12 Miserable Things That Have Happened To The Statue Of Liberty

    Can't a lady catch a break?

    Gabriel H. Sanchez
    by Gabriel H. Sanchez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    2015 marks the 130th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty's arrival to New York City as a gift from the French.

    Albert Fernique / New York Public Library

    Today she stands as a symbol of American democracy and freedom.

    Spencer Platt / Getty Images

    Unfortunately, she was wiped out by a tidal wave in 1939...

    RKO Radio Pictures

    In what is probably the first disaster movie ever, the 1933 film Deluge depicts a catastrophic earthquake that leaves Manhattan in complete ruins, after which a giant tsunami washes it all away.

    And discovered washed up on shore in 1968...

    20th Century Fox

    In the iconic 1968 movie Planet of the Apes, Astronaut Taylor lets go of his emotions after stumbling upon the Statue of Liberty and realizing that he's not stranded on some alien planet — he's been on Earth the whole time!

    Then she lost her head that one time Manhattan became a maximum security prison in 1981...

    Goldcrest Films / AVCO Embassy Pictures

    In posters for John Carpenter's 1981 movie Escape From New York, the Statue of Liberty's decapitated head is shown tossed in the city streets, but for some reason it was never shown in the actual movie.

    And was chucked like a sack of potatoes in 1987...

    Warner Bros.

    Superman's nemesis, Nuclear Man, actually picks up the Statue of Liberty in this 1987 film and hurls her toward Metropolis. Luckily, Superman is there to catch her and put her back where she belongs. Thank god!

    Then she was possessed by ghosts in 1989...

    Columbia Pictures
    Columbia Pictures

    In the 1989 film Ghostbusters II, the team uses possessed "slime" to animate the statue. Then they somehow walk into the city, smash a hole in an art museum, and save the day by defeating a powerful 16th-century tyrant and magician. Whew!

    And there was that one time in 1995 when a two-faced maniac crashed a helicopter into her face...

    Warner Bros.

    In arguably the BEST Batman film ever, 1995's Batman Forever has the villain Two-Face accidentally flying a helicopter into the face of the Statue of Liberty. Who knew Gotham had its own jolly green giant?

    And then she had an unfortunate close encounter on July 4, 1996...

    20th Century Fox

    In the 1996 film Independence Day, an army of some pretty hostile visitors from outer space line up above every major city in the world, flattening them into dust in an apocalyptic wall of fire.

    And tried to surf a giant tidal wave in 1998...

    Paramount Pictures
    Paramount Pictures

    In the 1998 film Deep Impact, a gigantic comet crosses paths with Earth. The impact sends an enormous tidal wave careening into the statue. Later in the scene, her head is shown floating down Broadway.

    Then a bunch of mutants battled it out on her head in 2000...

    20th Century Fox

    The final scene of the 2000 film X-Men finds the crew duking it out on Liberty Island with Cyclops and Wolverine doing a bit of remodeling to the statue's crown.

    She also didn't handle global warming too well in 2001...

    Warner Bros. Pictures

    In Steven Spielberg's 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, the Statue of Liberty is shown fully submerged in the Atlantic Ocean, apparently due to global warming.

    After that, she was frozen into a popsicle in 2004...

    20th Century Fox

    Global warming strikes again in the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow, where the Statue of Liberty gets hit hard twice: once by an enormous tidal wave and again when she is frozen by an onslaught of arctic temperatures.

    And once again decapitated by a sea monster in 2008...

    Paramount Pictures

    In the 2008 flick Cloverfield, a gigantic monster finds its way to New York City and wreaks havoc upon its residents. But not before taking off Lady Liberty's head and sending it flying into the city streets.

    It's hard out there for a lady.

    Timothy Clary / Getty Images