The destructive, carnage filled, General Zod-neck snapping finale of "Man Of Steel" rubbed many people the wrong the way. Comics writer Mark Waid (of “Superman: Birthright” fame) hated it, and even Christopher Nolan, who produced the film, had to be convinced it would work. However, director Zack Snyder has long defended his decision to take Superman down a more violent road than fans have long been used to from the hero who largely isn’t associated with causing collateral damage.
“In the original version of the script, Zod just got zapped into the Phantom Zone,” Snyder explained in 2013. “But [screenwriter] David [S. Goyer], Chris and I had long talks about it, and I said that I really feel like we should kill Zod, and that Superman should kill him. The ‘Why?’ of it for me was that if was truly an origin story, his aversion to killing is unexplained… I wanted to create a scenario where Superman, either he’s going to see [Metropolis’ citizens] chopped in half, or he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.”
Goyer also provided rationale for the ending later that same year. "This is one area, and I’ve written comic books as well and this is where I disagree with some of my fellow comic book writers — ‘Superman doesn’t kill.’ It’s a rule that exists outside of the narrative and I just don’t believe in rules like that. I believe when you’re writing film or television, you can’t rely on a crutch or rule that exists outside of the narrative of the film," he explained. "So the situation was, Zod says ‘I’m not going to stop until you kill me or I kill you.’ The reality is no prison on the planet could hold him and in our film Superman can’t fly to the moon, and we didn’t want to come up with that crutch."
With "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" on the horizon, Snyder again explains why "Man Of Steel" needed such intensity in its conclusion. “I was surprised because that’s the thesis of Superman for me, that you can’t just have superheroes knock around and have there be no consequences,” he told EW. The director also added: “There are other superhero movies where they joke about how basically no one’s getting hurt. That’s not us. What is that message? That’s it’s okay that there’s this massive destruction with zero consequence for anyone?"
However, the most interesting nugget on all this comes from Ben Affleck, who reveals that Batman perhaps has a good reason to have a bone to pick with Superman in the forthcoming sequel. “One of the things I liked was Zack’s idea of showing accountability and the consequences of violence and seeing that there are real people in those buildings,” he said. “And in fact, one of those buildings was Bruce Wayne’s building so he knew people who died in that Black Zero event.”
It certainly adds to the flavor of Superman being seen as outcast and threat to those in Metropolis and around the world. Thoughts? Share ’em below. "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" arrives on March 25, 2016.
I believe that he did it for the other aspect of the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.. He saved people of earth but doing so a number of the Metropolites died . I also see that yes he did have to kill Zod but … they had better bury him fast due to solar regeneration that all Kryptonians have on earth.
yes there were some seens that was over the top but in knew what the producers want a comic or animated prospective.
Lol, i see Hack Snyder is an expert in straw man arguements.
I personally had no problems with the level destruction or superman killing zod. But having superman crack a joke and make out with lois in a massive crater wherw thousands just died, not caring at all about the people trapped in rubble who might still need some help is rubbish. And emblematic of snyder\’s tone deaf approach to movie making.
I agree with Snyder\’s thesis. The problem is the ending doesn\’t address any accountability. Instead, the story chooses to focus on the happy Clark Kent final character arc. Ignoring the collateral damage makes the final scene with Clark less effective. So the issue is really Zack\’s execution.
At the end of the day these are live action cartoon characters in spandex capes. When we start talking about "consequences of our actions," and yada yada it all seems rather ridiculous.
"if it was truly an origin story, his aversion to killing is unexplained": So first you have to kill thousand of people in order to develop an aversion to killing? That\’s completely insane! I haven\’t killed anyone and I have a strong aversion to killing and I\’m not even Superman! Aversion to killing is easily explained with a sense of justice and morality which are two main characteristics of Superman. I don\’t think you could ever develop an aversion to killing if you started to kill everybody standing in your way…
The movie started off strong, and I think this Zod was a lot more interesting than the one in Superman II, as was Lois Lane, but like everyone else, I feel that last action scene was just too much.
I have no problem with Superman killing. He\’s killed many times in the comics actually. So Snyder and Goyers comments that its mandated in the comics that Superman doesn\’t kill is B.S. I had more problem with the reason he killed in "Man of Steel" then him actually committing the act. If they would have crafted a much better and believable scenario for Superman killing Zod people wouldnt be complaining so much. Instead they gave us a real dumb scene that had millions of other ways that Superman could have done to stop Zod instead of resorting to killing him. The scene was dumb end of story.
I hated Man of Steel. I didn\’t mind Superman killing Zod [it was more of a "FINALLY!" moment for me], but to have him kill him because some random family was being threatened at that moment is a terrible excuse. Why is this family any more important than any one of the hundreds of thousands killed in the preceding bore of an hour long fight? It\’s too little waaaaaaaaay too late.
But before all that, Zod decides to change the Earth\’s atmosphere [where he\’s an indestructible god] to match that of Krypton\’s [where he\’s a mortal]. That\’s the bigger [stupider] problem.
I really wish Snyder had nothing to do with these movies. His movies are all the same…..he follows a cookie-cutter approach.
