a car......my conclusion no flying

[guittarjedi]

Why do they show Klark flying with his arms to his sides in the opening credits? Forgive my ignorance, I just started watching SV this season.

[Tomsgurl88]

He fell...with style:D

[DrFyzziks]

You know, I've been lurking in these forums for quite awhile, generally enjoying the back and forth discussions, but this was the thread that convinced me to create an account. I just had to reply.

I've seen a number of explanations of Clark's rescue of Lana which begin with a variation of the phrase "I'm no physicist, but..." and then go on to explain why he couldn't possibly be flying.

Well, I *am* a physicist - currently pursuing my masters degree in astrophysics, and I just have to weigh in on this one.

As depicted in the episode, there is no way Clark could have rescued Lana without exhibiting some form of powered flight. Whether this was intentional on the part of the writers and directors, or something we can just chalk up to "bad television physics" (like cars exploding during impacts), who knows? But given what I saw, there's no escaping the conclusion that clark was flying in some fashion.

Let's look at the various arguments presented as to why he couldn't be flying:

1. Clark used his super-speed to catch up to Lana

We've seen Clark use his strength to jump phenomenal heights and distances in the past. So why not in this case? Simple. The roof of a building is horizontal. Lana was falling vertically.

In order for Clark to use his super-speed to catch up to Lana, he would have to push off from something. He simply couldn't run over the edge of the building and super-speed downward. If you run off the side of the building at 100 km/h, your motion will be composed of horizontal and vertical components. Your horizontal speed will initially be 100 km/h, whereas your vertical speed would initially be 0 km/h. As you begin to fall, your vertical speed would increase at an acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2, whereas your horizontal speed would decrease due to air resistance. This is why objects such as cannonballs exhibit a curved "ballistic" trajectory.

In short, no matter what speed Clark ran off the top of the building, he would *fall* at the same rate as Lana - his super-speed would simply affect the distance he travels horizontally.

There is one possibility though - Clark could grab the ledge of the building as he was diving over and redirect his velocity downward by applying a downward force. Let's keep this in mind for point #2 below.

2. Clark was able to catch up to Lana by presenting a smaller profile in the direction of motion. For a Clark-sized object, a quadratic air resistance model could be used. It's been awhile since I've done my 2nd year Mechanics course, but the terminal velocity of someone stretched out like Lana is somewhere around 200 km/h (125 mph), and Clark's would be somewhere around 300 km/h (186 mph) - curling into a ball might give him an extra 20 km/h or so.

Now the key here is to watch what happens when Clark *reaches* Lana. Since he jumped over the ledge after she was pushed, and he still caught up to her (with plenty of altitude to spare), he was obviously traveling faster. A human body can reach terminal velocity in 2 to 3 seconds (here's a good PDF tutorial on such things: http://www.ph.surrey.ac.uk/outreach/mss/Worksheets_files/3-%20Terminal%20Velocity%20.pdf)

So, it's safe to assume given the timing in the video that both Lana and Clark were traveling at their respective terminal velocities - not even considering any extra "boost" Clark may have given himself by pushing off from the ledge as discussed in 1.

That means that when Clark reaches Lana, he is traveling 100 km/h or 60 mph *faster* than she is. Just before he reaches her, he rotates from a head-down to a feet-down position - while this would increase his profile (and therefore air resistance) somewhat, Lana is still presenting a larger profile than he is. Yet, a second after Clark rotates his body, he MATCHES SPEED with Lana and "catches" her.

This is key: As the scene was filmed, there is no physical way that Clark can shed 100 km/h or 60 mph worth of velocity to match speed with and catch Lana without *some* external force acting on him.

Whether you want to chalk that force up to Clark's latent flight ability, or just bad Hollywood North physics, that's up to you.

I'll save my comments on the "landing" for another message - suffice it to say that if Clark hadn't some how been able to slow them down, Lana would easily have suffered major injuries from going from 200 km/h to 0 km/h very quickly.

lol. And with that, I think I'm done. I need to get away from those physics books for awhile. Still, I might have to make this a question on a future quiz for some undergrads. :)

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by galatians221
It was good enough for him to earn his cape (wings)

Nice analogy :D

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by DrFyzziks


Well, I *am* a physicist - currently pursuing my masters degree in astrophysics, and I just have to weigh in on this one.



Well I wasn't going to quote your whole term paper (hope you get a good grade on it BTW:) ), but you did forget one thing....The world of Superman has introduced many contradictions to physics, theory of relativity, probably the laws of thermodynamics. He projects heat from his eyes, can produce hurricane force winds for long periods of time from lungs that are the same size as ours, moves faster then anyone (left, right, up)..... is it that hard to believe that he can move faster down too?

