10 Movies That Subverted Expectations (And Fans Hated It)

3. Man Of Steel

Prometheus EW Cover
Warner Bros.

Superman is undoubtedly a pop culture icon who has transcended comic books to become a universal symbol of hope and optimism. Where comics greatest heroes are concerned, they don’t get any greater than the Last Son of Krypton.

With Warner Bros. deciding to bring a new incarnation of the Big Blue Boy Scout to the big screen in Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel, fans were both intrigued to see what sort of cinematic world the technology of the day conjure up, and rolling their eyes at yet another predictable offering in which Superman would somehow find a way to take down an unstoppable threat while slapping hands, kissing babies, and being the ultimate goody two-shoes.

Man of Steel had a completely different feel to it than the films of Christopher Reeve or even Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill’s Kal-El completely split opinion by the end of his first of three big-screen outings to date. The biggest beef that audiences had with the film was the sheer destruction caused by Supes.

The film’s final act, in particular, turned off a lot of longtime Superman fans. If you remember, that final act saw Superman’s fight with General Zod tear down buildings and kill thousands of people. Of course, the end of this battle was even more polarizing as the titular Man of Steel snapped the neck of his rival.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.