Man of Steel answers insight commentary episode 29 sonic boom search Cemetery structure I will ask the obvious question start asking questions and answers welcome to Man of Steel answers insight commentary on your Man of Steel apologist Dr. awkward I cover a mosaic of topics for fans who love discussing the Man of Steel and the DC cinematic universe together will endeavor to answer the questions criticisms and controversies raised by Man of Steel this episode it's sonic booms and scientific sophistication Lois is searching skills and Cemetery scene story structure and the psychology of selflessness and slayings this podcast dives deep into Man of Steel to answer the critics and the confused the show is not meant to convert anybody but to celebrate a film that will lead us into the DC cinematic universe reasonable minds will differ but this is a show for fans who love Man of Steel and who love to chew their food so Clark has learned to fly and it's completely transformed his life however last commentary episode I didn't talk about some of the collateral effects of flight mainly for time and so that I could end on a more romantic notion of flight rather than a technical one that said I can't pass up the opportunity to briefly talk about Superman's sonic booms sci-fi writer Larry Niven was born in the same year is Superman and he wrote the infamous Man of Steel woman of Kleenex is a satirical indictment of how Superman a child's fantasy becomes absurd is allowed to enter the domain of mature adults by Niven's reckoning Superman didn't hold up to science or to sex in the following clip knitting continues his criticism of the character by discussing the implications of Superman's tremendous speed and science fiction analysis here is a look at where Tony how many when they had a kryptonian drilling metropolis every night any window or sonic booms any emergency that he doesn't seem to consider your side effects running there was one case in which he had Bullet fired Lois lanes forehead from across her Superman is outside trolling the city when he sees is going to do about 67 And the shockwave he may have been tremendous he's a man sized that he's going to roll all the way 67 has been of an artillery shell and travelers Henry a shockwave everyone is going to my so here's the thing new but's criticism that comic book superheroes are for children with no grasp of science or adult relations is one of the reasons for the 80s explosion of comics geared towards older more adult fans comics evolved to encompass a broader audience which cared about continuity in consequences more than merely magical fairy tales that's not inherently wrong or right better or worse the change proves that the concepts were robust enough to continue with the times each change comes with its adherence and detractors and while change isn't inherently good we shouldn't fall victim to believing that the past is inherently good either I think it's fine to indulge in the stalls you as long as were aware of the tunes of our glasses and that were fair to our perceptions of the present however John Hodgman takes an even stronger stance I said before it nostalgia is a toxic impulse this idea that it that things were better before is usually wrong and the idea that we can get back what we had is always wrong formed on and on a nostalgic delusion that somehow we can undo progress and go back to a better time to time which was not better and certainly we can go back at all of its revision You can don't you can go back you can only go forward and Neil Degrasse Tyson of the Hayden planetarium plays in as well into his current US of the New York out which was in practically every ideally have a human although vaginal that is not better than you a vegan episode of has a side we really think nostalgia for the pod anything at it as you I think it will operate about 100 alter the past like really good have to learn what mistakes were made
a clever people can be fine but to wish you were still in the past I certainly don't I would think about the future maybe some allegedly American like doing that but I'd like to think that another part of the distress Beacon is what the world yesterday that make it a better place tomorrow use my intellect as a scientist to lessen the sake of others and creative future that we call the product part of the problem has with the stalls you is that we take advancements in progress for granted and that upon us on a level where most people use their cell phone not stupefied by how powerful is all science so I hear that people in modern trying to take the site for granted again and of course on a GPS satellites digging do so then you're just franchising yourself and your scientific innovation you think to yourself to continue to innovate is everything that you need that you want an index that's a dangerously shortsighted some may forget that the modern more psychologically nuanced interpretation which gives more credit to nurture in the formation of character is one of those advancements that we didn't always have by the same token it's only natural to keep increasing the layers of nuance and sophistication to the character over time in order to keep up with the scientific sophistication of our society as it has developed in leaps and bounds since Superman's creation remember that Superman preexisted humans breaking the sound barrier the atomic bomb and NASA nonetheless Superman as a mythology and a concept is robust enough to interact with the modern in the mature concepts of science sex philosophy religion politics and more he doesn't have to at every turn but he isn't just relegated to being just the children story either I doubt that Niven would've guessed that 30 years later Superman would carefully rendered the collateral effects of flight on film rather than run and hide from those things Superman has in placement now we went to a lot of the stuff before but as a quick refresher Superman's flight here shows off a lot of other parameters to his powers it shows his durability and his physiology some Superman doesn't block out from the G forces of acceleration he doesn't have trouble with the altitude changes or the dramatic changes in pressure from going to see level to the edge of space he doesn't have respiratory trouble from the speed or any of those varied environments as well doesn't freeze from the cold of space boil from the friction with the air joy Glenn provides some of these other collateral effects has performed by James Arnold Taylor let's see a bullet is about to hit a beautiful damsel in distress to our heroes sort of Senate superspeed I was already carries our it has saved me sounds very romantic but in reality the girl will probably suffer more damage from the zero than the bullet if you hundred superspeed Newton's first law of motion deals with – which is the resistance to a change in its state of motion when the girl and lastly cellaring to reach the speed within seconds her brain would crash into the side of her skull and when she stopped suddenly her brain would crash into the other side of her skull turning her brain into mosh the brain is too fragile to handle the sent movement so is every part of her body for that matter remember it's not the speed that causes the damage because the astronaut survived Apollo 10 it's the acceleration or sentenced that causes our internal organs to crash into the front of our bodies going to move forward embossed with the driver slams on the brakes what a serial digital girl is not likely the same as running over with space shuttle had maximum speed she probably died instantly at the point of impact and Jake Roper talks about some of the other collateral effects of such speeds using the Marvel mutant quicksilver information is going to sound one, shockwave the farm in front of him the air around 20 compressed 5.7 times and what he up to 700°F over three times the boiling point of
