Crisis of Epic Proportion: When Superman Kills

I’ve been pretty torn about writing this column — not because I am of two minds on whether the Man of Steel can kill in a story and have it remain a legitimate representation of what we call “Superman.” No, of that I am singularly sure that you can. I’m torn because I am alternately glad there is still enough interest in the topic to warrant pulling together some calm reasoning on the matter, and really goddamn tired of reading about it.

But here we are.

superman6For those who haven’t seen Man of Steel in the theater yet, and somehow have been able to maintain the element of surprise about its contents, TURN BACK NOW. For all the rest, you may encountered a bit (ha!) of controversy online about the film, particularly one moment toward the end where Kal makes a very somber decision in order to save the life of a family literally under fire. In snapping Zod’s neck to stop him from rampaging further across the ruins of Metropolis, the hero who could barely be called Superman (so much is this film a journey of discovery toward that goal that it doesn’t even bear the name) committed the ultimate, irrevocable act of violence that some felt too uncharacteristic for the hero. Superman, I hear, is supposed to be better than the average man who could make such a decision. He’s the ultimate representation of our best selves, and is, as the film even tries to drive home over and over, maybe even godlike in his stature.

Except that Kal, or Clark, isn’t a god. He is human in all the ways that matter, particularly at this point in his journey. And he has a lot to learn.

A well-cited precedent for why it is possible for Superman to kill has always been 1988’s conclusion to John Byrne’s run on the Man of Steel, a story entitled, “The Supergirl Saga.” Having been transported to an alternate world overrun by Kryptonian villains released accidentally from the Phantom Zone, Kal is left with a dangerous decision. Should he take a chance that the currently powerless killers of five billion earthlings will not regain the upper hand and find a way to destroy other worlds, or does he make the ultimate judgment on a world that has no official court system left to punish them or protect innocents?

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Ultimately, it’s no surprise what decision Kal makes.

No, really.

Think about it. Here we have a man, still early in his career as an enormously powerful being, who has never faced this sort of sheer destruction before. The trauma of witnessing the outcome of an act one hundred times larger than the Nazi Holocaust should make any man act out of rage or impulse. But Superman isn’t just any man. He acts out of reason and perhaps inexperience, but not out of malice or haste. And the immediate result (as also clearly depicted in the Man of Steel film) is regret — so much so that it takes Kal a period of exile into space to rationalize the decision he made, and figure out how to be a better Superman afterwards.

2246419-cyborgDid it mean he would never kill again? Oddly enough no, as Kal not only delivers a deliberate killing blow (albeit receive one simultaneously as well) to the monster Doomsday who is threatening every human in his path, but does so again upon his resurrection to the Cyborg Superman. In the latter case, it’s clear from the dialogue that Superman is prepared for the possibility that this is a killing blow he’s delivering, but once again, this is not an act of anger or revenge, but a decisive moment in the protection of innocents — one our own local heroes of the police have to make on, thankfully rare, occasion.

One can claim that Superman has other means at his disposal to stave off killing, that a police officer would not. But let’s not pretend these instances of dilemma are whether Superman should be able to kill a run-of-the-mill armed threat. An unstoppable Kryptonian monster, a cybernetic version of the world’s most powerful man… these are enhanced threats for an enhanced man, stakes raised more than sufficiently to warrant Kal’s actions, particularly at this point in his career.

So, we have a man who has been raised in America’s heartland by, presumably, politically conservative parents — who are still alive at this point, mind you — and been raised to prioritize the protection of others over his own well-being. Is it hubris to believe one individual has the right to take a life for the protection of others? Certainly. Is it understandable that even a Superman would take that psychological responsibility upon himself (to the detriment of his own well-being) in order to protect those in need? Absolutely. And having been raised in a state that frequently sentenced men to death row (but oddly enough hasn’t executed anyone since 1965), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Superman holds the view of protection of the many through such means.

