On the day that I saw “Man of Steel”, the moment I walked out of the theater, the words of Perry White on the cover of this comic, Superman #10 from 1987, were the first things that popped into my head, “Get out of Metropolis, Superman! Before you destroy the whole city!”
I want to make this clear right off the bat; I love Superman. I have been a fan of the Last Son of Krypton ever since I was three years old and my mom bought me a video tape with the old Fleischer cartoons. Every time I watched that, I would have a Superman shirt and cape, custom made by my aunt BTW, on standby for the moment when Clark Kent would duck into a phone booth or a closet. As soon as he did, and that music swelled up, my mom would quickly help me turn into Superman along with him. As the years went by, I came to love other portrayals of the Man of Steel. From the comics, to Christopher Reeve, The DCAU, and even the old Superboy live action show. All of these taught me of how great a character Superman is.
That being said, I HATE “MAN OF STEEL”!!!!!!!!
In my honest opinion, that 2013 movie is a failure from start to finish. From small annoyances like the muted colors, to the really annoying parts like Costner’s confused portrayal of Pa Kent, to the unforgiveable acts of Superman destroying Metropolis and killing General Zod, it’s awful. That movie would be bad enough on its own, but the fact that it truly gives the middle finger to one of the greatest superheroes ever made just really gets under my skin. I am just grateful that I am far from being alone in my opinions.
I would go into more detail about why the film doesn’t work, but I’m not here to rant. Plus, if I kept going, this entry would be millions of words long. Anyhoo, I recently checked out the latest ‘offering’ from Zack Snyder’s ‘vision’ for the DC Extended Universe, “Batman against Superman: Rush to the Justice League”. How did I feel about that? Well, I bought a ticket for Zootopia just so I could sneak in and see that super slug fest for myself. Suffice it to say, I am glad that film did not get any of my money. However, I will get into my thoughts on that movie later on.
So, at the end of the day, I see “Man of Steel” as a failure for both the reasons above, plus as a very flimsy foundation that the new movie universe is supposed to be built on. So, what I would like to do now is offer up my thoughts on how Warner Bros. should have handled a new Superman movie if they wanted both their own movie universe, and to get a lot of money and positive feedback.
On a side note, I’m not going to say that they should have tried working with movies like Superman Returns. Apart from the many flaws of that film, at that time, the idea of building a film universe was likely still an unheard of concept. No, I’m going to pretend that it’s 2013, and audiences are packing the theaters to see a brand new Superman movie. One that will make up for the last disappointments with both Returns and Superman 3 and 4, leave audiences satisfied and clapping, and pave the way for a film universe that could go toe to toe with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And with all that out of the way, here’s how I feel they should have done it:
First of all, they should not have made this movie and origin story. Now, I know that there are people out there who look down on the very idea of origin story movies for superheroes. They say that such an approach is a tired cliché and things like that, but that doesn’t change the fact that, for most superheroes, they are needed. Let’s face it, until the adaptations came out, for general audiences, you likely could not walk up to someone who would know the backstory to The Flash or Ant Man or Green Arrow or Iron Man. There’s really only a small handful of superheroes that everyone and their grandmothers know all about, and that’s thanks to past adaptations. So, love ‘em or hate ‘em, origin story movies for superheroes are usually needed.
Superman however is an exception. Why? Because everyone and their grandmothers ALREADY know all about him. Let’s face it, for many decades now, you could walk up to any joe on the street and ask about Superman, and they would easily know what his real name is, what his job is, who his arch enemy is, who his love interest is, what his superpowers are, what planet he is from, etcetera, etcetera. So, when it was decided to make a brand new Superman movie after Green Lantern failed to be the successful, Iron Man-esque jumping off point that Warner Bros. could have also used to make their own film universe, they missed a very rare opportunity. The origin approach, combined with reusing an old villain that had been in a movie before, are just some of the mistakes that they made. But, again, I’m not here to give a full examination on that film. If you ask me, their plot for “Man of Steel” would have been better if it looked something more like this.And with all that out of the way, here’s how I feel they should have done it. On a side note, the comics in those photos up above, specifically the ones underneath "Superman #10" are the issues that I pulled from when I wrote this plot, "Action Comics 866-870, Superman #1 from 1986, Man of Steel #6, and Action Comics #597"
The Plot
The film opens in outer space, with an ominous narration from an otherworldly voice speaking of a planet that no longer exists. A world of so much potential and so many lives, all of which were silenced in the blink of an eye. The voice then says that it has come across many other worlds like that, all of which have met the same fate at its hands. And it is then that Earth comes into its view in the distance. The voice promises the same shall befall that tiny blue orb once it is through, and makes it very clear that nothing will stop him.
As the opening credits begin to roll, we cut down to Earth in Metropolis, where the downtown area is in an uproar as a violent robbery is in progress. As the police try to stop the criminals they have surrounded, Lois Lane is on the scene to make it clear that Intergang are the ones behind this fiasco. As she takes her notes and Jimmy Olson takes his photos, the scene escalates as crooks break out some bigger, hi-tech looking weaponry. The few precious seconds that take people to gasp is then used for them to fire their latest shot against the police, starting with Captain Maggie Sawyer. However, their blast is then blocked by something coming from up in the sky. Now, everyone gasps anew as Superman has not only taken the full blast of the weapon, but a few seconds later, he’s back on his feet, and ready for more. As the music swells, he fires out his freezing breath at the weapon, and super punches it into a ton of pieces. The crooks fire their own guns in panic, but of course the bullets do nothing. He destroys their weapons and subdues them, but their leader, one John Corben, has managed to play possum during the chaos. Once the battle seems over, Lois naturally rushes over to Superman, allowing Corben to grab her, and put his gun to her head. He tells him he will blow her brains out, and Superman tries to reason with him. Alas, despite his best efforts, Corben will not back down. Thus, when he pulls the trigger, Superman manages to super speed over fast enough to pull Lois free, but at the same time, he closed his grip over the gun. It explodes and suffice it to say, really hurts John Corben. And, while Superman may feel bad for his injuries, Lois does not, and feels the need to rub it in her attacker’s face with the classic line, “Faster than a speeding bullet.”