life would become a supercritical fluid properties of liquid and gas and it would start to move your body only occur flourishes are closer to a full speed quicksilver the shares rally were traveling 311 mph perspective category five tornado wishes via the Fuji a tornado scale goes point cars over 330 houses will be written on the ground in all manner of destruction will occur is with Windows neither 318 mph almost 20 times last quicksilver however the incredible wins be working on everything is the smallest panel and coins as much energy as a you wouldn't be close to quicksilver to bear witness to and become a potential victim of the death and destruction that will be left in his waiting given the effects of such a sonic boom you can imagine an entire protesting crowd ducking in response to one going off as Superman leaves Capitol Hill upset now while the collateral effects are largely presented as a limitation it does suggest some useful applications in 1976 the intend a hostage rescue also known as operation thunderbolt was largely regarded as a success but also involve the tragic loss of hostages who attempted to run during the rescue and were hit in the crossfire this spurred the invention of the flashback or stun grenade a device which could incapacitate hostages and hostage takers alike without permit it injury by temporarily physically neutralizing everyone allowing them to be safely taken into custody indeed Superman used in this fashion in Superman issue number 2/17 or superspeed with collateral effects does create limitations but also creates possibilities like thunderclaps and sonic booms as tools in fact their years that Wayne nature as well and there is ongoing research to mitigate the effects so are sonic booms a recent creation not exactly while we try to find ways to silence them a few other animals have been using sonic booms to their advantage the gigantic aquatic this may have been capable of sale faster than sound over 1200 km/h possibly to deter predators some types of shrimp can also create a similar shockwave underwater stunning or even feeling frame at a distance with justice of their oversized clock so well we humans have made great progress in our relentless pursuit of speed it turns out that mentor was near first as mentioned in the above clip NASA is presently studying so-called quiet sonic booms as a mechanism for flying supersonic aircraft overland with limited collateral effects so trying to do is really to eliminate sonic boom as a problem for supersonic aircraft like to be able to have supersonic aircraft overhead that we know noise here on the ground know what were hoping to do is is to reduce that bang of this is the sound of a car door closing so down the road Superman might develop this knowledge and visibility before NASA improve Niven's critique of Superman ultimately wrong sonic booms are fascinating but I'll leave you to look that up on your own while Superman causes the collateral effects now and in the film I maintained the scope and the nature of Superman's powers can grow over time with the cinematic universe just as it did in the comics in the cinematic universe I wouldn't mind if it acted as a means of differentiating Superman from the flash further down the road Superman picking up some abilities or tips from the flash on how to use his speed without as many collateral effects or perhaps special applications of speed would be really neat Superman's powers are a black box so that the Lakers have liberty on how those powers will develop there's a term for this in physics is called a black box refers to system where you can see what goes in the incident something different comes out and you wonder like what happened there in the middle that you can see anyways that's a long way off we don't even know how much Superman's powers have changed between Man of Steel and Batman be Superman if at all the point is at least for this film the filmmakers word deliberate in showing the collateral effects of his speed again and again which serves as a critical limitation and rebuttal to any questions or criticisms based around Superman's use or perhaps lack of use of superspeed a lot of the criticisms arise from assuming that Superman can simply accomplish whatever he wants in the blink of an eye and while we might get there eventually that isn't Superman that were presented with in this film okay on to Lois is voiceover and let's tackle the lines of than the images scene by scene covering his time when you you find you have is a torso story was speaking the voiceover basically has two main beats her rhetorical question answered by explaining a bit of a process and then Lois's assessment of what she's uncovering granted Lois is making an assumption that her mystery man has spent a lifetime on earth but it's a reasons conclusion as we briefly discussed in our Ellesmere Island episode even in this brief encounter Lois could learn a lot about Clark he speaks English he has an American accent he seems justice surprise at the amount of damage that the robot sentry could do as she was clearly he was arriving to the ship and not coming, he had a lack of material possession and finally Joe had bothered to falsify his employment records so while it's possible to Clark maybe just popped up on earth given the age of the vessel and her first-hand observations it wasn't an unreasonable guess that Joe has been on earth for some time Lois starts to put together the clues and use her skills as an investigative journalist to find Clark and it's a little funny but a lot of people ask how did Lois find Clark when that's exactly what Lois is rhetorical question and subsequent answer is addressing so how do you find somebody who's spent a lifetime covering their tracks Lois answers that you start with the urban legends that have sprung up in his wake granted she has a lot more clues than just that but the urban legends are the pool but she whittles down into the solid leads that she can investigate this is hardly and you are radical idea to the Superman mythos what are you doing you are a scrapbooking mean I don't know the Clark would've run and tell you you can't let of a burglar broke inherent in enabling and what people to know what you mean you learn to calm down and play and also have a will is telling a story like this one is in the amount of all claims by an angel economist you found the story line in limine in Burns Martha Kent The scrapbook of Clark's exploits one the Clark wasn't aware of the role I'm sure that Clark shares him of his adventures with his parents identity shared them all nonetheless Martha would dutifully calm the papers and buying stories that she knew applied to her son and proudly save them Lois might've had a similar practice they start Arctic cargo's employment records she might've had an idea of when Joe started giving her a timeframe that she'd combed through the urban legends which describe somebody tall dark and handsome which required a fetus strength heat vision durability as a quick aside if you consider the fact that Lois had to cast and start with a wide net something fun to think about is how that phrase urban legend has often repeatedly been used to describe the Batman so imagine if Lois his investigation also picked up on hints of others out there Waller's things the Gotham vigilante and the supernatural and so on when it be interesting if she had developed some early leads into other traditional DC you figures which Clark might pick up in his spare time afterwards to see if he's alone in his extraordinary powers but anyways Lois gives us insight into her process it's hard laborious time-consuming work she's following the hearsay in a game of telephone as she says friend of a friend who claim to have seen him now briefly this dress is something that we brought up in the past about the willingness to speak to Lois openly about their experiences and assisting her in her search now remember all of these interviews happened before Superman's public debut where he literally saves the planets of these early interviews with Lois R with a fellow rescue we and a friend of a friend I know isn't likely use that way here but it could be in the sense that they are all one way or another friend to Clark now we talked about all this in past episodes you can listen to those on your own here's David Coyer's take on the open secret of small bill in our mind you know we were never explicit about this you Ross new Clark was Superman just never told anyone we like the idea of your people in small bill just people immediately was his first girlfriend few others you probably knew Carter was Superman because you didn't see the zone years are the heard things in a contract with when when Clark decided to increase himself to the world that sort of feeling like the fact that probably with this open secret among some of the people in small bill if you don't believe that a small town protects