Proof Superman Did Not Destroy the City in Man of Steel

[adkal]

What revenge seeking?

Are you talking about Clark destroying that sexual assaulting bullies truck? It was no worst than Clark's diner scene at the end of Superman 2 in which he turns up looking for revenge on the guy that beat him up. Clark let's the guy break his hand punching him and damages the innocent diner owners property looking seeking revenge against that guy.

Is the 'thieving' about Clark taking some clothes from a clothes line after his were burned off saving a bunch of people on a oil rig?

The movie had its faults but neither of those seemed part of them to me.

Nah, they were part of the problem.

The trucker was a regular and Clark could have dealt with it in a better way - the only reason (from what is conveyed in the movie) he didn't was because he had decided to quit and was going to head off to Ellesmere Island.

The 'thieving', while understandable, would have worked better for some of us if he had left a note behind or something.

Basically, there were a number of little things that were 'missing'.

[chamber-music]

Clark was in tattered shreds and was trying not to be seen. I don't think writing a not was an option. I think it was a very minor thing in the movie.

I thought Clark was very restrained with the trucker. Golden age superman would of threatened to throw that guy into the sun. Clark stood up for that woman and allowed that guy to humiliate him in front of everyone at the bar. Again compared to Clark in Superman 2 it was a more reserved reaction.

[adkal]

Again, the guy was a regular. He had done this stuff before. Clark wasn't new there, he had been working there for a few months (we know this from the woman telling Lois). The only reason he did what he was because he quit after overhearing the soldiers.

As for the note, the guy has super-speed. It wouldn't have even taken a moment. Further, I said 'or something' - a quick scene later showing him sending money to them would have worked, too, for example.

[evangelionofasgard]

At least we know that all the future children of Krypton who were wiped out by heat vision didn't feel any pain.

they did not get hit by the heat vision they where rooms away, they were destroyed when the ship crashed and the tank they where in cracked open from the impact.

#1. Superman wasn't trying to save buildings, he was trying to save people. He succeeded.

#2. Zod wasn't trying to kill everyone in the city, he was trying to kill everyone on the planet. The stakes of that battle were so far beyond a mere city I don't understand the negative reaction of some fans. It's like saving someone's life and they're pissed because the jacket got ruined.

If a city happens to get busted up in the process of all this... okay? Just treat it as if it were a hurricane, call it "Hurricane Zod" if you like.

PREACH!!!

[D4BBT]

I love that people are still debating this movie. I believe that one of the goals was to challenge peoples perception of what it would be like to have these super powered beings on Earth.
Here is a sight I came across that goes very deep into the movie. http://www.manofsteelanswers.com Great podcasts to listen to at work.

Also, one of the biggest arguments I've seen is Superman wouldn't do this or do that. This video is uncanny in showing that this movie is actually the birth of Superman, and he isn't actually him until the very end. This is why the name Superman isn't used much in the movie, and why it's called Man of Steel. Notice the next movie is Batman v Superman.
https://vimeo.com/109950825

[adkal]

Back when the movie came out I did a four page list of things I liked about it (of course, the overall analysis was a lot longer, but still...)

http://justsomeofmyrambling.blogspot...V0H8Krb6J9nbHn

Overall, it had a lot of potential but fell short of being great, in my opinion.

[Demas]

Man of Steel Myths: Metropolis Was Annihilated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqBzNT_llL8

Despite powerful ground zero imagery, the film clearly shows Metropolis as saved and standing rather than wrecked and wiped out. Detractors will often say "the entire city was destroyed!" or "half the city died!" and so on. This video may provide some perspective on the actual degree of damage.

1. Metropolis is enormous compared to the damaged area.
2. The Planet stands despite being in the military's strike zone.
3. Superman and Zod clearly battle over an intact Metropolis.

Man of Steel Myths: Fighting Zod Was Easy - Kal Caused Serious Collateral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwMwrFipAxQ

Using fighting-game metrics we illustrate the gap in skill and experience between General Zod, Krypton's military leader, and Superman, who threw a punch for the first time in his life earlier that same day. Detractors place completely unrealistic expectations on a total rookie fighting for his life.

Some have unfairly and harshly judged Superman by unrealistically expecting rescue efforts, attempts at diplomacy, complex strategies, and ploys to bait or lure Zod. The metrics show Superman is barely able to keep up with Zod, much less impossibly think and act well-beyond his body of experience or situation.

Then we quickly break down and assign the collateral damage related to THIS fight (causation and collateral of other parts of the film will be discussed in other videos). It comes after the World Engine has been stopped and the Black Zero has been defeated. None of that damage is attributable to this fight. A future video may put the collateral damage under a microscope but there are only a handful of significant beats:

1. Zod brings down an evacuated office with his heat vision.
2. The falling office knocks Superman into a parking deck.
3. Zod brings down just the street-facing side of the same deck.
4. After Zod starts to strip the cladding* off a building, the two collide to knock more off (the streets directly below are clear).
5. Zod damages some windows and building exteriors, none which threaten structural collapse (Superman damages one).
6. Zod downs and fragments the satellite.
7. Both collide into the train station.

