15 Greatest Heroic Sacrifices In Comic Book Movies

15. Jonathan Kent - Man Of Steel

The moment in Man Of Steel that sees Kevin Costner's moralising Pa Kent meet his windy maker is one of the most heavily criticised in Superman movie history, mostly because fans think he should have allowed his son to save him.

There's an argument for that, but as symbolic gestures go, Kent taking a tornado to the face to preserve his son's secret and to protect him from the ostracising and alienation that would inevitably follow (it literally did anyway) is a pretty profound one.

Kent allowing himself to be killed basically underpins Clark's philosophy for hiding in the shadows, and not going full Iron Man as a public superhero. It also limits him to that sort of captivity, as abandoning his secret identity would be tantamount to allowing his father to die for nothing. It's a lot more clever than it appears, when you think about it.