Looking back, Henry Cavill’s Superman had a lot of questionable moments in the DCEU, with several aspects of the character being hard to justify in retrospect. Poor Henry Cavill could’ve been one of the single greatest actors to play Superman ever, with the charisma, physicality, and acting skill to carry the iconic American hero on the silver screen. Unfortunately, Cavill was consistently let down by the baffling writing choices of the DCEU, particularly Zack Snyder, which left his take on the hero less than satisfying in several regards.
The fact is that the films of the DCEU were riddled with plot holes, many of which revolved around Superman himself. Not only that, but directors like Snyder fundamentally misunderstood the character of Clark Kent, resulting in a very comic-inaccurate portrayal that further lessened Cavill’s Superman credibility. Hopefully, James Gunn’s upcoming Superman will be able to recognize and fix the things about Cavill’s Man of Steel that didn’t work while keeping what did intact.
Superman Kills Zod When He Could’ve Just As Easily Turned His Head
Man of Steel
Unlike Zack Snyder’s bloodthirsty Batman, Henry Cavill’s Superman at least had some resistance to using lethal force when it came to taking down criminals. However, his hand is seemingly forced while locked in single combat with the antagonist of Man of Steel, the tyrannical Kryptonian General Zod. With Zod in a headlock, the General activates his heat vision, coming dangerously close to melting a group of terrified bystanders.
To prevent this, Superman tearfully snaps Zod’s neck, resulting in a powerful shockwave. The poignant nature of this moment is undercut by a curious plot hole. If Superman had the strength to straight up break Zod’s neck in the opposite direction, then surely he could’ve simply turned Zod’s head away from the bystanders long enough for them to get to safety. Considering what becomes of Zod’s corpse, not doing so ends up being one of Superman’s worst decisions in the movies.
9Superman Doesn’t Save His Dad Despite Moving Faster Than The Eye Can See
Man of Steel
Like the old adage says, Henry Cavill’s Superman is faster than a speeding bullet, capable of dashing across city blocks faster than the human eye can track. He even has the speed and reflexes to keep up with The Flash in Justice League, being the only being capable of detecting Barry while in the Speed Force. But despite all this, Superman allows his father to die in a tornado in order to keep his identity hidden, a baffling choice which only happens for the sake of manufactured drama.
For one, the moral calculus of Superman allowing his father to die in order to protect his own secret is inherently uncomfortable. But more importantly, especially within the hectic scene of the twister, Clark could’ve easily moved fast enough to save his father without anyone else perceiving him. The DCEU’s Jon Kent dies for essentially no good reason, being one of the biggest misses of Henry Cavill’s Superman.
Superman Fights The First People He Sees After Being Resurrected
Justice League
In Justice League, Superman is resurrected to join the newly-formed superhero group in the fight against Darkseid, a terrifying alien dictator with his sights set on Earth. But the team clearly takes some settling into, as the first thing Clark does upon being revived is go on a rampage against his saviors, nearly killing them all by himself. Why exactly he has such a visceral violent response to his allies is never adequately explained in the rest of the film.
It could be argued that, in his stupor and confusion from just returning from the afterlife, Superman could be in full fight-or-flight mode, somewhat justifying his need to lash out. Yet soon after resurrecting, Clark recognizes Lois, implying that he is of sound mind. In that case, he should also recognize at least Batman and Wonder Woman as allies who helped him in the fight against Doomsday, even if he did have a fight with Batman beforehand. He even asks Batman if he bleeds, calling back to their previous match and proving he was in control for the rematch.
7The DCEU’s Clark Kent Is The Most Obvious Of Them All
Man of Steel
Clark Kent is infamous for being poorly disguised as Superman, considering that in his hero persona, Kent doesn’t bother to wear a mask of any kind. However, performances like Christopher Reeves’ Superman and Clark Kent demonstrate just how effective a pair of glasses can be in combination with a total shift in demeanor and posture, Superman hiding in plain sight. Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent never gets much development compared to Superman, and has one of the most paper-thin alibis of any Superman interpretation.
Man of Steel contains a particularly egregious example of this, with Lois Lane quickly figuring out Clark’s secret without too much trouble. Even if Lois is a genius reporter, she doesn’t do a great job maintaining the illusion, loudly calling Superman Clark in full view of a police officer that just drove her to the isolated Kent farm. It’s hard to believe that Henry Cavill’s Superman wouldn’t have a secret identity that was public knowledge after the first movie.
6Snyder’s Superman Has A God-Like POV That Conflicts With His Background
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
More importantly that simple plot holes and narrative contradictions, the most alarming bit of confusion regarding the DCEU’s Superman is the series’ fundamental misunderstanding of the character. Though an all-powerful alien he may be, at the end of the day, Clark Kent was still raised on a farm in the Midwest, and his personality should reflect that. But Snyder’s Superman is far more godly than worldly, with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice being particularly rife with this problem.
This interpretation is entirely antithetical to what is understood about Superman in the comics, eschewing tradition in favor of making Superman one of Zack Snyder’s many Jesus allegories .
