When Man of Steel came out 13 years ago, the movie received a lot of criticism. The biggest complaints came thanks to a few scenes, including Jonathan Kent’s death, the mass casualties during Superman’s battle with General Zod, and then Superman killing Zod at the end. However, the discourse turned sour when people took sides and ignored all complaints or praise from the other side. This continued on through Zack Snyder’s run in the DCEU, and it has made looking at the movies neutrally something that many people seem unable to do. However, when it comes to Snyder’s films, Man of Steel remains the best of the run.
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In fact, Man of Steel has aged better than many other superhero movies from that era, even with its problems.
Man of Steel Has Several Great Moments
Man of Steel was slammed by many DC Comics fans because it had Superman commit murder without finding another way to solve the situation. The idea was sound in that Superman realized that he had no choice because General Zod was more powerful than him and wouldn’t stop, but it still rubbed many fans the wrong way. However, the truth is that this was a situation that was out of his control. Superman had never fought a Supervillain before this, and he had no experience in how to de-escalate situations. Zod has the same powers as Superman under a yellow sun and is a military genius. He outperformed Superman on every single level. The battle around the city was a little too much at times, but it did show how this was wearing Superman down mentally and physically.
However, Man of Steel has aged well in many areas, not the least of which is Henry Cavill’s performance as Superman. Yes, there will always be complaints about his killing a villain, and his ability to let people frustrate him early in the movie was unseemly, but Cavill was able to show in his performance how Superman was growing into his character as the movie wore on. This was about a man with great powers learning how to survive and protect a world that would never fully accept him. There isn’t a lot of optimism in the film, and it is rather pessimistic at times about the world in general, but that is the real world right now, and, looking back, Superman was doing the best he could.
That is the big way that it really shines. The biggest complaint about Superman for decades, including looking at Christopher Reeve’s movies, was that he was a Big Blue Boy Scout, and that made him boring. Man of Steel went a long way to show he wasn’t boring, and it made him a real person in a world that was breaking down. This dark, pessimistic world is also in James Gunn’s new movies, but in Man of Steel, Superman was a reaction to the world and not an exception to it. That made him special, and that helped Man of Steel stand out.
While the best DCEU movie during Zack Snyder’s run is still Wonder Woman, thanks to its perfect depiction of Wonder Woman herself and the optimistic ideals she fought for, Man of Steel remains a close second and is the best of Snyder’s three directed movies. Superman’s depiction in Man of Steel, while problematic for some people, is still better than his portrayal in Batman v Superman or Snyder’s version of Justice League. In the end, Man of Steel was the best Superman movie since Christopher Reeve’s first film, and it is much better than its reputation indicates.
Man of Steel Still Has Its Problems
The problem is that fans did not want to hear any arguments because, to many DC purists, Superman doesn’t kill. It also doesn’t help that Superman was painted in a more negative light throughout the entire DCEU. In Man of Steel, he had already used his powers to destroy a bully’s truck in an act that is less than heroic. Superman and Zod had also fought all over Metropolis, and as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice showed, they caused countless deaths, where many fans felt that Superman should have led Zod out of the city. That said, the truth is this is an inexperienced Superman, and he chose to become better after this, torn apart because he knew he had no other choice in this instance. That doesn’t even mention that Superman killed Zod in the comics once as well, so this isn’t anything that breaks canon.
However, there are still a few problems with the movie that drag it down somewhat, with the biggest being Jonathan Kent’s death. It makes sense that Zack Snyder wanted to show that Superman realized he can’t save everyone, which makes that final decision to kill Zod so important. However, there were so many ways to go about it other than having Jonathan just pretty much tell Clark to let him die. This was already after Jonathan told Clark he should have let the school kids die to protect his identity. Jonathan wanted to protect Clark, but this came across as telling his son to just let people die to better serve himself. That isn’t the man who raised Superman to be a hero.
That said, there is still a lot about Man of Steel that is great. Henry Cavill’s performance, the actual threat that General Zod brought with him, and the struggles of a great man to protect a world that doesn’t love its heroes helped Zack Snyder deliver a movie that has a lot to love about it. Man of Steel has aged better than many detractors might have believed, and it is still a very good superhero movie to revisit to this day.
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