We Finally Understand Why Superman Killed Zod In Man Of Steel

From early on, Goyer and Nolan set about to take a page from the success of Batman Begins' more realistic tone as they scripted Man of Steel. Comparing the two films, Goyer said the goal was "to tell the story of Man of Steel in a fairly realistic way and to try to think about what would happen to the world if a character like that emerged. The entire premise of the movie was that if a character like this emerged from another world who had these kinds of powers, it would be the biggest thing that ever happened in human history."

Goyer compared the fight between Zod and Superman as being "almost like 9/11." To set up an impossible choice, Goyer said he needed to write the fight between these two super-powered men as a stalemate for a young superhero. Speaking of the fight, Goyer pointed out that Superman had "just flown for the first time days before that," adding, "he's not aware of the extent of his powers at all."

"He's finding somebody who's said, 'I won't stop,' who's said, 'You can't put me in a prison, I won't ever stop,'" said Goyer. And all that brings us to Superman being in a position where killing may seem like the only option. That's why the writer feels Superman must make the decision to kill, but that doesn't mean there are no regrets or that there wasn't a Plan B.