Max Landis makes a point in one of his Youtube videos that I\’m tempted to agree with, and that\’s that the issue isn\’t that Superman killed Zod, it\’s that he didn\’t kill him sooner. Superman is not a human being, he\’s the idealized distillation of everything that humanity can stand for, and as a result he does not mess around with potential loss of human life. Superman would not necessarily be averse to killing, because killing Zod was necessary. It\’s just that an honest adaptation of Superman would not try his damnedest to not kill Zod and plow through a bunch of 9/11 imagery just to look like a good guy. As soon as Zod showed up, a real Superman would have killed him before he could genocide half of Metropolis. So the ending isn\’t stupid for the fact that Superman kills Zod, it\’s stupid because it\’s to preoccupied with eardrum-shattering disaster porn to consider what Superman would actually do.
Worst part of man of steel? The length of the movie. How the director could have fixed it? We went thru the whole origin of superman right at the beginning of the movie. Not a bad scene by any means but then, near the halfway point in the movie it takes a 20 minute halt to go over it all again while Russell Crowe explains to superman how he got there. Totally repetitive and unnecessary in every way. I get that superman needed to know how he got there but we didn\’t need to see him learn it. Total waste of time!
Man of Steel was a good beginning. There is always sacrifice when fighting is the only alternative. Earth was outmatched and Superman had to fight back…how would any of us stop Zod ? If you want comics to have a basis in reality … This is it. I look forward to Batman vs Superman…Batman represents Earth\’s response to the collateral damage that occurred and the understanding to a certain degree that will result.
Ever since the justified criticism of the mindless destruction at the end of MOS, these tentpole franchises have been half-heartedly backing off of it with disposable lines in the sequels about how "my sister was in Chicago…" or "I still think about New York…" or whatever. And this crap from Zack Snyder about how comic book movies don\’t have accountability but THEY do? It\’s like a teenager in a relationship who says "SORRY!" passive-aggressively, with no sincerity or understanding of what being sorry entails.
@Black Adam- good point, although are you sure it was Superman that brought the fight back to Metropolis or was it Zod? If it was indeed Superman, then that was a slip up on the part of the director/writer, but either way, I think you\’re dodging the central question of whether Superman AUGHT to kill. I think Snyder wanted to pose the most difficult decision possible to Superman: though your power is vast, it is not infinite, and you can only choose to allow Krypton to survive or allow Earth to survive, and your choice means the death of one of those.
When the battle with Zod started, it was set in Metropolis because that is where Zod was. However, not long into the fight, both Superman and Zod found themselves duking it out in low Earth orbit (when the bumped into and destroyed a Wayne Enterprises satellite). When they reentered the atmosphere, why in the world did they RETURN to Metropolis? Superman could have kept the fight in space or directed towards an uninhabited desert somewhere….but no. He went straight for the most densely populated city in the DCU. I sure as hell wouldn\’t trust Superman again after that. Neither should anyone else.
Em go sit down…..the adults are speaking….
Man Of Steel was awesome……best comic-book movie since Donner\’s Superman
Dave, that\’s the stupidest thing I ever heard
No one seems to remember that in Superman 2, he crushed Zod\’s hand before throwing him into an abyss, did he not die then? People choose to view things differently, those not content with the new Superman can watch reruns of the Christopher Reeve version, and as for the ending of Man of Steel, it provides an excellent springboard for the next instalment…..
I can\’t stand Man of Steel. It was laughable in every which way. Sorry, but none of the so called intensity even felt intense. There were so many meaningless action sequences.
As an allegory of American immigration, Superman had to kill Zod, just as countless immigrants to America have proven their loyalty and become "Americanized" by taking up arms for America against the country of their ethnic origin. The fact that Superman let all those civilians die is moot. If Zod succeeds in his plan, all Earthlings die, so obviously the most important objective is to first stop Zod, regardless of civilian casualties. Superman isn\’t all-powerful. He is only a singular consciousness, and despite his super-speed, can only focus on doing one thing at a time.
I agree 100% with zack snyders assessment. You can\’t have a modern day hero without consequences. I thought it showed a real morality to his character. You see destruction, while you don\’t see superman taking the fight with everything he had. You saw the sacrifice that some military made to back him up. What choice was he left with? He chose to save humanity! I\’m the biggest batman fan there is, I however for once, see it from the side of superman, if there were sides to choose. We all know, lex Luther will have his hand in manipulating both against each other. I don\’t care what anyone says, you needed to see that dark side come out in superman in order to bring about the bigger picture. You actually felt his anguish right there after. Of all the superman films, this one by far was the best, actually one of the best films I\’ve ever seen. You finally got all that you wanted & then some.
Funny how he talks about "massive damage with zero consequence for everyone" when they made it look like Superman pretty much got away with letting people die while he carelessly battled Zod all over Metropolis. And Mark Waid was right. That character saying "He saved us!" right after the machines decimated Metropolis. Saved them from what?!
I\’d be surprised if anyone trusted Superman ever again.
Dave, that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard