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Man of Steel
Man of Steel Final Poster
Director: Zack Snyder
Producer: Christopher Nolan
Emma Thomas
Charles Roven
Deborah Snyder
Writer(s): David S. Goyer
Release Date: June 14, 2013
Running Time: 143 mins
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Man of Steel is a 2013 reboot to the Superman franchise and the first film in the DC Extended Universe. It follows Clark Kent on a journey to discover who he really is and battle against his kind led by the renegade General Zod. A follow-up entitled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released in 2016.

Plot[]

On the planet Krypton, a scientist called Jor-El and his wife, Lara, have a child whom they name Kal-El. Afterwards, Jor-El urges Krypton's ruling council to mass-evacuate the planet in order to escape the destruction of its unstable core, when he is interrupted by General Zod and his followers, who have staged a coup d'etat. Jor-El escapes and on his way to his home he goes to the Genesis Chamber and steals the Registry of Citizens' Codex. Jor-El and Lara then put Kal-El in a spaceship with the codex and launch him to Earth, just before Zod and his followers arrive. Zod murders Jor-El just before he and followers are arrested by the Sapphire Guards and are sentenced to the Phantom Zone for 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning. Krypton explodes shortly after Zod's imprisonment. Meanwhile, Kal-El's ship crashes in Smallville, Kansas where it is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who decide to raise him as their child and name him Clark.

Clark's Kryptonian physiology affords him superhuman abilities on Earth and exposure to the sun of the solar system. With Martha's support, young Clark gradually learns to hone the abilities that initially caused him confusion and discomfort. Jonathan reveals to a teenage Clark that he is an alien, and advises him to not utilize his powers publicly, fearing that society would fear and reject him. After Jonathan is killed by a tornado, an adult Clark spends the next several years living a nomadic lifestyle, working different jobs under false names to cover his tracks and hide his identity. He eventually discovers a Kryptonian scout ship with technology that allows him to communicate with the recorded consciousness of Jor-El in the form of a hologram. Lois Lane, a young journalist from the Daily Planet, also discovers the ship while pursuing a story, and is rescued by Clark when she is injured by a Kryptonian drone. Lois's editor, Perry White, rejects her story of a "superhuman" rescuer, so she traces Clark back to Smallville with the intention of writing an exposé. After hearing his story, she decides to keep his secret.

Detecting the scout ship, Zod, who, along with his allies, was released prematurely from the Phantom Zone due to Krypton's destruction, travels to Earth where he demands that Kal-El surrender himself or watch humanity "suffer the consequences". Clark agrees to surrender to the U.S. military, who hand Lois and Clark over to Zod's second-in-command, Faora, at Zod's request. Zod reveals to Clark that he intends to use a terraforming device called a "World Engine" to transform Earth into a Krypton-like planet, which will eradicate the human population in the process, and to use the codex to repopulate the terraformed planet with genetically engineered Kryptonians. After Clark and Lois escape the ship with the help of Jor-El, Clark confronts and defeats Zod's forces in Smallville, which convinces the military that he is on their side. Learning that the codex is merged with Clark's DNA, Zod deploys the World Engine and initiates the terraforming in Metropolis and over the Indian ocean.

To stop this attack, Clark, now dubbed "Superman", and Lois inform the US military that dropping the spacecraft that brought Clark to Earth will create a singularity that will return Zod's ship and crew to the Phantom Zone. After Superman stops the world engine in the Indian Ocean, the military succeeds in their mission, taking out Zod's ship and his army, including Faora. Zod, having been separated from his ship earlier, was unharmed, and he and Superman engage in a battle to the death. After a battle spanning the breadth of Metropolis, Superman is forced to kill Zod to save a family of civilians in danger from Zod's heat vision. Superman decides to return to his normal life by resuming the identity of Clark Kent and is hired by White as a reporter for the Daily Planet.

