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10 Comic Book Beats ‘Man of Steel’ Got Wrong
Zack Snyder’s movie is out in the world now. Here’s how it missed the mark.
June 15th, 2013 Iann Robinson
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Man of Steel, the latest attempt to bring the Superman story to the big screen, opened this weekend. It’s a tense time for DC Comics. If this movie doesn’t kick down the franchise wall, the comics giant may be stuck churning out animated movies only. All the ingredients are present and accounted for. Big budget, a big director with a comic book movie past, a hunky Superman, it’s all in the mix. So, how do the elements of Man of Steel ultimately come together?
Poorly, if you ask me.
Man of Steel is two hours and twenty three minutes of missed opportunities. There are some really good ideas in this film, but it’s ultimately dragged down by missed beats and the self-imposed weight of trying to make Superman “edgy.” What failed with Man of Steel? I try to break them down to the ten most damaging issues. Here are Ten Comic Book Beats Man of Steel Got Wrong.
10. Lois Lane
Why is Hollywood hell bent on screwing Lois Lane up? This is a layered character, a cracker-jack reporter who is also extremely feminine and likeable. For some reason, Hollywood equates good-at-your-job with being a bytch, or being a one trick pony. Lois Lane in 2006’s Superman Returns was a bytch, in 2013’s Man of Steel she is entirely one-note. I like Amy Adams as an actress, but her portrayal of Lois Lane comes across as, well, bored.
Outside of allowing her eyes to get moist, Adams’ interpretation of the character runs the emotional gamut from A to B. Yelling at her boss, terrified for her life, fighting the bad guys, Adams’ Lois Lane never seems invested in the goings on. Where is the likeability? Where is the girl we love? Where is the reporter we root for? Margot Kidder managed to hit all these beats, why would Zak Snyder not have Amy Adams do it to?
9. General Zod
No offense to Michael Shannon, but somebody needed to put a leash on this guy. If you covered the film with blood, and fed it a pack of hungry wolves, there would be less scene-chewing than Shannon does here. Zod is supposed to be terrifying, cruel and diabolical. Shannon plays him so over the top, Zod ends up coming off like a WWE wrestler. Why does Zod spend most of the film looking like he needs to crap? Constipated Zod doesn’t scare me, he makes me laugh. Henry Cavill’s Superman is so maudlin that a slight exaggeration could be easily read on screen. Shannon could have really used some of Terrance Stamp’s laid back, arrogance, as opposed to this Ultimate Warrior “I’m always angry, grrrr” act.
People comment in other reviews that screenwriter David Goyer is to be commended for humanizing Zod, for making him do what he does because he’s genetically engineered to protect Krypton. Good point, except in the beginning when Zod wants to save only bloodlines he feels are worthy. Jor-El even admonishes him for it. Zod is a Hitler character before he ever leaves Krypton.
8. Krypton Babies
One of the main plot points in Man of Steel is Jor-El stealing the genetic code of all the unborn Kryptonians and combining them with infant Kal-El’s DNA. This is a major theme in the film. It’s the entire reason Zod, once he escapes the Phantom Zone, comes after Kal-El. At no point during the film is an explanation given as to why Jor-El did this. Forget character motivation, it just doesn’t make sense logically. How do the mutated genes of Kal-El mean repopulation of the Kryptonian species? Wouldn’t Superman have to die to remove them?
Even if they could be removed, who's going to do it? Jor-El is gone and I doubt farm life helped Clark Kent earn a degree in bioengineering that includes alien races. Jor-El’s hologram keeps referring to Superman as the bridge between two races, the last hope of the survival of Krypton. Great. How? At no point, outside of a plot device to bring Zod calling, does this Krypton baby code thing serve a purpose. The comic book ideal of Krypton was perfect. A society governed by science, whose loss of humanity is ultimately their undoing. Jor-El, a man of science who realizes their mistake, sends his son away to a planet in the hopes he can survive. That’s all you need. Man of Steel’s Krypton is plot overload. There was no need for some overblown subplot about Kryptonian DNA, especially when it’s illogical.
7. The Phantom Zone….Ship?
This one really puzzled me. The Phantom Zone is a place where only the most vile Kryptonian criminals are kept. There is no death sentence on Krypton, but this is pretty close. In the comics, the Phantom Zone is a separate dimension, a wasteland where the criminal element must survive on their own. In Man of Steel, it’s a big space ship where the cryogenically frozen bodies of criminals are kept. A ship? Really? The most brilliant minds in the galaxy have decided to put their worst offenders in a huge ship that, if they escape, can be used to fly around the galaxy and commit more atrocities? Granted, the ship isn’t supposed to have an engine, but Zod and his cronies make it work. Why would the Kryptonian Council not consider the notion that if the Phantom Zone malfunctioned, the captives could use it to escape?
