Examining the largest inconsistencies in the DCEU, Henry Cavill's Superman Didn't Quite Fly
Henry Cavill's DCEU performance of Superman was a mixed bag. Although he caught the power and charm of the character, some of the writing decisions and story elements made for some head-scratching events. Let's get into some of the more dubious facets of Cavill's Superman trip.
1. Why did Superman fail to just turn Zod's head?
In Man of Steel, Superman's choice to break Zod's neck—driven by the need to shield innocent onlookers from Zod's heat vision—left many viewers questioning why he couldn have just moved Zod's head away from the throng. Superman's amazing might seems incompatible with his incapacity to move Zod's head a few inches toward safety. Although the sequence was emotionally strong, the practicality of the fix seemed, well, dubious.
2. Death of Superman's Father: Missed Opportunity or Tragic Sacrifice?
The terrible, heart-wrenching event of Jonathan, Clark Kent's father's death in a tornado was It also begged problems regarding Superman's priorities, though. His super-speed should have let him to remain invisible and quickly save his father. This scenario emphasizes the moral conundrum felt partly synthetic in nature—that of preserving his hidden identity against compromising the lives of people he loved.
3. Resurrected Anger: Why Did Superman Target His Allies?
It was strange and ill justified when Superman's angry outburst upon his resurrection in Justice League targeted his comrades. Although the movie tried to defend his behavior by confusing his return from the dead, it lacked a strong justification for his hostility toward people who had helped him actively. Superman's awareness of Lois Lane right upon waking, suggesting his clear mind, added to the lack of justification for his aggressive actions.
4. The Obvious Clark Kent: A Secret Identity Gone Bad
Particularly in Man of Steel, Clark Kent's timid reporting disguise was famously un believable. Particularly in light of Lois Lane's rapid unmasking of Superman without much effort, the movie underlined the obvious discrepancies of his secret identity. Superman's alter ego's lack of nuance highlighted a major weakness in the movie's execution and compromised the natural suspense of a hero hiding in plain sight.
5. Superman's Godly Nature: Deviant from Comic Book Lore
Unlike the traditional Superman of the comics, the DCEU's portrayal of him sometimes showed him as a more god-like character than a relevant human being. Particularly Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice highlighted this difference by depicting a Superman who appeared cut off from mankind and battled to relate to. This representation, which concentrated on Superman's inner conflicts with his strength and his difficulties to interact to people, felt alien from the comics' picture of Superman as a beacon of hope and compassion.
6. A Vandalizing Hero: Superman's Minimal Reaction
Viewers voiced questions about Superman's choice to damage the trucker's vehicle in Man of Steel, apparently motivated by small-town resentment. Superman's apparently disproportionate act of revenge—using his superhuman strength to penetrate the truck several times—felt out of character and a divergence from his normal sense of fairness. It also set a situation whereby the damaged vehicle owner might reveal his identity, therefore highlighting a lack of foresight and careful thought of the effects of his acts.
7. Collateral Damage: Superman and the Battlegrounds Smallville and Metropolis
Another contentious feature of Man of Steel was Superman's conflicts' destructive character, especially in Metropolis and Smallville. Even if Superman had the authority to relocate the fight to a less populated region, his disrespect of the safety of people throughout these battles showed a startling contradiction to his claimed commitment to preserving human life. The great damage these conflicts brought about—many innocent lives lost—generated major criticism for the movie and how Superman was portrayed.
8. Waking of the Motherboxes: A Questionable Trigger
The way the DCEU portrayed the Motherboxes—old alien relics with amazing powers—introduced an odd link to Superman's death in Justice League. Presumably sleeping for millennia, the Motherboxes were awakened upon "hearing" Superman's death scream. Given the Motherboxes' existence on Earth long before Superman arrived, this handy activation felt manufactured and pointless. Viewers were left wondering this inexplicable and somewhat ridiculous link between Superman and the Motherboxes.
9. Amajagh's fate: a plot point executed inconsistently
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice's battle between Superman and the warlord Amajagh—which culminated in Superman's aggressive contact with Amajagh—created an unclear scenario. Although Superman apparently beat Amajagh, he later claimed not to have killed him even though he used lethal force. Zack Snyder's assurance that Amajagh lived finally cleared this uncertainty over Amajagh's fate, so leaving viewers with unresolved concerns and lack of clarity concerning the aftermath of the tragedy.
10. The Scene Known as "Martha": An Odd Moment
Much fun was had over the iconic "Martha" moment in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which Superman and Batman's common mother's name turned out to be the secret to quelling their conflict. Beyond its ridiculous premise, the sequence begged issues regarding Superman's approach of treating his mother. Calling his mother by her first name—especially in a life-or-death scenario—felt strange and out of character for a Midwestern country lad schooled on conventional American values. This sequence was a perfect illustration of the DCEU's challenges to keep a consistent and credible portrayal of Superman.
