Summary
- Man of Steel’s controversial scene of Superman killing Zod would have had more context and emotional weight if a deleted scene featuring a conversation between Clark and his father about taking a life had been included.
- The deleted scene would have helped explain Superman’s decision to kill Zod and the grief he feels afterwards, addressing concerns about him resorting to lethal means too quickly.
- Including the scene would have also improved the characterization of Jonathan Kent, who is criticized in the movie for suggesting Clark should let people die to hide his identity, giving him a more positive legacy.
The DCEU kicked off with 2013’s Man of Steel, and now, ten years after the film’s 2013 release, new information recontextualizes Superman’s most controversial scene in the movie. After each of Superman’s previous cinematic outings focused on a more “classic” boy-scout version of Superman, Man of Steel was a marked departure. The movie’s more muted color palette and visceral fight scenes matched director Zack Snyder’s usual flair, and Jonathan Kent’s more apprehensive parenting style caught some off guard.
However, perhaps no scene in the entire DCEU movie timeline is as controversial as Superman snapping General Zod’s neck to stop his campaign of destruction on Earth. Superman has certainly killed before in DC Comics and other films, but it’s seldom been so personal and realistically unceremonious. Part of the problem is that the death seems to come a bit out of the blue, but a newly revealed deleted scene would have given more context and gravitas to Superman’s killing blow.
Man Of Steel Writer Reveals Cut Clark And Jonathan Kent Scene
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Man of Steel screenwriter David S. Goyer revealed a scene he wrote for early in the movie featuring a young Clark Kent and his adoptive father, Jonathan. In the scene, the father-son pair goes hunting, and Clark shoots a deer. While he hits his target, the deer is wounded but remains alive. His father approaches the animal and kills it, which visibly distresses young Clark.
The scene is most important for what happens next. Jonathan has a heart-to-heart with his son about the responsibility of taking a life. While killing a deer up close may be emotionally challenging, the alternative – letting it suffer after a poorly placed shot – ultimately causes more pain and suffering than putting the creature out of its misery. The scene sounds emotive in and of itself, and Goyer “…always wished that seen could have made it in the movie because I felt like that was also a bit of a tee-up into what happens at the end.“
Why Zod’s Death Is Way Better With The Cut Man Of Steel Scene
Man of Steel does a decent job of contextualizing why Superman has to kill Zod. Not only are people in immediate danger as the villain attempts to use his laser vision on civilians, but his plan to terraform Earth would mean the deaths of billions. However, Clark’s experience and conversation about death and killing with his father would have added more context to Superman’s decision to kill Zod and the immense grief he feels immediately after. It would have helped qualm concerns that Superman is too quick to resort to lethal means.
Killing Zod may not be an act of mercy as it is to stop an animal’s suffering, but the larger point about the complicated emotional weight involved with death is clearly applicable. Moreover, including the scene and presenting its payoff would also help smooth out the DCEU’s controversial characterization of Jonathan Kent overall. Usually a moral compass for Clark, Man of Steel‘s version of Jonathan Kent was much less steadfast in pursuit of a greater good. Most notably coming under fire for suggesting that Clark should perhaps let people die to hide his identity, Man of Steel‘s cut scene would give him a more positive enduring legacy.
Key Release Dates