Thus, the day is saved, and while the crooks are apprehended, Lois goes over to speak to Superman, with Jimmy right behind her. After making brief small talk with them, Superman asks Lois something off the record, that being if she thinks she can connect the kind of hardware Intergang was using to a certain evil billionaire. Lois says that with tech that advanced, there’s a pretty good chance it came from Lex Corp. She then excuses Jimmy away to take more pictures, allowing her to try and get a date out of Superman. He however stammers a bit, before another disaster calls to his attention. Or perhaps he fibs a bit to get away. Either way, he flies off, and Lois is left deterred, but not defeated. She still wants her super crush.
Cut to the Daily Planet, where Lois is getting chewed out by Perry after he somehow finds out that her story’s angle is to try and pin what happened on Lex. Lois knows he’s corrupt, as does anyone watching the movie, but Perry White says he won’t publish anything without hard facts. Unless Superman bursts through Lex’s walls, which happen to be hiding every little dirty secret that guy has, he’s not budging on Lois’ angle. Frustrated, Lois vents to the friendly ear of Clark Kent. This mess on top of her getting nowhere with Superman is not doing wonders for her mood. To make matters even more annoying for someone who’s having a bad day, Lana Lang then pops in to snag her boyfriend, Clark Kent, for a lunch date.
Yes, in a twist that will give the audiences something new, Clark has broken convention, and has not only told someone who he is, but he is dating his high school sweetheart, Lana Lang. We learn through both dialogue and a flashback to Smallville that Lana did indeed learn of Clark’s powers. She was weirded out at first, which led to her leaving him for a few years, but one day, when he came home from college, she was there waiting for him. Clark’s mother confirms that she and his father long ago taught him to both be proud of his powers, and that should do good things with them. Lana to is now convinced that Clark is both them same guy she’s always known and loved, and now he’s someone who can also help the world in ways no one else can. Also, as a future head of her own fashion company, Lana gave quite a bit of input into Superman’s costume.
When the flashback ends, the two briefly talk about Lois’ infatuation with Superman, Lana in particular wondering when she is going to give up already. Clark even jokingly says that her whole life seems to revolve around Superman, something that gets Lana thinking about herself and her own life. However, her boyfriend does not notice that as Clark gives a glare at Lex Luthor’s tower off in the distance.
Cut to Luthor’s assistant and bodyguard, Mercy Graves, asking him if he’s worried about what happened with Intergang. He however is confident that what little those thugs knew cannot be traced back to him. Plus, even though the weapon failed to kill Superman, he still considers that to be a successful test, since now they know that the prototype was not truly ready yet to take him down.
At that point, now that they are in one of his lab’s, one of Lex’s scientists ends up revealing that they have detected an alien craft heading for Earth. Lex is intrigued; apart from the fact that an alien vessel is on its way, the fact that is being detected by Earth technology could mean that either his tech is better than he thought or the aliens see no point in hiding, likely not seeing Earth as a threat. Whatever the case, once he is told the estimated time it should take for the ship to arrive, Lex takes it upon himself to use this to his advantage.
A press conference is then held in the next scene where, shock of all shocks, Lex Luthor is actually being honest. Yeah, he reveals to Metropolis and the world what his scientists learned before anyone else, and that he is the one who is going to establish first contact with the visitors. He even points out how maybe these aliens will be willing to share more than just their basic secrets with the world, referring to the mystery still surrounding the Man of Steel, such as his real identity. Lex says that the unknown can often be scary, and that he hopes that maybe these beings will be a bit more trustworthy. In the audience, Clark asks Lois if Lex has an off switch, and she says if he does, she’s never seen it.
So, contact is attempted, but instead of responding, Lex’s equipment is hijacked and seemingly fried. Afterwards, the ship sends out a metallic sphere that falls to Earth like a meteor. Clark leaps into action while Lois is distracted, allowing him to force the thing away from the city. Once they are clear though, the sphere opens up to reveal a rather nasty looking robot. It gives Superman a good fight, one where he actually feels the pain from that thing’s attacks. But, eventually, he manages to both subdue it, and disable a transmitter he sees in its chest with his X-Ray vision. However, the battle gave the robot, and thus Brainiac, plenty of information to study. That test let him learn what he needed to know, that such a being is in fact Kryptonian.
Stealing the robot before the military can get it, Superman takes it back to the fortress to study it. As he does, Brainiac contacts the world, via hacking into the world’s communications, which includes Lex’s computers. He claims that he comes in peace, saying that he wishes only to study the world and move on as he has with others, and that Superman attacked his probe, thus it had to defend itself. This lets Lex both perpetuate his anti-Superman speech, and gets him into contact with Brainiac. The alien wishes to meet with him, since Lex has accumulated a lot of knowledge on Superman. A deal is struck between them. If Luthor helps him get Superman, Brainiac will stay true to his word and spare the Earth, seeing the Last Son of Krypton to be a more valuable prize. Of course, the two don’t trust each other and have their own angles, but they agree. Brainiac thus gives Lex Luthor the needs to stop Superman. Kryptonite.