[clana4everfan2]

Ok in the SV opening credit scene with regards to what someone said about Clark flying.. He was Kal-El at the time and later when he returned as Clark had little memory of being able to fly. Basically as Clark he hadn't learned that..
In terms of him saving Lana I think it was a controlled fall not really flying.

[DrFyzziks]

Originally posted by Dodge006
The world of Superman has introduced many contradictions to physics, theory of relativity, probably the laws of thermodynamics ... is it that hard to believe that he can move faster down too?

Not at all, only that I would call someone's ability to voluntarily increase their speed in mid-air, whether it's up, down, left or right, "flight".

Besides, as I said the clincher for me isn't that he's traveling faster than Lana - he could have pushed off from something above. It's that he *sheds* that excess speed and matches her velocity in less than a second. *THAT* indicates an external force acting on the system, ie: flight.

But you know what? I don't think the powers that be gave much thought to this. I think it's left vague on purpose. If you want to believe it's flight, great. If you want to chalk it up to bad Hollywood physics, that's cool too. :)

Unlike the 3 page question on my thermo paper, there is no right answer. LOL!

[Xanderman]

His hard landing was supposed to make it clear to the audience that he wasn't flying. He just super-fell.

[DrFyzziks]

Originally posted by Xanderman
His hard landing was supposed to make it clear to the audience that he wasn't flying. He just super-fell.

From a physics point of view, he *HAD* to use his flight ability to match Lana's velocity. There is no other physical way that this could have been accomplished as depicted onscreen. What did he do after that? Sure, looks like both he and Lana continued to fall at Lana's speed to me. I don't disagree there.

But hey, if you want to get into it, let's talk about that landing too:

Of course, let's see... figure Lana might weigh ~110 lbs (50 kg) and Clark maybe 200-ish lbs (90 kg). So their combined mass is something like 140 kg.

Now, assuming they're traveling at Lana's velocity of 125 mph (200 km/h or 55 m/s)...

That would mean that on impact, they would have a momentum of 140 kg * 55 m/s = 7700 kg m/s or 7700 N.

The force of the impact = change in momentum / time it takes to come to rest. Looks to me like the car collapsed quite quickly, let's say 0.5 seconds for fun. The change in momentum is -7700 N since they go from free-fall to a complete stop when it's all over.

So, the force experience by both Clark and Lana on impact is 15400 N - this will produce a shear strain on Lana's neck and spinal column that is well in excess of the force necessary to cause serious injury. For details, I'll refer you to:

http://www.open2.net/healthliving/body_mind/diehard.html

which does a good job of explaining a similar situation in the 1st Die Hard movie.

Ouch. Poor Lana!

To clarify: I think Clark subconsciously "flew" to catch Lana, at which point the flight ended and they fell the rest of the way. I think this is corroborated by the "jet" sound effect that is associated with Clark as he "falls", but then ends when he reaches Lana. The bit about the impact is just me tossing the cold wet towel of reality on bad Hollywood physics. :)

[Crusader]

Yeh i agree, as he could of deccelerated quite drastically by flying upwards just after catching her, which could have resulted in her being ok when they landed.

I'm sure everyone remembers the first time Clark fly's which is in episode metamorphasis, (although people may argue that it was in episode crusade) and he was thinking only of Lana and began to float. It could be the same story here, as Clark was desperately trying to rescue her, that he could actually have maybe flew on a very small scale, just to ensure that he decreases his speed enough to ensure Lana's safety.

[Welling_is_pretty]

I have to go with Falling. I, too, thought this was a great opportunity for Clark to friggin' fly already but it's obvious he just dives after her, catches her and then does gooey love eyes while they fall to the ground.

[montidatta]

He definitely flew down and caught up with Lana's fall in time to catch her, but then it was a terrible crash landing. This isn't the first time he flew--he "willed" himself toward Lana in her truck inside the tornado at the end of season 1, to save her. This would suggest that flight is connected to his willpower and emotions, and I think Lana is good motivator for him to access this side of himself that would otherwise be dormant. By the time he had saved Lana from falling he didn't need to "will" himself to a safe landing, since he had Lana safely in his arms.

[Ardiem3]

Originally posted by montidatta
He definitely flew down and caught up with Lana's fall in time to catch her, but then it was a terrible crash landing. This isn't the first time he flew--he "willed" himself toward Lana in her truck inside the tornado at the end of season 1, to save her. This would suggest that flight is connected to his willpower and emotions, and I think Lana is good motivator for him to access this side of himself that would otherwise be dormant. By the time he had saved Lana from falling he didn't need to "will" himself to a safe landing, since he had Lana safely in his arms.

This is what im thinking..

[Sweetie]

No.He was falling down lightly.He reminded me of Spiderman there when he caught Mary Jane from falling from a building.

[DarkseidNow]

In my opinion, he definitely propelled himself down faster than Lana was falling, but it wasn't flight unfortunately. But he was not just falling.

