Category: FAQ

Welcome to Man of Steel Answers!  If this is your first time on the site, it mainly hosts the Man of Steel Answer Insight Commentary (MOSAIC) podcast which is an exhaustive look at 2013’s Man of Steel, the Superman mythos, and surrounding DC cinematic universe topics.

MOSAIC has commentary on Man of Steel‘s Act One in the following episodes:

• 12 Oil Rig Virtues – Heroism – All the work this scene does
• 13 Flashbacks – Theft- Maybe – Examining the flashbacks, Clark stealing, and Jonathan’s answer, “Maybe.”
• 15 You Are My Son – Understanding Jonathan – Jonathan reveals Clark’s origins
• 17 Trucker Tantrum – Action Tribute – Why Clark snaps and the tribute to Action Comics No. 1
• 19 Ellesmere – Tornado Topics – Blame – Clark travels to Ellesmere Island
• 23 Arctic Adventure – Lois – Perry – Lois Lane’s first appearance until Clark meets Jor-El
• 24 Jor-El’s Hologram – So Many Questions – Meeting Jor-El until flying
• 26 Symbol – Suit – Flight – Clark’s first flight
• 29 Sonic Boom – Search – Cemetery – Structure -First flight, Lois’s search, the cemetery scene, and structure until now
• 30 Tornado Part 1 – Past – Safe – Conversation in the station wagon and priming
• 31 Tornado Part 2 – Present – Judgment – Reasons for why the scene unfolded as it did in-story
• 32 Tornado Part 3 – Understanding Themes – Reasons for why the scene unfolded as it did creatively

Certain episodes are focused on answering questions revolving around a central theme:

• 1 – Kryptonian Tech – The technology left behind and its potential impact
• 3 – Powers – Super Hearing and X-Ray Vision – Part 1 of 3 on Powers
• 4 – Powers – Heat Vision – Super Strength – Invulnerability – Part 2 of 3 on Powers
• 5 – Powers – Speed – Flight – Telekinesis – Part 3 of 3 on Powers
• 6 – Weaknesses – Atmosphere Explanation – Environment – Equipment – Part 1 of 2 on Weaknesses
• 7 – Weaknesses Part 2- Observed – Speculated – Interests – Part 2 of 2 on Weaknesses
• 8 – Zack Loves Superman – Answering Superman Fan Fears for BvS – BvS will honor Superman
• 9 – Secret Identity – Addressing issues with the secret identity in MOS and going forwards
• 10 – Jor-El’s Plan – Explaining the logic of Jor-El’s plan
• 11 – Lois Lane – Answering questions related to Lois Lane
• 16 – The Amazon and the Atlantean – Wonder Woman and Aquaman history; how magic affects Superman
• 18 – Color – Context – Grades of Gray – Lex Luthor – Why was MOS color graded the way that it was?
• 21 – Never Ending Anyway – Superman’s endurance through trials and tribulations
• 25 – DCCU Speculation – Creators – Business – A look at the creators and business behind the films
• 26 – Symbol – Suit – Flight – History of the S-Shield, the costume, and bringing flight to film
• 33 – Fighting Ability – Culture – Character – Kryptonian martial training, culture, and why Zod lost
• 41 – Batman and Superman – The history of Batman through the lens of Superman

Finally, several episodes are dedicated to reacting to news or answering mailbag questions:

• 5b – DC Cinematic Universe Roadmap
• 10 – Suicide Squad – Flash vs. Arrow
• 14 – Epic Mailbag
• 20 – Batman v. Superman Teaser Trailer
• 22 – Mailbag – Suicide Squad Cast Photo
• 27 – Batman v. Superman Comic-Con Trailer
• 28 – Suicide Squad Comic-Con Trailer
• 34 – Thanksgiving – Mailbag
• 35 – Batman v. Superman Trailer 2
• 36 – Batman v. Superman TV Spots
• 37 – Dawn of the Justice League
• 38 – The World of Batman v. Superman
• 39 – Batman v. Superman Final Trailer

Index of selected videos:

• Man of Steel Myths: Superman Saves No One – While it’s easy to criticize those not saved lets count those who were
• Man of Steel Myths: The Scout Ship Was Destroyed – Long before BvS made this clear, pointing out its persistence and potential
• Man of Steel Myths: Superman Killed Viable Kryptonians – Was there viable life within the Scout Ship?  What did Superman mean by “Krypton had its chance?”
• Man of Steel Myths: Metropolis Was Annihilated – How much and how badly was Metropolis actually damaged?
• Man of Steel Myths: Clark Should Have Used Super Speed – Rhetorical questions illustrating Clark’s lack of invisible, harmless super speed up to the tornado scene
• Man of Steel Myths: Zod Should Have Terraformed Mars – Reasons to suggest why Earth was the inevitable candidate
• Man of Steel Myths: 6 Mini Myths – 1. Jenny Olsen, 2. Superman Never Tried To Move The Fight, 3. Fight Never Left Metropolis, 4. Hostage Family Died, 5. Cover Zod’s Eyes, 6. Smile
• Man of Steel’s Action Comics No. 1 Tribute – Potential reference to Action Comics No. 1
• Man of Steel Myths: Lois Shouldn’t Have Fallen / The Singularity Was A Black Hole – Why does Lois fall while debris goes up?  What does the singularity do?
• How to Pronounce Gal Gadot – As spoken by her and other Israelis.
• Man of Steel Myths: Zod Fight Criticisms – Why dodge the oil tanker?  Why did Zod dominate?  How much collateral damage?

I’ve been looking forwards to Superman American Alien for some time now.  The nature of monthly serial storytelling and the demands of the current market make it tough to do character studies.  In the regular books, fans have trouble delaying gratification or having reasonable expectations, and seem to judge every scant 22-pages against cherry-picked memories spanning decades.  That’s a pretty high bar to clear when the vast majority of comic books are- by definition- average or below average (or else you need to recalibrate your normalizations).

Yet, the structure and approach of American Alien allows it to mitigate these concerns.  Divorced from continuity, the reader should immediately approach this with an open mind rather than preparing to drop the gavel of judgment for some continuity flub or heretical addition, subtraction, or modification.  As an anthology series (which is, perhaps, one of my favorite forms of storytelling), each issue does deliver on a complete story.  With different artists for each story, deadlines can be met, tone and topic can turn on a dime, and again the audience is challenged to open their mind rather than expect the same thing again and again.

They don’t have to like every artist or story equally, but the format immediately implies different approaches and angles which broadens the mind, because some comic fans and Superman fans can be fairly narrow-minded and very particular in their tastes.  The approach means that even they can just pick and choose what resonates with them without having to throw out the entire anthology series.  While each issue needs to relate an entire story, understanding that you’re getting vignettes allows you to skip and cut and breath more than in a standard format, which means Max Landis gets to get into character more than your typical issue.

The canonical shifting of core identity from Superman to Clark Kent Post-Crisis has always made sense to me and is, at this point, probably the more enduring interpretation of the character (with shades of nuance and variance in-between).  For that reason, I’ve always loved Clark Kent and wanted to see more of him in the comics.  So when Max Landis describes the series as “this is what made him Clark Kent” I’m excited, irrespective of any disagreements I may have with him on Superman otherwise.  As long as he’s telling an emotionally truthful story, I don’t care if it’s “not my Superman” it’s still something that adds to the tapestry of the mythos for future fans and creators to pick and pull from.

Issue #1 is entitled “Dove” and I think it’s pretty clear that it’s not meant in the ornithological sense, beyond being a bird of flight, but more the Western symbolic tradition of doves representing love and especially peace (particularly given that the second issue is entitled “Hawk”).  In that sense, this story is Clark in the peaceful womb of childhood, Smallville, and his parents’ love.  It’s sweet and mostly sincere.  I enjoyed it greatly and am looking forwards to the “brutal” issue two,  “sexy” issue three, thoughtful issue four, and so on.

Given Regarding Clark, the comparisons between American Alien and Man of Steel are somewhat unavoidable and easy to take some parts as slights or indictments against Man of Steel, whether real or imagined, intentional or not.  Nonetheless, despite the differences, I see way more similarities than Landis probably even realizes and shows these aren’t as far apart or as in conflict as some might like you to believe.  Rather, there are some elements that show both storytellers looked to modernize and update their respective takes in a grounded, human, and relevant fashion.

