James Gunn’s Superman has all the makings of a great superhero movie. The cast is exceptional, the music sounds top-notch, and every piece of marketing drives the point home that the titular hero is all about saving people, whether they’re on his side or not. It’s a different vibe from the last time Superman found himself on the big screen as part of the DC Extended Universe. Zack Snyder took a unique approach, focusing on whether the modern world needs a hero like Superman and how that debate affects the character. The DCEU’s core theme actually appears pretty early on in its first movie, Man of Steel, and it doesn’t take long for it to go off the rails.
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Man of Steel‘s Clark Kent butts heads with his father, Jonathan Kent, pretty often. The elder Kent doesn’t think the world is ready for someone like his son and wants to shield him, while Clark just wants to do what he believes is right. Their fundamental disagreement comes to a head during a dramatic moment in Man of Steel, which is easily the most controversial scene in comic book movie history.
Man of Steel‘s Jonathan Kent Takes the Term “Overprotective Parent” to Another Level
As soon as Jonathan and his wife, Martha, find the Kryptonian spaceship in the fields of Kansas, they’re on high alert. They take the child within the vessel as their own, but they feel like it’s only a matter of time before the government comes looking for their son. However, as the years pass, their moods change. Clark heads off to school, and his parents begin to believe that he’s capable of living a normal life. Unfortunately, his powers start to complicate matters, as does his moral code that forces him to step in whenever someone is in danger.
When his school bus ends up in a river after an accident on a bridge, Clark doesn’t hesitate to pull the vehicle to safety, and one of his classmates sees him. He tells their parents, and while Jonathan plays it off like it’s nothing, he knows the walls are closing in. Years later, during another argument with his son, a tornado hits a highway the family is driving on. Clark and Jonathan help get people to safety, but their dog is still in the car. Jonathan goes back to free the animal just as the tornado closes in. While Clark is ready to rush out to save his father, Jonathan stops him because he doesn’t think people will accept what his son is capable of.
Clark does nothing but watch as his father disappears into the vortex, which is a tough pill to swallow. After all, Superman in the source material rarely thinks twice about helping someone in need, and when it’s his father’s life on the line, there’s no chance he’s messing around. But what Man of Steel makes clear in that moment is that Clark isn’t Superman from the jump and doesn’t understand where he fits in the world just yet.
Man of Steel Is More Than Just Its Most Controversial Moment
After his father’s death, Clark travels the world in search of answers. He wants to learn about where he’s from and what his people are like. He eventually gets the answers he’s looking for by visiting a Kryptonian ship. He meets his birth father, Jor-El, who explains to him that he’s on Earth to be a savior. Clark embraces that message initially and puts on his iconic red and white suit, ready to face whatever challenges life throws at him. However, he bites off more than he can chew when he comes face to face with General Zod, who pushes the new hero to his limits.
At the end of Superman’s battle with Zod, he finally has the villain right where he wants him. Zod is going to go down swinging, though, so he turns his heat vision on a nearby family. Clark has a choice to make: stand by his moral code and refuse to kill Zod, or do the right thing and save the family. With less from both of his fathers in the back of his mind, the hero once again makes the hard choice, one he will have to live with for the rest of his life. Man of Steel‘s message may not be as positive as the one in Gunn’s Superman, but it’s far more complicated than it’s given credit for.
Man of Steel is streaming on HBO Max.
Where do you stand on Jonathan Kent’s death in Man of Steel? Do you think it’s the most controversial scene in comic book movie history? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image courtesy of Warner
