Superman is one of the most famous superheroes in the history of the written word. He is most known for being something of a super-powered boy scout: he is as likely to save a cat out of a tree as he is to save the world from an ominous alien invasion. However, director Zack Snyder had a different approach to everyone’s favorite Kryptonian. He said that in order to give Superman a meaningful story arc, he had to make him evil.
This is not the first time a wicked version of Superman has been conjured in the minds of creators. In the graphic novel Superman: Red Son, The Man of Steel is an asset for the Soviet Empire. In the graphic novel and video game series Injustice, Superman operates as a tyrannical dictator.
Meanwhile, audiences have never seen an ‘evil’ Superman on the big screen before Snyder used the character. Particularly in Man of Steel, Superman causes untold amounts of destruction in Metropolis during a fight against his foe and fellow Kryptonian, General Zod. The fight culminates when Superman breaks General Zod’s neck before the villain can kill a family with his heat-vision.
Snyder could have written his way out of Superman acting like a proverbial nuclear missile, but chose not to. This goes against the ethos of a character so old that he predates World War Two. While Snyder thinks Superman must be evil to be given a valuable story arc, eons of comic book lore and several previous movies beg to differ. The charismatic director was simply trying to reinvent the wheel.
Previous Superman Films and TV Adaptations
Over the course of five feature films, from 1978’s Superman to 2006’s Superman Returns, The Man of Steel has a consistent code of conduct and morality. Whether he is challenging Lex Luthor or actually spinning the Earth backward to reverse time, he is always an eager do-gooder. Nothing about the being’s inherent goodness has prevented him from having a meaningful silver screen story arc five times over.
As icing on the cake, Superman has also been featured in the TV series Smallville and Superman: The Animated Series. In those adaptations, Clark Kent (Smallville) and Superman (Superman: The Animated Series) are somewhat campy and very optimistic figures during their respective character arcs.
Superman in the Comics
As previously mentioned, Superman has several generations’ worth of comic book lore at the disposal of writers and directors who use the character. From the very first issue of Superman, he has been a kind Kryptonian who plays at being a human unless his unique skill set is called for.
Even in more recent decades, as superhero comics have become a bit darker, Superman’s graphic novels have largely not followed this trend. From Mark Waid’s Superman: Birthright to Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman, the most powerful mainstream DC superhero has been a shining beacon as opposed to a tyrannical overlord.
One Marvel Superhero Serves as a Movie Model
Over at the competition’s headquarters, the ‘House of Ideas’ has a superhero that could have served as a parallel for Snyder’s Superman. Thor Odinson is the Norse God of Thunder who wields lightning with ease. He actually has a lot in common with Superman: wildly out-of-this-world superpowers, is not a human being, and is one of the last of his kind.
In three solo films and every Avengers movie, Thor is an affable character who is consistently trying to do what is right. While not the boy-scout persona that Superman dons, the two are comparable enough to douse the flames of Snyder’s argument that a character like Superman has to be evil in order to have a great story arc.
Superman is not Uniquely ‘Evil’ in his Three Zack Snyder Appearances
As previously mentioned, Superman causes untold amounts of collateral damage in Man of Steel. He has only recently come into the full potential of his powers and is reckless when fighting General Zod.
One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of the word ‘evil’ is, “something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity.” Using that definition, then Superman is evil in Man of Steel. However, so is virtually every Avenger in The Avengers during the Battle of New York. Hell, so are the Avengers in almost every solo adventure or team-up movie. Superman is just not unique in how he causes mayhem at the end of Man of Steel.
Given Superman’s history in film, on the small screen, and in comic book panels, there is simply no reason to insist that he be made to be evil in order to have a meaningful story arc. To say so shows a lack of imagination and more than some hubris on Snyder’s part. The honest comeback is Snyder simply prefers to revel in metaphorically and literally dark universes in his films. The man is a visionary, but Superman is like the great white shark: perfectly made for its ecosystem the first time.