The Importance of Flight (and Super Speed)

The power of flight is central to both stories and not to be taken for granted.  Without flight, Clark’s ability to intervene and interact with the world is severely limited.  However, with flight, the possibilities seem endless to 12 year old Clark in American Alien by the end of the issue and they can’t help but make Clark beam in Man of Steel.  We’ve talked on show how flight was transformative and allowed Clark to be who he wanted to be, see family, avoid detection, and broaden his horizons, MOS gets to present it in a visual montage where we see him circle the globe, gain incredible speed, ally with Lois, and come home to Martha.  In AA, Clark excitedly lists off all the possibilities.

As a general rule of thumb, the later in life Clark gains the power of flight (and/or super speed) the more grounded- no pun intended- the take on Superman will be.  When Clark is flying around the crib, we can expect a more playful rendition.  If Clark doesn’t discover flight until working as a Hollywood stuntman long after leaving the dust bowl, we’re reading the more serious It’s Superman by Tom DeHaven.  Many of the traits people would like to take for granted develop in different ways depending on when Clark discovers his ability to fly.  At least for the purposes of this first issue, a younger Clark suits the tone and characterization.

The joy of flight mastered is evident in both.

Out Of Control

In both stories, Clark’s inability to control his powers leaves him confused, exposed, and potentially dangerous.  The same fear and lack of control is evident in being unable to command himself to land as Clark suffered in experiencing sensory overload while in class.  While angry, Clark breaks a bathroom door, mirror, and wall in AA; and in MOS, Clark crushes a fence post and turns a truck into a pretzel.  In both, the unintended consequences is others getting hurt, Jon cutting his foot or Clark’s teacher burning her hand.  Clark is moved to tears in both because of how frightened they are.

Protective Parents

In both, the Kents are protective and come to the rescue, even at their own expense.  Mars risks life and limb climbing into the sky with Clark, Jon finds himself hanging out of a biplane.  Martha rushes to school and stands defiant against Zod, while Jonathan faces a tornado and gives his life so that Clark can have a few more years of normalcy.

Flashbacks As Thoughts

Both storytellers use flashbacks as a cinematic way to inform the audience of the characters’ contemporaneous thoughts.  In MOS, the flashbacks served to show what Clark was thinking, feeling, or experiencing in the present.  In AA, the flashback serves to show what Jon is dreaming that evening.

Allowed to Grow Up

Both sets of Kents do not subject Clark to a battery of scientific tests and recognize that as inhuman to do so.  Mars says, “We’d never [get him looked at by some real scientists], Jack.  Never.  He’s our son.  Right, Jon?”  Jonathan never goes any further than to have the Command Key tested.  Both are aware of the import and consequences of involving “real scientists” into Clark’s development.  Instead, both sets of Kents impress upon Clark the necessity of keeping his secret, simultaneously with the desire to allow him to grow up before seriously using his gifts.  “No, duh, people would see me!  I’m just kidding.  But maybe I could later… when I’m older?”

Driven By Necessity

It may be easy to romantically cast Jon as more readily embracing Clark’s nature than Jonathan, but both fathers were driven by the necessity of keeping Clark’s secret.  Jon didn’t explore Clark’s ability to fly until he was 12.  Clark says, “I mainly happens when I’m sleeping.”  That means that this has happened more than once and enough times to create a pattern for Clark to observe.  That means that Jon and Mars knew Clark had ascended into the sky, terrified and uncontrolled, on multiple occasions before involving Dr. Jack.  It would be unkind to call that negligent parenting considering the otherworldly circumstances without precedent, but note that even after visiting Dr. Jack, there was still no change in parenting.

It isn’t until Clark uncontrollably floats in public that Jon is forced to take a different approach.  This wasn’t some kind and romantic embrace and endorsement of Clark being alien.  It was a necessary approach after Jon was at the end of his rope of suppression, expert examination, and neglect.  When the power manifested publicly, Jon had no other choice but to embrace Clark learning to fly.  Arguably the emphasis changed from “don’t fly” to “learn to fly” but the impetus and the goal remains (learning to fly is also how not to fly).  Clark flying meant preserving his secret, his safety, and all the blessings of flight.  It made logical sense for Jon to push Clark to learn.  However, don’t forget that even though Jon and Mars knew Clark was nigh invulnerable, they put up with Clark floating multiple times and didn’t train until Clark’s power went public.  Jon did not embrace flying the moment Clark discovered he could float.