What would have been cool is if he caught Lana and unknowingly floats just above the car. Then when Lana notices that he is, Clark lands normally on the car's top. It would reinforce that he can fly but doesn't know how to yet.

[DavetheAvatar]

Looking back at it, that whole scene seems like it was there purely to taunt us.

"Think he's going to fly? He might, he looks like he's about to fly! *smash* HA! Hear that? That was your dreams shattering. Now never question our show again."

Not that the entire episode wasn't there to poke fun at us...

[magoo]

Possibly the same thing as when he rescued Lana from the Tornado. He started by falling but he could only possibly have caught her if he flew and 'willed' himself towards her.

After all 2 people falling at the same time can only fall at the same speed, unless one of them can force himself faster through the air somehow...

[TheANIMAL (marcus)]

Momentum means that the decelaration from a terminal velocity landing would have broken Lana back and Neck in Clarks arms, even with the car crumpling under them.

Clark was slowing down before he hit the ground. Half-flying.

[JorEl23]

Originally posted by DrFyzziks
You know, I've been lurking in these forums for quite awhile, generally enjoying the back and forth discussions, but this was the thread that convinced me to create an account. I just had to reply.

I've seen a number of explanations of Clark's rescue of Lana which begin with a variation of the phrase "I'm no physicist, but..." and then go on to explain why he couldn't possibly be flying.

Well, I *am* a physicist - currently pursuing my masters degree in astrophysics, and I just have to weigh in on this one.

As depicted in the episode, there is no way Clark could have rescued Lana without exhibiting some form of powered flight. Whether this was intentional on the part of the writers and directors, or something we can just chalk up to "bad television physics" (like cars exploding during impacts), who knows? But given what I saw, there's no escaping the conclusion that clark was flying in some fashion.

Let's look at the various arguments presented as to why he couldn't be flying:

1. Clark used his super-speed to catch up to Lana

We've seen Clark use his strength to jump phenomenal heights and distances in the past. So why not in this case? Simple. The roof of a building is horizontal. Lana was falling vertically.

In order for Clark to use his super-speed to catch up to Lana, he would have to push off from something. He simply couldn't run over the edge of the building and super-speed downward. If you run off the side of the building at 100 km/h, your motion will be composed of horizontal and vertical components. Your horizontal speed will initially be 100 km/h, whereas your vertical speed would initially be 0 km/h. As you begin to fall, your vertical speed would increase at an acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2, whereas your horizontal speed would decrease due to air resistance. This is why objects such as cannonballs exhibit a curved "ballistic" trajectory.

In short, no matter what speed Clark ran off the top of the building, he would *fall* at the same rate as Lana - his super-speed would simply affect the distance he travels horizontally.

There is one possibility though - Clark could grab the ledge of the building as he was diving over and redirect his velocity downward by applying a downward force. Let's keep this in mind for point #2 below.

2. Clark was able to catch up to Lana by presenting a smaller profile in the direction of motion. For a Clark-sized object, a quadratic air resistance model could be used. It's been awhile since I've done my 2nd year Mechanics course, but the terminal velocity of someone stretched out like Lana is somewhere around 200 km/h (125 mph), and Clark's would be somewhere around 300 km/h (186 mph) - curling into a ball might give him an extra 20 km/h or so.

Now the key here is to watch what happens when Clark *reaches* Lana. Since he jumped over the ledge after she was pushed, and he still caught up to her (with plenty of altitude to spare), he was obviously traveling faster. A human body can reach terminal velocity in 2 to 3 seconds (here's a good PDF tutorial on such things: http://www.ph.surrey.ac.uk/outreach/mss/Worksheets_files/3-%20Terminal%20Velocity%20.pdf)

So, it's safe to assume given the timing in the video that both Lana and Clark were traveling at their respective terminal velocities - not even considering any extra "boost" Clark may have given himself by pushing off from the ledge as discussed in 1.

That means that when Clark reaches Lana, he is traveling 100 km/h or 60 mph *faster* than she is. Just before he reaches her, he rotates from a head-down to a feet-down position - while this would increase his profile (and therefore air resistance) somewhat, Lana is still presenting a larger profile than he is. Yet, a second after Clark rotates his body, he MATCHES SPEED with Lana and "catches" her.

This is key: As the scene was filmed, there is no physical way that Clark can shed 100 km/h or 60 mph worth of velocity to match speed with and catch Lana without *some* external force acting on him.

Whether you want to chalk that force up to Clark's latent flight ability, or just bad Hollywood North physics, that's up to you.

I'll save my comments on the "landing" for another message - suffice it to say that if Clark hadn't some how been able to slow them down, Lana would easily have suffered major injuries from going from 200 km/h to 0 km/h very quickly.

lol. And with that, I think I'm done. I need to get away from those physics books for awhile. Still, I might have to make this a question on a future quiz for some undergrads. :)


Thanks "Doc"!! Aside from substantiating my theory that he did indeed "fly" in a sense...this was the answer I was looking for!! Thanks for the expert explanation.

