Man of Steel’s Original Treatment? No, Not Really.

As we mentioned a little while ago, HitFix have come up with a lengthy report looking at a document purported to be the first treatment for Man of Steel. It isn’t, and we were taken in because HitFix is generally not so easily fooled. We apologize for that. Below, please find a very loose rundown of this document, so that you know the next time this pops up (it’s actually a year and a half old) that it’s nothing you need worry about.There are a few similarities to the final film, but really not very many. It was reportedly based on early rumors about the movie, where somebody was trying to piece together a probable story out of what little was known when it was in production. The number of similarities to long-standing Superman mythology probably help sell it as a credible document, but once it’s outed as fan fiction, it makes more sense.Anyway, some bullet points that tell you just what to look for:

• Zod is trying to destroy Krypton so that he can leave it and take over Earth when he’s captured and sentenced to the Phantom Zone. Ultimately his plan fails but he is still responsible for the destruction of Krypton as a result of the fallout from the damage his attack did.
• Faora is never sentenced to the Phantom Zone, but has a ship that she loads their military equipment into and wanders space, waiting for an opportunity. In this version of the story, the two are husband and wife.
• Superman’s first public appearance takes place when he rescues a bullet train that’s set to connect Metropolis with Gotham City. This is the first but not last time that the two cities would be referenced during the production process; in one draft, the blogger who Lois gives her proto-Superman stories to was Batman leading lady Vicki Vale.
• The rail project, underwritten by LexCorp, was worked on by the designer of Metallo. Clark believes it has been sabotaged but doesn’t have time to deal with that right away because of the Kryptonian threats.
• Rescuing the train and then saving bystanders from the attacks of the terrorists who tried to destroy it, Superman has the “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive” thing covered. This is noted in the treatment and is not a coincidence.
• During the Battle of Smallville, Jonathan Kent is still alive and is injured by the Kryptonians. He ultimately dies in its aftermath.
• During that battle, Faora uses Superman’s affinity for humankind as a weapon against him, putting people in danger so that he has to deal with them rather than fighting.
• The General in Smallville who takes charge of the anti-alien operation is Lois’s father, Sam Lane.
• Jimmy Olsen appears in the story as a teenager with a camera who happens to be around when the big battle with Zod starts; Lois recruits him to help cover it. He’s later hired on as a photographer at the Planet.
• Kryptonite, and Lex Luthor, are both introduced as Sam Lane’s cleanup crew work their way through Smallville.
• Lois doesn’t figure out Superman’s secret.