I don't think it wasn't a superman movie, because it did get most of the major tenets of superman down but there were a lot of things that kept me from liking this movie completely. i didn't hate it but it could have been so much more

1)First of all directors have to stop depicting superman as a Christ allegory, when his story is so obviously a Moses allegory. His parents send him to earth in hope he will one day lead kryptonians back into a existance/civilization. he leads the justice league, etc

2)i didnt mind SM killing zod that much but if they were using that seen as shock factor to make superman more dark(and i think they were) than that's lazy writing. They could have stressed the idea of planetary genocide/terraforming more(cause i just didn't find myself caring at the prospect of everybody on earth being killed (bad storytelling i.m.o). they could have made superman react to the tens of thousands of people that died as a result of his fight with zod(there was literally no weight to all of the collateral damage) Thats all they had to do to make it darker.

3) while we're on that note SM kiss with lois in a city of debris, ass, and bones was creepy as f***. and it was the most forced romance scene of the decade*cringes*just save that for the next movie.

4) Clark kent spends too much time not reacting to things,showing restraint etc. i know they wanted to show he was the bigger man yada yada, but they should have shown him applying all the morals he learned from his dad more, like being a very present moral force, like really putting his beliefs and characteristics out there. and those 5 or so scene with his dad lecturing him (saying the same shit each time)doesn't count for much for me.they didnt do a good job with characterizing him, hes too much of a wallflower, when he should be out there as a leader or something.

5)they should have given clarks mom more dialogue

6)zod should have killed jonathan, would've made things more interesting. the tornado scene, him dying for clarks identity and a dog was stupid

7)they spent too much time on krypton, could have spent it developing clark more. shouldn't have been more than 5 minutes.could have developed Zod latter on in the movie

8) kal-el has to much of a presence in the movie. his hologram should not have been so life like. i like the idea of SM never really getting that close to his father and having to go off an idea of who he was. like just his voice,cryptic answers and maybe just his face. missed a chance for a burning bush allusion, and build more on a moses allegory, that they didnt do in the first place*shrug*

9)i dint care how they tried to make us care about loises coworkers and a random family, in a city of dead people when thy got all of 1 minute of screen time.

10) i dint like the non linear story telling, blah, wasnt for me.

11) henry cavill's teeth, i know the dude is british, but he couldnt have gotten his teath fixed before shooting the movie. ok ok i dint matter that much too me, just being nitpicky now so ill stop

his aversion to killing comes from the way the Kents raised him...it's part of who he is...it was never something that he had to learn

I don't think superman had a choice but to kill zod. If he didnt, zod would never stop, and no one would be able to stop him, unless he was killed. Superman could've covered the lasers with his hand but that only would e momentarily saved those people. Zod would never stop, I believe superman had to kill him.

@sentryman555: Thank you . This movie was a live action justice league movie( minus other leaguers) and Justice league was awesome. And one of my main complaint in the Avengers more is that not one civilian died.

Snyder seems to disagree with that.

Thank you G-Man. I wholeheartedly agree.

I didn't have to much of a problem with him killing Zod...it's what THAT Superman would have done....the same Superman whose father pretty much told him that it would have been ok to let a school bus full of children die over exposing his powers....the same Superman who leveled his hometown and one of the planet's most populated cities while trying to protect them....the whole "he's still young and inexperienced" argument doesn't make things better for me either....his parents should have raised him better than that....Goyer says that he had to kill Zod to learn his aversion to death but that's bull....the real Superman had the value of all life instilled in him ever since the Kents found him...it wasn't something that he had to learn....it's who he is....this movie was made by one of you guys that I constantly see on the internet making comments about how Superman is to much of a Boy Scout and how corny he is because you don't understand and truly get that that is what makes Superman who he is....he's supposed to be the hero that all other heroes and other people aspire to be...we're not supposed to relate to him we're supposed to look up to him and aspire to be like him

@dmc: You think ice would stop a Kryptonian?