Similarly, despite people casting Jonathan as unnecessarily restricting Clark’s nature and powers, the challenges faced by Jonathan and Martha were also driven by necessity and love.  Their Clark was in pain from a young age and capable of inflicting harm on others.  By necessity, Jonathan and Martha had to train Clark to focus, restrain, and suppress his powers for his own sake and for those around him.  In AA, if Clark gets hit by a car or accidentally floats, no one gets hurt.  In MOS, a young Clark would experience the same agony that caused a war-hardened adult Zod and Faora to crumple unless he could learn to focus; if Clark didn’t restrain and suppress his powers, people could die on the other end of his heat-vision.

So Jonathan and Martha intervened and trained Clark far earlier and Clark mastered his abilities far sooner; such that he wasn’t experiencing the same uncontrolled powers at 13 that AA Clark had at 12.  The danger and the necessity pushed Jonathan and Martha to be better teachers which meant Clark could live a normal childhood longer and not have the same terror or public incidents AA Clark did.  In AA, Jon had every incentive to push Clark to master a known power, floating, in order to keep his secret and for all the benefits of flight.  In MOS, the Kents already did that job years prior; Clark mastered his known powers and could keep his secret and keep himself and others safe from them.  There was no incentive or logical necessity in pushing MOS Clark to test his limits or crazily assume he might fly.  In AA, Jon knew what he’d be getting if Clark mastered flight, moreover he needed to for Clark’s safety and secret.  In MOS, Jonathan would have no idea what would happen if they pushed Clark to test his limits or powers and didn’t need to.

Both stories approach the parenting from parents who love their sons but raise them differently based on need, not because of some romantic meta-narrative about embracing Clark’s identity.  Neither shies away from understanding that Clark is an alien with powers but also, “You are my son.”

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I finally got to watch the pilot episode of Supergirl and can’t wait for the rest of the season.  Supergirl allows people to indulge in their preconceptions about Superman but also have those tested or turned on their side by Supergirl.

If you missed Monday night’s premiere and aren’t faced with region issues, you can watch or rewatch the first episode of Supergirl for free at CBS, Amazon, Google Play (with coupon), iTunes, and other streaming services.  Or watch the episode with commentary by Executive Producers Ali Adler and Sarah Schechter along with Director Glen Winter here.  [I haven’t watched the commentary yet.]

As someone with a broad palate for all things within the Superman family (even Krypto) I was really pleased with Supergirl especially from the character drama and soapy relationship angle.  Basically anytime Kara was emoting, I was engaged, and there’s some adventurous action that does its job.

Of course, as someone who loves Man of Steel, I couldn’t help but admire some of the parallels that show these two takes on Kryptonian cousins aren’t as far apart or as in conflict as some might like you to believe.  Rather, there are some elements that show both storytellers looked to modernize and update their respective supers in a grounded, human, and relevant.

Starting on Krypton

Both open on Krypton to establish these are beings from another world.  Very different yet also very human, with families who love them, mourn their loss, who feel fear and passion, experience tragedy, and hold hopes and dreams.  Both mothers, Lara and Alura send off their children with tearful goodbyes.

Sent With A Mission

Both Kal-El and Kara are sent to Earth with a mission.  Kal-El carries Jor-El and Lara’s hopes and dreams for a better world, one without the mistakes of Krypton.  Alura wants Kara to survive and from the outset to act as a protector.

Not According To Plan

Yet, both suffer frustrations with the plans of their parents as well was unexpected complications.  Clark isn’t a “god” growing up.  Kara doesn’t protect or look over Kal-El.  Zod’s survival was not a part of Jor-El’s plan.  Kara’s 24-year detour with Fort Rozz trailing behind was not a part of Alura’s plan.

Life Changed At Age 13

Both experience a life-changing moment at that critical age of 13.  Clark saves a bus full of children using his powers, his alien origins are revealed to him, and he agrees to have a normal childhood.  Kara is ripped from her home planet and family, then arrives on a new planet without her mission, and adopted by a new family.

Same Safe Human-Type Childhood

Despite this trials and changes, both Clark and Kara have commitments towards having “safe human-type childhoods.”  Clark didn’t become Superboy or act out adventures from Smallville.  Kara followed the advice of her Superman and grew up a normal well-adjusted person. read more