[GaidinDre]

Originally posted by DrFyzziks
You know, I've been lurking in these forums for quite awhile, generally enjoying the back and forth discussions, but this was the thread that convinced me to create an account. I just had to reply.

I've seen a number of explanations of Clark's rescue of Lana which begin with a variation of the phrase "I'm no physicist, but..." and then go on to explain why he couldn't possibly be flying.

Well, I *am* a physicist - currently pursuing my masters degree in astrophysics, and I just have to weigh in on this one.

As depicted in the episode, there is no way Clark could have rescued Lana without exhibiting some form of powered flight. Whether this was intentional on the part of the writers and directors, or something we can just chalk up to "bad television physics" (like cars exploding during impacts), who knows? But given what I saw, there's no escaping the conclusion that clark was flying in some fashion.

Let's look at the various arguments presented as to why he couldn't be flying:

1. Clark used his super-speed to catch up to Lana

We've seen Clark use his strength to jump phenomenal heights and distances in the past. So why not in this case? Simple. The roof of a building is horizontal. Lana was falling vertically.

In order for Clark to use his super-speed to catch up to Lana, he would have to push off from something. He simply couldn't run over the edge of the building and super-speed downward. If you run off the side of the building at 100 km/h, your motion will be composed of horizontal and vertical components. Your horizontal speed will initially be 100 km/h, whereas your vertical speed would initially be 0 km/h. As you begin to fall, your vertical speed would increase at an acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2, whereas your horizontal speed would decrease due to air resistance. This is why objects such as cannonballs exhibit a curved "ballistic" trajectory.

In short, no matter what speed Clark ran off the top of the building, he would *fall* at the same rate as Lana - his super-speed would simply affect the distance he travels horizontally.

There is one possibility though - Clark could grab the ledge of the building as he was diving over and redirect his velocity downward by applying a downward force. Let's keep this in mind for point #2 below.

2. Clark was able to catch up to Lana by presenting a smaller profile in the direction of motion. For a Clark-sized object, a quadratic air resistance model could be used. It's been awhile since I've done my 2nd year Mechanics course, but the terminal velocity of someone stretched out like Lana is somewhere around 200 km/h (125 mph), and Clark's would be somewhere around 300 km/h (186 mph) - curling into a ball might give him an extra 20 km/h or so.

Now the key here is to watch what happens when Clark *reaches* Lana. Since he jumped over the ledge after she was pushed, and he still caught up to her (with plenty of altitude to spare), he was obviously traveling faster. A human body can reach terminal velocity in 2 to 3 seconds (here's a good PDF tutorial on such things: http://www.ph.surrey.ac.uk/outreach/mss/Worksheets_files/3-%20Terminal%20Velocity%20.pdf)

So, it's safe to assume given the timing in the video that both Lana and Clark were traveling at their respective terminal velocities - not even considering any extra "boost" Clark may have given himself by pushing off from the ledge as discussed in 1.

That means that when Clark reaches Lana, he is traveling 100 km/h or 60 mph *faster* than she is. Just before he reaches her, he rotates from a head-down to a feet-down position - while this would increase his profile (and therefore air resistance) somewhat, Lana is still presenting a larger profile than he is. Yet, a second after Clark rotates his body, he MATCHES SPEED with Lana and "catches" her.

This is key: As the scene was filmed, there is no physical way that Clark can shed 100 km/h or 60 mph worth of velocity to match speed with and catch Lana without *some* external force acting on him.

Whether you want to chalk that force up to Clark's latent flight ability, or just bad Hollywood North physics, that's up to you.

I'll save my comments on the "landing" for another message - suffice it to say that if Clark hadn't some how been able to slow them down, Lana would easily have suffered major injuries from going from 200 km/h to 0 km/h very quickly.

lol. And with that, I think I'm done. I need to get away from those physics books for awhile. Still, I might have to make this a question on a future quiz for some undergrads. :)

Couldn't have said it better, I agree 100%.

[nightshadz]

I absolutely think "flying" was involved here for all the reasons stated by our physicists. Never, even when watching the scene the first time, did i think he wasn't using his flying ability. I don't think we should chalk this up to "bad hollywood physics". With Kara being present this season and the flying power being discussed constantly, I think this scene was a little teaser for us from the cast/crew.

[All about Clark]

It seems it would be easier for Clark to use that ability in a free fall than it would be to iniate the ability.

[TampaVille]

Originally posted by DavetheAvatar
Looking back at it, that whole scene seems like it was there purely to taunt us.

"Think he's going to fly? He might, he looks like he's about to fly! *smash* HA! Hear that? That was your dreams shattering. Now never question our show again."


While I don't think it was meant QUITE that maliciously (:)), I do agree with you here.