The film revolves around Superman’s struggle to relate to humanity, as if he spent the majority of his life on Krypton rather than just a few moments of his infancy. He confesses to Lois that he worries he didn’t see Luthor’s bomb in the courtroom because he wasn’t looking for it, suggesting a waning level of empathy for the human race. This interpretation is entirely antithetical to what is understood about Superman in the comics, eschewing tradition in favor of making Superman one of Zack Snyder’s many Jesus allegories.
5Destroying The Logging Truck Should’ve Outed Clark As Superman
Man of Steel
Despite claiming to have the classical good heart of Superman with a healthy amount of detached godhood mixed in, Henry Cavill’s Superman could be surprisingly petty. Not scene better exemplifies this than the diner scene in Man of Steel, in which Clark Kent encounters an obnoxious trucker while eating at a bar. The trucker harasses one of the diner’s waitresses and pours his drink on Superman’s head, clearly deserving of some level of retaliation.
Yet Superman’s response is to find the trucker’s rig and pierce it multiple times with the logs it was carrying, leaving him with a twisted hunk of inoperable metal in the diner’s parking lot. This clearly paranormal display of strength should’ve tipped off the trucker that he knew of Superman’s identity the second he learned of the hero’s existence on the news, and would likely be eager to share that information to get revenge. This display of vandalism, for all intents and purposes, should’ve gotten Clark Kent exposed right away.
Superman Takes On Fights In Populated Areas
Man of Steel
Keeping in line with Superman’s inconsistent value of human life in the DCEU, Man of Steel features two cataclysmic Kryptonian-on-Kryptonian battles that surely claimed hundreds of innocent lives as a byproduct of the destruction. Somehow, Superman doesn’t seem to consider this, causing wanton destruction as he hurls his opponents through Smallville and Metropolis. Not only that, but Superman even flies low around the city and attempts to take cover in buildings, inviting further destruction of innocent lives at the hands of his enemies.
This is especially inexcusable in the Smallville battle, which could’ve had Superman easily lure his opponent out into the empty cornfields surrounding the Kansas town rather than smashing them through the local IHOP. Man of Steel received some loud criticism for this, leading to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to go to great lengths to describe the destruction and ensure cities were evacuated in future superpowered brawls. Still, it makes no sense that Cavill’s Superman would’ve allowed such chaos in the first place.
3Superman’s Death Waking Up The Motherboxes
Justice League
Justice League had a lot of DC Comics lore to cram into its admittedly lengthy runtime, with the Motherboxes being tantamount to the film’s plot. MacGuffins on the same caliber of the MCU’s Infinity Stones, the Motherboxes are three ancient alien artifacts with incredible properties whose activation lures Steppenwolf, and by extension, Darkseid, to Earth. In the DCEU, the Motherboxes awaken from their dormant state upon “hearing” the death scream of Henry Cavill’s Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
This might be the single most hand-waived piece of lore in the entire DCEU. It seems bizarre that upon his death, Superman would scream at a frequency unique enough to activate the Motherboxes worldwide. It doesn’t make sense for them to be encoded to respond to the death of a Kryptonian on purpose either, considering the devices were on Earth long before Superman’s arrival. The relationship of Henry Cavill’s Superman to the Motherboxes was one of the most curious aspects of the character throughout the DCEU.
2Superman Didn’t Kill Amajagh, But Not For Lack Of Trying
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The plot regarding the warlord Amajagh was one of the most maddening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s many logical dead-ends with Superman. Lois Lane finds herself in the clutches of the terrorist after her partner, Jimmy Olsen, is revealed as a CIA agent, prompting a response from Superman. In a desperate move, Amajagh holds Lois Lane hostage with a gun to her head. After smirking at her superpowered lover, Lane drops her hands from Amajagh’s arm, allowing Superman to dash forward and send him through several concrete walls.
By all logical means, this should’ve killed Amajagh, and the character is indeed not seen again for the remainder of the movie. Yet it’s only when Luthor shows up to frame the murder of Amajagh and his men on Superman (with bullets, somehow) that Clark complains that he did nothing wrong in the situation, despite using lethal force against Lois’ kidnapper. It took Zack Snyder confirming Amajagh survived the attack behind-the-scenes to clear up the matter, which still fails to stand up to scrutiny.
1Superman Calls His Mom By Her First Name
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The “Martha” scene of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has become one of the most infamous moments in the history of the DCEU, and for good reason. Even if the fact that Batman and Superman’s mothers both share a first name had never been acknowledged by a film before, it seems arbitrary that this realization would be the thing that got both heroes to stop fighting in such a delicate situation. But beyond the mechanics of why screaming his mother’s name caused Batman to hesitate, the scene doesn’t make sense for a different reason.
Being a grain-fed Midwestern farm boy raised on classic American values, it seems incredibly unlikely that Clark Kent would call his mother by her first name in any context, let alone when getting his life threatened by a man in a bat costume. It should’ve been much easier for Superman to simply explain that Luthor had his mom held hostage right away, rather than playing into Luthor’s hand. For so many reasons, the “Martha” scene will forever remain a puzzling moment in the legacy of Henry Cavill’s Superman.
