No it's not backwards, because the scene didn't setup anything for 2. It was a nice scene to start 1 off with, but it didn't setup 2.
Why are you not getting this? It set up the existence of Zod, Non, and Ursa, because the filmmakers intended them to be the villains in part 2. The reason Zod was given that big speech declaring a vendetta against Jor-El and his entire family was to give him a motivation for going against Superman in the next movie. The whole thing was nothing but setup.
One more time: Superman: The Movie and Superman 2 were written together as a single 2-part script, and were filmed back-to-back as a single continuous production (at least until Richard Donner was fired 70 percent of the way through filming on S2). Therefore, when S:TM was made, they already knew that the story for part 2 would be about the Phantom Zone villains, and that is the only reason they included those characters in the first movie at all.
As I believe someone already mentioned, S:TM was originally going to end with the deflected nuclear missile releasing the trio from the Phantom Zone, as a cliffhanger to lead into S2. Since the opening scene had already established who they were, it would've set up that cliffhanger ending, and then it would've been easier to see its intended purpose.
Exactly.
Hello! Do you remember Zod's dialogue, Tom? It's one of my favorite movies so I can tell you:
"You WILL bow down before me, Jor El. I swear it! No matter that it takes an eternity, you WILL bow down before me! Both you, and then one day, your HEIRS!"
(I know that the way Zod says "your HEIRS!" sounds like he's saying "your ASS!" but trust me: he says "your HEIRS!")
If that is not a set up for a future appearance, I don't know what is.
Or are you trying to get a rise out of people?