Superman killing Zod was the most powerful/emotional moment in the movie for me. Not because Zod died, but because Superman was forced to take a life. Superman does not break necks, period. Even if it happens to be a villain. In this case, he was forced to do it. Otherwise innocent lives would have been lost. You could see Superman's anguish afterwards when he screamed, "NOOOOOOOOO!" I have to admit, I teared up a bit during that scene. This is such a great movie and it pains me to see people giving it such negative reviews. I've seen it twice in the theater and liked it even better the 2nd time around. Those old Superman movies, including the recent Superman Returns seems so cartoonish compared to MoS. This is by far the best Superman movie ever made IMHO.

I agree with the Supes killing Zod, its not who he is. Maybe they did it to symbolize his human side, but still, that's a line Superman would never cross. Why couldn't he just launch himself and Zod up?

In the Dark Knight Joker tries to make Batman cross that line but fails. What does that tell us? The argument I made about the human side doesn't make sense anymore, and it makes Batman looks stronger than Superman in a moral sense and that isn't something that should be done so easily.

@om1kron@orbit6568 watch the language please

@hawkguy: Batman kills Harvey Dent in that movie.

@hawkguy said:

And then what? Just keep fighting zod forever? And remember: zod was getting more and more powerful and he already had military training. Even if superman didnt have to make that choice zod would have ended up killing him as clark probably never got into a fight in his life before this whole thing started

Plus moving zod wouldn't have helped as that doesnt guarantee he would have turned off his heat vision, the guy could still have destroyed the building they were in

Nuff said. Clap clap!

Ahaha! Yes he did!

It actually was everything I expected and hoped for. The only thing I was only slightly disappointed abt was no "kneel before zod". It's kinda sad how there's always ppl to complain abt a movie. Why can't ppl just enjoy most movies for what they are, which is someone else's take on a character.

Holy balls I keep getting quoted and no one is getting my point at all. Aren't you all supposed to be comic readers? This movie, the Nolan Batman's, and every other movie is the same as an alternate earth and doesn't need to follow any projected rules that anyone is expecting.

It's all about the red undies.

1) Its pretty well known that Superman has numerous elements that are Jesus allegory's. Its been discussed for decades from college lectures,to books, to internet forums. Ever heard of the German ubermansch? Do a Google search of Superman Jesus, or is superman jesus? and you will see. I mean literally its been a point of discussion for decades and Ive never heard a moses being anywhere near a topic point allegory accept in your post. If you dont trust me trust the thousands of hits.

2) I would like to hear the writers and director's takes on that final kill scene. Cant say for sure until I do.

3) Guess you've never seen the TV show Arrow lol.

4) To be fair it was his childhood memories and this representation of SUperman was someone who had to hold it all inside because of his dads teachings. He still showed great morality by saving people all the time growing up. (Bus full of classmates, oil rig, all the other stories lois researched). I dont think it would have been cool to see Clark as a leader in sports or whatever growing up. Too generic for his established powerset.

5) Laura or Ma Kent? Diane Lane was great in my opinion.

6) Pa Kent's death was dumb your right

7) I loved the Krypton opening. I loved the look of it visually. Except I was really surprised by no Braniac easter egg.

8) Jor el*** Yeah too much crowe.

9) Yea true that. I did think Morpheus as Perry WHite was a cool character it was weird that Lumbard and friends got screen time then.

10) To each's own.

11) haha. I loved him as superman.

@g_man I respect your opinions in this article. They are truly your own and I'm not trying to argue anything. I just wanted to say that your complaints about Superman not saving enough people are strange to me because he literally saved every person on earth first from the terra forming "world " device that would have annihilated everyone and then again from Zod who vowed to destroy every person on Earth to spite Clarke's decision. The end killing was weird, that they did that was a strange decision. Despite that even though he wasn't weary of collateral damage he saved billions of lives in that movie from a force that nothing on earth could oppose except him.

I disagree with the notion that Superman killing Zod shows that this Superman has weaker morals than his regular counterpart. If anything, Id say this demonstrates that he has some very strong morals as he was able to take an extremely difficult decision to ensure not only the safety of one family but the safety of everyone on Earth. I will say however that I hope Superman's reaction to this experience sticks and he doesn't kill anyone else in the sequel(s).