Cast[]

References to the broader DC Extended Universe[]

  • Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman is introduced.
  • Lois Lane is introduced.
  • General Zod is introduced.
  • Jonathan Kent is introduced.
  • Martha Kent is introduced.
  • Perry White is introduced.
  • Jor-El is introduced.
  • Faora-Ul is introduced.
  • Lara Lor-Van is introduced.
  • Colonel Nathan Hardy is introduced.
  • General Swanwick is introduced.
  • Dr. Emil Hamilton is introduced.
  • Lana Lang is introduced.
  • Pete Ross is introduced.
  • Whitney Fordham is introduced.
  • Kenny Braverman is introduced.
  • Steve Lombard is introduced.
  • Jenny Jurwich is introduced.
  • Jed Eubanks is introduced.
  • Father Daniel Leone is introduced.
  • Jax-Ur is introduced.
  • Tor-An is introduced.
  • Dev-Em is introduced.
  • Car-Vex is introduced.
  • Nadira is introduced.
  • Lor-Em is introduced.
  • Ro-Zar is introduced.
  • Ludlow is introduced.
  • Kelex is introduced.
  • Kelor is introduced.
  • Carrie Farris is introduced.
  • Glen Woodburn is introduced.
  • Helen Ross is introduced.
  • The LexCorp logo appears multiple times confirming that, although he doesn't appear in the film, Lex Luthor is present in this universe.
  • When Superman and Zod take their battle into space, Zod destroys a satellite with the Wayne Enterprises logo upon it.
  • In the Kryptonian scout ship that was buried under the ice, there is an open pod which is empty. The tie-in prequel comic would suggest this missing Kryptonian is Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl, Kal-El's cousin.
  • It is shown that Kal-El is weakened when exposed to Kryptonian atmosphere alluding to the affects that Kryptonite would have on a Kryptonian on Earth.
  • During the scout ship operation on Ellesmere Island a laptop near the monitors being watched by a military officer can be seen having a photo from Mars as a screensaver. Referencing the home of the Justice League member, Martian Manhunter.
  • The building where Zod unleashes his heat vision was in fact Wayne Tower.
  • S.T.A.R. Labs appears in the film and is confirmed by David Goyer to be a reference to the Justice League member, Cyborg.
  • The Blaze Comics logo can be seen in the film. In DC Comics, Blaze Comics is a comic book series detailing the adventures of the hero from the future, Booster Gold.
  • A WGBS logo can be seen during the fight through Metropolis. WGBS is the main news outlet for Galaxy Communications which is run by Morgan Edge who has connections to Darkseid.
  • Utopia Casino is featured. In the comics, Utopia Casino is owned by Tony Gallo who was involved in Superman's first encounter with Kryptonite.
  • The burning oil rig was owned by Merrevale Oil, a company run by Jordan Wylie who has encountered Aquaman multiple times in the past. Aquaman and his allies the Sea Devils have even destroyed some of Merrevale's oil rigs with the Sea Devils setting one alight and Aquaman knocking another over.
  • When Zod uses his Heat Vision to destroy a building, a poster can be seen in the background that says Keep Calm and Call Batman. This proves that not only does Bruce Wayne and Wayne Enterprises co-exist along with Superman, but Batman himself does as well. [1][2]
  • The computer displays in Zod's ship and the crashed seed ship display what appears to be gibberish in Kryptonian lettering. However, "Man of Steel" producer Deborah Snyder revealed in an interview that they actually had linguists create a Kryptonian language so they could hide messages in Kryptonian.

Taglines[]

  • Accomplish Wonder.

Production[]

The film was shot in Canada and parts of Illinois and California.

Gallery[]

Filming[]

Videos[]

Trailers[]

Clips[]

Interviews and Premieres[]

External links[]

DC Extended Universe
Released Films Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Suicide Squad | Wonder Woman | Justice League | Aquaman | Shazam! | Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Wonder Woman 1984 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | The Suicide Squad | Black Adam
Shazam! Fury of the Gods | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | The Flash | Blue Beetle
Superman Films
Serials Superman: The Serial | Atom Man vs. Superman
1950s films Superman and the Mole Men
Donner/ Lester/ Furie series Superman: The Movie | Superman II | Superman III | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Singer series Superman Returns
DC Extended Universe Man of Steel | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Spin-offs Supergirl | Steel
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