One of the most prevalent complaints about Man Of Steel was about the carnage inflicted on Metropolis, seen here in GIF form. A consulting firm estimated 129,000 fictional residents were killed and $700 billion worth of property was destroyed. But let’s make one thing clear. Superman has killed people before. Coldblooded. That said, if you were wondering if Metropolis had been evacuated when all that sh-t went down, Zack Snyder has the answer for you. Short version: they’re dead. Like, super dead. Long version:
“I wanted the movie to have a mythological feeling. In ancient mythology, mass deaths are used to symbolize disasters. In other countries like Greece and Japan, myths were recounted through the generations, partly to answer unanswerable questions about death and violence. In America, we don’t have that legacy of ancient mythology. Superman is probably the closest we get. It’s a way of recounting the myth.” [Japan Times via Comic Book via First Showing]
In the rest of the interview, Zack Snyder talks about Superman’s motivation, his challenges dealing with being adopted (four of Snyder’s six children are adopted), and America’s individualist culture which encourages everyone to think they’ll be famous whether or not they’ve worked for it.
Snyder also thought Superman’s birth name, Kal-El, is Hebrew for “God”. It actually means “Voice of God”, but Snyder’s interpretation explains some of the many Jesus references. We’re pretty sure Jesus never punched an alien through a skyscraper. I might start attending church if he did.
(Banner image by Eva Rinaldi via Creative Commons license.)