I dug the hell out of it and about people dieing in the city kinda hard to save people when you are being punched kicked and blasted from all sides from some one just as powerful as Superman was.

Well it seems the general consensus seems to be against this article in the form of "nit picking".

This was a fantastic movie and goes to show that we can see better of superman as the movie series goes along. And i agree with the mob on this one. If there were all these nit picking issues with man of steel, how come we did not see this article with the avengers movie?

I for one thought it was a great movie that I even paid to see it a second time in theatres. if anything I thought it was a fun and entertaining movie.

I agree with all of this.

The movie was quite awful. I don't care if you change anything about superman(I'm not even a fan of his comics), by all means do whatever you want with his story but the development of all the characters and their motivations were crap. The story had gaping plot holes and pointless sacrifices. The best scene was little clark and Martha Kent at the school, it was brilliant, if they had more scenes written like that then this movie would have hit it out of the park. That scene was the only emotional scene that made me care, then they chose to diminish Pa Kent and make him teach Clark to be a hiding coward. They made Jor-El more likable than the man who raised Clark. I even like That clark went on a journey all over the place, it humanized him but they didn't fully commit to that concept.

They sacrificed depth and emotion for mindless action and CLEARLY thousands of people were killed by superman throwing Zod around the city and Clark only cared about the people Zod was going to kill in Grand Central. Hell a snippet of Clark glancing or acknowledging the damage he was causing could have redeemed his carelessness. Simple throw aways is all a movie needs to redeem one's actions.

Side note: Watch Perks of Being a Wallflower, even if you don't like it, it proves a simple sentence or a look can redeem someone who does something awful or a horrible event your life.

All I need is a good story, all flaws in the effects, acting, fights...all that can be overlooked for a well done story. Like a comic book, I can over look art(for the most part, I've seen some terrible art) if the story is compelling. This movie was one note and Superman felt hollow.

Hey bro, watch the language.

Wow, super mature response. So yeah, that's warrants at least a warning.

@savagedragon:

idono man, i've just always heard people make supermans connection to the bible as a moses story. it just seems so obvious to me. they both are sent to live with a different people by their parents, during the imminent demise of their people in hope that he will one lead his people to civilization/land of wheat and honey/back into existence---... i just can't accept him as a christ figure, hes always been just leader for me, not a god,deity, all righteous judge of our sins.........IF u put it this way.. Superman died for our sins,saving us from ourselves???? or Superman leads us into a better safer more fruitful world to live int <<<<<<<<< its just as clear as day what superman reprisents. also superman was created by 2 jewish dudes

no i havnt gotten around to watching the arrow yet.

they made him a quarterback on smallville if i remember correctly, they could have done something along those lines but i did like the whole wandering around, finding himself, doing odd jobs thing. but seriously he did this untill he was 33? they just made him that age for the jesus thing.

actually ur right she was great in the movie, and her presence was good too. the scene with her and clarke at school was one of the best in th movie.

he wa a great superman, but i couldnt help noticing it, it wasnt that bad, just so use to seeing everybody with perfect teeth on screen. i don't care that much, just something i noticed.

So......

Quantum Leap was a great show, right?

Great article. Agreed. Thanks for the link.

@rich711 said:

@thegreyoutcastx: Sorry, Bro. Didnt realize you were the hall monitor, Bro. My bad, Bro.

Like @k4tzm4n said, super mature response.

If this wasn't a Superman movie than whose was it?

@rich711 said:

@thegreyoutcastx: Sorry, Bro. Didnt realize you were the hall monitor, Bro. My bad, Bro.

Final warning.

It was the Plutonian's! Ahhh!

Hey broz and bro-ettes

I understand there's lots of varying opinions about this film. Heck, even the staff of this site is split. However, let's keep this civil. There's no reason to be attacking each other because you don't agree with someone else.

If I attacked people who disagreed with me, it would be a non-stop swearfest and it would probably be all in caps.

If you don't like what someone is saying, walk away. You'll be the bigger person, and you'll win a prize: dignity.

@blastaar: I Agreed with you

@inferiorego: Yes sir.

Finally, I got through to a user after being on here for 6 years...

@inferiorego: Nope. I was being sarcastic. :P

I quit...