Originally posted by DrFyzziks
From a physics point of view, he *HAD* to use his flight ability to match Lana's velocity. There is no other physical way that this could have been accomplished as depicted onscreen. What did he do after that? Sure, looks like both he and Lana continued to fall at Lana's speed to me. I don't disagree there.

You are absolutely incorrect. :) And I don't mean that as an insult. Please don't get defensive. It's simply a matter of aerodynamics.

Clark streamlined himself as he fell. He minimized his surface area exposed to the air in the vertical direction. This in turn minimized drag. Lana, on the other hand, was simply falling with arms and legs out, which would come close to maximizing her surface area. Clark would experience less friction with the air, and would fall much slower. It's the same stunt which has been pulled in almost every James Bond movie (I mentioned that same point earlier in this very thread).


Originally posted by nightshadz
I absolutely think "flying" was involved here for all the reasons stated by our physicists. Never, even when watching the scene the first time, did i think he wasn't using his flying ability. I don't think we should chalk this up to "bad hollywood physics". With Kara being present this season and the flying power being discussed constantly, I think this scene was a little teaser for us from the cast/crew.

I agree it was a teaser, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on the rest, and for precisely the same reasons you list. Kara's on this season. Flight's been discussed numerous times. It would be nearly inconceivable to suppose that when the show FINALLY decides to give Clark the ability to fly, they would do it in such an ambiguous way as part of an episode unrelated to flight in general, and then would give us no mention of the fact afterwards.



PS - A lot of posters (especially the physicist JorEL) have run some calculations on the scene. Bravo! Haha, I am very impressed by the work put into that. Point is, the show didn't do that. Just because there are inconsistencies does not mean that Clark was utilizing powered flight. They made an effort to make the scene "work" realistically. They had Clark streamlined. They had Lana all spread out. Even if the numbers don't really make it possible, the INTENTION was there. That's what matters.

[JorEl23]

Originally posted by TampaVille


PS - A lot of posters (especially the physicist JorEL) have run some calculations on the scene. Bravo! Haha, I am very impressed by the work put into that. Point is, the show didn't do that. Just because there are inconsistencies does not mean that Clark was utilizing powered flight. They made an effort to make the scene "work" realistically. They had Clark streamlined. They had Lana all spread out. Even if the numbers don't really make it possible, the INTENTION was there. That's what matters.

Can't take credit here Tampaville, I simply SPECULATED that if he was able to PASS Lana after leaving the building after she did, he had to have been "flying" in some form or another. I think you simply mistook my ID for the ACTUAL Physicists that have been gracious enough to chime in. I am not a science professional at all, a finance professional most assuredly but definately not Physics!! I just thought about it from a common sense standpoint and added my Smallville expertise. :D Again, I'm sure you simply confused my ID with the two persons that are experts in the field, but just wanted to clarify that it wasn't me...

[Leia]

I've not trawled the whole of this thread, though I've read enough to know the debate over flight or fall is one which until confirmed by TPTB will rage on.

I've voted flight in the poll, mainly due to the fact that in Lexmas the last time I recall Clark being shown to rescue someone who's gone over the edge of the building he was seen to run down the building. This time it was a bigger building, but Clark was in his flying position.

However, that's my own opinion, however I do think that with all the mention of flying this season and with Lara around, Clark may just once the hunt for the crystal is over and Lara is on the side of the good, he may mention this rescue and ask to be taught how to fly? It could be that he flew this time, but doesn't know how it happened.

[TampaVille]

Originally posted by JorEl23
Can't take credit here Tampaville, I simply SPECULATED that if he was able to PASS Lana after leaving the building after she did, he had to have been "flying" in some form or another. I think you simply mistook my ID for the ACTUAL Physicists that have been gracious enough to chime in. I am not a science professional at all, a finance professional most assuredly but definately not Physics!! I just thought about it from a common sense standpoint and added my Smallville expertise. :D Again, I'm sure you simply confused my ID with the two persons that are experts in the field, but just wanted to clarify that it wasn't me...

Right you are. I just scrolled up. I think what happened was you quoted the text of the actual physicist, and by the end of reading it, I'd forgotten it was a quote! Thanks for pointing out the error, I'm sure the real professionals out there appreciate it :).

I should point out, only because you mentioned it, that it's very possible for one object to pass another in freefall without powered flight being involved. Drop a feather from the top of a building. Wait a bit, then drop a bowling ball. You can give that feather one hell of a head start and the bowling ball will still hit the ground first.


Originally posted by Leia
the last time I recall Clark being shown to rescue someone who's gone over the edge of the building he was seen to run down the building. This time it was a bigger building, but Clark was in his flying position.


Heh... the whole "running down [or up] the side of a building" thing is a really classic comic book 'blooper' (from a physical science standpoint). The Flash comics in particular are filled with this. Without going into too much of the physics... you can neither run up nor down a vertical surface.