Lex then pays a visit John Corben in the hospital to make him an offer. He can get his revenge on Superman by becoming more powerful than him. All he has to do is sacrifice his humanity by having his brain placed in a robot’s body. Naturally, Corben calls Lex out as being nuts, since while his injuries hurt a lot, they are not fatal. He asks Lex why the hell he should accept such an offer. Lex then says that, through sources that only powerful men like him possess, he recently learned something about his past. How 2 decades ago, Corben murdered two very important people, and if that information were to get to another certain billionaire, he’d be on death row in a matter of days. With no other choice, Corben agrees.
Meanwhile, we get to see Lana Lang engrossed in her work as the head of a fashion empire. We see just how alive and animated she is in this setting. Even when Clark comes by to talk with her, she seems to only be hearing half of what he says at first. Of course, once Clark suggests that maybe she should get out of town, she’s more receptive to what he says. He’s worried that things are going to go from bad to worse with Brainiac, so he wants her to leave Metropolis for a while. She tries to tell him she will be fine, but he won’t back down, and an argument breaks out between them. The only reason it stops is because Lois shows up to tell Clark that Perry wants the two of them working on the article on Brainiac. Naturally, she asks Clark what that was all about, but he’s not in the mood to talk very much. Neither is Lana either, who is left none too happy, now alone in her office.
Cut to the lab where Corben is about to become more machine than man. The procedure is summarized for him, including what he will be powered by; Superman’s greatest weakness, Kryptonite. Before he’s knocked out though, Corben has to know something. He asks Lex point blank why he hates Superman so much. Aside from the obvious, with an example or two of how Superman always steps in any time Lex Corp tries something that some might call wrong or immoral, he wants to know the real reason behind it all. Lex does elaborate somewhat, but only just enough, before finally letting the doctors knock Corben out.
Back at the Daily Planet, Lois finishes proofreading the article, briefly having to remind herself that there’s only one M in “Comment”. Upon looking up from her computer monitor, she then notices that Lana has suddenly shown up there. She’s over at one of the TV sets in the office, one of which is broadcasting a news report from Central City. In particular, the news is about how a certain Scarlet Speedster has apprehended a certain ice themed supervillain. Lois goes over to her, and the two briefly make small talk about the Flash’s costume, with Lana giving a few of her own pointers, and them wondering whether or not he is faster than Superman. The very mention of him however suddenly gets that same troubled and doubtful look return in Lana’s eyes. While unsure as to why Superman of all things would bring out that reaction, but nevertheless, she asks Lana what’s wrong. She wants to know if something wrong with her and Clark, and while Lana is at first unsure, seeing as how this woman has always tried to get with her boyfriend’s alter ego, Lois convinces her that she can confide in her. Plus, as she points out, women tell each other everything. So, Lana decides to come clean, once she confirms that Clark is not around, since he said he needed some air to cool off.
She makes it clear to Lois just how long she has been in love with Clark, and while Lois knows that already, she continues to listen. Leaving out a few key details, Lana tries to actually say the words, but it having trouble admitting it to even herself. She goes off on a tangent about how great of a guy Clark is, pointing out one of many great things his parents taught; in this case, some great words his father once spoke, “If there are people that need help, you do what you always do. Don’t let anyone or anything get in your way.” She says that’s why he became a reporter, and why he chose a city like Metropolis. A big city like this could chew up a country boy like him without a second thought, but Clark saw this place as nothing but an opportunity; somewhere that he could really make a difference. Lois suddenly finds herself realizing how great of a guy Clark is, something that even shocks Lana after Lois says a few kind words about him. Lois then points out that she does tend to tease Clark a bit too much, but then admits that it’s because he’s such a great reporter and a good guy, and sometimes she gets a little intimidated. Lana can’t believe that Lois Lane of all people is really showing this side of herself. Of course, that all gets interrupted when, of course, there is trouble in Metropolis. Perry bursts out of his office saying that some kind of robotic monster is tearing up the streets. He then yells to Lois, asking where Kent is. Fortunately, Lana easily covers for him, “If I know my boyfriend, he’s already there.”
Superman swoops in on the chaos of people screaming and running in terror from the monster that’s tearing up the city. He’s calling out for Superman to come face him, and when he does show up, Superman unfortunately recognizes his face. However, Corben makes it very clear that he’s not the same man he remembers. He is Metallo, the man who will kill Superman. Their brawl is drawn out, with Corben wanting to inflict as much pain on the Man of Steel as possible. But, when Superman’s getting the upper hand, Metallo opens up his chest, and the Kryptonite works like a charm. Before he can finish him off though, Brainiac’s ship appears overhead, and Lex, who has been watching from his office the entire time, activates Metallo’s kill switch. It just knocks him out, thus allowing Brainiac to capture a still breathing Superman. Mercy asks him why he didn’t just let Corben kill him, to which Lex explains that Brainiac explicitly said he needed him alive. If Lex disobeyed, Brainiac would level the Earth. Naturally, Mercy then asks what’s to stop him from doing that now, and of course, Lex has a plan.
We then see what Clark is dreaming about, and it’s a very bad dream, as the worst memory of his life comes back to haunt him. He recalls the day that he and his father were out working in the field, when the tractor broke down. Jonathan pointed out how old and worn out that thing was, while he and Clark attempted to fix it. It was then that Jonathan lost all feeling in his right arm. Clark heard his heart beating erratically, just in time to see his father fall to the ground. The dream becomes more incoherent as only flashes are shown, along with Clark screaming his father’s name. We see him getting him to the hospital, the funeral, and the image of him dying over and over again, as those same words that Lana brought up before are spoken once again. That finally snaps him out of it.
