I start off by saying that i loved the man of steel film and felt that it filled all the holes that Superman Returns had and paved way for a more complex "Else-World" Superman for the silver screen.
I will make this as short and brief as I can but there have been too many articles on the upset of the ending in MAN of STEEL and that controversy has only paved way to more hate on the way the sequel was introduced.
1. Superman Kills Zod
First off, NEARLY EVERY ADAPTATION OF SUPERMAN HAS KILLED. Christopher Reeve in Superman 2 (both versions) KILLED zod, throwing his mortal converted self down the depths of the fortress to freeze and die. Clark in Smallville killed at least one of the kandorians and is responsible for the death of Jimmy Olsen and Jonathan Kent. There was absolutely NO surprise to me as to how or why Cavill's superman snapped Zod's neck at the end, and I am more appalled of how badly received it was only because it was more visceral than the Donner version, because the music didn't play all heroic when it happened.
2. The Sequel
For any of you that watched the Superman 75th Anniversary panel, you would know that David S. Goyer was present and he revealed a lot more about the MAN OF STEEL SEQUEL than the WB panel. i put sequel in caps because that is what this film is. a MAN OF STEEL SEQUEL!!! Goyer basically laid out the equivalent of Batman's character being treated like a plot device, a new as ALL sequels introduce new characters. (Iron Man 2: War Machine, Black Widow, and Nick Fury….or TDKR with Catwoman). Imagine a film with batman's character portrayed as more mysterious and through the interaction between the two, we come to UNDERSTAND Clark Kent's stance on Justice and the means by fulfilling it in contrast to Wayne's. it is ONLY through this, can we better understand SUPERMAN in a more relatable way in this new generation. Facing off against Brainiac does nothing for audiences to fully develop the superman character at this current time. We need Clark to grow into the leader of many heroes, and this is the start of something larger. Unlike Iron man and Avengers, Superman and DC is on another league of its own and therefore CANNOT follow the same format…Iron man 1 and 2 etc before a team up.
I envision DC's route will be very similar to every Graphic novel in DC's best lineup, like Kingdom Come were more heroes are introduced as the story keeps going in a seamless fashion, and all in addition to Superman, but Superman is at the helm of everything. I have no problem with World's Finest.
Goyer also mentioned that EVERYTHING about MAN OF STEEL in terms of destruction will be addressed and will all be things Superman has to "answer for" in the upcoming film. YouTube the panel for his exact words. This all to me translates that this well MORE a superman film than a batman story.
Try not to get caught up in that just because batman is in this film doesn't mean its no less superman's story. I feel that the BEST way to grow Superman is through the relationship and bonds he builds with other characters. And I do not expect an origin for batman, and if so it would be the bare essentials.
I'll end it here, lets have a discussion about this. I am very optimistic about the film, and also bare in mind that this venture is really unprecedented in cinema in general, so it is not something we should fret. We should encourage innovation and new ways to progress a franchise. I don't see it as a rush. There is all the time in the world to make more Man of Steel single movies, but I do feel that so long as everything about the first movie is addressed, (which it will be according to Goyer), then we should be alright Fans.