10 Times Superman Was Forced To Kill

6. Zod And Pals At The End Of Superman II

One of the defences brought up by people who liked Man Of Steel was that its denouement was entirely in keeping with previous depictions of the character. We've already seen the handful of times Superman has killed an enemy to save thousands more lives in the comic books, but he also did it in the Christopher Reeves' movies, too.

What are seen as colourful, innocent old-timey superhero pictures courtesy of Richard Donner (and Richard Lester, we add under duress), actually involved Superman pretty much just murdering the villains of the piece - and again, they're General Zod and his Kryptonian cronies. Negotiations really don't work with those guys, huh. Superman II, specifically, featured this, and the production was such a mess that we don't have a clue if it was Donner, his replacement Lester, or one of the film's four credited screenwriters who came up with the climactic action scene.

The basic plot of the movie is that Kryptonian criminals General Zod (Terence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and Non (Jack O'Halloran) escape from their Phantom Zone prison and start wreaking havoc on Earth, hoping to coax out Superman, the other surviving Kryptonian. Zod takes advantage of Superman's noticeable concern for the innocent bystanders, and starts purposefully placing them in peril during their fight in Metropolis. Realising the only way to defeat the villains lies in his Fortress Of Solitude, Superman lures them there - and out of harm's way - where he exposes them to a magical crystal chamber that saps them of all their powers, rendering them useless and not at all dangerous. Then he crushes Zod's hand to a fine paste and tosses all the baddies into a bottomless pit where, lacking their super strength, they will surely die.

What a hero! It's not got the visceral nastiness of snapping a neck, but condemning people to either be splattered or starve to death is still pretty hardcore.