Waking up in the Skull Ship, Superman finds himself being further examined by more Brainiac bots. Naturally, he pounds them into scrap and tries to get out of the ship. Soon though, he comes upon the main chamber of the ship, filled with countless pods. One of them then opens up, and an alien creature jumps out to attack Superman, but he subdues it. It’s then that Brainiac makes himself know, appearing before his opponent. Big, green, and half machine himself, Brainiac explains that each one of them is last survivor of their worlds. He seeks out worlds to study, collects all of their knowledge, and then destroys them, collecting one creature from that world in the process. He even says that he wished he had the chance to study Krypton before it’s destruction, knowing only of it. Still, he says his collection does not require Superman, and that he will instead be used for a greater purpose. Naturally, Superman is ready to pound this genocidal maniac into pulp, but then he whips out the Kryptonite. Now that he can’t fight back, Brainiac not only explains what Kryptonite is, but also that he intends to upgrade himself with Superman’s body. His own body has reached the limits of what it can do, and even if he were to become a machine, that to would only get him so far. So, he’s hoping to do the same thing that Lex did to Metallo, by putting his brain into Superman’s body. Thus, he will truly be unstoppable.
We then cut back to Lex’s tower, where he’s checking his watch, thinking they should be here by now. Then, right on que, there’s a rather big commotion outside of his office doors, which culminates in both Lois and Lana bursting in. He tells his security to wait outside, and that he knew those girls were coming for him. How? Well, he knows how much Lois likes to accuse him of wrongdoing, and the two of them get saved by Superman so often, that if anyone would be showing up after the Man of Steel got abducted, it would be them. Naturally, they tear into him, but he reveals that he was not dumb enough to be totally without security, and thus Metallo steps out of the spotlight. However, it’s then that Brainiac’s ship shows up, with Lex saying he’s early. All four of them are teleported onto the ship, with Lex saying that’s unfortunate, for them.
Brainiac admits his error; he only meant to take Luthor as the human for his collection, but so much of his effort is being kept on Superman being contained, that he got sloppy with the teleportation. He elaborates that for his plan to work, he cannot use the Kryptonite on Superman, or else he could die. So, he’s keeping him restrained the old fashioned way, with really strong metal. Before he proceeds though, he decides to deal with the ants that are now on his ship, starting with Lex’s cyborg. However, Lex then reveals his ace in the hole. That’s not the real Metallo; Corben is back on Earth, being detained by professionals. This Metallo a robot through and through, and he then begins smashing his way through Brainiac’s defenses. However, his goal is not to take down Brainiac, as Metallo hightails it for what his sensors are detecting; the part of the ship that contains his power supply. Metallo then tries to absorb much of the radiation as possible, but when Brainiac finally gets the upper hand in the battle, Metallo self destructs, blowing a hole in the ship that sends all the Kryptonite raining down onto the Earth.
Meanwhile, Brainiac struggles to save both himself, the collection, and his super specimen. Lana and Lois try to free him while Lex fends for himself. Brainiac attempts to kill them, but that gets Superman the strength to finally break free. He says that Brainiac thinks that everyone, even the Las Son of Krypton, is beneath him, unwilling to think that anyone could possibly beat him. But Superman tells him all the reasons why the people of Earth give him as much strength as the sun does, and breaks free of his bindings.
Thus, Superman’s brawl with Brainiac begins anew, and this time, things go really in his favor as Brainiac sees his ships continually get more and more wrecked in their battle. He has spent so much of his life controlling every aspect of this little world of his, going on and on how he has fought to protect what is his. However, he then retaliates in the worst way possible, opting to kill what Superman has fought so hard to protect; Lois and Lana. Thankfully, his efforts are in vain, as Superman saves them, and flies them off. They manage to find Lex, who is trying to work the teleporter on Brainiac’s ship. Thankfully, Superman manages to get it working, much to Lex’s irritation. He sends them away first, while he briefly looks back to the countless pods on Brainiac’s ship. There’s no time to save them, he knows this, and still he whispers as he leaves, “I’m sorry”. However, before he can leave, Brainiac lunges at him like a wild animal. Their struggle causes the teleporter coordinates to change before they are both sent away. Thus, Brainiac’s ship explodes.
The others were sent back to Metropolis, but Superman and Brainiac land in a swamp, wherein they get to see the remains of the Skull ship rain down from the sky. Naturally, this leaves Brainiac both horrified and still snarling mad, but it’s then that the world begins to affect him in an interesting way. Brainiac’s biggest weakness is that he never ventures out of his ship. The ship itself is an extension of himself, and after who knows how long, he is unable to properly function when he is taken out of the ship and it is destroyed. This allows Superman the opening to finally beat him. He can’t face anything he cannot control. All the activity in the world, all the chaos, everything from crashing cars to the buzzing of insects, he can hear it all like Superman can, and it’s too much for even his brain to take all of it in. In the end though, Brainiac ultimately dies thanks to a brain aneurism, his own brilliant mind finally frying itself. He bursts into flames, his entire body melting away the flesh and metal, and finally exploding, with nothing left but smoldering scrap.
Sometime later, we see that the aftermath of Superman’s victory has unfortunately included Lex Luthor publicly boasting about how instrumental he was in stopping Brainiac. He points out that this experience was a great reminder of how humanity must fear monsters from the stars as much as those that walk or fly amongst them. Clark is of course none too happy about his ranting, but tries to shut it out. However, he is then forced to deal with another, as Lana comes to his apartment. The first words out of her mouth are, “We need to talk.” Naturally, Clark is already afraid.
At his couch, Lana explains to Clark how the whole “Life flashing before your eyes before you die” thing is actually true. When it happened to her, most of her life had her or Superman in it. Now, that’s not a bad thing, in theory, because she loves him…or rather, did love him. She tells him that for so long now, her whole life has revolved around Clark. On top of that, she finds herself focusing more and more on her career, which he now has to admit has made things difficult for them before, and she knows it’s only going to keep happening. Eventually, they come to the terms that they aren’t in love anymore, and that they are doing more harm than good being together. They don’t want to stop each other from being who they are, and that means parting ways. So, Lana tells Clark that she’s opening a new headquarters in Paris. They break up, and she moves to France.
