When Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” was released, the film’s ending caused controversy in regards to the way the fight between Superman and Zod not only had a ton of collateral damage, but also in the way it ended.
The scene saw Superman having no choice but to kill Zod by snapping his neck to stop his attempted destruction on Earth. The intimate brutality of the scene has irked people, even with all the destruction over the film’s last act, and drew a backlash from some of the fandom at the time.
Now, writer David Goyer has revealed that he wrote a scene in his script (one cut prior to filming) that takes place earlier on in the movie that would have given more context to why Superman did what he did.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Goyer says the scene sees a 12-year-old Clark Kent and his adoptive father Jonathan (Kevin Costner) on a hunting trip when Clark shoots a deer.
He hits his target, but the deer remains alive and is wounded and suffering. His father approaches the animal and kills it to put it out of its misery, which young Clark is “incredibly shaken” by. Jonathan then has a conversation with his son about the responsibility of taking a life. Goyer says:
“[I] always wished that seen could have made it in the movie because I felt like that was also a bit of a tee-up into what happens at the end.”
The scene would not only add more context to the Zod death but also answer some criticisms that were also lobbied at the characterization of Jonathan Kent.
The scene would not have been enough for some fans who stand firm to the mantra that Superman doesn’t kill, which is not the case according to Goyer:
“The idea that Superman doesn’t kill is not canon in the comic books, it’s this idea that came out later and it just felt… the whole point of ‘Man of Steel’ was this was a story about him becoming Superman and understanding the import of who and what he is and what it means to the world, and [to] stumble and grapple with this. Having done that, I have to make sure it never happens again in any possible away.
People can debate whether or not we should’ve done it, but I felt for that story we were telling, and Chris [Nolan] felt the same and so did Zack [Snyder] that was the right way to go which was a much more airquotes ‘realistic’ take on Superman.”
Head over to Happy Sad Confused for the full interview.
Source: Screen Rant