someone who's different from outsiders I recommend listening to the true story of Mayor Stu reminiscent of Silverton or got worse small town protected one of their own despite him being so different about a link in the show notes Lois explains that she's worked backwards through time and observed the pattern and she gives an assessment of this man whose name still Luther for some he was a Guardian Angel for others a cipher a goes to never quite fit in these lines are a little melodramatic but it does fit that sort of classical styled narrative journalism and as a quick aside now playing in theaters is end of the tour with Jesse Eisenberg engaged in that kind of journalism so if you like people talking this is that kind of felt anyways actions speak louder than words but clearly the picture coming together here for her was somebody who was a protector but somebody who was also lonely and distant as she assesses in that belief that Clark wants to fit into out of three of her descriptors are supernatural Angel and ghost a cipher or encryption or puzzle meant that he was not readily understood by those around him and apparently many audience members the ghost implies a you real transients not quite being able to Todd Schorr be in the world as solidly as he'd like you will put it in her object lesson book on hotels and guest so much as I'm a ghost like a ghost even transition I might have left somewhere but I never really arrive anywhere else so here's Snyder on the sequence a little bit about Lois investigating the mystery man saved her what important a lawyer conceiving the film itself was to create a Lois that was intelligent I don't enter a good reporter and I feel like we created this sequence a help you in a pretty short period of time so to see all the things in a shooting mistake lifestyle we reedited all these different locations and create this investigation and leader of course to small think you can tell that Snyder is proud of the economy of the scene and it does convey a lot with very little attempts to say that I wish there had been more or steps showing additional locales and interviewees that we hadn't already seen in the film up to this point that would give a richer sense of both Clark's journey and Lois unraveling however I can understand the confusion that that might introduce and the disinterest of saw so that's why they kept it short and clear interjecting other steps in other locales and other persons that we hadn't seen already might jar the audience out of the montage and they wonder where are we what was that who was that I want to see that rather than just go with the flow this interstitial montage I think is additional stops are still implicit in the dialogue even if they're not shown but even if we just go by what we see it's still a substantial investigation and that's maybe easy to overlook was just take a second to think about how much time it would've taken Lois would have to travel from the Arctic back to metropolis just to get shot down by Perry and to leak or story and then for metropolis by the Chesapeake Bay should travel all the way back to Arctic cargo to interview Jed from Arctic cargo to Cassidy's to interview Crissy and then from Cassidy's to the Debbie sue to be ignored by Harold send the boat captain but then to find those three US Coast guardsmen who flew during the oil rig rescue he can see all three in the wide shot but only two of them in the close-up and their pantomiming the oil rig Derek falling over and then Clark holding it up think it's deliberate between that and the small bill gas attendant seen the line is and as you work your way back in time the stories begin to form of Padron so that suggests those unseen stories and even if not we go from there to the IHOP and Pete Ross and then from there to the Kent farm and Martha and finally to the cemetery and Clark now quick note about that gas attendant actually knowing who Pete Ross was that suggests just how small a town small bill might be perhaps a population of 5000 or less like Plano Illinois had for most of its history Bob Woodward gives three tenants of investigative journalism which can briefly be summarized as interviewing people having documentation and then authenticating the story with first-person verification by the reporter one of the questions that persists in journalism is where we get our information and there actually three tracks and I think they applied to any story the first obviously is people that doesn't mean just going to one person or one source it means checking everything talking to half a dozen or even a dozen people for a day story is something longer you want to totally surrounded and century the subject second track is documents I have not really ever seen the story in a newspaper or on television or even on radio that could be enhanced with some sort of documentation that would support or add more detail to what the story is about and I would tell and anecdote from my early reporting career to illustrate the importance of the third track and I wrote up the story based on the documents and handed it to the city editor and sincerity adherence really copy and he was delighted is while this is a front-page story in any city been there and I said no I'm that the document notes authentic Sidwell it's to have blocks away get your ass out of the chair and get over there… Story for time to basically Woodward discovers that the document was wrong and he narrowly missed out on naming the wrong party in the paper and avoided a serious lawsuit and here we can see that Lois does all of these speaking with at least nine people and having documentation on her mystery man starting with a photograph and the falsified employment records to getting to know about the bus incident and of course we see her doing all the legwork in a sense all or most of this has already been reported on before since that's what she starts with those urban legends but as a professional it's her job to take it out of being an urban legend and into a serious news story the travel the research the dead ends in the interviews even with a fully cooperative witness would've easily taken weeks and even if all the stars aligned and Lois did nothing but fly from location to location and managed to get an interview the instant she landed this whole endeavor still would've taken about a week so this gives us a little insight into how deeply committed she is to this investigation and meanwhile the timeframe that Clark is dealing with in the Arctic with Jor-El he's probably not sitting in silence with Jor-El instead he's had so many questions which were probably being answered note that by the time Lois arrives in small bill she likely knows who Clark is and has the outline of her story and the documentation to verify if for heard the story was simply about outing the identity of her mystery man she probably wouldn't even need to go to small bill however she's engaging in those tenants of journalism getting the first-hand story and considering the consequences and the capacity of her story to hurt we very discussed in the past the ambiguity of whether Pete said anything or not you can listen to that analysis back in episode nine I think based on Martha's first few words to Clark later the conversation between herself and Lois probably wasn't that long although if I recall that might've been one of the scenes it was trimmed for time now having Lois know is a daring and a deliberate change to the mythos to make a character that has existed since action comics number one more clearly competent and participatory in the story of Superman someone who helps forge the Man of Steel I can actually having only where there are you will tend as well you part of the canon is that Lois Lane doesn't know that Superman is Clark Kent or certainly she find out until much later and we just thought what if she found out the BZ to be deal with the CG movies · as well as their ideas Atlantean allies 1970 point years and it's very very freeing because it means anyways so the facility is much more partnership collaboration she's the right partner for Superman to save the human race: as an example she's obviously single woman and societal sense and she opens cows eyes to entirely new way of existing you so used to being privately furious and finally to share with someone you trust and she gave him the concept of future on the planet exhibit actually this person