Clark is in less than stellar shape, and pretty much everyone is shocked by the breakup. Thankfully, his friends and family are there for him. Lois in particular is there for Clark when he tells her what happened, finally dropping her sarcastic wit to actually be there as a friend for him. She then says that while she has a story on Superman to write, she instead decides to get to that later, and treat Clark to a smoothie. He gladly accepts.
Later, the last shot in the film is Superman hovering over the city, alone with his thoughts, as things come into perspective for him as well. He thinks about how much the world has given him, and how he will never stop giving all that he can to it, no matter what monsters like Brainiac may try and do. His heart is aching, but he thanks everyone who has ever been in his life that he has such feelings, “I may have been conceived out there in the endless depths of space, but I was born when my ship landed on Earth, in America. I will always cherish the heritage that Jor-El and Lara gave me, but only as prospects of what might have been. Krypton bred me, but it was Earth that gave me all I am. All that matters to me. It was Krypton that made me Superman, but it is Earth that makes me human.”
Mid and Post Credit Scenes:
#1 Reports on the latest example of Superman’s heroics, along with thoughts and opinions, some of which match Lex’s, are being shown on several computer monitors. Said monitors are in a dark cave, and as all of them focus on a single image of Superman, the camera pans around to see Batman himself looking methodically at what is before him. It’s then a green glow is noticed nearby him, as he takes a look at a certain green rock that happened to fall in his neck of the woods.
#2 Metallo is being examined by some scientists, but suddenly wakes up. He breaks free of his confinement, killing them in the process, and bursts out of the lab, running off into the dead of night.
#3 Back in Lex Luthor’s lab, he is miffed to learn that the remains of Brainiac’s are ship too damage to back-engineer. However, he is then told that one of the pods holding an alien creature survived. At first, Lex thinks it’s a joke that such news is supposed to please him, but then he is informed that they believe that she is Kryptonian. THAT gets him intrigued, and we end with the pod opening, allowing him to see an unconscious, blonde, teenage girl.
The film opens in outer space, with an ominous narration from an otherworldly voice speaking of a planet that no longer exists. A world of so much potential and so many lives, all of which were silenced in the blink of an eye. The voice then says that it has come across many other worlds like that, all of which have met the same fate at its hands. And it is then that Earth comes into its view in the distance. The voice promises the same shall befall that tiny blue orb once it is through, and makes it very clear that nothing will stop him.
As the opening credits begin to roll, we cut down to Earth in Metropolis, where the downtown area is in an uproar as a violent robbery is in progress. As the police try to stop the criminals they have surrounded, Lois Lane is on the scene to make it clear that Intergang are the ones behind this fiasco. As she takes her notes and Jimmy Olson takes his photos, the scene escalates as crooks break out some bigger, hi-tech looking weaponry. The few precious seconds that take people to gasp is then used for them to fire their latest shot against the police, starting with Captain Maggie Sawyer. However, their blast is then blocked by something coming from up in the sky. Now, everyone gasps anew as Superman has not only taken the full blast of the weapon, but a few seconds later, he’s back on his feet, and ready for more. As the music swells, he fires out his freezing breath at the weapon, and super punches it into a ton of pieces. The crooks fire their own guns in panic, but of course the bullets do nothing. He destroys their weapons and subdues them, but their leader, one John Corben, has managed to play possum during the chaos. Once the battle seems over, Lois naturally rushes over to Superman, allowing Corben to grab her, and put his gun to her head. He tells him he will blow her brains out, and Superman tries to reason with him. Alas, despite his best efforts, Corben will not back down. Thus, when he pulls the trigger, Superman manages to super speed over fast enough to pull Lois free, but at the same time, he closed his grip over the gun. It explodes and suffice it to say, really hurts John Corben. And, while Superman may feel bad for his injuries, Lois does not, and feels the need to rub it in her attacker’s face with the classic line, “Faster than a speeding bullet.”
Thus, the day is saved, and while the crooks are apprehended, Lois goes over to speak to Superman, with Jimmy right behind her. After making brief small talk with them, Superman asks Lois something off the record, that being if she thinks she can connect the kind of hardware Intergang was using to a certain evil billionaire. Lois says that with tech that advanced, there’s a pretty good chance it came from Lex Corp. She then excuses Jimmy away to take more pictures, allowing her to try and get a date out of Superman. He however stammers a bit, before another disaster calls to his attention. Or perhaps he fibs a bit to get away. Either way, he flies off, and Lois is left deterred, but not defeated. She still wants her super crush.
Cut to the Daily Planet, where Lois is getting chewed out by Perry after he somehow finds out that her story’s angle is to try and pin what happened on Lex. Lois knows he’s corrupt, as does anyone watching the movie, but Perry White says he won’t publish anything without hard facts. Unless Superman bursts through Lex’s walls, which happen to be hiding every little dirty secret that guy has, he’s not budging on Lois’ angle. Frustrated, Lois vents to the friendly ear of Clark Kent. This mess on top of her getting nowhere with Superman is not doing wonders for her mood. To make matters even more annoying for someone who’s having a bad day, Lana Lang then pops in to snag her boyfriend, Clark Kent, for a lunch date.
Yes, in a twist that will give the audiences something new, Clark has broken convention, and has not only told someone who he is, but he is dating his high school sweetheart, Lana Lang. We learn through both dialogue and a flashback to Smallville that Lana did indeed learn of Clark’s powers. She was weirded out at first, which led to her leaving him for a few years, but one day, when he came home from college, she was there waiting for him. Clark’s mother confirms that she and his father long ago taught him to both be proud of his powers, and that should do good things with them. Lana to is now convinced that Clark is both them same guy she’s always known and loved, and now he’s someone who can also help the world in ways no one else can. Also, as a future head of her own fashion company, Lana gave quite a bit of input into Superman’s costume.
