In a Comic-Con@Home panel conducted by Backstory Magazine’s Jeff Goldsmith, screenwriter David S. Goyer answers some of the lasting questions from the film “Man of Steel”.
He discusses the tornado scene in which Jonathan Kent dies, the decision to have Superman kill General Zod, and the alternate ending that was never filmed.
The “Man of Steel” discussion starts at 38 minutes and 38 seconds in to the video below:
Uh-Oh! Get ready for the heated debate that is about to happen, LOL.
Quite simply, Goyer was and is a terrible choice for writing Superman imo. His answers only reinforce that.
Terrible or not, he pretty much stated(at least what I got out of it) was that they simply weren’t going to make the same or repeat what we’ve seen before, in story and visuals. I would say, like MoS or not,…. they accomplished that!
Yes, On that we agree. But I believe they could also have accomplished that without veering as far off as they did in certain respects. The fact that he stated he was too immature at 17 to handle his powers and the world finding out (although i disagree with part of that narrative on a few levels) and then is still too immature at 33 to handle his powers and Zod and the attack speaks volumes in terms of the choices the writers/filmmakers made. And to me, they made some very poor choices that ultimately cost them their freedom and… Read more »
I didn’t have a problem with the actual snap. It was what led up to it. I wish I could credit who originally stated it so I could give credit, but it would have been more impactful if the lead up showed Superman helping/saving people and losing the fight because of it. I think people would have been more forgiving had we seen that. I think Goyer is a great ‘idea man’ but writing a screenplay on his own is not in his wheelhouse. I’ve said it before, but Man of Steel would have benefited from having another set of… Read more »
Had I written the script I would have let superman blast zod’s head with heat vision and lobotomised him leaving him in a vegetative state…with the possibility of a return for future sequels. There….no need to kill him but incapacitated for God knows how long. Then again….I would have received the same backlash.
I still think though, considering the circumstance, he didn’t have a choice as an upstart superhero
What if Luthor stoped Zod with a krypronite powered weapon instead of Superman killing Zod? That way in the sequel Lex would’ve been praised as the savior of Metropolis while Superman would have to figure out a way to expose Lex’s criminal ways while also trying to gain the trust of the people. Lex would say things like “All Kryptonians are evil! Don’t trust Superman!” And Superman would be showing the citizens of Metropolis that Lex is wrong by showing them that he’s here to help. That’s just an idea on how I would’ve ended Man of Steel and have… Read more »
Lex unfortunately was not introduced back then such a shame although it would have been a surprise plus had he appeared at the end in a prolonged cameo appearance and stopped zod as you suggested with kryptonite.
Yeah, I sort of picture of how it could’ve happened as just before Superman is about to kill Zod, Lex steps in with his Kryptonite weapon and takes out Zod. After Lex takes out Zod, Superman exhausted from the fight with Zod and feeling weak because he’s near Kryptonite, looks up at Lex and asks” Who are you?” Lex then says ” Your worst nightmare.” He would then give a sinister smirk and walk away from Superman where he would then talk to a reporter saying something like, “ It’s alright everyone, you are all safe now. I have neutralized… Read more »
I was also thinking that this would lead Superman to think of what he would have done to Zod had Lex hadn’t have shown up. Would he have killed Zod if Lex hadn’t? So then Superman would be more aware of how to use his powers against an enemy, making sure he doesn’t take a life.
This is just an idea on how I would’ve told the story.
The one topic I have mentioned before that sort of irritated me is that in MOS he was referred to as Superman one time. No one called him Superman to his face. So while we the audience recognize him as Superman, as far as the movie progressed he was an alien from another planet. No one actually new him as Superman. It would have been a nice touch if at the end, the General would have called him Superman before he took off. That same thing carried over into BvS.
When he was referred to as Superman that one time, was that in the briefing room with the general? It’s been a while since I had seen MoS.
Yes…you’re right. I don’t even think in BvS, “Superman” was even mentioned. With all the noise about this Snyder cut it’s getting me in a mood to watch both again. Been a while.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to watch the JossW’s version of the JL again. The beginning of it sets a sour tone with me. It’s so out of context from Snyder’s MoS and BvS.
@redcape – “Superman” was actually mentioned by name in BvS. It’s not like it will change the personal opinions of the film. However, here are the parts where Superman was mentioned by name in BvS: (1) During Lex Luthor’s first meeting with the 2 senators when they’re talking about homeland security and an import license for kryptonite. The senator says, “Last I looked, the only one of those flying around up here was Superman.” To which Lex replies, “Heh, yes, Superman. But there are uh, there are more of them.” (2) During the montage of Superman helping & saving others,… Read more »
GofSteel..Thanks. I’ve not seen BvS in a while and am gearing up to do so. I do remember the scene with the general.
I wanted to see and hear one time,… that “scene”…. where he was called Superman to his face. I think that aspect is important with his character as far as his evolving role would have been. I guess that’s where the sequel to MoS would have possibly given Kal-El his understanding of who he was now on Earth.
@redcape – That’s very true. Kal-El needed a scene or two where he was called “Superman” to his face. I absolutely agree with you that it’s important for the evolution of his character in that particular universe’s storyline. I wanted to see a solo-lead “Man of Steel 2” where Superman’s character evolves. But unfortunately it didn’t happen.
Dear WB, AT&T, I’ve been hearing rumors of possible multiverse movie projects. I have a few ideas for a multiverse movie where we could see Routh’s Superman and Cavill’s Superman teaming up. 1. A Crisis movie. Now Crisis of infinite Earths has already been done on the CW, however you could do a Final Crisis movie or a movie that’s just called Crisis. 2.A Convergence movie. If I remember correctly, Brainiac was the main villain for that story and it involved multiple universes with different Supermen. The Kingdom Come Superman was in that story if I remember correctly. 3. A… Read more »
Here’s another idea. How about a series of Short Superman films starring Brandon Routh as Superman for a live adaptation of the Max Fleischer Superman series? He could even use the suit that he wore in crisis of Infinite Earths. It could work! 😀
I despise the tornado scene, but I won’t beat that dead horse again. I think what they could have done was have Clark save Jonathan which once again leads to an argument between them. This is what leads Clark to leave and travel the world. In the following years no one comes around asking about Clark. No one spilled the beans. Maybe Jonathan even meets a family who saw what happened, but they tell him Clark’s secret will always be safe. This leads Jonathan to reconsider his stance on things, and when Clark returns they finally reconcile, and both he… Read more »
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I thought his reasoning’s regarding the couple of questionable MoS scenes were fairly accurate and well detailed. For me, I had no problem with the Zod killing. But not so much with his father getting swept up by the tornado and his later conversation with Lois, saying “I let my father die”. I mean earlier in the movie as a young boy, he saves a bus load of his school friends! I can only assume with the previous attempt in Superman Returns being lauded for it’s, “too much of a Donner play off”,….. and MoS being a re-boot of sorts,… Read more »