from the world actually not occur more humanity and he actually brings about change and she really responds a her experiences I know a couple small notes Martha's dog Dusty is not Hank the dog in the tornado scene Martha apparently works at Sears she's wearing a blue Sears polo shirt she has a Sears lanyard in the field still has corn but Martha is likely not personally involved in the crops so perhaps their leasing the land or something like that both he and Martha provides an effective mostly wordless performances beats discomfort is immediately apparent and Martha's expression says the day has finally come what we cut to Jonathan's grave Marker and one wonders on subsequent viewings if there was a body to bury when Clark arrives is with a gentle whooshing showing that he doesn't have to travel explosively at all times and have this exchange pattern having is eventually proving clearly from a story my story going from and with his gambling is the only significant Helping people want to do anything for you father profound I hardly may reject their talking without turning is a bit of a trope admittedly but it's a way of establishing how well she's gone to know Clark through the course of her investigation it's something so easy to take for granted but consider the scope of Clark's powers and the measures he's gone to keep his secret and how close to home literally Lois has hit for hostile alien or hostile journalist this would be a powder keg the both have shown extraordinary trust up to this meeting Clark who has lived his entire adult life on the run let a journalist go having seen his face and powers and Lois meanwhile has his identity but met him privately and quietly rather than ambushing him or his loved ones with a camera crew Lois by this point understands she's in no danger from Clark and wants to be his advocate Clark meanwhile knows that this is somebody with compassion and integrity he doesn't make threats stonewall her or height and she's not afraid and in a sense represents hope to him hope that he won't be rejected and might to fill the hopes of his fathers so let's break down some of these lines I figured if I turned over enough stones you'd eventually find make so as I said earlier this shows Lois his sense of trust and familiarity with Clark as we discussed in episode 23 she leaked her initial story as a means of reaching out to in communicating with Clark it shows that her investigation is part of that and when turning over stones on the periphery of his life didn't work eventually she got to his hometown and that's why it's really easy to assume or believe that Martha are perhaps Pete picked up the phone and called Clark to let them know something was in town investigating him but as we discussed in episode nine that doesn't seem consistent with Clark's first exchange with Martha or perhaps his eye contact with Pete I think a slightly more consistent interpretation is that Clark has his own investigative chops and he has reasonably kept tabs on Lois Lane remember that Jor-El has given him answers about his heritage his powers and's purpose but that came at the cost of being in incontrovertible he known on earth before the military and personally exposed before journalist is personal identity has changed but also his potential status with respect to the entire planet they know that there's a spaceship out there until Clark With the outside world he doesn't know if the military has issued a public statement or if Lois is publishing all she knows to the world putting any hope of a private life at risk and so it would be very reasonable and present in his mind to check up on that journalist that saw his face that he let go and who might have incentive to publish he would do it himself because he doesn't want Martha to worry so imagine his relief when he logs on and finds nothing but Woodburn's publication of Lois is leaked article and how much more relieved when he reads the contents and understands that she's not afraid and wants to start a dialogue in this meeting is proof of their mutual investigations we are you from what are you doing here let me tell your story Lois gets right to the crux of the questions and exactly what Clark has wondered and what makes them special and significant to the world it's not what he can do it's what he means and what is purposes at this point Lois who gathered enough information to suspect that this is a lonely existence and not the first wave of an invasion of though Clark has struggled to stay under the radar he is so committed to helping people that he has risked that cloak of anonymity and unwittingly become an urban legend he's not here to gather intelligence or act as a spy for some alien people if he was he's a terrible spy who can't help bring attention to himself in saving the lives of ordinary people on top of that Clark has lived a humble solitary transient existence his intentions were infiltration and manipulation powering guile a man is plainly attractive and capable as Clark finds himself hobnobbing with the wealthy powerful and influential this wasn't an alien trying to get into the highest levels of government military business condemn you fame or fortune this was the humble son of a farmer from Kansas instead this seems like a story worth telling what if I don't want my story to be told of course this is the crux of Clark's issue was never a question of whether he would or should help people the question of whether helping people demands that he be known to the world and even without knowing everything else that's going on with Clark Lois his rebuttal makes it clear that she understands that much it's going to come out eventually somebody's going to get a photograph figure out where you live and in fact she's correct it certainly insofar as herself is concerned she already has photographs and already did figure out where Clark lived this is perhaps the hardest line to reconcile with an ongoing secret identity in the light of Batman be Superman however within the scope of Man of Steel it does still work and are episode on the secret identity does cover that discussion Clark's reply is something that people tend to dismiss or ignore then I'll just disappear again we often take it for granted that if Superman's identity was ever exposed will he have to live with the consequences yet in this telling Clark has been a nomad for the past 16 years or so and know that technically Lois hasn't found were Clark lives partially because he's in a sense homeless Clark has just recently been given the gift of flight completely freeing him to enter and exit any situation practically it will what stops him from starting over in a new corner of the globe like he's been doing for the past 16 years the only way you could disappear for good is to stop helping people altogether and I sense that's not an option for you and Lois spots the issue immediately he could try to cut ties go underground and disappear but he always show up as a blip on the radar because he can't help himself from helping people can he Clark preambles the story of the one painful time he didn't my father believed that the world found out who I really was they'd reject me out of fear and this is the prelude and the lens that he's using to explain the story which is meant to give Lois a more complete picture of the facts and us as the audience to show what happened the one time he was forced to decide between helping and revealing I don't think he's forwarding a position or saying what is right or wrong quite the opposite the story isn't flattering it isn't romantic it isn't pretty instead Clark is unburdening himself to the first person that he can speak about this with openly and completely asking her to judge the situation he ends the story and the conversation with the question what do you think and it's not rhetorical it's an honest question seeking an answer he isn't trying to manipulate Lois into silence or threatening to give up rescuing people if she held Tim he's asking was my father right was I right is it time yet can you accept me in the world is the world ready yet all the questions that he's been asking the past 16 years Lois his subsequent actions suggest that they don't have to decide right this moment or at this time so the back-and-forth of this whole conversation although concise is logical and pointed it gets to the heart of the issues without excessive exposition are flowery