The damage is not insignificant but neither is it catastrophic nor does it offend the senses. Moreover, Zod causes and participates in nearly all of it (either directly or using Superman's body) but for some windows. The gap in skill and experience shows Superman is in no position to mitigate collateral any better than he did.

As I'm not a fighting game engine, please allow for any ambiguities or errors in scoring or computation. The general idea of the bonus was only the leader in any category would get the bonus. In actual fighting, judging does have a subjective component so there's that... obviously, this is all tongue-in-cheek so don't take the HUD too seriously. I also remember now why I turn off the announcer, heh.

--

Of the ~44 total hits taken Kal landed ~7 clean hits and was knocked down or briefly out 10 times to each of Zod's 31 hits. If every third hit is leaving you unable to stand and you can barely land 15% of the hits in the fight... what basis is there for saying you have the ABILITY to do much more than survive? The detractors are literally asking a day-old rookie to CONTROL a fight with Krypton's highest ranked soldier. When the videos already overlap in argument that much, I'm probably not going to do a specific video on it.That said, the next video coming out is a bundle of mini-myths which will also tackle the "away" issue on two additional fronts.

* Cladding is cosmetic coating to change the appearance of a building... we don't build skyscrapers out of stone, but steel... however, it can be clad to look like stone; the loss of the building's cladding does not mean the structural collapse of the building.

[Buried Alien]

MAN OF STEEL had an overall morose tone to it (except for a few moments) that wore on me a bit, but it was nevertheless a very well-made science fiction film that happened to feature Superman as its central character. The development of this world's Superman, however, has just begun...so I'm looking forward to see where DAWN OF JUSTICE and subsequent films featuring the character take him.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Eyeswithoutaface]

they did not get hit by the heat vision they where rooms away, they were destroyed when the ship crashed and the tank they where in cracked open from the impact.

Right. Superman lasered the hull of the Genesis Chamber which housed the embryos. He's totally off the hook.

[SmokeMonster]

Again, the guy was a regular. He had done this stuff before. Clark wasn't new there, he had been working there for a few months (we know this from the woman telling Lois). The only reason he did what he was because he quit after overhearing the soldiers.

As for the note, the guy has super-speed. It wouldn't have even taken a moment. Further, I said 'or something' - a quick scene later showing him sending money to them would have worked, too, for example.

Why do people want Clark, pre-Superman, to be morally perfect? At this point in his life, he's supposed to be lost, angry, etc.

It's like criticizing Peter for acting selfishly before Uncle Ben dies.

[Coal Tiger]

Why do people want Clark, pre-Superman, to be morally perfect? At this point in his life, he's supposed to be lost, angry, etc.

It's like criticizing Peter for acting selfishly before Uncle Ben dies.

A 15 year old acting selfishly? Not unheard of.

A sullen 33 year old with weak morals? Not a Superman I'm interested in seeing.

[Joe Acro]

Mod check. If all you want to say is "Great post! But haters gonna hate", then save yourself the time and don't. That is in no way constructive.

Conversely, this thread should not be for rehashing your personal problems with Superman, his portrayal, or the movie in general, but specifically about the one sequence in the film. Please remember that.

[Xon-Ur]

I don't think anyone blames Superman for the destruction. but rather the direction, the writing and the execution.

The problem was that the destruction was engineered in the script of the movie for the sake of destruction porn and showing whatever constituted as realism. You don't really get the sense that Superman saved the city, even though he did.

A knockdown dragout fight between Kryptonians is going to be destructive, but the whole execution was about as graceful as a sledgehammer on cheese. The aftermath could have fixed this somehow but it didn't.

Somehow, this reaction got translated into the opinion that Superman was being a destructive city wrecking neck snapper.

Hammer, meet nail.

The destruction Superman and Zod caused is nowhere near the biggest problem of Man of Steel. It's so close to being a good Superman movie, but like James Kirk once said, "Like a poor marksman you keep...missing...the target!"

If you have a less negative/paranoid and more encouraging Jon Kent, Clark choosing his own destiny by saving Jonathan from the tornado, and Zod going back to the PZ with the rest of his crew as was originally written (according to Goyer), the other flaws of the movie can be forgiven and you have a damn good Superman movie.

As it is now, Man of Steel is a really good sci-fi movie, decent superhero movie, and poor Superman movie.

Can Batman v Superman redeem it? I'd like to think so, again quoting Kirk: "I'd like to think that there always are...possibilities."

[Francisco]

There were no embryos or fetuses in the genesis chamber. Superman simply destroyed a machine (and I agree with him, Krypton had its chance)

Adkal, being a regular doesn't give anyone the right of grabbing waitress butt. The trucker got what he deserved.

[Eyeswithoutaface]

There were no embryos or fetuses in the genesis chamber. Superman simply destroyed a machine (and I agree with him, Krypton had its chance)

ma·chine
(mə-shēn′)
n.
1.
a. A device consisting of fixed and moving parts that modifies mechanical energy and transmits it in a more useful form.
b. See simple machine.
c. See compound machine.
2. A system or device for doing work, as an automobile or jackhammer, together with its power source and auxiliary equipment.
3. A system or device, such as a computer, that performs or assists in the performance of a human task: The machine is down.
4. An intricate natural system or organism, such as the human body.