When the flashback ends, the two briefly talk about Lois’ infatuation with Superman, Lana in particular wondering when she is going to give up already. Clark even jokingly says that her whole life seems to revolve around Superman, something that gets Lana thinking about herself and her own life. However, her boyfriend does not notice that as Clark gives a glare at Lex Luthor’s tower off in the distance.
Cut to Luthor’s assistant and bodyguard, Mercy Graves, asking him if he’s worried about what happened with Intergang. He however is confident that what little those thugs knew cannot be traced back to him. Plus, even though the weapon failed to kill Superman, he still considers that to be a successful test, since now they know that the prototype was not truly ready yet to take him down.
At that point, now that they are in one of his lab’s, one of Lex’s scientists ends up revealing that they have detected an alien craft heading for Earth. Lex is intrigued; apart from the fact that an alien vessel is on its way, the fact that is being detected by Earth technology could mean that either his tech is better than he thought or the aliens see no point in hiding, likely not seeing Earth as a threat. Whatever the case, once he is told the estimated time it should take for the ship to arrive, Lex takes it upon himself to use this to his advantage.
A press conference is then held in the next scene where, shock of all shocks, Lex Luthor is actually being honest. Yeah, he reveals to Metropolis and the world what his scientists learned before anyone else, and that he is the one who is going to establish first contact with the visitors. He even points out how maybe these aliens will be willing to share more than just their basic secrets with the world, referring to the mystery still surrounding the Man of Steel, such as his real identity. Lex says that the unknown can often be scary, and that he hopes that maybe these beings will be a bit more trustworthy. In the audience, Clark asks Lois if Lex has an off switch, and she says if he does, she’s never seen it.
So, contact is attempted, but instead of responding, Lex’s equipment is hijacked and seemingly fried. Afterwards, the ship sends out a metallic sphere that falls to Earth like a meteor. Clark leaps into action while Lois is distracted, allowing him to force the thing away from the city. Once they are clear though, the sphere opens up to reveal a rather nasty looking robot. It gives Superman a good fight, one where he actually feels the pain from that thing’s attacks. But, eventually, he manages to both subdue it, and disable a transmitter he sees in its chest with his X-Ray vision. However, the battle gave the robot, and thus Brainiac, plenty of information to study. That test let him learn what he needed to know, that such a being is in fact Kryptonian.
Stealing the robot before the military can get it, Superman takes it back to the fortress to study it. As he does, Brainiac contacts the world, via hacking into the world’s communications, which includes Lex’s computers. He claims that he comes in peace, saying that he wishes only to study the world and move on as he has with others, and that Superman attacked his probe, thus it had to defend itself. This lets Lex both perpetuate his anti-Superman speech, and gets him into contact with Brainiac. The alien wishes to meet with him, since Lex has accumulated a lot of knowledge on Superman. A deal is struck between them. If Luthor helps him get Superman, Brainiac will stay true to his word and spare the Earth, seeing the Last Son of Krypton to be a more valuable prize. Of course, the two don’t trust each other and have their own angles, but they agree. Brainiac thus gives Lex Luthor the needs to stop Superman. Kryptonite.
Lex then pays a visit John Corben in the hospital to make him an offer. He can get his revenge on Superman by becoming more powerful than him. All he has to do is sacrifice his humanity by having his brain placed in a robot’s body. Naturally, Corben calls Lex out as being nuts, since while his injuries hurt a lot, they are not fatal. He asks Lex why the hell he should accept such an offer. Lex then says that, through sources that only powerful men like him possess, he recently learned something about his past. How 2 decades ago, Corben murdered two very important people, and if that information were to get to another certain billionaire, he’d be on death row in a matter of days. With no other choice, Corben agrees.
Meanwhile, we get to see Lana Lang engrossed in her work as the head of a fashion empire. We see just how alive and animated she is in this setting. Even when Clark comes by to talk with her, she seems to only be hearing half of what he says at first. Of course, once Clark suggests that maybe she should get out of town, she’s more receptive to what he says. He’s worried that things are going to go from bad to worse with Brainiac, so he wants her to leave Metropolis for a while. She tries to tell him she will be fine, but he won’t back down, and an argument breaks out between them. The only reason it stops is because Lois shows up to tell Clark that Perry wants the two of them working on the article on Brainiac. Naturally, she asks Clark what that was all about, but he’s not in the mood to talk very much. Neither is Lana either, who is left none too happy, now alone in her office.
Cut to the lab where Corben is about to become more machine than man. The procedure is summarized for him, including what he will be powered by; Superman’s greatest weakness, Kryptonite. Before he’s knocked out though, Corben has to know something. He asks Lex point blank why he hates Superman so much. Aside from the obvious, with an example or two of how Superman always steps in any time Lex Corp tries something that some might call wrong or immoral, he wants to know the real reason behind it all. Lex does elaborate somewhat, but only just enough, before finally letting the doctors knock Corben out.
Back at the Daily Planet, Lois finishes proofreading the article, briefly having to remind herself that there’s only one M in “Comment”. Upon looking up from her computer monitor, she then notices that Lana has suddenly shown up there. She’s over at one of the TV sets in the office, one of which is broadcasting a news report from Central City. In particular, the news is about how a certain Scarlet Speedster has apprehended a certain ice themed supervillain. Lois goes over to her, and the two briefly make small talk about the Flash’s costume, with Lana giving a few of her own pointers, and them wondering whether or not he is faster than Superman. The very mention of him however suddenly gets that same troubled and doubtful look return in Lana’s eyes. While unsure as to why Superman of all things would bring out that reaction, but nevertheless, she asks Lana what’s wrong. She wants to know if something wrong with her and Clark, and while Lana is at first unsure, seeing as how this woman has always tried to get with her boyfriend’s alter ego, Lois convinces her that she can confide in her. Plus, as she points out, women tell each other everything. So, Lana decides to come clean, once she confirms that Clark is not around, since he said he needed some air to cool off.