explanation like we just walked through it's extremely economical and says just what needed to be said without rambling like I'm prone to and continuing to show instead of tell were treated to the flashback rather than Clark's retelling of the tornado scene so let's just address where we are in the story and its overall structure as we worry discussed in episodes 24 and 25 were still in the first act of the film and the central theme of the first act is Clark's identity revealed through his heritage his presence and glimpses of his past as prophecy important of his prospects we see krypton which provides his heritage but also the hopes dreams and expectations placed upon Cal Al then were shown the struggle for identity the struggled to meet those expectations without it and finally the question of identity is answered several times over through the end of his first act first Clark learns who he is from Jor-El against flight to cement his approach to heroism however his Arctic encounter with Lois means that his status quo with the world is potentially upset and that raises that second question who is Clark in relation to the world is Lois going to out him is it time for him to out himself dizzy he Jor-El's incitement to become a public example to humanity and despite learning what Jor-El expects of him doesn't make it given that he's going to be a public costumed superhero that's still a crazy proposition if anything flight makes the way that he's already been living even more possible however Clark had been living that way to learn who he was and what his purpose was and now that he had those things did he have to keep living that way intuitively I think the answer is no which is in large part why he ends his wandering and he comes home to Martha of course that doesn't determine what the road forward is after Clark tells Lois's story Lois essentially agrees with maintaining the status quo for now will explore this angle more will be tackled the truck dialogue but even after meeting Jor-El he's essentially back to the same crossroad in the truck before the tornado Clark was on the cusp of becoming Superboy and here with Lois Clark is on the cusp of becoming Superman even if Lois believes his story should be told eventually and Clark believes that it's his destiny to go public given the cost of Jonathan's conviction they don't have to decide that right now this wasn't a permanent decision to keep hiding it was merely an agreement that they had time to continue the conversation considering the gravity of the choice as the first act concludes before Zide than citing ultimatum the question of who Clark is in relation to Martha now that he knows that he's from krypton is answered and it is at that point a new status quo has been reached and the film could in a sense just and Clark has his answers from Jor-El Lois isn't going to out him until he's ready and he still Martha's son taking a break from his years of searching before taking the next step back the complete first act arc outside of the forces and impulses created by the tornado scene which will discuss separately under this lens it's clear why sans ultimatum upsets the status quo by nullifying the ability and the need to keep aliens a secret from humanity and specifically outing Cal out when summoning him to action will go more in depth on Clark reuniting with Martha but I'm raising all of this now to illustrate the sensible structures since the first act revolves around identity identity has always been a central pillar of the Superman mythos Dr. Jared to five shares his analysis of Clark and the importance of identity formation conflict of interest anything interesting character interesting story the way people react and respond to adversity is= logically address now here come Superman to fight he would have very few contracts Man of Steel bulletproof after than a speeding train able to call buildings in a single he there seems that there would be to view things that we get in his way cause cut it out on Superman that were Clark Kent but it is interesting or psychologically appealing psychological researchers have looked at the identity of personal identity and some researchers have developed with a call to polarity model of experience that identity is formed of two basic issues one being our self-definition the other being our level your personal related is disappointed Clark Kent Superman level of self-definition how does someone with all of these superpowers that is a understand themselves as he formed a moral code is he applied his powers in a way that's true to himself and that he can feel good about Nick that's helpful and we see young Clark had struggle with that identity formation this is really the time in his story where he comes is questions and cutaway coat with my powers but also he defying years and some of that definition is a rejection of his super identity to Clark There's a lot of the father were father figure to be replaced out meeting for all adolescent that identity struggle something we can all relate to someone or another we were aware of new physical ability in our body you are feeling. Also seemingly aware sometimes a very painful way of how much to me and how much are we accepted by other people and people getting noticed these changes to my body my identity to try on different roles and identity had been young Clark had any see a lot like the base stories around Superman and his origin story is trying to figure that out during his adolescent. Do I come to grips with the way that physically I manifest physically things that do instantly set me apart from other people that my unique ability my strengths like Helen's that I'm able to get herself, here are from others and intentionally reject so you come to grips with any see him struggle with trying to use his powers for good Intel about other people but also sense of shame about those powers and anyways he bounces back and forth between do I show those Kennedys this to show off on and impress other people were skyhigh and shy hide away from society and he seemed fine balance back and forth betweenbefore he finally comes to assert integration and acceptance of these things you need that yes I'm also who is related integrated with other people if you don't understand the first act as establishing identity but it's easy to have misapprehensions about the structure and themes of Man of Steel for example thinking that the theme is whether Clark is going to choose to save anyone and then reverse engineering that misplaced assumption into criticism about the structure pledging a lack of tension since we know Clark is going to save people from the oil rig on the ridiculous criticism that analyzes the structure after presuming the theme rather than letting the structure informed with the filmmakers were trying to convey about the theme the very first lien on earth is Clark leaping into action saving people showing the choice to say people has already been made and is without controversy the filmmakers decided to show you this first intentionally because you're supposed to know this is his choice this is who he is for viewing his childhood struggles this her heroic characterization is supposed to be in the back of your mind when viewing his childhood struggles and weighed against his future heroism people who argue for chronological order of the scenes without the oil rig first are committing a serious filmmaking crime assuming that the audience is going to bring in a Superman bias from outside the film how do you don't that this character is going to be a hero in less you already assume it from outside the film the childhood flashbacks on their own risk painting a picture of somebody who resents or despises the world and if the audience is assuming that Clark is destined for good that's importing external expectations from the larger Superman mythos the film makers don't commit that mistake instead the movie takes nothing for granted and shows you that Clark is destined for good it doesn't assume that you've been a consider Clark a hero while watching his childhood based on outside influence that means no outside assumptions are knowledge is required in the film is accessible to non-Superman fans the flashback structure shows adult Clark maintains his heroic heart through it all somebody who is a hero through his past of course the counterargument is that if the childhood scenes didn't show