5 Reasons Why Man of Steel Is Still the Best Superman Movie

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was released worldwide on June 14, thirteen years ago. At the time of its release, the movie didn’t impress everyone, and some hardcore DC fans were disappointed to see the dark-toned film. Snyder had no intention of satisfying every fan with his take on the Kryptonian superhero.

Man of Steel (2013)	Details
Director	Zack Snyder
Cast	Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and Russell Crowe
Release Date	June 14, 2013
Box Office (via Box Office Mojo, as of June 15, 2026)	$670.1 million
RT Score (As of June 15, 2026)	56% | 75%
IMDb Score (As of June 15, 2026)	7.1/10

The Henry Cavill-starring movie wasn’t trying to play it safe in the superhero genre like the MCU movies. Snyder aimed to bring something revolutionary not just to the character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, but also to the DC brand and the genre as a whole. However, in retrospective analyses, the movie stands as the best Superman movie ever made. Here are 5 reasons why Man of Steel is the best.

1 Henry Cavill Was Born to Play Superman

Henry Cavill embodied Superman in a way that felt both modern and timeless. It’s worth noting that Man of Steel was his second attempt at a Superman audition, and he immediately became Zack Snyder’s No. 1 choice. He earlier auditioned for the canceled project, Superman: Flyby.

He is perfect for the role as he is good-looking, has the build for a superhero, and has a natural charm. But it was another factor that made him better than Christopher Reeve, David Corenswet, and the others. He portrayed the sad, lonely side of the superhero in the best way. Cavill’s performance gives off this brilliant, complete outsider act, which makes us feel his pain.

During his appearance on Lorraine, Cavill spoke with such humility and gratitude for the wonderful opportunity. Cavill shared about his Man of Steel role, “And even if I were to stop acting tomorrow and go live on a yacht or boat somewhere, a sailing boat, and just travel the Med… I can still look back and say I’ve worn a cape and leaped about the place and entertained some people.”

Cavill had to settle for just one solo movie in the DCEU after spending nearly a decade in the franchise. While a sequel was announced, James Gunn’s restructuring put a halt to those plans, ruining any chances of giving us another Man of Steel movie.

2 Zack Snyder Gave a Sense of Realism to Superman’s World

Snyder’s movie quickly made it clear that it wasn’t taking the MCU approach and introduced Cavill as a more serious and grounded character. Sure, some fans argued that the self-contained themes hurt the film’s potential as a franchise starter. But Snyder’s revolutionary style became an identity for the DCEU brand.

The film’s cold blue tones helped to set a sense of darkness. The Rebel Moon director also brought his signature action sequences to the film. The visual style of the film was unlike anything we’d seen before in a superhero movie. Cavill’s Clark Kent wasn’t just a goody-two-shoes powerful alien living among the Earthlings.

Snyder made sure that Clark was a grounded character in his movie, and he, too, had his share of moral dilemmas and internal struggles. It’s those subtle creative choices that made the film stand out. Of course, the movie brought about a larger discussion of whether Snyder did justice to the comic book character. But he went a different way and brought a sense of realism into DC’s superhero world.

3 Man of Steel Stood Out Because It Refused to Play It Safe

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel did not play it safe in any of the storylines. Even the Kryptonian scenes at the beginning of the movie were nothing like what we saw in Richard Donner’s Superman. Krypton gives off a sci-fi movie vibe in this film. Russell Crowe’s Jor-El lives in a world marked by bio-organic structures and vehicles. It was a bold way to establish Superman’s planet as truly otherworldly.

Then there’s Kevin Costner’s Jonathan Kent character (with shades of John Dutton in him). Snyder made Jonathan Kent into a pessimistic father. While fans were furious when Clark Kent obeys his father and lets him die in the tornado, Snyder defended this aspect of Costner’s character later during an interview with GQ. He shared that it played into how Clark finally becomes ready and assumes the role of mankind’s protector as Superman. Even haters, who could go on about the flaws in this plan, couldn’t deny that it was a ballsy move from Snyder.

However, his most controversial decision saw him defy the great Christopher Nolan. In the climax, Cavill’s Superman kills Michael Shannon’s General Zod by snapping his neck. It sparked outrage among fans, with critics and fans alike criticizing that this went against everything Superman stood for. He gave a moral dilemma to his hero with massive consequences, something creators would hesitate to do with Superman.

4 The Movie Explored Superman’s Internal Struggles

When we first saw Man of Steel, we felt outraged at the sheer collateral damage that Superman’s fight with Zod was causing. It was hard to process for fans, who were accustomed to a Superman who saves the day without anyone getting hurt. However, we understood the full intensity of these scenes only in Batman v Superman, where we saw how the fight with Zod and all the bloodshed affected Superman.

It was a deeply personal take on the character, which also showed us the alienation that he felt. Superman was shown to be torn between his loyalty to Krypton and the people of the Earth. The internal struggles were best portrayed through his relationships to his two dads, Jor-El and Jonathan Kent. This was a side to Superman that we had never seen before. Jonathan’s choice was to protect him at all costs, while Jor-El wanted his son to forge his own destiny.

Clark feels disconnected from both worlds, especially after encountering Zod. According to the villain, he isn’t Kryptonian enough to carry the legacy. And he isn’t human enough for the people on Earth to accept him as he is. No other Superman movie showed this distinction better. While David Corenswet’s movie had Lex Luthor manipulating people to bring forth this identity crisis, this movie does it naturally.

5 Man of Steel Changed the Superhero Genre Forever

You don’t need to take our word on the greatness of Man of Steel. But when a legendary filmmaker like Christopher Nolan shows deep respect for the film, you have to find some merit in it. He may have expressed initial apprehensions over the script, but he shared that Snyder’s film would define Superman for our time. The Oppenheimer director told The Atlantic that every other superhero film coming out these days saw some influence from Snyder’s films. And Nolan wasn’t alone.

Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao revealed that she used Snyder’s Superman as an inspiration for her character Ikaris in Marvel’s Eternals. She told jeuxactu.com, “Of all modern interpretations of Superman, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel inspired me the most because he approached this myth in an authentic and very real way.”

Even filmmakers like Beau DeMayo have felt Snyder’s impact. The creator the brilliant first season of X-Men ’97 shared in his X post that one of the scenes in the animated series was a nod to Henry Cavill’s first flight in his Superman film. He admitted to having been “subconsciously influenced” by a Man of Steel scene in another X post.

Snyder set a new standard for storytelling in the genre, but the movie still amassed a large group of haters. Love it or hate it, but the controversial movie definitely turned some heads and sparked discussions, even a decade later, about its merits.

What do you think of Henry Cavill’s debut outing as Superman? Let us know in the comments below!

Man of Steel is now available for streaming on HBO Max.