9. Clark Basically Kills Pa Kent - Superman
The emotionally-dripping moment in Man Of Steel when Pa Kent sacrifices himself in order to preserve Clark Kent's secret identity, and to teach him a not quite understandable lesson about saving the right people at the right time (more of which later) is presented as the key point of the entire narrative. Pa Kent dies to teach Clark a lesson, and it seems to work, but it's not the only time the poor old man has been offed by the Superman movie universe as a narrative device. Despite the fact that Pa Kent is probably the most important character in Clark's formative years, and it is his teaching that propels him to become Superman, as much as it is the wisdom imbued by his biological father, he is relegated in the first Superman movie to being a morality tale about knowing your limits. Almost immediately after we learn that Pa Kent has a pretty serious heart condition, Clark makes him go jogging, basically by questioning his masculinity by making him look inadequate in comparison to Clark's young, able body. Obviously, Pa Kent keels over and dies of massive heart failure almost immediately. Great work, Supes.