10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About Superman

7. He Doesn't Kill

Another major criticism of Man of Steel comes from this oath Superman's unofficially taken in the comics where he'll never take another life. At the end of the movie, we see Superman being forced to kill Zod to save a family from being vaporised by his heat vision. Apparently among the fan community it's perfectly fine if Batman, Daredevil, Iron Man, and the rest of the Avengers kill pre-meditatively, but not Superman. Regardless, it's a notion that's been mostly followed in the comics but isn't absolute - the Golden Age often featured Superman murdering evildoers, from destroying fighter planes to whole weapons factories with employees still inside. Readers looking for more modern examples will surely be familiar with Superman killing the galactic monstrosity known as Doomsday. A more concrete example happened during John Byrne's run, where in Superman #22 he executed Zod, Faora, and Quex-Ul with kryptonite. People still wanting something closer to the 21st century need not look further than The New 52, where Superman heat visions Dr. Light's head off during the Trinity War storyline. The fan outrage towards Zod's death in Man of Steel is proof that many want this "no killing" rule to be respected in the Superman canon, but ultimately this is all at the mercy of the writer in charge. We've come a long way since the days of Superman being a vegetarian.