I can write it off on SV pretty easily because Lexmas was just goofy. I mean... Clark saved Santa, lol. I'll give them a break for the phony physics. :)

[RKryp]

Seems to me that our physicist friend has demonstrated that what Clark did is not something that anyone could have done without some special powers.

Whether that was the intent of the producers in shooting the scene is open to debate. I don't think you can settle that debate...each one will have his/her own interpretation as to what was intended. Who knows where they are or aren't going with this flying theme.

I noticed on the SPOILERS page that there's a sentence to the effect that "Clark MAY fly in season 8". The way things have gone with flying, I think maybe they meant season 18. ;)

Honestly I think maybe TPTB are happy having things ambiguous. Much as I like the physics stuff you have to take the idea that they are trying to actually think about the physics with a grain of salt also. Think about super speed, for example. No matter how strong and fast Clark's muscles, the vertical force from footsteps powerful enough to propel him at thousands of miles per hour would also send him flying up in the air with each step. You have to allow for other forces being at work or simply suspend disbelief.

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by RKryp

Honestly I think maybe TPTB are happy having things ambiguous. Much as I like the physics stuff you have to take the idea that they are trying to actually think about the physics with a grain of salt also. Think about super speed, for example. No matter how strong and fast Clark's muscles, the vertical force from footsteps powerful enough to propel him at thousands of miles per hour would also send him flying up in the air with each step. You have to allow for other forces being at work or simply suspend disbelief.

Perfect argument!

So if he doesn't leave the ground when he propels himself forward, it supports the fact that part of his speed is everything else slowing down. Therefore, superspeeding off the building would allow him to catch up to a slower moving Lana...without flight!

[JorEl23]

Originally posted by TampaVille
I should point out, only because you mentioned it, that it's very possible for one object to pass another in freefall without powered flight being involved. Drop a feather from the top of a building. Wait a bit, then drop a bowling ball. You can give that feather one hell of a head start and the bowling ball will still hit the ground first.



I will admit your arguement is pretty passionate and I get what you are trying to say but I have to respectfully disagree. Inevitably, I have to defer to the pros but in my amateur opinion your theory would only be viable if the subjects had similar weight disparities. Clark is clearly much bigger than Lana but I'm guessing he's in the low 200 lb range where she might be 100-115lbs whereas a bowling ball on average is like 12 lbs vrs i don't know an ounce or fractions of an ounce for a feather? But again, I like your passion without being arguementative as many of these threads will tend to get and I agree with you wholeheartedly that it was DEFINATELY not flight in the sense that we see in the comics or major motion pictures from Supes!! :)

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

i admire peoples passion for using real physics to justify clark saving lana

the fact is real physics and science in general isnt something thats bothered about on this show or any other show or comic universe, in DC we have a human (the flash) who can run faster than superman at speeds of light

we have meteor rocks that give humans powers

come on the aspect of reality was dropped when superman was created so physics in reality mean nothing

[TheANIMAL (marcus)]

Phyisicist person is technicly right but TPTB werent thinking of this, i suspect as many peopel have said they left it open for debate intentionally. Therefore EVERYONE is correct BECAUSE it is open to debate. The only peopel who are wrong are people using physics and havent got their facts right, everyone else is right.

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by JorEl23
I will admit your arguement is pretty passionate and I get what you are trying to say but I have to respectfully disagree. Inevitably, I have to defer to the pros but in my amateur opinion your theory would only be viable if the subjects had similar weight disparities. Clark is clearly much bigger than Lana but I'm guessing he's in the low 200 lb range where she might be 100-115lbs whereas a bowling ball on average is like 12 lbs vrs i don't know an ounce or fractions of an ounce for a feather? But again, I like your passion without being arguementative as many of these threads will tend to get and I agree with you wholeheartedly that it was DEFINATELY not flight in the sense that we see in the comics or major motion pictures from Supes!! :)

Even though I agree with your final point.... I do need to point out that weight has nothing to do with the speed that an object falls. The only reason a feather falls slower is air resistance, if you drop a bowling ball and a tennis ball at the same time, they will hit the ground at the same time despite the weight difference. But again, in the end I agree that people need to realize this is not the world of simple physics.

Oh and to the people that don't get the skydiving arguments, this clearly shows how quickly you can change speeds in the air and why putting your arms at your sides speeds your fall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ftkODrYisY

[SteveS]

I must have missed the episode, when did ClarkMan take up superspeed skydiving and then reversal to standing techniques?

