Appearances
Featured Characters:
- Superman (Kal-El/Clark Kent) (First appearance as Superman) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Jonathan Kent (Dies in flashback)
- Jor-El (Dies in flashback)
- Lara Lor-Van (Dies in flashback)
- Lois Lane (First appearance)
- Martha Kent
- Perry White (First appearance)
- U.S. Military
- Col. Nathan Hardy (First appearance)
- Dr. Emil Hamilton (First appearance)
- General Swanwick (First appearance)
- Major Farris (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Kryptonian Military Guild / Phantom Zoners
- Car-Vex (First appearance)
- Dev-Em (First appearance)
- Faora Hu-Ul (First appearance)
- General Zod (First appearance) (Dies)
- Jax-Ur (First appearance)
- Nadira (First appearance)
- Nam-Ek
- Tor-An (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Daily Planet
- Jenny Jurwich (First appearance)
- Steve Lombard (First appearance)
- Father Leone (First appearance)
- Bibbo Bibbowski (First appearance)
- Glen Woodburn (First appearance)
- Helen Ross (Flashback only)
- Kansas Jayhawks (On a TV or computer screen)
- Kelex (Flashback only)
- Kelor (Flashback only)
- Kenneth Braverman (Flashback only)
- Kryptonian Council
- Lana Lang (Flashback only)
- Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (On a TV or computer screen)
- Pete Ross (Flashback and main story)
- Whitney Fordham (Flashback only)
- United States Air Force
- United States Army
- United States Coast Guard
Locations:
- Krypton (Destroyed)
- Earth
- Phantom Zone
Items:
- World Engine (Destroyed)
Vehicles:
- Black Zero
- Kryptonian Rocket
- LexCorp Trucks
Plot
The planet Krypton faces imminent destruction due to its unstable core, resulting from years of exploiting Krypton's natural resources. The ruling council is deposed by the rebel military leader, General Zod, and his followers. Scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara launch their newborn son Kal-El on a spacecraft to Earth, infusing his cells with a genetic codex to preserve the Kryptonian race. After Zod murders Jor-El, he and his followers are captured and banished to the Phantom Zone. However, Krypton explodes some time afterwards, freeing them.
The infant Kal-El is raised as the adopted son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark. Clark's Kryptonian physiology affords him superhuman abilities on Earth, which initially cause him confusion and ostracizing, but he gradually learns to harness his powers to help others. Jonathan reveals to a teenage Clark that he is an alien and advises him not to use his powers publicly, fearing that society will reject him. After Jonathan's death, an adult Clark spends several years living a nomadic lifestyle, working different jobs under false names. He eventually infiltrates a scientific discovery of a Kryptonian scout spaceship in the Arctic. Clark enters the alien ship, and it allows him to communicate with the preserved consciousness of Jor-El in the form of a hologram. Lois Lane, a journalist from the Daily Planet who was sent to write a story on the discovery, sneaks inside the ship while following Clark and is rescued by him when she is injured. Lois's editor Perry White rejects her story of a "superhuman" rescuer, so she traces Clark back to Kansas with the intention of writing an exposé. After hearing his story, she decides not to reveal his secret.
Zod and his crew seek out other colony worlds, and eventually follow a Kryptonian distress signal sent from the ship Clark discovered on Earth. Zod demands that humankind surrender Kal-El, who he believes has the codex, in return for peace. Clark agrees, and the U.S. military hand him and Lois over to Zod's second-in-command, Faora. Zod reveals that he intends to use a terraforming "world engine" to transform Earth into a new Krypton, eradicating the human population in the process, and use the codex to repopulate the planet with genetically-engineered Kryptonians. After Clark and Lois escape Zod's ship, Clark defeats Faora, convincing the military that he is an ally. Zod deploys the world engine and initiates the process in Metropolis and over the Indian Ocean.
Clark, now dubbed "Superman", stops the world engine in the Indian Ocean. The military use the spacecraft that brought Clark to Earth in an aerial strike on Zod's ship over Metropolis, returning Zod's crew to the Phantom Zone. Only Zod remains, and he engages Superman in an aerial battle across Metropolis. In the process, Superman destroys the ship which carries the pivotal technology, the Genesis Chamber, to resurrect the Krytonian race with the codex, completely thwarting Zod's plans. When Zod attempts to murder civilians in revenge for his defeat, Superman is forced to kill him. Some time later, Superman continues to earn the U.S. government's trust, although evading their efforts to uncover his secret identity. To create an alias that gives him access to dangerous situations without arousing suspicion, Clark takes a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet.
Cast
Primary Cast
Supporting Cast
- Antje Traue as Faora Hu-Ul
- Russell Crowe as Jor-El
- Diane Lane as Martha Kent
- Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent
- Ayelet Zurer as Lara Lor-Van
- Laurence Fishburne as Perry White
- Jadin Gould as Lana Lang
- Mackenzie Gray as Jax-Ur
- Harry Lennix as General Swanwick
- Richard Schiff as Emil Hamilton
- Christopher Meloni as Nathan Hardy
- Dylan Sprayberry as Clark Kent (13 Years)
- Cooper Timberline as Clark Kent (9 Years)
- Richard Cetrone as Tor-An
- Julian Richings as Lor-Em
- Mary Black as Ro-Zar
- Samantha Jo as Car-Vex
- Michael Kelly as Steve Lombard
- Rebecca Buller as Jenny Jurwich
- Christina Wren as Major Carrie Farris
- David Lewis as Major Laramore
- Tahmoh Penikett as Jed Eubanks
- Alessandro Juliani as Officer Sekowsky
- Jack Foley as Teenage Pete Ross
- Jadin Gould as Lana Lang
- Robert Gerdisch as Whitney Fordham
- Coburn Goss as Father Leone
- Heidi Kettenring as Helen Ross
- Joseph Cranford as Pete Ross
- Carla Gugino as Kelor
- Rowen Kahn as Ken Braverman
- Revard Dufresne as Dev-Em
- Apollonia Vanova as Nadira
Notes
- No special notes.
Trivia
- The movie makes a reference to a number of DC Universe companies: LexCorp, Wayne Enterprises, Blaze Comics and S.T.A.R. Labs are included as Easter eggs. LexCorp tankers are visible during the battle in Metropolis, a Wayne Enterprises satellite is shown during a fight between Superman and General Zod in space. A building in Metropolis features a Blaze Comics logo and S.T.A.R. Labs is mentioned.
See Also
- Characters from Man of Steel (Movie)
- Other things related to Man of Steel (Movie)
- Movie Gallery: Man of Steel (Movie)
Links and References
- Man of Steel entry at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Man of Steel (film) at Wikipedia.org
- SCREENRANT: 'Man of Steel' Flying Toward IMAX 3D Release; New Plot Details
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