overwhelming signs of heroism and hope it should have instead of reflecting on the difficulty of Clark's childhood instead the argument is that a chronological telling of Clark's childhood should have been filled with heroism and the character building up his parents what is a tunnel problems with that approach but the two biggest ones are one screen time demands that would change Man of Steel into small bill the movie and to reducing the Kents into cartoon speeches and clichés instead of real parents with gradual day-to-day instilling of character appointed the flashback structure is to show that he is affected by his past but not created by Superman does not let krypton or his suffering defying his entire existence the choices not whether to be a hero the oil rig makes it clear that that's not the choice the tension or the theme of the first act the choices about how being a hero is in tension with his search for identity but it another way if Clark didn't care about saving people or if he could deny his own her heroic nature and there's no tension it's only because were shown and told that he's going to be a hero that keeping his secret is a problem if being a hero was the? And Clark didn't care maintaining his secret would be much easier it's because Clark isn't willing to sacrifice lives that he has to maintain his secret by sacrificing relationships and permanence that's the tension it's because he's heroic that he has an impulse to give his life meaning and why he wanders and is an content to just sit quietly on the farm is a little strange of this is difficult for some to understand or imagined I mean even if being a parent is hard and a struggle reflecting on that struggle or showing the difficulty of that on film doesn't suddenly mean that the character isn't a parent or that the struggle is with whether to be a parent or not if you're watching the drama about a cop or a doctor the struggle with the profession doesn't mean that the struggle is about whether to be in the profession or not and so too it is with a hero just because a person has or superpowered doesn't mean he might not have the same personal problems that URI might have maybe he doesn't have enough money there were so many things you can think of that drowned out the character and the personality show the superhero is it just one or two dimensional you want a three-dimensional superhero who lives in Paris and worries and experiences things just the way you what I do except for the fact that he or she has a superpower Clark is already shown to be the sort that saves guards and protects both in the present and in the past that's not the choice in question Clark is a hero nonetheless there are costs and consequences to that inclination but that struggle is the drama and the fact that that struggle exists suddenly makes Clark not a hero you can know what you are and what you're going to do but still struggle with it and it's a little crazy this need to be spelled out what you'll find endless variations of this criticism as if the film somehow broke Superman because being her heroic didn't come without costs are consequences or downsides that any hesitation struggle or choice in relation to those costs are consequences suddenly made and not a hero part of the reason this criticism exists is the fundamental error in assuming that heroism must arise from some distinct psychological course or reason or in other words heroism is something that can and should be easily explained they look at the struggling Man of Steel and can convert it into something as neat as the death of uncle Ben or the Wayne's and mistakenly think that the filmmakers have overlooked something as comic book a genre fans we have grown accustomed to the condensed an elegant superhero origin typically springing from adversity or trauma and shaped into a tool for good and from a broad perspective that's a positive lesson but it's not particularly realistic if we really token analyze and broke down somebody like the dark Knight and put them through the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders are the DSM you'd see flags for mental illness or disorder dissociative identity disorder depression obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder antisocial personality disorder and so on their other things that are functioning so well at what it does is kind of a split in his consciousness that by becoming Batman see his really withdrawing from his identity he's taking onto a new identity and data getting he's become obsessed even on the same sentence and become Batman more civilian he is persuading Bruce Wayne in particular is in a really interesting more likable person sure he's wealthy powerful and philanthropic event but there's not much to have many doesn't do so well in relationships of romantic relationships or otherwise and outright Bruce Wayne doesn't seem to like being Bruce Wayne and he spends more of his time as Batman and it's only in that sort of split off identity where he really tends to find himself but then their ways in which he obsesses over it becomes a great cost because he can't really form stable relationships becomes a great physical emotional platform people can begin to split off exit themselves because dealing with those events in trying to make sense of those that can lead people to associate preserve withdraw from the stimuli going on in the world however in reality the source of heroism or altruism is nowhere near as calculated clear or understood to make Superman a real hero and truly altruistic means that he joins the Legion of real heroes the psychology motives and reasons are still not fully understood yet an undeniable fact of life they exist there in your life or you are the heroic person it's a part of the human condition which doesn't need to be explained by film because in real life we lack this explanation this is a realistic and nuanced approach to hero as compared to cartoon motives or psychological complex consider the following Radio Lab excerpts discussing the Carnegie hero fund of the people who do the deeds the people who do amazingly brave and heroic things here and maybe find out don't know what makes them different than the rest of us here in that? Too many Malter Witkowski Executive Director Sec. of the Carnegie hero fund commission cool things are doing this he's gives them a little background on the hero fund what is the Carnegie hero fund Carnegie hero fund is a private operating foundation was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1904 and what we do is recognize civilian heroism throughout the United States and Canada by giving an award called the Carnegie medal and how he has choose your heroes we judge the heroic acts against a list of requirements during you have to have some kind of definition of hero which include Solomon excludes other yes I think the basic definition which is a civilian one meaning no military who voluntarily to leaves a point of safety to risk his own life or her own life or to an extraordinary degree life to save or to attempt to save the life of another human sex why you can read on what time ago was reading it just came from memories of what had happened to present my him alone to thank you voluntarily voluntarily leave a point safety harness and risk their life to extraordinary degree save the life of the mother human that's what we want to know that okay so first we have on our list is Laura Schreyer okay I am and five and I love you by United Arab Emirates now I'll restrain the country I wanted any modifiable one glad crater is always hundred and 50 pound jersey Karen Brown is clearly been where you is that with electric so here's the moment we find fascinating this point Laura can either go forward through thousands of volts of electricity toward an angry vulnerable likely mall her to more she can stay safe and another hundred and she says by the time she got through praise really in the shown up and threw her a piece of pipe Amy about as I approach the woman who is is is is is is is not as frequent up to the goal and to a way actually able and is there outside the always literally right around a few times and snorted to a question when you are there that fanfare and you had the choice either stay put you go through it what was going to your mind what was their calculation there and that the only options or anything like that is here's the problem here is a Gail