Superman is synonymous with superheroes in many ways, which is why several risky Superman movie moments are quite controversial. The challenge in adapting Superman to the big screen is that a lot of superhero tropes stem from Superman, meaning that there can sometimes be almost no room for the character to expand beyond what is already established. Even the classic Richard Donner Superman movies took some creative liberties with Kal-El’s story, not to mention the often controversial DCEU Superman.
Despite being arguably the greatest superhero of all time, Superman has not had a very consistent cinematic history compared to Batman or Spider-Man. Considering that Superman Returns was envisioned as a sequel to Superman II, there have only been two Superman movie iterations – Christopher Reeve/Brandon Routh’s and Henry Cavill’s. That list will soon increase with James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy. Between the Richard Donner Superman films and the Zack Snyder ones, here are five controversial Superman movie moments that were actually justified within the context of their respective stories.
5 Superman Destroys The Kryptonian Scout Ship (Man Of Steel)
General Zod’s plan in Man of Steel involved terraforming Earth and turning it into a new Krypton, but not without collateral damage. Zod’s World Engine would have essentially ended all life on Earth, which would have then been replaced by Kryptonian life forms provided by the Genesis Chamber. General Zod warned Superman that if he destroyed the ship, he would also destroy Krypton, as all the Kryptonian genetic material would be lost. Though Clark contemplated his options for a few seconds, Superman eventually chose to destroy Zod’s ship and stop the terraforming process, saving Earth and dooming the chances of bringing Krypton back.
While it may seem at first that Superman killed any chances of bringing Krypton back, Zod’s entire plan was inherently flawed. Had Zod’s plan worked, Earth’s population would have been destroyed, meaning that Superman would have traded one planet for another. No one but the Council of Krypton was to blame for what had happened to the planet, and Zod was trying to make up for his and other Kryptonians’ mistakes by becoming a conqueror. Though it is a tragic moment, Superman’s “Krypton had its chance” line does make sense within the context of Man of Steel.
4 Clark Kent Gives Up His Powers (Superman II)
One of the biggest strengths of the Richard Donner Superman movies was showcasing the difference between Clark Kent and Superman, a decision that was elevated by Christopher Reeve’s incredible performance as both the superhero and the human being. The differences between Clark Kent and Superman in the Donner films weren’t just a gimmick, something to hide Superman’s secret identity and add charm to the character, but instead, something that set the tone for both Superman and Superman II. More specifically, Clark Kent gave up his powers in Superman II after realizing he could not have a normal life with Lois while also being Superman.
Clark Kent’s decision to give up his powers in Superman II is a controversial one, as Superman was deciding not to help people despite being able to. Still, such a choice does not hurt Clark’s character – it simply shows that, despite all of his powers, Clark Kent is and always will be human. Clark was not raised to be a superhero, and it was his choice to put on a cape and become Superman. Therefore, Clark was in his right when deciding to stop being Superman, even if not for long. Curiously, Smallville’s Clark Kent made a similar choice, as revealed by the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earthscrossover.
3 Superman’s “No One Stays Good In This World” Scene (Batman v Superman)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is one of the most divisive superhero films ever released, if not the most. A Dark Knight Returns meets Watchmen was not exactly what Man of Steel’s ending had promised, and the result was a film that doubled down on the also divisive choices from Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot by questioning Superman’s place in the world and, some extent, in pop culture. Batman v Superman asks what if Superman existed in a world that rejected him, with such rejection being personified by Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne. Batman v Superman has problems, but it remains faithful to its original premise.
Superman’s biggest test in Batman v Superman was not fighting Batman or Doomsday; it was choosing to keep going even though most of the world was against him. After Lex Luthor framed Superman for two major tragedies and kidnapped Martha Kent, Clark concluded that “no one stays good in this world” and that he had to fight Batman to save his mother. Similar to Clark choosing to give up his powers in Superman II, Batman v Superman’s “no one stays good in this world” line shows Clark’s vulnerability. Likewise, “Superman was never real” was Clark’s way of saying that he is human and not an all-powerful entity.
2 Superman Joins Darkseid (Zack Snyder’s Justice League)
Superman would have joined Darkseid in Zack Snyder’s Justice League sequels, and while this would not be a Clark Kent choice but rather a mind-controlling story, it was a controversial decision. The idea of an evil Superman, regardless of how or why it happens, tends to spark divisive reactions. For example, the Injustice universe is one of DC’s most successful alternate realities, yet its Superman is far from being one of the best renditions of the character. Still, Darkseid using the Anti-Life equation to put Superman against the Justice League could have made for an interesting, large-scale Justice League story that was unlike anything previous Superman movies had done.
Batman v Superman teased the DCEU’s evil Superman during the Knightmare sequence, although it suggested that Clark had chosen to join Darkseid after presumably losing Lois Lane. However, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the Snyder Cut, introduced the concept of the Anti-Life equation, all but confirming that Darkseid would eventually mind-control Superman. Justice League’s evil Superman would, therefore, not have been another Injustice scenario but rather something closer to Darkseid and Superman’s story in the DC Animated Universe timeline, in which Darkseid brainwashed Superman into attacking Earth toward the end of Superman: The Animated Series.
1 Superman Kills Zod (Man of Steel)
By far the most controversial Superman movie moment, Superman killing Zod in Man of Steel has repercussions to this day. Man of Steel was a very different Superman story compared to the Richard Donner films, but nothing too different from other Superman reinterpretations like John Byrne’s Superman run or Superman: Earth One. However, having Superman kill Zod at the end of Man of Steel set Henry Cavill’s Superman apart from all other versions, and it sparked debates about whether Superman should kill. One of the established elements of Superman’s mythos is that Clark does not kill, which is why Man of Steel’s ending was so controversial.
That said, Man of Steel acknowledges how terrible it was for Clark to have to kill Zod to save a family. Superman essentially did not exist in Man of Steel, and Clark had never been tested on such a level. After hiding from the world for years precisely not to cause any problems, Clark saw himself having to make impossible choices from the moment Zod’s ship arrived on Earth. Zod’s death in Man of Steel has weight; that is, it had an impact on Superman’s story and set the tone for Clark’s struggles in Batman v Superman. That is why, from a narrative standpoint, Zod’s death in Man of Steel worked.
This content was originally published here.