In the comics, Jor-El was the only person who believed Krypton would be destroyed. When the end came, it was a total shock to everyone on the planet. In Man of Steel, they know it’s coming. The impending apocalypse is why Zod turns on the council. If the end is nigh, why not just keep the prisoners on Krypton until the planet exploded? Why go through the whole Phantom Zone process at all?
6. Jonathan Kent
This was a big thorn in my side with Man of Steel. Pa Kent rambled on about his point of view, but never made any sense. At one point, he’s lecturing Clark about being sent here for a reason. In the same breath, he also tells him to hide his powers forever. In one scene, Jonathan talks to Clark about having character, and how that shapes the man he will become. However, after Clark saves a bus load of kids using his superpowers, Pa Kent actually insinuates his son should have let the kids die for the greater good of keeping his secret. That’s some bullshyt. People can debate over how Kevin Costner delivered the line, but the reality is nobody trying to instill the ideas of good in their child would even hint at letting children die.
Comic book Jonathan Kent would have never said that. In fact, I can’t think of any father who would say that to his son. This ties into the overblown Krypton/Jor-El idea. Jor-El might help Superman find out who he is, but it’s the love of the Kents, their constant example of doing that right thing, that makes Superman a hero. In Man of Steel, Jonathan Kent comes across as selfish and kind of a dikk.
Kent’s death is also suspect. The end comes for him during a sudden tornado that crashes down on a busy road. Having gotten everyone, including Clark, Martha, and a few dozen Smallville townspeople, to safety under a bridge, Jonathan goes back to rescue the dog. There’s no way for him to get to safety, so Clark starts to lunge into action. Jonathan signals him to stop, and then allows the tornado to take him, as opposed to Clark revealing his secret. Um, what? Clark is way faster than the human eye. He could run, grab his dad, leave him somewhere safe, and be back before anybody under the bridge knew he was gone. The death failed to pluck heartstrings for this reason, and because Snyder failed to make Jonathan Kent more than an amalgamation of crusty speeches.
10 Comic Book Beats ‘Man of Steel’ Got Wrong
Zack Snyder’s movie is out in the world now. Here’s how it missed the mark.
June 15th, 2013 Iann Robinson
Tweet
Man of Steel, the latest attempt to bring the Superman story to the big screen, opened this weekend. It’s a tense time for DC Comics. If this movie doesn’t kick down the franchise wall, the comics giant may be stuck churning out animated movies only. All the ingredients are present and accounted for. Big budget, a big director with a comic book movie past, a hunky Superman, it’s all in the mix. So, how do the elements of Man of Steel ultimately come together?
Poorly, if you ask me.
Man of Steel is two hours and twenty three minutes of missed opportunities. There are some really good ideas in this film, but it’s ultimately dragged down by missed beats and the self-imposed weight of trying to make Superman “edgy.” What failed with Man of Steel? I try to break them down to the ten most damaging issues. Here are Ten Comic Book Beats Man of Steel Got Wrong.
10. Lois Lane
Why is Hollywood hell bent on screwing Lois Lane up? This is a layered character, a cracker-jack reporter who is also extremely feminine and likeable. For some reason, Hollywood equates good-at-your-job with being a bytch, or being a one trick pony. Lois Lane in 2006’s Superman Returns was a bytch, in 2013’s Man of Steel she is entirely one-note. I like Amy Adams as an actress, but her portrayal of Lois Lane comes across as, well, bored.
Outside of allowing her eyes to get moist, Adams’ interpretation of the character runs the emotional gamut from A to B. Yelling at her boss, terrified for her life, fighting the bad guys, Adams’ Lois Lane never seems invested in the goings on. Where is the likeability? Where is the girl we love? Where is the reporter we root for? Margot Kidder managed to hit all these beats, why would Zak Snyder not have Amy Adams do it to?
9. General Zod
No offense to Michael Shannon, but somebody needed to put a leash on this guy. If you covered the film with blood, and fed it a pack of hungry wolves, there would be less scene-chewing than Shannon does here. Zod is supposed to be terrifying, cruel and diabolical. Shannon plays him so over the top, Zod ends up coming off like a WWE wrestler. Why does Zod spend most of the film looking like he needs to crap? Constipated Zod doesn’t scare me, he makes me laugh. Henry Cavill’s Superman is so maudlin that a slight exaggeration could be easily read on screen. Shannon could have really used some of Terrance Stamp’s laid back, arrogance, as opposed to this Ultimate Warrior “I’m always angry, grrrr” act.
