10 Crazy Movie Endings You Didn't Believe
8. Man Of Steel
If the end of The Dark Knight Rises had us all scratching our heads, the final act of Man of Steel went one further by having one of pop culture's greatest shining lights of hope commit cold, clinical murder.
Of course, Man of Steel came off the back of Warner Bros. having huge success with Christopher Nolan's gritty and dark Dark Knight offerings, which in turn gave some people the idea that gritty and dark was the template needed for all superheroes - even the eternal positivity and optimism of Superman.
As a Superman origin story, Man of Steel was changed up a tad from what we've come to know and expect from the Big Blue Boy Scout's tale, yet large chunks of the movie worked really well. And in Henry Cavill, the film had a lead who was pitch-perfect for what's needed from Superman.
Unfortunately though, Man of Steel completely soured audiences by its shocking finale in which Supes murder's Zod by snapping his neck.
Granted, narratively-speaking, Superman was left with very little choice in the matter. The thing is, that scene and controversial neck snap simply didn't need to be written. By doing that with their greatest hero, the burgeoning DC Extended Universe was off to a hugely problematic start - and that shared realm of films never managed to recover.