Man Of Steel didn't just reboot the Superman franchise, it gave Clark Kent a childhood. A lot of the film documents Clark's struggle with his superpowers, as Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark's adopted father, tries to give him guidance and wisdom to help him with his gifts. In arguably the film's most emotional scene, Jonathan gives his life so that his son doesn't have to reveal his superpowers to the crowd of survivors; it's a noble decision to make, but unfortunately for all involved, it isn't actually the right one. As the Kent family are proceeding along the road, they notice a tornado coming towards them. Jonathan gets out to help a young family, and tells Clark and Martha to go towards the overpass; meanwhile, nobody notices that the dog is still in the car. Forgiving them for a second for forgetting the dog, it's far too dangerous for Jonathan to go back for him. Really, they should've sent Clark - you know, the one in the family most likely to survive a tornado - but Jonathan returns for the pet, and would have made it back if he hadn't have twisted his foot. And then comes the really damning aspect of all of this. Clark looks ready to rush off and save his father, but Jonathan shakes his head, sparing the boy from revealing his abilities. Didn't Clark save a bus full of children as a child? Isn't it harder to explain a child pushing a bus out of a lake than a fully grown man running over to help his father? The worst part is that their last conversation was an argument. The last thing Clark said was "You're not my father, you just found me in a field." That's heartbreaking. Especially when this accident could so easily have been spared.
