Vanity

It’s not a question of 

where he grips it —

It’s a simple matter 

of Weight-ratios…

Superman talks to Jor-El | Superman (3 Hour TV Version)

Jor-El :

[in the Fortress of Solitude]  
You... enjoyed it.

Superman :
I don't know what to say, Father. 

I'm afraid I just got carried away.

Jor-El : 
I anticipated this, my son. I...

Superman : 

[surprised]  
You couldn't have! 

You couldn't have imagined...

Jor-El : 
...How good it felt.

[Clark nods]

Jor-El : 
You are revealed to The World. 
Very well, so be it. 
But you must still keep your secret identity.

Superman : 
But why?

Jor-El : 
The reasons are two. 

First, you cannot Serve Humanity 

twenty-eight hours a day.

Superman :
Er.. Twenty-four.

Jor-El : 
-- or twenty-four, as it is in Earth time. 

Your Help would be called-for endlessly, 

even for those problems 

which human beings could 

solve themselves. 

It is their habit to abuse their 

resources in such a way.

Superman :
And, secondly?

Jor-El : 
Secondly, your enemies will discover 

their only way to hurt you: by 

hurting the people you care for.

Superman : 
Thank you, Father.

Jor-El : 
Lastly... Do not punish yourself 

for your feelings of vanity. 

Simply learn to control them. 

It is an affliction common 

to all, even on Krypton. 

Our Destruction could have been avoided had it not been for the vanity of some who considered us, indestructible. 

Were it not for vanity, 

why... at this very moment...

[sadly]

Jor-El : 
I could embrace you in my arms. My son.

[Kal-El reaches yearningly toward his father's image; Jor-El fades, leaving Kal-El alone]