Released
Man Of Steel
Released: June 14th, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours, 23 minutes
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Writers: David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Harry Lennix
Significant characters introduced: Kal-El, Jor-El, General Zod, Lois Lane, Martha Kent, Jonathan Kent, General Swanwick, Lara Lor-Van, Perry White
Notable universe developments: Kal-El is born; General Zod is banished to the Phantom Zone; Kal-El travels to Earth and is adopted by the Kent family as Clark Kent; Clark learns to manage his superpowers; Lois Lane discovers the truth about Clark; General Zod arrives on Earth to reclaim the Kryptonian codex.
The film opens on Krypton, with the birth of Kal-El. His parents – Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) and Jor-El (Russell Crowe) – marvel at the first natural birth of a Kryptonian in centuries. The planet of Krypton has become unstable after generations of unchecked mining and, as Chief Advisor to the Supreme Council, Jor-El recommends that the Kryptonian leaders entrust him with the Codex – which contains the genetic map of all future Kryptonian generations. The Council is interrupted by General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his allies, however, as they attempt a murderous coup.
Escaping the bloodshed, Jor-El retrieves the Codex and infuses its contents with the DNA of his newborn son. Lara identifies Earth as a suitable planet to which they can send Kal – where he can physically blend in with the local people, while the yellow sun will make him far stronger than any could imagine. General Zod arrives to confront Jor-El, but cannot prevent them from launching Kal-El’s pod – and the military leader kills Jor-El as the infant departs.
The Kryptonian Council sentences General Zod and his co-conspirators to the Phantom Zone, though he swears revenge. Krypton – and everyone on it – is destroyed, and the Phantom Zone is knocked out of its orbit. Kal-El lands on Earth and begins his new life with Martha and Jonathan Kent (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner), on a farm in Smallville, Kansas – under the name Clark Kent. As he grows, various super powers begin to manifest in Clark and he finds them terrifying. With guidance from his parents, however, he learns to concentrate and manage his special abilities, while keeping them in check so as not to draw attention to himself. Occasionally, he’s forced to reveal his true self, however – such as when the school bus in which he’s travelling crashes off a bridge into a river.
As a teen, Clark (Henry Cavill) witnesses the death of his adoptive father as a tornado rips him from a queue of stopped cars while Clark keeps those sheltering beneath an overpass safe. He moves to save his him, but is told by Jonathan with a gesture to stay away – the devoted father not wanting his son to sacrifice his anonymity to save his life. Clark then sets off on a journey of self-discovery, travelling the country and leaving behind stories of extraordinary heroism.
When Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) arrives at a military investigation into a craft of unknown origin in the Canadian Arctic, she crosses paths with Clark, who’s there as a site worker to gain access to what’s revealed to be an old Kryptonian scout ship. She witnesses him gain entry to it, deep in the ice, and documents the entrance while Clark is inside, learning about his heritage.
Artificial intelligence presents him with a projection of his biological father, who proceeds to walk him through the history of Krypton – the way his people populated the stars and set up terra-forming colonies, until disaster struck, and the colonies began to fail. The Kryptonians began to implement population control and new generations were artificially created – genetically coded to fulfill a specific purpose in society. But it was all for naught, as environmental damage meant their race was doomed.
The projection of Jor-El guides Clark to a special suit and describes how he can use his special powers to help the people of Earth avoid a similar fate, encouraging him to investigate the extent of his abilities. Meanwhile, Lois is injured by a sentry drone in the ship and Clark immediately reveals his powers to her to save her life. Dropping her off in a safe place, Clark pilots the ship away, lands it in a remote location, and learns how to fly himself.
General Zod has been attracted by the activation of the Kryptonian ship, however, and arrives at Earth to collect Kal-El and retrieve the Codex. His intention is to use technology he’s collected from the damaged Phantom Zone and abandoned colonies to terra-form Earth and remake Krypton – at the expense of the entire human race. Clark – dubbed Superman by Lois Lane and the American military and media – vows to stop Zod and save humanity, but in doing so, he causes untold damage to Metropolis and ultimately has to take Zod’s life.