[crying]

Don't cry. I was just joking. I really meant yes sir.

Why aren't more people addressing what a massive hypocrite Jor-El is?

How can you talk about breaking free from societal roles and then send your son to Earth with strict instructions on what he is to become? The whole movie was about how he had a reason for living, and it wasn't to CHOOSE his role. It was to accept it.

"Our hopes and dreams travel with you. Do what we want when you grow up."

I can't remember who said them, but I'm gonna address some thoughts, both for and against:

"Superman could've taken it elsewhere."

He tried. Plus, he was outnumbered and fighting two people as strong/fast as he was. Yes, he was reckless and left two Kryptonians with Ma Kent, but the subsequent fight was not exactly in the palm of his hand. He also did tell people to get inside and out of harm's way. He was the one, to my memory, being smashed through buildings. Except the gas station. That was inexcusable.

"Superman was inexperienced."

I knew murder was bad when I was able to think for myself, immediately. There has never been a point in my life where it seemed viable.

"He killed Zod because he had to make a quick decision."

He sat there with Zod in a headlock while the two had dialogue. He had Zod in his control. Zod couldn't move. If he could've, he would've killed those people instantly. Instead, they had the suspenseful moment of whether or not the heat vision would reach them. The struggle was there because Superman had overpowered him. Clearly, Superman was stronger at that point and COULD have moved Zod. It wasn't a quick decision. Superman was asking Zod to stop. Among the myriad of other methods he could've stopped him with.

"Superman doesn't kill."

He killed Doomsday, but that was very clearly a kill or be killed scenario. Superman never had Doomsday under control at any point, and he "died" himself.

"They got rid of the cheesy quotes. It was mature and real world."

1. I don't want "real" world, necessarily. Not at the expense of it feeling like comic book storytelling or fantasy. If I wanted real world I'd watch "real" world movies.

2. They didn't. The military woman asking what terraforming was and, "What happens to US?!" were awful. "He...he saved us!" she says, in a city of ruins with bits of dust on her face. She was just trapped under rubble in a nightmare scenario, and all of a sudden she is ok and capable of one-liners? Like, get out of here. She should be on the floor and in need of actual therapy.

3. "They say everything's downhill after the first kiss."

4. Real world? Superman could barely escape the black hole. Lois FALLS out of the jet and away from the black hole purely so Superman can catch her.

@orbit6568: no i get your point, and it actually makes some sense about moses Ive just heard the jesus thing for years. Either way it makes me roll my eyes but your points are interesting dude.

I don't Understand why people like Tony and others view that final scene as ' he had to kill Zod to save the 4 people? could he have done X to stop him? etc" That was not the point , it was a matter of not just saving those people but if he did. Zod would move on to others and never stop he would go after more . He was a mad man that had everything taken away from him and was on a rampage ( BTW i am pretty sure Zod considered it a suicide mission as well ). Zod did not care what got in his way and was just as powerful as Kal. Superman knew that ..and because ( this is another thing I feel people are not picking up on) now being Superman is new to him and his only option to capture Zod was gone. He knows in those moments he can only over power Zod so long . This battle was going to go on forever and more people regardless were going to end up dying. No place on earth is available that can hold Zod..so being inexperienced and pretty much scared for the humans he loves. The only choice he had was to take him out. Also the choice he made was very much a human reaction even if we don't want to believe it. Also I am hoping that if this Superman is going to be allowed to grow as a hero from the events that took place will allow that. And even may bring about that stronger sense that killing is not the way it will still dwell on him. that he needs to find another option..

Well that is my 2 cents on the matter. I am super tired so if some of writing seems off its that and I don't post a lot of stuff.

There clearly was no kind of Deus Ex Machina option for Superman other than to kill Zod as Zod was incensed about killing humans. That was a powerful moment in the film and you could feel Clark's remorse about that decision. He had no kryptonite, no Phantom Zone ray, no Red Solar blaster or whatever else to dispose of Zod with in a less than lethal method.

Past!Bane, high five! We were right!

@inferiorego: So...I heard Krypton is out of this world....Am I right?

...yes I know....it was really lame.