She makes it clear to Lois just how long she has been in love with Clark, and while Lois knows that already, she continues to listen. Leaving out a few key details, Lana tries to actually say the words, but it having trouble admitting it to even herself. She goes off on a tangent about how great of a guy Clark is, pointing out one of many great things his parents taught; in this case, some great words his father once spoke, “If there are people that need help, you do what you always do. Don’t let anyone or anything get in your way.” She says that’s why he became a reporter, and why he chose a city like Metropolis. A big city like this could chew up a country boy like him without a second thought, but Clark saw this place as nothing but an opportunity; somewhere that he could really make a difference. Lois suddenly finds herself realizing how great of a guy Clark is, something that even shocks Lana after Lois says a few kind words about him. Lois then points out that she does tend to tease Clark a bit too much, but then admits that it’s because he’s such a great reporter and a good guy, and sometimes she gets a little intimidated. Lana can’t believe that Lois Lane of all people is really showing this side of herself. Of course, that all gets interrupted when, of course, there is trouble in Metropolis. Perry bursts out of his office saying that some kind of robotic monster is tearing up the streets. He then yells to Lois, asking where Kent is. Fortunately, Lana easily covers for him, “If I know my boyfriend, he’s already there.”
Superman swoops in on the chaos of people screaming and running in terror from the monster that’s tearing up the city. He’s calling out for Superman to come face him, and when he does show up, Superman unfortunately recognizes his face. However, Corben makes it very clear that he’s not the same man he remembers. He is Metallo, the man who will kill Superman. Their brawl is drawn out, with Corben wanting to inflict as much pain on the Man of Steel as possible. But, when Superman’s getting the upper hand, Metallo opens up his chest, and the Kryptonite works like a charm. Before he can finish him off though, Brainiac’s ship appears overhead, and Lex, who has been watching from his office the entire time, activates Metallo’s kill switch. It just knocks him out, thus allowing Brainiac to capture a still breathing Superman. Mercy asks him why he didn’t just let Corben kill him, to which Lex explains that Brainiac explicitly said he needed him alive. If Lex disobeyed, Brainiac would level the Earth. Naturally, Mercy then asks what’s to stop him from doing that now, and of course, Lex has a plan.
We then see what Clark is dreaming about, and it’s a very bad dream, as the worst memory of his life comes back to haunt him. He recalls the day that he and his father were out working in the field, when the tractor broke down. Jonathan pointed out how old and worn out that thing was, while he and Clark attempted to fix it. It was then that Jonathan lost all feeling in his right arm. Clark heard his heart beating erratically, just in time to see his father fall to the ground. The dream becomes more incoherent as only flashes are shown, along with Clark screaming his father’s name. We see him getting him to the hospital, the funeral, and the image of him dying over and over again, as those same words that Lana brought up before are spoken once again. That finally snaps him out of it.
Waking up in the Skull Ship, Superman finds himself being further examined by more Brainiac bots. Naturally, he pounds them into scrap and tries to get out of the ship. Soon though, he comes upon the main chamber of the ship, filled with countless pods. One of them then opens up, and an alien creature jumps out to attack Superman, but he subdues it. It’s then that Brainiac makes himself know, appearing before his opponent. Big, green, and half machine himself, Brainiac explains that each one of them is last survivor of their worlds. He seeks out worlds to study, collects all of their knowledge, and then destroys them, collecting one creature from that world in the process. He even says that he wished he had the chance to study Krypton before it’s destruction, knowing only of it. Still, he says his collection does not require Superman, and that he will instead be used for a greater purpose. Naturally, Superman is ready to pound this genocidal maniac into pulp, but then he whips out the Kryptonite. Now that he can’t fight back, Brainiac not only explains what Kryptonite is, but also that he intends to upgrade himself with Superman’s body. His own body has reached the limits of what it can do, and even if he were to become a machine, that to would only get him so far. So, he’s hoping to do the same thing that Lex did to Metallo, by putting his brain into Superman’s body. Thus, he will truly be unstoppable.
We then cut back to Lex’s tower, where he’s checking his watch, thinking they should be here by now. Then, right on que, there’s a rather big commotion outside of his office doors, which culminates in both Lois and Lana bursting in. He tells his security to wait outside, and that he knew those girls were coming for him. How? Well, he knows how much Lois likes to accuse him of wrongdoing, and the two of them get saved by Superman so often, that if anyone would be showing up after the Man of Steel got abducted, it would be them. Naturally, they tear into him, but he reveals that he was not dumb enough to be totally without security, and thus Metallo steps out of the spotlight. However, it’s then that Brainiac’s ship shows up, with Lex saying he’s early. All four of them are teleported onto the ship, with Lex saying that’s unfortunate, for them.
Brainiac admits his error; he only meant to take Luthor as the human for his collection, but so much of his effort is being kept on Superman being contained, that he got sloppy with the teleportation. He elaborates that for his plan to work, he cannot use the Kryptonite on Superman, or else he could die. So, he’s keeping him restrained the old fashioned way, with really strong metal. Before he proceeds though, he decides to deal with the ants that are now on his ship, starting with Lex’s cyborg. However, Lex then reveals his ace in the hole. That’s not the real Metallo; Corben is back on Earth, being detained by professionals. This Metallo a robot through and through, and he then begins smashing his way through Brainiac’s defenses. However, his goal is not to take down Brainiac, as Metallo hightails it for what his sensors are detecting; the part of the ship that contains his power supply. Metallo then tries to absorb much of the radiation as possible, but when Brainiac finally gets the upper hand in the battle, Metallo self destructs, blowing a hole in the ship that sends all the Kryptonite raining down onto the Earth.