SuperboyPrimeAgain, this in no way implies that a Superman callously, or even accidentally, killing (as his doppelganger Superboy Prime does) is an accurate representation of the mythology in any sense. But even in Man of Steel, you do not see a man acting without regret — and presumably repercussions to come in a sequel — or without deliberation. In fact, I might argue that such an act is critical for Superman to commit in order to truly realize the value of the lives he protects and prior to any vow to never kill again. Why? Because his origin doesn’t provide a built-in prohibition against or acceptance of killing as it does for his partners in the DC Comics Trinity: Batman and Wonder Woman, respectively.

As recently as at the end of Scott Snyder’s brilliantly crafted story, Death of the Family, calls were made by fans for Batman to finally kill the Joker (Some of those fans, by the way, are ironically the same ones deriding the idea of a Superman who kills. Go figure.) for the havoc he has wrought in the Batman Family’s lives. But Batman doesn’t kill. Ever.

Ever ever.

6a0120a58aead7970c0168ea0c166f970c-800wiYou want a prime example of a story that does not represent the root of a character adequately enough to be considered canon, have Batman kill someone. It’s not a question of whether “My Batman” can kill — Batman (Bruce Wayne, that is) doesn’t kill. The rationale is built into his very origin. Having witnessed the death of his parents at the hands of a callous, desperate killer, Bruce Wayne is psychologically unable to bridge that gap. His whole mission centers around saving EVERYONE, and that includes the guilty as much as the innocent.

Now, before you pull out the obvious claim to the contrary, let me just stop and say: shooting Darkseid during the events of Final Crisis just doesn’t count. I know! It’s a double standard! I’m a hypocrite. It’s all just bullshit.

Actually, no. Darkseid is many things, but he is not killable. As we witnessed in the beginning of the story Grant Morrison so eloquently lays out, the death of a New God always creates a rebirth, sort of a universal reset button that can’t in any way be seen as permanent a death as Batman’s prohibition against killing requires. That aside, Darkseid himself is the literal embodiment of Anti-Life. And here’s where Morrison is quite the genius. Killing Darkseid/Anti-Life is producing Life itself, the opposite of murder, and the complete fulfillment of Batman’s mission. And to do so in this last moment — the only time in his career where firing a gun was bringing life into being — is just too poetic for words.

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So, if one end of the linear spectrum that is the DC Trinity is Batman, for whom killing is NEVER an acceptable option, Wonder Woman lies securely at the other end. Born and bred to be a champion by a culture that embraced Athenian values of wisdom and war, Diana does not have a prohibition against killing, and certainly doesn’t experience the regret Kal does upon the demise of Maxwell Lord. Having snapped Lord’s neck to prevent his further mind-control of a rampaging Superman in the run-up to Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman did what needed to be done in her estimation, and at one point even argues she’d do it again if necessary.

medusa4uThis should come as no surprise either, as one year prior to this confrontation, Diana removed the head of her opponent, the monster Medusa — to no fan outcry or dismay, mind you. What differentiated Medusa from Maxwell Lord in Diana’s estimation? Nothing. Both were monsters that needed to be taken down, and killing, however dark a turn it can become, is not outside the arsenal of a woman raised to act decisively in battle and engage with the rules of war most fully. Does she revel in the act? Certainly not. But Wonder Woman is not one to limit her own options on the matter.

It is between these two polar opposites that Superman rests in our mythology, never an absolutist in one manner or another, representing someone who has killed but could never consider it lightly. He has learned from the experience — one could say grown past it — but isn’t naïve enough about the danger of what he does to think that there’s always another way. Whether it was to save the sole remaining universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths by killing the Anti-Monitor, or protecting the life of his remaining friends from an insane Mr. Mxyzptlk in “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, Kal has been willing to take that responsibility of killing another being upon himself, and face the consequences for it.

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And therein lies just one aspect of Superman’s true heroism. It’s one thing to write about a figure who can do no wrong and never has to face tough decisions, but for my money, I want a hero to look up to that does face the most difficult of circumstances and takes responsibility for his or her actions. We’ve seen that time and time again with Superman, and I have no doubt that’s the crux of what we’re seeing in the new Superman film franchise as well. Whether or not this is YOUR Superman or MY Superman (And you know what, it’s totally OK if it isn’t. Not every story is written for every fan.), is certainly arguable. But there’s no question in my mind that what we’re seeing in these stories — and on the big screen this month — is every bit a Man of Steel deserving of his part in the 75 year mythology of our greatest fictional hero ever.

