Yet another death that wasn't tragic because of the character who died, but rather what it meant in the context of the movie; General Zod had to die but it was tragic that Superman had to be the one to kill him. As a pertinent disclaimer, I enjoyed Man of Steel. Sure, it had too many overt product placements and advertisements and wasn't the most tightly constructed film, but it was a more than serviceable action flick and was worthy of inclusion into the ranks of Superman movies. And Michael Shannon's General Zod was deliriously loopy, in a very good way. Shannon has a way of conveying the chaos in his psyche with his eyes, and his portrayal of Zod as an overly-loyal military man was inspired. Superman's decision to ultimately end Zod's life after he threatened to kill more people was a sign that the franchise wants to head in a more complicated direction with Superman, which I think is a good sign. Superman stands for truth, justice, and the American way, but that doesn't mean the same thing that it did post-WWII. After the release of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, people said that Superman is the way America sees itself and Batman is the way the world sees America. Well, America is developing a more complicated view of itself, and that loss of innocence manifests itself tragically when Superman breaking Zod's neck. Sometimes being a benevolent force of good is harder than its cracked up to be.
Bryan Hickman is a WhatCulture contributor residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bryan's passions include film, television, basketball, and writing about himself in the third person.