her so there's no choice moment I become now nearly as rescue Chile unfortunately this is the usual explanation says Walter popular know! I couldn't stand there and not do anything I would I was compelled to act I really think about what you observe or really thought about my life at that time of an opportunity we just him to had difficulty Dragon that's the voice of the next Carnegie hero that water told us that William David Pennell him so we battle while loosely admitted thousand 362nd person to receive the Carnegie medal yet very for William David Pennell was 37 years old at the time of his heroic act in a small town near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Monongahela Pennsylvania is a better sleep in the way for flash help when outside his house there was a very bad automobile accident car crashed head-on into a utility pole blames his like with you and you responded to the scene wearing only sweatband snowshoes are is you are you will standing on fire three drunk teenagers and Zen that car is neither a be go into the driver's door is no or time by then will claim is about 3 feet above through to as ominously as an engineer unleashed aiming to you did was imagine what is the net told him I said when you in any of the car was going here hadn't largest to try to help bullying I did what any normal person would do you I just kept saying is a somebody scheduled automated it's a tie my daughter was like 16 I'm same assault you know if something gone for good whatever happened to her that I would hope someone would be there to help to talk your neighbor's and ask them my name come in a unit you know what this is for you brought that up because not never never brought it up never brought up, I guess the maybe Opera when Lecter answer I never #is the difference between you and and is other people it is understood by could answer that Aquaman to so are moral girls you know this guy didn't really know either somebody must be able to tell us something about what they were thinking at that moment that allow them and gave them the courage to do it again I can give you a definite answer as to what propels people to do this not eligible more shelf Walter he told by case the case of Wesley James Autry a construction worker from the New York 50-year-old man who did jump into the trackpad in a subway station to remove a young man who had fallen onto the track was 6 foot hundred and 80 pounds he was inert and yet Mr. Autry persisted despite the fact that the train was coming there would come a point at least in my estimation for you have to say I have to get out of here because I'm going to be killed on I'm not suicidal that Mr. Autry didn't think that way he and I put in this matter what he did was he lay atop the victim between the rails while the train passed over them in the farthest reaches of my imagination I can see myself jumping onto a subway track to attempt a rescue what I can see myself doing is lying atop the victim of the train passes over making the story even more nuts when we finally met up with Wesley on a platform when this happened under 35th and Broadway explain to us know if his daughter is okay just hit him in jurisdiction all my God is understanding and guy that convulsing and eventually evolve off the platform onto the tracks right of the choices pretty stark in order to save his complete stranger's Gallery his daughters behind the that that is the Joss runs why is he conjures a interesting read the guiding anti-Semite grabbed his hand with a way to the 20 only to him there, right ovarian you haven't let doing you as you questions of the point which he said you heard voice that said I can do this with what is amazing to me is it a rather daughters are here I think I know he was a stranger to the same but you know what the missing wasn't uncompleted I was chosen that results shows that you have yours is is a very religious person though I would later why will maybe 20 years ago I was the at a certain point immediately to exactly why he can't use the one guy said right before his feet left the platform this one specific moment from his life flashed my this thing that happened I had a gun to my temple known as a misfire so a was to your head and you will is that so using maven severe in a moment he says with a gun when clicking he didn't die always wondered why God spared in that moment until he was on the platform many something I fall off since then he knew this is why is is is you I was never more certainly won't be okay I knew everything was already known I ended the day I don't think that there's an answer to the question we over here but why were you a hero I don't think that any three of these vitamins the last one had the longest explanation he had been selected for some purpose does he know why you allow a clue as he reaches me something to the first two I have no idea is just something in the name and became a three talking a circumstances world prepared him for that moment serendipity so it makes me think will what if I circumstances are just right maybe I get a moment he needs to say to do that over intermarriage is a will is will you know what else are you wouldn't do this or wouldn't do that to that situation fact we asked Walter nomination you getting your a hard to find a little harder to find that we are fortunate to be living in a society regardless of what you hear elsewhere we are fortunate to be living in a society where people do look out for others even strangers he told us he had up their guidelines to make it harder to win simply because of the vast number of deeds that happen day-to-day life so realistic heroism which genuinely exists and can be encountered in this world isn't something that can be chewed up pre-digested and spat out to be spoonfed to audiences who think that altruism can only arise from trauma tragedy comic book compulsion it's something yet to be fully quantified and reasonably sidestepped by the filmmakers less they turn Superman into nothing but the product of clichés this was a deliberate choice to show that this heroic nature was in him before the costume before the Cape before the alien name and heritage and even before full adult maturity note that the Carnegie hero fund specifically targets heroes with no explicit duty to act but it doesn't account for the thousands upon thousands of people who make it their job and their calling to be heroes as first responders in service to their country fighting injustice or inequality treating the sick and more while some of them may have or retroactively construct for themselves and origin story it's typically inapplicable the filmmakers made that calculated choice and by refusing to give Superman cartoon origin to his heroism he better reflects the men and women in society who truly are heroes and who we can aspire to be people who might have experienced trauma tragedy but are not driven or compelled by a tribulation may be a part of their story but it's not always the origin of it in fact the film is careful to show that Superman isn't the sole and exclusive source of heroism they show us the servicemen who gave their lives for the protection of others the courage the conviction and the sacrifice of his father's Lois lanes repeated feats of bravery a scientist who volunteers for a mission from which he doesn't return and a newspaper editor who tries to rescue and comfort one of his own and taking it to another level heroism isn't the exclusive domain of the likable even the hard Col. Hardy the lecherous Steve Lombard show that possibility and potential to be a force for good this is in the fairytale were only nice guys get to show selflessness only those with an origin story get to be heroes and that some of the hope of Man of Steel and part of the subconscious appeal of Superman that with a short rep any one of us can show our inner heroic self and that the trappings that we enjoy about Superman aren't necessary or sufficient conditions for heroism or to put it another way they shouldn't be your handicap or your excuse to be a hero you don't need perfect parents you don't need to be raised perfect to lead a perfect tragedy free life or to be faultless or morally perfect now those may be good and desirable an aspirational things but they aren't the exclusive source of heroism those who practice character are more likely to demonstrate under pressure Wesley Autry the 50-year-old construction worker