 

 

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22 Comments

  1. Molly Whipple said:

    Nice article. For me I don’t think it is so much that I have a problem with Superman killing per se as the writing of a story in which the villain, Zod, is allowed to define the parameters of the final and Superman capitulates. I mean by all rights Zod has already killed maybe 100,000 in the carnage leading up to the conclusion but Superman kills him to save a family of four. I understand the writers wanting to make the event have more emotional impact by making it more personal. But it is already too late for the multitude of dead the film never shows us, other than a handful of brave military types.

    Bottom line I think is when superhero films start to worry about dark gritty realism on personal levels they open themselves up to criticism of their lack of basis in reality on all levels.

  2. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    Well, I think you hit the nail on the head for me. “Maybe 100,000” that “the film never shows us.” I’m not convinced that if we don’t see them, Superman does either. It’s possible the evacuation efforts were oddly successful. Incredibly unlikely, but possible.

    The point for me though is not that Superman ignored thousands of deaths but cared about a single family. It was that he was there, in THAT moment, able to do SOMETHING, and this family would only be the first of every one that would come after. It’s not like Zod was going to fry these three and then take off for parts unknown. One by one, he’d kill them all. THAT’S what Kal had to stop.

  3. CharlesHB said:

    I get Mark Waid is upset, but heck this is the guy that made a farmer’s son a vegetarian. In the real world LEO’s have to make lethal decisions, as do soldiers, day in day out. Superman has an incredible ‘tool box’ of powers, most of the time he is the gun in a knife fight, okay make that an Iowa Class Battleship in a fist fight…
    But sometimes, like Doomsday, like Man of Steel he’s in a straight up ‘fair’ fight to the death. To say lethal force is wrong in every case just doesn’t fly.

    Moreover the circumstances that play out in Man of Steel are for my money far more satisfying than ‘Pocket Universe’ execution – more human, and a humane choice.

  4. wellthats said:

    A good article and I don’t disagree with your perspective. The film sort-of was about Clark Kent “becoming” Superman. But for me, it comes down to bad film making. Can Superman kill and still be “Superman?” Sure. But I felt the “regret” that she showed after the killing was the absolute least one would expect from anyone in that situation. It worked for some. Not for me. But that’s the kind of choice made by Zach Snyder. There’s time for 45 minutes of kicky punchy in a bloated 2.5 hour movie, but time to show Superman devastated by what he had done so that the audience gets it both emotionally and intellectually? Nope! Gotta move on to a forced kissed with Lois punctuated with weak humor, a faux Iron Man/Nick Fury banter moment with a General and a groan worthy “He’s hot!” intended cheer/laugh line. Have the courage to make Superman kill but not have the courage to let the film end with him still devastated by it? Well then don’t expect me to believe he was.

    And I know it probably had to be part of your article, but the “It set up the sequel to deal with it! Just be patient” argument is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. It excuses lazy, bad film making. I had enough of that after “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack Of The Clones” to last a lifetime! It’s almost as bad as the people who are citing interviews with the film makers as evidence that Superman was reallllllly upset. “It wasn’t in the film, but see? In ‘Empire’ Chris Nolan said they talked about how he’d have to be really upset by all this! So that counts!”

    Ag

  5. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    I think my concern with delving too far into the issue of regret in the last 3 minutes of the film is that it would get serious short changed, whereas it’s perfect set-up for the main conflict of a sequel. Imagine a first scene with Lex Luthor holding a press conference, saying “How can we trust this alien? He’d even snap the neck of his own kind if it served his purposes.”

    I don’t think it’s lazy filmmaking as much as it’s a testament to the fact that no action film (super-hero or otherwise) is ever just a standalone anymore, by design. That may not be desirable, but it is what it is.

    I do agree that kiss was lame though!

  6. Hein said:

    This is not the superman from comics. Take the Man of Steel for what it is…a DC Elseworlds story and watch with an open mind.

