50 Fun Facts About Man of Steel

Who plays Superman in Man of Steel?

Henry Cavill. He was the first non-American cast as the hero of 'truth, justice and the American way', and one British critic called it weird: 'We're more used to getting the villain roles.'

Who directed Man of Steel?

Zack Snyder. He was hired in October 2010 by producer Christopher Nolan, and the pair weighed setting the film in the world of Nolan's Batman trilogy before deciding to start afresh.

Man of Steel was the first film in which shared franchise?

The DC Extended Universe. The name began as an Entertainment Weekly writer's joke in 2015 and spread so fast among fans and the press that they took it for the official title.

Who plays General Zod in Man of Steel?

Michael Shannon. He never wore Zod's armour: it was added by computer because the real thing 'would be very heavy', so he fought in a harlequin-patterned motion-capture suit.

Who plays Superman's Kryptonian father, Jor-El, in Man of Steel?

Russell Crowe. His Jor-El is killed in the opening minutes yet stays in the film as a hologram, guiding Clark, helping Lois escape and arguing with Zod from beyond the grave.

Who plays Jonathan and Martha Kent in Man of Steel?

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Lane was the first actor cast after the lead, because the director saw Martha as 'the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman'.

Who plays newspaper editor Perry White in Man of Steel?

Laurence Fishburne. He modelled his Perry on the late 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley, a friend and mentor who 'walked with kings, but he had the common touch'.

Why is Krypton destabilising at the start of Man of Steel?

Reckless mining of the planetary core. Jor-El warns the ruling council that the planet is doomed, the council ignores him, and General Zod answers with a coup the same day.

What makes the infant Superman unusual among Kryptonians?

He is the first natural birth in centuries. Kryptonians are grown artificially with their role in life fixed in advance, and his parents wanted a child free to choose his own.

What does Jor-El steal and hide inside his son in Man of Steel?

The Kryptonian genetics codex. Jor-El bonds it into the baby's own cells, so Zod's scientist later finds that the stolen prize and the boy are one and the same.

Where are Zod and his followers imprisoned after their failed coup in Man of Steel?

The Phantom Zone. The sentence backfires on Krypton: when the planet explodes the prisoners are set free, which makes Zod's rebels almost the only Kryptonians left alive.

How does Jonathan Kent die in Man of Steel?

In a tornado, refusing Clark's help. He signals his son to stay back rather than reveal his powers to the watching crowd, and Clark obeys, a choice that haunts him for years.

Where does Lois Lane first encounter Clark, investigating a buried Kryptonian ship?

The Arctic. The scout ship had lain under the ice for thousands of years, and its hologram of Jor-El is what finally tells Clark where he comes from.

What does Lois Lane do when her editor refuses to print her alien story?

Leaks it to a popular blogger. It backfires when he names her on television, and federal agents pick her up just as Zod demands Clark's surrender.

Why does Lois Lane keep Clark's secret after finding his home town?

Hearing about Jonathan Kent's sacrifice. Clark tells her at his father's grave that Jonathan died to keep the secret until the world was ready, and she drops her story.

Clark says he is 33 and consults a priest before surrendering in Man of Steel, deliberate echoes of whom?

Jesus. Warner Bros. leaned into the parallel, sending pastors a nine-page sermon guide for the film titled 'Jesus: The Original Superhero'.

What does General Zod ultimately plan to do in Man of Steel?

Breed new Kryptonians on a terraformed Earth. Remaking the planet would wipe out humanity, which is why Clark refuses to join him and sides with his adopted world.

What is the name of the giant machine Zod drops into the Indian Ocean in Man of Steel?

The World Engine. Superman flies to the far side of the planet to smash it while the military attacks Zod's ship over Metropolis, since the two machines only work as a pair.

What does the military use to create the singularity that sends Zod's troops back to their prison?

Clark's infant pod. Its drive collides with the one on Zod's ship, and the blast swallows the invaders together with the plane and crew that delivered it.

How does Superman finally stop General Zod in Man of Steel?

By snapping his neck. In the first script Zod was simply banished; the writers added a trapped family in his line of fire to persuade producer Christopher Nolan the kill was forced.

In what kind of building does the final fight between Superman and Zod end in Man of Steel?

A train station. The fight that ends there levels much of Metropolis, and the sequel picks up eighteen months later with Superman a controversial figure.

Which future DC star turned down Man of Steel?

Gal Gadot. She was pregnant when offered a villain's part, thought to be Zod's lieutenant Faora, which went to Antje Traue, and later said taking it would have ruled her out as Wonder Woman.

Which actress plays Lois Lane in Man of Steel?

Amy Adams. It was third time lucky: she had auditioned for Lois for two earlier Superman films and missed out both times, while the other three here made this film's shortlist.

During story talks on which Batman film did David S. Goyer pitch Christopher Nolan the idea for Man of Steel?

The Dark Knight Rises. The two were stuck on the Batman story when Goyer mentioned his Superman idea, and Nolan liked it so much that he took it to the studio himself.

Whose family won a 2009 court ruling that pressured Warner Bros. to start a Superman film by 2011?

Jerry Siegel's. The judge found Warner owed no extra royalties on earlier films, but said the heirs could sue for damages if no new Superman film was in production by 2011.