People comment in other reviews that screenwriter David Goyer is to be commended for humanizing Zod, for making him do what he does because he’s genetically engineered to protect Krypton. Good point, except in the beginning when Zod wants to save only bloodlines he feels are worthy. Jor-El even admonishes him for it. Zod is a Hitler character before he ever leaves Krypton.
8. Krypton Babies
One of the main plot points in Man of Steel is Jor-El stealing the genetic code of all the unborn Kryptonians and combining them with infant Kal-El’s DNA. This is a major theme in the film. It’s the entire reason Zod, once he escapes the Phantom Zone, comes after Kal-El. At no point during the film is an explanation given as to why Jor-El did this. Forget character motivation, it just doesn’t make sense logically. How do the mutated genes of Kal-El mean repopulation of the Kryptonian species? Wouldn’t Superman have to die to remove them?
Even if they could be removed, who's going to do it? Jor-El is gone and I doubt farm life helped Clark Kent earn a degree in bioengineering that includes alien races. Jor-El’s hologram keeps referring to Superman as the bridge between two races, the last hope of the survival of Krypton. Great. How? At no point, outside of a plot device to bring Zod calling, does this Krypton baby code thing serve a purpose. The comic book ideal of Krypton was perfect. A society governed by science, whose loss of humanity is ultimately their undoing. Jor-El, a man of science who realizes their mistake, sends his son away to a planet in the hopes he can survive. That’s all you need. Man of Steel’s Krypton is plot overload. There was no need for some overblown subplot about Kryptonian DNA, especially when it’s illogical.
7. The Phantom Zone….Ship?
This one really puzzled me. The Phantom Zone is a place where only the most vile Kryptonian criminals are kept. There is no death sentence on Krypton, but this is pretty close. In the comics, the Phantom Zone is a separate dimension, a wasteland where the criminal element must survive on their own. In Man of Steel, it’s a big space ship where the cryogenically frozen bodies of criminals are kept. A ship? Really? The most brilliant minds in the galaxy have decided to put their worst offenders in a huge ship that, if they escape, can be used to fly around the galaxy and commit more atrocities? Granted, the ship isn’t supposed to have an engine, but Zod and his cronies make it work. Why would the Kryptonian Council not consider the notion that if the Phantom Zone malfunctioned, the captives could use it to escape?
In the comics, Jor-El was the only person who believed Krypton would be destroyed. When the end came, it was a total shock to everyone on the planet. In Man of Steel, they know it’s coming. The impending apocalypse is why Zod turns on the council. If the end is nigh, why not just keep the prisoners on Krypton until the planet exploded? Why go through the whole Phantom Zone process at all?
6. Jonathan Kent
This was a big thorn in my side with Man of Steel. Pa Kent rambled on about his point of view, but never made any sense. At one point, he’s lecturing Clark about being sent here for a reason. In the same breath, he also tells him to hide his powers forever. In one scene, Jonathan talks to Clark about having character, and how that shapes the man he will become. However, after Clark saves a bus load of kids using his superpowers, Pa Kent actually insinuates his son should have let the kids die for the greater good of keeping his secret. That’s some bullshyt. People can debate over how Kevin Costner delivered the line, but the reality is nobody trying to instill the ideas of good in their child would even hint at letting children die.
Comic book Jonathan Kent would have never said that. In fact, I can’t think of any father who would say that to his son. This ties into the overblown Krypton/Jor-El idea. Jor-El might help Superman find out who he is, but it’s the love of the Kents, their constant example of doing that right thing, that makes Superman a hero. In Man of Steel, Jonathan Kent comes across as selfish and kind of a dikk.
Kent’s death is also suspect. The end comes for him during a sudden tornado that crashes down on a busy road. Having gotten everyone, including Clark, Martha, and a few dozen Smallville townspeople, to safety under a bridge, Jonathan goes back to rescue the dog. There’s no way for him to get to safety, so Clark starts to lunge into action. Jonathan signals him to stop, and then allows the tornado to take him, as opposed to Clark revealing his secret. Um, what? Clark is way faster than the human eye. He could run, grab his dad, leave him somewhere safe, and be back before anybody under the bridge knew he was gone. The death failed to pluck heartstrings for this reason, and because Snyder failed to make Jonathan Kent more than an amalgamation of crusty speeches.
So much shyt flying around, he could've easily saved him and no one would've realized what happened.
