Batman (who has a no kill rule) vs Superman (who does not have a no kill rule). Joker is right!

Listen, I’m not someone who overly complains about movies I don’t like. Man of Steel is fine, but it wasn’t for me. As far as this post goes:

Batman didn’t intentionally kill Harvey. He tackled him trying to save the kid, and Harvey ended up falling. I think that that works for the gritty world that the Nolanverse is portraying, though I still don’t love that Batman “kills” both Harvey and Ducard (because let’s be honest: he did). But that’s besides the point.

My issue with Man of Steel isn’t that Superman should’ve done something different in that moment. There were maybe other ways he could’ve saved that family, but he was in a tough position and he did what he had to do. I get that.

My problem is more that, as a writer, I don’t know that I’d put Superman in a situation like that. Like, I get that he had to kill Zod in that moment, but there are other ways you could write the script to avoid that altercation. When I say “I don’t like that Superman kills,” I’m not blaming the literal fictional character Superman. I’m saying I don’t love the script that puts Superman in a situation where he must kill. It’s the same reason I don’t love the evil Superman trope. Sure, this could happen to the character, but that doesn’t mean that it should or must.

I’m glad people like the movie, and I get that that choice really speaks to some people. But I’m not whining because I think Superman should’ve just let that family die. I just would prefer a Superman story that is more emblematic of the character’s hope and pure goodness winning out. I feel like the character gets around to this point in the Snyder Cut, which I quite enjoy, but I still wish Man of Steel would’ve taken a different approach. I know a lot of people have this outlook on No Way Home. I quite enjoyed Tom’s interpretation up to that point, but I also get that some people didn’t love it because it’s not their Spider-Man until this most recent movie. That’s fine. Other movies exist, and as long as you’re not a dick about it, that’s cool. I can go watch the Donner movies for now or wait until the next time this character pops up

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