Man of Steel: The Dichotomy of Superman’s Character

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In the film Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder produces an alternative interpretation of the famous superman film, as this version more heavily focuses on the early stages of Superman and his journey on Earth at a young age. Original or traditional settings of him in films are typically set during his reporter employment in the later years in Metropolis. Man of Steel retells the superman myth from the very beginning giving compressed exposition about Krypton, along with the expected outcome of baby Superman (a.k.a. Clark Kent or Kal-El) been sent to earth, with him acquiring his super powers throughout his younger years (Grossman 50). His development of powers included the abilities of flight, strength, heat vision, speed, and even durability. Despite Superman having all these various types of physical abilities, it will be the dichotomy of his character between being the superman hero and the mild-mannered everyday man that will make him exceedingly amazing and admirable to the public, as compared to the average hero. The personal qualities of him being self-controlling, highly moral and responsible will be the qualities that give the audience a sense of his marvelous character.
Firstly, through Clark Kent’s development of his self-controlling quality, he is able to balance the utilization of his super powers with his human identity and emotions. As Clark Kent is growing up, he consistently struggles with his emerging powers in his younger years, as many of his fellow peers would pick on him as they saw him as an outsider that did not belong. Eventually he obtained the ability to have self control over his powers despite his angered emotions, in which resulted in him developing a stronger mindset. The div...

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...181.23 (2013): 50. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

Kozlovic, Anton Karl. "Superman as Christ-figure: The American pop culture movie Messiah." Journal of Religion and Film 6.1 (2002): 1-25.

Loeb, Jeph, and Tom Morris. "Heroes and superheroes." Superheroes and philosophy: Truth, justice, and the Socratic way (2005): 11-20.

Man of Steel. Dir. Zack Snyder. Perf. Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon. Warner Bros., 2013. Film.

Mitchell, Jane P., and Joseph D. George. "What Do Superman, Captain America, And Spiderman Have In Common? The Case For Comic Books." Gifted Education International 11.2 (1996): 91-94. ERIC. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Redden, Joseph P., and Kelly L. Haws. "Healthy Satiation: The Role Of Decreasing Desire In Effective Self-Control." Journal Of Consumer Research 39.5 (2013): 1100-1114. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

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