This yr marks the 12-year anniversary of the discharge of Man of Metal. A lot has modified since 2013, and although Superman is as soon as once more on the heart of popular culture, it is now a reboot starring David Corenswet. Superman is the launching level of a brand new shared universe, the DCU, selecting up from the earlier DCEU that Man of Metal kicked off. Whereas a lot has modified since Henry Cavill flew onto screens, one factor has not: the controversial ending to Man of Metal.
Instantly upon launch, Man of Steel was broadly criticized for its remaining act, which noticed Superman and Zod battling by way of Metropolis, inflicting an amazing quantity of property harm that seemingly resulted within the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Greater than that, the ultimate ending scene of Superman killing Basic Zod’s neck was a pivotal second for the DCEU, one which the franchise by no means recovered from. Followers are nonetheless debating this ending to this present day. But the trailers for Superman present that the DCU’s path for the character returns the hero to his basic established order as somebody who saves civilians and values life. Superman appears to be like to be in dialog and serves as a rebuttal to Man of Metal.
The Catastrophic Destruction Paints Superman in a Dangerous Gentle
Since Man of Metal got here out, one protection of the criticism for all of the destruction and collateral harm within the movie is that that is Superman’s first day on the job. He has no battle coaching and would not know the overall guidelines of fight. Whereas that is truthful, Clark is accountable for a lot of the destruction himself. In his first battle with Zod, he pushes the battle in the direction of civilians in Smallville and later in Metropolis, even transferring out of the way in which of a fuel truck that’s thrown at him, permitting it to explode right into a constructing, doubtlessly killing tons of of individuals. The battle scene might have been a solution to talk one thing about Clark’s character, that he cares about defending others, and that he actively tries to maneuver the battle away from a populated space. But the film by no means does that.
Man of Metal‘s motion might need been controversial, however there was hope that it was step one in a bigger story, and the follow-up movie would meaningfully dive into the repercussions of Superman’s actions. To Batman v. Superman: Daybreak of Justice‘s credit score, the opening act does (at first look) appear to be it’s attempting to grapple with Man of Metal’s controversial ending by exhibiting the destruction from the bottom from Bruce Wayne’s viewpoint. The film would not skirt across the many individuals who died throughout the climax of Man of Metal. The intent is now to make this a justifiable motive for Batman to hate Superman…however the film cannot determine if Batman is justified in his hatred of Superman or if he’s going too far?
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When the film cuts to Superman’s viewpoint, the film repeatedly reveals that he would not remorse the ending of Man of Metal as a result of the dangerous man was stopped, and subsequently, the ends justify the means. Not solely that, however the movie scolds different characters and, by extension, the viewers for daring to query Superman’s actions. As a substitute of getting some self-reflection, perhaps rethinking how the movie might need glorified the catastrophe components of Metropolis’ destruction, Batman v. Superman basically says everybody who did not like Man of Metal‘s ending or criticized it was fallacious.
Killing Basic Grew to become the Unstable Basis on Which the DCEU Was Constructed
For all of Man of Metal‘s controversial selections, the largest was the choice to have Superman kill Basic Zod by snapping his neck. It’s a level of no return for the movie. It turns into the unstable basis for the shared universe, ultimately resulting in its collapse. It makes Superman, the face of DC, a hero to hundreds of thousands of individuals, and, common amongst youngsters, a assassin. It doesn’t matter what Warner Bros. and DC did afterwards, even when Cavill got the prospect to play a basic model of Superman, his face and this particular universe’s character would at all times be related to a brutal bare-handed kill.
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The choice to place Superman in an unattainable scenario and pressure him to snap Zod’s neck was a inventive alternative Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer made for themselves; it wasn’t one they have been compelled into. The intention behind the scene appears to be to present Superman a pivotal second in his story, explaining the character’s no-kill rule. This is likely one of the worst examples of a prequel needing to clarify part of a personality’s lore that no one requested about. Why does Superman must kill somebody to vow by no means to kill? Is not it only a given? You needn’t homicide somebody to be taught the worth of life.
‘Superman’ Appears to be like To Right ‘Man of Metal’s Authentic Sin
Man of Metal‘s carnage-filled finale has had an enduring affect on superhero motion pictures. Two years later, Avengers: Age of Ultron devoted a superb portion of its climax to the heroes saving civilians in what felt like a pointed response to Man of Metal. It appears a shift is occurring, taking superheroes from combat-focused figures to the basic archetype of saving harmless civilians. 2025’s Thunderbolts* noticed the MCU heart a climax on saving civilians, and now Superman is seeking to take that to an excessive and restore the character’s picture after Man of Metal.
One of the best perception into what separates the DCU’s Superman from the depiction in Man of Metal is showcased within the second trailer in an interview scene between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Each Superman and Man of Metal discover the character’s place within the trendy world. Man of Metal and Batman v. Superman had Clark questioning his actions, whether or not he was doing good, all whereas trying sullen in his acts of heroism. In distinction, Superman has the hero much less involved with optics and desires to do good for the sake of it. It is not the next calling or a future, however one thing he needs to do as a result of it’s the proper factor.
When pissed off, Clark highlights the largest motivator for why he steps up, saying, “Folks have been going to die!” After the earlier Superman did nothing to cease civilians from dying, but additionally murdered a villain, this can be a refreshing change of tempo.
Man of Metal was an admirable try and relaunch the Superman mythology for a contemporary viewers, however it acquired misplaced in visible spectacle and superficial components to make the character appear edgy and funky. Superman will as soon as once more try to revive the hero’s iconic standing to audiences, however is doing so by letting audiences meet him on his stage. Superman would not want to vary who he’s to be cool; he already is. Judging by early ticket gross sales, it looks like the viewers is able to look as much as Superman as soon as extra.