pixel:

Now THAT is a night shot.

gabrielm:

That is a great example that is closer to the same conditions as this photo. Certainly gives this photo more credence, but your example still looks more real to me. At the very least, I think this photo looks shopped. Thanks.

dculberson:

Except that this wasn't shot at night. If it were shot at night there would be illumination from the lightning all around the strike point, and the bolt itself would probably have more of a glow. Lightning is very bright, and it will expose the area around the lightning strike very differently than the rest of the picture.

"2) As others have stated that statue is the tallest thing around and probably gets struck often."

Actually it didn't, it hit just to the side of the tallest thing around (the statue's head). Could have been an aesthetic decision made because striking Jesus in the head wouldn't sell nearly as many souvenirs. I'm still calling fake.

Can anyone find a lightning strike pic where it shows lightning striking slightly off target? All the tree strikes I could find had lightning entering the very top of the tree, couldn't find one that was "a little to the side".

Not to mention lightning strikes don't create little glow balls at the point of contact. I suspect someone borrowed the "look" of a lightning strike from a picture of one striking an antenna or spire that has an air traffic warning light on it (like the top of the Empire State building, e.g.)

Not real if it is a photo (as opposed to video). The way lightning strikes are captured is that the camera shutter is left open then closed after the strike. That means it needs to be a very low light or night situation. Compare it to other lightning strike shots, it doesn't look right.

The Unhappy F-Men series in Cuti and Staton's E-Man comic is a still a favorite of mine.