Comics writer Grant Morrison urged Warner Bros. to treat Superman Returns the way Marvel had treated which earlier film?

Hulk. Marvel had simply started over with The Incredible Hulk five years after Ang Lee's version, proof, a fellow writer said, that audiences 'will forgive you and let you redo the franchise'.

On Krypton, what does the 'S' symbol on Superman's chest stand for in Man of Steel?

Hope. It is the crest of his family, the House of El, and when Lois Lane asks what the S stands for, Clark tells her it is not an S at all.

Plano, Illinois, played which place in Man of Steel?

Smallville. For a week in August 2011 downtown Plano belonged to the film crew, with camera helicopters circling overhead and locals turning out to watch.

Early in Man of Steel, a drifting Clark saves the crew of a burning what?

Oil rig. He holds up a collapsing tower so the rescue helicopter can get clear, then slips away before anyone can ask how, as he does throughout his wandering years.

What traditional feature is missing from Superman's redesigned suit in Man of Steel?

The red trunks. The director and his designers drew many suits that kept them, but none worked with the film's darker look; a little embroidery at the waist is their only trace.

Who composed the score for Man of Steel?

Hans Zimmer. He at first denied he was scoring the film at all, and once confirmed he left John Williams's famous Superman march out entirely to set this version apart.

What company's name appears on the satellite Zod destroys in Man of Steel?

Wayne Enterprises. The director pointed out the blink-and-miss logo himself, and when asked what it meant for the future he said: 'Everything is interesting at this point.'

Man of Steel's opening took the June box-office record from which Pixar film?

Toy Story 3. Man of Steel's $116.6 million edged past its $110.3 million, but the new record lasted only two years before Jurassic World opened to $208.8 million.

Which anime did storyboard artist Jay Oliva cite as an inspiration for Man of Steel's super-powered battles?

Dragon Ball Z. Oliva said he pitched fights of a kind he had 'never seen in live-action American cinema and only in anime'.

Which retailer hosted Thursday-night Man of Steel screenings that earned $12 million before opening day?

Walmart. Its early shows out-earned the film's own midnight premieres, which took a further $9 million later the same night.

A teaser poster for Man of Steel showed Superman in what surprising state?

In handcuffs. Fans unlocked the image through an online countdown, and instead of the usual hero in flight it showed him bound and guarded by armed soldiers.

In which US state does the infant Superman's pod land in Man of Steel?

Kansas. A farming couple, the Kents, adopt the baby inside, and the father keeps the craft hidden for years until Clark is old enough to be shown where he came from.

Which director planned a Superman sequel subtitled Man of Steel before the reboot?

Bryan Singer. Warner Bros. dropped his sequel after deciding Superman Returns 'didn't quite work as a film', then reused the subtitle for a reboot that ignored his film entirely.

Man of Steel's star was first in line to play Superman in which shelved early-2000s project?

Superman: Flyby. He screen-tested for director McG, but McG left, the J.J. Abrams script was shelved, and the film made in its place cast Brandon Routh instead.

Who plays Colonel Nathan Hardy in Man of Steel?

Christopher Meloni. His colonel starts by ordering his pilots to fire on all three Kryptonians, Superman included, and ends by flying the mission that banishes Zod's crew.

Man of Steel's General Swanwick was revealed, in a later director's cut of Justice League, to be which hero in disguise?

Martian Manhunter. The director said Swanwick had been the shape-shifting alien ever since this film, which puts a second extraterrestrial among the generals debating what to do about Superman.

Which director was Warner Bros.' top choice in 2017 for a Man of Steel sequel that never happened?

Matthew Vaughn. Years earlier he and comics writer Mark Millar had pitched Warner their own Superman film, only for the studio to choose the version that became Man of Steel.

Which film served as the direct sequel to Man of Steel?

Batman v Superman. The director had talked about a solo follow-up with a villain such as Brainiac, but that plan gave way to pitting Superman against a second hero.

Why does Clark join the Daily Planet at the end of Man of Steel?

To reach danger without suspicion. He tells his mother he wants a job where he hears of trouble early, having first persuaded the army to stop trying to track him.

Overwhelmed by his new senses at school, where does the young Clark lock himself in Man of Steel?

A supply closet. His mother coaxes him out by telling him to focus on her voice, a trick Zod has not learned when his helmet breaks and his own senses overwhelm him.

Whose life does General Zod threaten, sending Clark into a rage that carries their fight into town?

Martha Kent. Zod has come to the farm looking for what Jor-El stole and found only an empty pod, and Clark answers the threat by tackling him clean across the fields.

Which director turned down Man of Steel in favour of a horror film?

Guillermo del Toro. He picked Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, with James Cameron producing, over Superman, and then that film was never made either.

What is Clark Kent's Kryptonian birth name in Man of Steel?

Kal-El. The Kents rename him Clark after finding him as a baby, and he is a grown man before a hologram of his dead father tells him about the family and planet he came from.

How was the 3D version of Man of Steel made?

Converted in post-production. The director distrusted 3D cameras' technical limits, so he shot in 2D, and on film stock, because he wanted 'a big movie experience'.

In Man of Steel, what gives Clark his powers on Earth?

Earth's yellow sun. Jor-El's hologram explains that Clark's cells soak up its radiation, while the planet's weaker gravity is what lets him leap and, with practice, fly.