[TampaVille]

Originally posted by JorEl23
I will admit your arguement is pretty passionate and I get what you are trying to say but I have to respectfully disagree. Inevitably, I have to defer to the pros but in my amateur opinion your theory would only be viable if the subjects had similar weight disparities. Clark is clearly much bigger than Lana but I'm guessing he's in the low 200 lb range where she might be 100-115lbs whereas a bowling ball on average is like 12 lbs vrs i don't know an ounce or fractions of an ounce for a feather? But again, I like your passion without being arguementative as many of these threads will tend to get and I agree with you wholeheartedly that it was DEFINATELY not flight in the sense that we see in the comics or major motion pictures from Supes!! :)

I appreciate your spirit of academic-style discourse! And I do respect your difference of opinion. I hope you don't mind my correcting one issue you raise though. Two objects of different weight will fall at equal rates. In a vacuum, the feather and the bowling ball would fall at the exact same rate. It's not weight that matters, but friction with the air.


Originally posted by TheANIMAL (marcus)
Phyisicist person is technicly right but TPTB werent thinking of this, i suspect as many peopel have said they left it open for debate intentionally. Therefore EVERYONE is correct BECAUSE it is open to debate. The only peopel who are wrong are people using physics and havent got their facts right, everyone else is right.

Haha. You have a great point here, and I mostly agree with you. I do think TPTB took the tiniest bit of physics into account. They DID have CK streamline himself as he fell (again, like in many James Bond movies when people are jumping out of airplanes and such). They were at least considering the fact that a streamlined person can move faster than a non-streamlined one. Do I think they performed any calculations? Definitely not. Would I want them to do so? Also definitely not. I couldn't enjoy any incarnation of SV if I couldn't suspend my disbelief, and I'd rather they spend that time, energy, and moolah working on coherent plotlines.


Originally posted by Dodge006
Oh and to the people that don't get the skydiving arguments, this clearly shows how quickly you can change speeds in the air and why putting your arms at your sides speeds your fall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ftkODrYisY

First: That is a really impressive skydiving video!!! And it does quite excellently demonstrate the point which has been made several times on this thread.

Second: I apologize for giving an almost identical explanation for why two objects of different weight will fall at the same rate. I must have just missed your post the first time through. As a sidenote, I'd probably use a 10 lb lead weight and a 20 lb lead weight in my example, since the tennis ball probably would fall slower. It's fuzzy, and would have more friction with the air. But your argument was both sound and posted before mine :).

[SmallMB512]

This was definitely flying. Falling does not include deceleration moments before impact. Watch the episode. As they are going down, near the bottom, they are SLOWING DOWN. This does not happen with falling, speed increases right up to the point of... Splat. My opinion is flying...

<<Phyisicist person is technicly right but TPTB werent thinking of this, i suspect as many peopel have said they left it open for debate intentionally. Therefore EVERYONE is correct BECAUSE it is open to debate. The only peopel who are wrong are people using physics and havent got their facts right, everyone else is right. >>

[Honey45]

I thought they were going to turn it into Clark flying.. but it was definately just falling.

[SV'S_immortal_hero]

clarks scenes of flying whethere or not he meant it has always been mentioned afterwards

every scene were he showed signs of flight there was a mention of whethere he was doing it or not afterwards

so the fact that people think that tptb would forget there own continuity is a bit silly if he flew in this ep there would have been a mention of it afterwards

[Dodge006]

Originally posted by SV'S_immortal_hero
clarks scenes of flying whethere or not he meant it has always been mentioned afterwards

every scene were he showed signs of flight there was a mention of whethere he was doing it or not afterwards

so the fact that people think that tptb would forget there own continuity is a bit silly if he flew in this ep there would have been a mention of it afterwards

You know, I normally agree with you on most things....but them forgetting to be consistent :D , more then likely. If they bring Pete back, they'd probably forget he's black.

[All about Clark]

Originally posted by SmallMB512
Falling does not include deceleration moments before impact. Watch the episode. As they are going down, near the bottom, they are SLOWING DOWN.

Well, I did watch this part of the episode dozens of times, and I do not see any deceleration once he's grabbed her and they continue to fall. His changing position from diving to feet first would create some amount of deceleration, but once they were together the fall was consistent without deceleration.

And I agree with some posters that feel TPTB wanted us to view this as falling. The only part that is grey for me is his dive, did he push/propel himself using speed and strength to dive that fast or did he use some element of flight, whether he realized it or not.

[galatians221]

What no one seems to be addressing is the fact that in Superman Returns, when he landed on Lex's replacement continent he made an impact that left a crater and created the equivalent of a sonic boom with his impact. Clark dented the top of a car so he had to be braking and that is a form of flight just as a helicopter or an F18 hovering and landing softly is controlled flight. No one is arguing that this is Superman type of flight but it is a gateway to flight and was imho a type of crude flying. It should be enough to demonstrate to Clark that he is capable and ready for flight.

[mc452]

if he was flying, why would he land in the middle of the street with lana and then stood there to rub noses with her, risking being scene by just about anyone, when if he was flying he could have taken her to safety and out of sight.