Meanwhile, Brainiac struggles to save both himself, the collection, and his super specimen. Lana and Lois try to free him while Lex fends for himself. Brainiac attempts to kill them, but that gets Superman the strength to finally break free. He says that Brainiac thinks that everyone, even the Las Son of Krypton, is beneath him, unwilling to think that anyone could possibly beat him. But Superman tells him all the reasons why the people of Earth give him as much strength as the sun does, and breaks free of his bindings.
Thus, Superman’s brawl with Brainiac begins anew, and this time, things go really in his favor as Brainiac sees his ships continually get more and more wrecked in their battle. He has spent so much of his life controlling every aspect of this little world of his, going on and on how he has fought to protect what is his. However, he then retaliates in the worst way possible, opting to kill what Superman has fought so hard to protect; Lois and Lana. Thankfully, his efforts are in vain, as Superman saves them, and flies them off. They manage to find Lex, who is trying to work the teleporter on Brainiac’s ship. Thankfully, Superman manages to get it working, much to Lex’s irritation. He sends them away first, while he briefly looks back to the countless pods on Brainiac’s ship. There’s no time to save them, he knows this, and still he whispers as he leaves, “I’m sorry”. However, before he can leave, Brainiac lunges at him like a wild animal. Their struggle causes the teleporter coordinates to change before they are both sent away. Thus, Brainiac’s ship explodes.
The others were sent back to Metropolis, but Superman and Brainiac land in a swamp, wherein they get to see the remains of the Skull ship rain down from the sky. Naturally, this leaves Brainiac both horrified and still snarling mad, but it’s then that the world begins to affect him in an interesting way. Brainiac’s biggest weakness is that he never ventures out of his ship. The ship itself is an extension of himself, and after who knows how long, he is unable to properly function when he is taken out of the ship and it is destroyed. This allows Superman the opening to finally beat him. He can’t face anything he cannot control. All the activity in the world, all the chaos, everything from crashing cars to the buzzing of insects, he can hear it all like Superman can, and it’s too much for even his brain to take all of it in. In the end though, Brainiac ultimately dies thanks to a brain aneurism, his own brilliant mind finally frying itself. He bursts into flames, his entire body melting away the flesh and metal, and finally exploding, with nothing left but smoldering scrap.
Sometime later, we see that the aftermath of Superman’s victory has unfortunately included Lex Luthor publicly boasting about how instrumental he was in stopping Brainiac. He points out that this experience was a great reminder of how humanity must fear monsters from the stars as much as those that walk or fly amongst them. Clark is of course none too happy about his ranting, but tries to shut it out. However, he is then forced to deal with another, as Lana comes to his apartment. The first words out of her mouth are, “We need to talk.” Naturally, Clark is already afraid.
At his couch, Lana explains to Clark how the whole “Life flashing before your eyes before you die” thing is actually true. When it happened to her, most of her life had her or Superman in it. Now, that’s not a bad thing, in theory, because she loves him…or rather, did love him. She tells him that for so long now, her whole life has revolved around Clark. On top of that, she finds herself focusing more and more on her career, which he now has to admit has made things difficult for them before, and she knows it’s only going to keep happening. Eventually, they come to the terms that they aren’t in love anymore, and that they are doing more harm than good being together. They don’t want to stop each other from being who they are, and that means parting ways. So, Lana tells Clark that she’s opening a new headquarters in Paris. They break up, and she moves to France.
Clark is in less than stellar shape, and pretty much everyone is shocked by the breakup. Thankfully, his friends and family are there for him. Lois in particular is there for Clark when he tells her what happened, finally dropping her sarcastic wit to actually be there as a friend for him. She then says that while she has a story on Superman to write, she instead decides to get to that later, and treat Clark to a smoothie. He gladly accepts.
Later, the last shot in the film is Superman hovering over the city, alone with his thoughts, as things come into perspective for him as well. He thinks about how much the world has given him, and how he will never stop giving all that he can to it, no matter what monsters like Brainiac may try and do. His heart is aching, but he thanks everyone who has ever been in his life that he has such feelings, “I may have been conceived out there in the endless depths of space, but I was born when my ship landed on Earth, in America. I will always cherish the heritage that Jor-El and Lara gave me, but only as prospects of what might have been. Krypton bred me, but it was Earth that gave me all I am. All that matters to me. It was Krypton that made me Superman, but it is Earth that makes me human.”
Mid and Post Credit Scenes:
#1 Reports on the latest example of Superman’s heroics, along with thoughts and opinions, some of which match Lex’s, are being shown on several computer monitors. Said monitors are in a dark cave, and as all of them focus on a single image of Superman, the camera pans around to see Batman himself looking methodically at what is before him. It’s then a green glow is noticed nearby him, as he takes a look at a certain green rock that happened to fall in his neck of the woods.
#2 Metallo is being examined by some scientists, but suddenly wakes up. He breaks free of his confinement, killing them in the process, and bursts out of the lab, running off into the dead of night.
#3 Back in Lex Luthor’s lab, he is miffed to learn that the remains of Brainiac’s are ship too damage to back-engineer. However, he is then told that one of the pods holding an alien creature survived. At first, Lex thinks it’s a joke that such news is supposed to please him, but then he is informed that they believe that she is Kryptonian. THAT gets him intrigued, and we end with the pod opening, allowing him to see an unconscious, blonde, teenage girl.
This plot shows more care and creativity to the source material that was lacking in the movie. Great insight.
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