With Superman now an internationally recognized hero, and humanity adjusting to the presence of a ‘meta-human,’ Clark resumes his Earthly disguise – which Lois Lane has helped to keep – and gets a job at the Daily Planet, alongside Lois.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Released: March 25th, 2016
Runtime: 2 hours, 31 minutes
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Writers: Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer
Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Holly Hunter, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Scoot McNairy
Significant characters introduced: Bruce Wayne/Batman, Lex Luthor, Alfred, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Martha Wayne, Thomas Wayne, Aquaman, Cyborg, The Flash
Notable universe developments: Bruce Wayne seeks revenge for the destruction caused by Superman’s fight with General Zod; Lex Luthor seeks control over the Kryptonian resources left by General Zod, with a view to using them against Superman; Bruce Wayne unlocks a file containing information about other meta-humans; Lex Luthor kidnaps Martha Kent and blackmails Superman and Batman; Lex Luthor creates Doomsday; Wonder Woman reveals herself.
A young Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents – Thomas and Martha Wayne (Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan) – and struggles with his grief and anger. During their funeral, he breaks away from the procession to the family tomb, and falls into deep cave – disturbing a bat colony. In the present day, Bruce (Ben Affleck) has become the CEO of the Wayne Corporation and desperately tries to reach Wayne Tower in Metropolis as Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) cause unspeakable destruction during their battle. As buildings crumble, civilians are caught up in the mayhem in the streets below, with the Kryptonians seemingly oblivious in the skies above. Bruce Wayne is enraged and begins his descent into a spiral of dark vengeance.
Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is on assignment to interview a warlord at a remote location in Africa, when the meeting goes awry due to the presence of Russian mercenaries. As the mercenaries open fire and kill everyone within the compound walls, the warlord takes Lois hostage and Superman arrives. He saves Lois, but it soon becomes apparent that the entire situation was manufactured to frame Superman for regional violence that followed his rescue. As the media and the government seek to question Superman’s existence and motivations, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) tries to manipulate Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) into giving him access to the salvaged Kryptonian technology – in order to build a weapon against Superman.
Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, attends a fundraiser organized by Luthor and attempts to steal digital files from his server room. He’s thwarted by a mysterious woman (Gal Gadot) who steals them ahead of him and escapes but hands them to him when she’s unable to decrypt them. Bruce Wayne uses his advanced technology to open the files and discovers four snippets of video showing other, unidentified meta-humans – including the mysterious woman. He then has a dream of an apocalyptic future, and experiences a vision in which The Flash (Ezra Miller) contacts him through time and tells him that Lois Lane is the key.
When Senator Finch refuses to acquiesce to the demands of Lex Luthor, he manipulates a survivor of the Metropolis destruction (Scoot McNairy) to testify at a Congressional hearing, unknowingly using a Luthor-made wheelchair containing a bomb. When Superman arrives to testify, the bomb explodes, destroying the U.S Capitol building and killing many inside. Superman is blamed once again.
The respective activities of Superman and Batman cause both to be opposed to the work of the other – Batman feeling that Superman is a threat to the human race, and Superman feeling that Batman’s method of meting out brutal vigilante justice is morally wrong. Lex Luthor exploits this fundamental opposition by kidnapping Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and telling Superman that he has to kill Batman, or Matha dies. While the two superheroes are distracted with that, Luthor heads into the crashed Kryptonian ship with the corpse of General Zod and accesses the data banks to learn everything about the universe – and uses the ship and Zod’s body to create Doomsday. The giant Kryptonian creature absorbs aggression and becomes stronger with every attack.
Batman and Superman fight, with Batman using Kryptonite to level the playing field. Just as he’s about to kill Superman, however, the Man Of Steel mentions his mother’s name, and Batman is caught off guard. Having a mother that shares the same name, Batman is able to regain his humanity, and resolves to rescue Superman’s mother. Batman and Superman are then united in their fight against Doomsday – and are suddenly aided by Wonder Woman, who was the mysterious woman dealing with Bruce Wayne all along.
Superman sacrifices himself to kill Doomsday with Kryptonite and, while the world grieves for Superman, Lois Lane and Martha grieve for Clark Kent – who’s reported as having been killed in the destruction caused by Lex Luthor. The supervillain is incarcerated but, having lost his mind while learning about the universe, issues chilling warnings about an impending attack from a force beyond the stars.