[galatians221]

Originally posted by mc452
if he was flying, why would he land in the middle of the street with lana and then stood there to rub noses with her, risking being scene by just about anyone, when if he was flying he could have taken her to safety and out of sight.

Everyone admits that this wasn't classic flight but Clark dove from the top of a building, turned around and grabbed Lana and landed much more softly than if he had fallen out of control. It's been discussed that Lana would have broken her neck if Clark hadn't broken the fall. It was a primitive form of flight but no one has claimed that this means he can fly like Superman. It's a gateway that shows he's making progress towards flight. The final scene with the cape states that it's time for Clark to fly but he doesn't want to. That was the point of the episode and the main effort at advancing the character of CK.

[TampaVille]

Originally posted by galatians221
Everyone admits that this wasn't classic flight but Clark dove from the top of a building, turned around and grabbed Lana and landed much more softly than if he had fallen out of control. It's been discussed that Lana would have broken her neck if Clark hadn't broken the fall. It was a primitive form of flight but no one has claimed that this means he can fly like Superman. It's a gateway that shows he's making progress towards flight. The final scene with the cape states that it's time for Clark to fly but he doesn't want to. That was the point of the episode and the main effort at advancing the character of CK.

If you want to make the "crude version of flight" argument, you can, and you're not wrong to do so. If you want to make the "bad writing" argument to explain why Lana didn't get smushed by the rapid negative acceleration, you're also not wrong to do so. Both arguments fit with the information provided in the episode, so until any future information is given to us, neither case is wrong. Personally, I find the evidence for the "bad writing" argument to be far more compelling. If you disagree with me though, you're welcome to do so. Again, neither case is strong enough to be called definitively the correct one.

[BABarracus]

he smashed some poor guys car

this requires a double post

he had to be doing something other than falling because laws of gravity is no matter to weight all objects fall at the same speed air resistance dose play a factor too. for the most part if he just jumped off he would have never caught her

he was doing something else

[TampaVille]

Originally posted by BABarracus
he smashed some poor guys car

this requires a double post

he had to be doing something other than falling because laws of gravity is no matter to weight all objects fall at the same speed air resistance dose play a factor too. for the most part if he just jumped off he would have never caught her

he was doing something else

You should scroll up and find the post made by physicist guy. It was lengthy. It was a relatively recent post on this page or the one before it. You'll know it when you see it.

[Xanderman]

Originally posted by galatians221
Everyone admits that this wasn't classic flight but Clark dove from the top of a building, turned around and grabbed Lana and landed much more softly than if he had fallen out of control. It's been discussed that Lana would have broken her neck if Clark hadn't broken the fall. It was a primitive form of flight but no one has claimed that this means he can fly like Superman. It's a gateway that shows he's making progress towards flight. The final scene with the cape states that it's time for Clark to fly but he doesn't want to. That was the point of the episode and the main effort at advancing the character of CK. That's a very cool way of looking at it. I forgot about the cape scene. Everything you're saying makes a lot of sense.:cool:

[kazek]

Originally posted by galatians221
Everyone admits that this wasn't classic flight but Clark dove from the top of a building, turned around and grabbed Lana and landed much more softly than if he had fallen out of control. It's been discussed that Lana would have broken her neck if Clark hadn't broken the fall. It was a primitive form of flight but no one has claimed that this means he can fly like Superman. It's a gateway that shows he's making progress towards flight. The final scene with the cape states that it's time for Clark to fly but he doesn't want to. That was the point of the episode and the main effort at advancing the character of CK.

I've always asked myself what happens when he catches the likes of Chloe falling from high above. It certainly doesn't look like he breaks their fall. That kind of instant impact should kill or seriously damage their anatomy.

It looked like Flight for a while but the smashing of the car rules it out. The only way that would have happened is if he hit it with massive impact. That being said, I don't know what makes you think he landed softly.:confused:

I can sum it up in two words... Loop Hole. :lol:

[HalJordan4184]

Originally posted by galatians221
What no one seems to be addressing is the fact that in Superman Returns, when he landed on Lex's replacement continent he made an impact that left a crater and created the equivalent of a sonic boom with his impact. Clark dented the top of a car so he had to be braking and that is a form of flight just as a helicopter or an F18 hovering and landing softly is controlled flight. No one is arguing that this is Superman type of flight but it is a gateway to flight and was imho a type of crude flying. It should be enough to demonstrate to Clark that he is capable and ready for flight.

Yes, he did make a crater when he landed, however, he doesn't always make a crater when he lands, and this was used to show that he was angry, and landing with quite a bit of force, on purpose. The damage Clark inflicted on the car, is consistent with a fall from that height, not from a controlled, slowed, landing. If I jump off a building, and land on a car, it will look like the car clark landed on when i hit. Does this mean I can fly?

By the, just for information purposes, F18's can't hover.