that say that stranger on a subway was a Navy veteran but everyone has the potential to demonstrate character Superman is so good at that principle that sometimes we take the Superman mythos for granted and simply assume that his idyllic childhood would of course forge a hero however Superman has every excuse not to be what is the last survivor of a doomed planet orphaned different misunderstood and alone but Superman doesn't let those defying his actions he doesn't let the differences between himself and the people in his life become an insurmountable distance instead he focuses on the connections the bridges and they do have so much so that we can forget how alone he could be you don't need a comic book origin to be a hero and you shouldn't let the lack of one stop you from being what you can aspire and be a hero today you can be the first act and inspire others to to be an encouragement to show kindness compassion and assistance and to get involved in be more than a bystander whether or not you come from krypton or Kansas that same myopic perspective the demands and origin for heroism is perhaps the same that lacks the basic empathy were understanding of the human condition to imagine or understand the trauma of killing tragically a common criticism is that the psychology of killing wasn't built up throughout the film to justify Superman's reaction after's odds death and I don't think a sophisticated film needs to explain or spoonfeed the human condition to its audience the film reasonably assumes that the audience has some basic domain knowledge about how people may react to taking a life without need for explanation or exposition moreover just like heroism it remains the realm of psychology and not something fully known or understood even could be predigested or spoonfed unless compromises were made to make the reaction cartoonish and overly simplistic even soldiers with training are still creatures of conscience and they may experience complex emotional reactions even in self-defense of the defense of others before and after taking a life consider this opening excerpt from soldiers of conscience some every soldier has to face the question will I be able to kill another human being a this film is about killing some US soldiers who have chosen not to the evidence is that far more soldiers refused to kill them we might expect in World War II research by the official U.S. Army historian Brig. Gen. SLA Marshall revealed that among US soldiers in combat less than 25% actually fired their weapons at the enemy and even with their own lives at risk 75% did not try to kill Marshall wrote the average individual still has such an inner resistance to killing a fellow man that he will not take life it is possible to turn away from that responsibility vital point he becomes a conscientious objector I should mention that my grandfather was in the military my father was in the military and we spent our early childhood on military bases around the world after his service my dad went on to get a PhD in electrical engineering and never spoke about his tour in episode 15 understanding Jonathan I raise the fact that he would've been age 18 at the height of the Vietnam War draft and were never told explicitly one way or the other whether Jonathan served her toward but if Man of Steel takes its notes from Mark Waid's birth right that was a part of Pok hence experience and depending on what he saw or experienced imagine how that would a shaped his upbringing of Clark a decade later contrast Clark's experience with Lois who had reported on warfare first-hand and Jor-El whose talents allow us to infer somebody who has fought before and we can see their more seasoned reactions when they did what was necessary when something is part of the human experience you don't and sometimes can't explain it in the course of a narrative that's not about that topic in real life all we get a glimpses we act and react speaker stay silent and rarely do we spell out our psychology for some unseen audience to consume and digest what were thinking with Man of Steel cinéma vérité approach we don't get the comic book convention of thought bubbles her narration boxes nonetheless with the characters do and don't say and how they say it gives us insight into their thoughts and their attitudes and will go into that in more depth when we come back to the commentary on the conversation in the truck right before the tornado now ironically the human condition accounts for critics who lack empathy and have unreasonable expectations of the film would explain selflessness or give cartoonish motivations for it until that the film essentially predicts this lack of sympathy and understanding in a part of the population while we only slightly touch on the heaviness of taking human life to leave you with a more amusing rendering of prejudice and a reminder that few of these arguments are new to the Superman mythos the following clips are from Superman on trial originally broadcast in 1988 by the BBC you doing something committing a crime will exercise enough for so he uses his powers to injure a human being go through Luther minimum for sex all I had a boy that I'm lucky her own half of metropolis is the fifth of the classic will I will is you and you is world to my knowledge Superman has not gratuitously gone around on the streets beating up people I think there is an imaginative aspect to creative aspect is very good novel to you you know I'd like to see things is when the synergies of accommodation in other words keep developing imaginative keep changing keep progressing cavity Superman belong to mind is now to help my fellow human being but never to upset the delicate system of checks and balances which the reader will remarkably whole if I have failed is that it indeed I am guilty as charged in a will is will you and you are you will you and will be here on a dark I tried to help men you out say you will I I know in a moment of prosecution has some questions is this there's nothing I had which will support you will be so sure I was beginning to think the evidence provided magazines the Superman was inconclusive seeing you here I realize the opposite in US traditionally been portrayed as close you is world is the way you by the is cozy relationship between you and Superman is not all it's cracked to be his will is true that your first encounter with Superman as I attempted to you and it is you is a lot Hong Kong he will conversations you had the comic magazine over and conversations that led to the creation of the graphic novel dark Knight which featured in Superman reactionary and warmongering you is it wasn't something that I was just concerned that it might not be able to humanity to citizens of their cause is a certain Elavil your really afraid of his Superman is no more than reasonable eventually he our allegiance is you have to be ultimately he is in human affairs you is becoming the love himself like that it would be able to mankind and 83 you really mean sorry was later told I do see how Superman is older interference in human affairs a crime against humanity okay I think I've rambled on long enough here some shows I suggest you check out if you want to extend your enjoyment of the Superman mythos got it together from the far reaches of beings that are assembled and that's what got dedicated to the bust greatest superhero is safe a heavy Superman like featuring Superman: the DC comics presents crisis to Superman podcast is Superman this you will is Superman forever and about the you you you you are you will podcast KL from Superman homepage.com is John Wilson really help you are leaving my present bride your retailer Michael they start to Sam result is the original Mario is given by an highlighted I gave Younis and how has Gotti they because that what.com thanks so much soliciting I just love discussing the stuff and if you been sticking with me hopefully you do to I'm genuinely grateful for each and every listener and hope you'll join us Man of Steel answers.com that way if you got questions you want answered or insights that you want to share commentary to make composing the comments for all your like-minded apologist to see or you can email me at mosaic@ManofSteelofSteelanswers.com if you like what you heard please review the show on iTunes or stitcher and subscribed this is Dr. awkward your DC cinematic universe apologist signing off CNX time that answers