  7. Kevin Bradley said:

    Great article, and I agree with your examples and reasoning. In fact, I like that you contrasted Clark with Bruce and Diana. I also find it interesting that you use his Kryptonian name “Kal.” I’ve always felt that his real self is “Clark,” since that’s the name he grew up with. Not saying you are wrong, just haven’t met anyone that preferred his birth name.

  8. Greg Price said:

    Technically, Batman HAS killed. In his earliest incarnation, he even carried a gun.

  9. Keith Callbeck said:

    Great work, Matt. Happy to help in my small way.
    Ironically when Birthright came out, my thought was “this is not MY Superman.” I found Waid’s version (and there are hundreds of versions, not one universal one which leads to many of the problems folks have with MoS) to be limited.
    Superman, like Batman, is an “unbreakable character.” They can be put in any setting, any time, with any number of variations and still recognizable. The Elseworlds stories are testament to this. Superman in Red Son is still findable as Superman.
    Waid’s version I found breakable. He has said that there are limits to the types of stories that should be told with Superman. That the film makers should not have written Superman into a corner where killing Zod is necessary. I fundamentally disagree.

  10. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    You know, that’s interesting, because I think I refer to him as Kal first because that’s what Wonder Woman calls him most often over the years. Not a statement in itself, but interesting to note nonetheless!

  11. Chris Aguilar said:

    Well written response to some of the outsize nerd rage out there.

    You did miss a few examples of Superman killing opponents in the comics. Kal-L the original Superman delivered the death blow to the Anti-monitor at the end of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2011/04/anti_monitor_3.jpg

    In the superman newspaper strips, Superman/Clark Kent showed that some criminals “deserved” to die.

    http://www.supermanhomepage.com/images/miscellaneous/newspaperstrip-example.jpg

  12. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    Ah yes, this. I acknowledge that the earliest Batman stories have Bruce carrying a gun and killing, BUT DC (and pretty much every fan agrees) has gone out of its way to establish the opposite with the character for over 70 years. In a sense, that is a “proto-Batman” and not the Bruce Wayne anyone has written since. If Batman were the type of character that never referred to his commitment to remain gun and killing-free, then I suppose that incarnation could be written in as some part of the official canon, but as it stands, it remains firmly outside what we understand to be elementary Batman, much the way an Elseworlds take on a Superman who kills the Joker out of revenge would be. Interesting story, but not fundamentally the character.

  13. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    I mentioned the Anti-Monitor toward the end. Definitely another prime example in the modern age. Thanks for the visual!

    I would probably categorize the newspaper strips the same way I’d look at early Batman carrying a gun though. Not very representative of the mutual understanding DC and fans have of the character’s morality today, BUT clearly that understanding is not as consistent as that of Batman’s (or else this column would be completely unnecessary), so it’s an excellent contribution to the conversation! Thanks!!!!

  14. Greg Price said:

    I actually agree…I was just making a technical point that actually reinforces what you said.

    We dismiss “killer Batman” as being OOC. Yet some people are bending over backwards to embrace “killer Superman”…

  15. Matt SantoriGriffith said:

    I think having so many instances in so many critical stories within our lifetime makes Superman as able to kill far more plausible than Batman. It’s not something that’s been put to rest so succinctly.

  16. Scott Stamper said:

    Great article. In a lot of ways I compare the Zod thing to a rookie cop who had to kill someone his first week on the job and deal with that for the rest of his life. To me that’s a great way to explore a new take on Superman.

  17. Richard H Sanford said:

    The people who cry out against the end of Man of Steel are usually people who already don’t like Superman and use this as an excuse to rail against the character. They just have an axe to grind and have latched on to this subject as what they hope is a “got’cha!” The problem is that any fan of Superman understands what has been written in this article.

  18. Richard H Sanford said:

    I agree with your “rookie cop” comparison. Also, I think Clark was scared out of his wits and just reacted on instinct. When the dust had settled and he realized what he had done, well, we know the rest.

  19. Richard H Sanford said:

    On an unrelated note, kudos for “per se”. I see “per say” all the time and it makes me crazy. 🙂

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