9. So The World Isn't Ready For Superman... But Then Suddenly It Is
There's also a lot of long-winded speeches about how the world isn't ready for Superman. Jonathan even lets himself die to prove that (more on that later). But then General Zod shows up, and suddenly the world is ready for him... Um, why exactly? I mean yeah, technically Superman needs to show himself to protect the world from Zod, but I thought the idea of "being ready" was more philosophical than literal. Superman should have proved himself to the world BEFORE being outed by a threat from above. It's a little strange that Supes goes through this whole transformation of discovering the Fortress of Solitude, putting on the costume, becoming a flying Jesus, and then... going back to hang out with Ma on the farm. Maybe the progression of Superman: The Movie is still too fresh on my mind, but in that movie his transformation in the Fortress of Solitude causes him to "become ready." In the "Superman's first night" sequence he demonstrates this by revealing himself to the world on his own terms. He rescues as many people as he can on a single night, proving that he's someone to be trusted. Because, in MOS, Superman doesn't reveal himself until Zod calls him out, it makes his whole mantra ring a little hollow. Kal should be ready to save the world as soon as he puts on the suit; instead he passively returns to the farm. If he wanted to prove himself, he should have done so by helping people right after he became Superman, not because an outside threat reluctantly forced his hand.