Note: Spoilers for a movie that made another ten million dollars as you read this sentence. Take your head out of the sand.
Man of Steel has caused an impressive number of virtual shouting matches. This is natural. The film is on every billboard in the northern hemisphere. It adapts comics with a history three times longer than my lifespan and a fan base large enough to populate a country. If people didn’t argue, it would prove that the creeping apathy that infects our culture had finally won. Especially since the movie is a mixed bag. Man of Steel is a tug-of-war between elements that work fantastically and elements that fall on their face. One element dominates the conversation.
Superman kills Zod dead. To save four innocents, he twists the villain’s neck like he’s playing Bop-It. For veteran better-than-me writer Mark Waid and a legion of rabid fans, this is a deadly cinematic sin. For a counter-legion of equally rabid fans, the scene is an essential moment and straightforward improvement on the “I don’t have to save you” nonsense from Batman Begins. Since I operate under the delusion that my opinion matters, I’m going to weigh in on this.
Starting my Injustice parody as this argument flared up has shaped my thinking a little. The tie-in comic is terrible, but it’s also an interesting point of comparison. The plot of Injustice is built around a parallel Superman killing the Joker. In that game/comic/Mortal Kombat remix, that act pushes alternate Superman into becoming a flying version of Stalin. A single kill is framed as the border between a solar-powered boy scout and immortal tyrant. This is a familiar line of thought to anyone that’s glanced at DC’s back catalogue. The stock answer for “Why doesn’t Batman kill the Joker” is that he wouldn’t be able to stop. Murdering one lunatic in tights leads to more and more until he’s head lunatic in tights. There are some fantastic comics that include a variation of this line. Many of them were written by Mark Waid. Some of them are personal favorites. But it’s a flimsy line at best.
The plot hook in Injustice fails to resonate. At all. Suspension of disbelief went on a permanent vacation the second that killing a genocidal clown was framed as an unforgivable act. Everything that the writers attempted to build from that foundation failed to resonate as well. One could blame their inability to write their way out of a paper bag, but there’s more at work. The game’s core concept undermines the moral character of characters built around being unflinchingly moral. Superman can’t be one dead psychotic clown or intergalactic overlord away from being a serial killer. If one kill would remove the nobility from Superman, than he isn’t too noble to begin with.
The writing in Man of Steel is far from perfect. Superman seems to have forgotten the concept of collateral damage. Much of the dialogue is either stilted or a fresh harvest from the cliché farm. When Superman talked about his down-south deep-fried love for America, I needed a moment to recover from the stupidity that had wandered into my ears. But the final battle is very well done, from the tense monologue that opens it to its lethal conclusion.
There’s another angle to remember. Man of Steel is an origin story, as the film’s frequent retreads of universally known information demonstrate. Ideally, this means providing the foundation for a character’s personality and values. Superman doesn’t’ have much personality, but he does have values. As the unfolding flamewar demonstrates, avoiding killing is one of those values. But where does that value come from? Killing Zod gives the viewer a tangible answer. Superman demonstrates immense remorse for killing Zod. In his review of Man of Steel, Mark Waid even points to said remorse as a well-done moment. In a movie that says what it’s already shown far too often, the reasoning behind Superman’s technical pacifism is expertly handled. We see the change in the character without him blurting out “I really dislike killing people.”
If you disagree, that’s fair. I have a terminal case of cynicism, and Joe Kelly’s What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, & The American Way is a walking counter-argument. If you agree, remember to show Mark Waid the proper respect. Seeing people disavow the man who wrote Kingdom Come for a negative movie review is depressing. Particularly since he wrote a third of the moments imported into the script.
P.S.: In case it seems like I’m on an anti-Injustice crusade, the game is a blast to play. I tend to use Green Arrow and The Flash.