Now before I start with My editorial I would like to say that this is not an article that is trying to nitpick and bash the movie. In fact I think that Man of Steel was a good movie but that it would have been a lot better as a sequel.
1. It Wouldn't Be Slowed Down By The Origin
One of the few gripes I (and some other people) had with the movie was that often the momentum would slowed by the sudden flashbacks of a young Clark Kent. For example the scene where Clark gets picked on by some bullies in front of the garaged (which is a scene I really enjoyed) I felt it kind of messed with the pace of the film just as I was starting to really get pulled in. So instead of slowing down the film's momentum you would have a really good and continuous narrative.
2. It Would Give Us A Chance to Really Know the Supporting Characters
Another thing that a felt could have benefited if this movie was a sequel was that I would have really become emotionally invested into the side characters. For instance when Perry White and Jenny are about to be destroyed by the World Engine I didn't fell as much of an emotional impact as I would have liked. Now I felt sad for them because I knew the character of Perry White from the comics and they were innocents that were about to be murdered by Zod and his followers but not quite as much as I would have liked. I mean just imagine if these characters had been more established in a previous movie it would have had a whole lot more of an impact. I mean just imagine if Agent Couylson was in a position like that in the first Iron Man would have cared a whole lot? No because we didn't no squat about him and that is another reason why I thinkthis movie would have worked better as a sequel.
3. There Would be No Forced Romance between Lois and Clark
Now one of my biggest problems with this film was that they made one of the most iconic couple of all time. I mean the relationship between Lois Lane and Clark Kent is about as well known as Romeo and Juliet yet we never see their romance ever really reach that level. In the film Lois gets all doe-eyed over Clark after there second meeting. Now I don't want their relationship to be fully developed in the first film I just want the seeds of their relationship to start in the first movie and then in the sequel they can form their relationship.
4. The Climatic Battle Would Be One of The Most Powerful Scenes Ever!
Another thing bout the movie was that Superman's morals were never fully established in the movie. I know that he has been saving people since he was a kid but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't kill. After all the Punisher saves plenty of people but he also kills a load of people too. Sure we all know Superman and we all know doesn't like to kill but what if this wasn't a Superman movie but a movie about an original hero. Then the ending scene would have been confusing I mean would he be crying because he killed someone, because he failed to save more live, or because he just destroyed the last chance of his race surviving. Also the one thing about sequels is that they often have the hero struggle to uphold what was established in the first movie. Just take a look at The Drak Knight in it you see Batman struggle to the symbol he established in Batman Begins even though deep down inside he probably wanted to go against that especially after all that the Joker had done to him. But the one thing nearly every sequel does is that the hero almost always manages to uphold what was already established. The few exception to that are often some of the greatest sequels of all time. For example in The Empire Strikes Back the symbol of hope that the Rebellion had become was pretty much destroyed after the Empire strikes. So just imagine the climatic battle between Superman and Zod after having the emotional impact be built up not just in the sequel but in the previous movie.
So that's the end of my editorial and remember to sound off below in the usual place also any feedback negative or positive is greatly appreciated.