Why Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' Failed to Capture Superman

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was a box-office hit that split audiences. Its darkest moment—the climactic scene in which Superman snaps General Zod's neck—was staged as a traumatic act to save a family but was also meant to shock. For many viewers it felt at odds with Superman as a symbol of hope.

Snyder defended the choice in a 2016 Wall Street Journal profile, saying, "I was surprised with the fervency of the defense of the concept of Superman. I feel like they were taking it personally that I was trying to grow up their character." Snyder's remark exposed a wider creative impulse in the film: treating Superman's mythic qualities as something to be tamed.

Many of his visual choices lean into fear and destruction—the glowing red heat vision and muted palette present power as frightening rather than inspiring. That approach contrasts with directors who aimed for verisimilitude while preserving the character’s uplifting core, and it often reads as preference for what looks "cool" over what makes Superman enduringly beloved.

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