“I Walked Away From Mankind” Explained

Thesis

Diana is not saying, “I rejected humanity and condemn them for their division.”
She’s saying, “I spared them my divinity because it doesn’t work with their division.”

Defining The Controversy

I continue to see confusion about the sequence of events and statements, so to make it explicitly clear: Diana defeats Ares, then [by her own timeline] she walks away from mankind, she fights Doomsday, and she tells Bruce she walked away, Bruce sends her the original photo, and it is then that Wonder Woman says, “So I stay, I fight, and I give for the world I know can be.  This is my mission now.  Forever.”  Before leaping into the light in our time.

We have no explicit indication that she has been doing this between defeating Ares and defeating Doomsday other than her statement that she’s killed “things”- plural- from other “worlds”- again plural- before.  So Diana’s last lines in Wonder Woman come after Dawn of Justice and are not in contradiction with BvS.  Anything based on the last lines is a comprehension error and not a contradiction.

However, contradiction can still be alleged based on the explicit statement that Diana believes in love… and the general idea or attitude that she is an irrepressible activist.

Concisely, “If you love, you can’t walk away.” and/or “Heroes can’t walk away.”

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Lex Luthor Explained

Lex Luthor leaves many confused.  What follows is an explanation of Lex’s motives and machinations, then exploded and examined with in-story support.  Inspired by episode 42 of MOSAIC.

We’ll largely stick to in-story sources, although everything discussed is supported by second-tier continuity like the Forbes feature, Wired interview, World of Batman v. Superman promotional comics, TimeOut travel guides, etc.  For example, it’s fun trivia that Clark and Lex share the middle-name Joseph, but not vital for any deduction or conclusion.

First we’ll outline everything in the affirmative, Lex’s motive, machinations, and moves:

Motive

  • Expose “power can be innocent” as a lie.

That’s it.  Everything essentially comes from this multi-layered motive.  Lex means to enact this motive through several big-picture plans.

Machinations

  • Demonize Superman
  • Manipulate Batman to Beat Superman
  • Gain Exclusive Entrance to Ship
  • Develop Doomsday

The first plan is the main plan.  The second plan arises after it is clear Senator Finch won’t publicly legitimize his position.  The third plan ties everything together and creates the fourth plan.  The first three big-picture plans encompass the Lex’s moves until he learns from the ship, when he calls the fourth as an audible.  The final plan covers his moves in the second half of the film.

Moves

  • Preparation & Planning
  • Africa
  • Import License
  • Fundraiser
  • Bombing
  • Entering Ship
  • Develop Doomsday
  • Distract Superman

These big events encompass the main moves Lex makes in order to accomplish his machinations for his motive.  Let’s break it down as a sequence of events expressed in the affirmative for Lex. read more

Zod Fight Analysis: Oil Tanker Objections – Novice v. Veteran Expectations – Collateral Damage Assessment


Some critics seem really hung-up on Superman prioritizing 7.2 billion people over one side of a car park.  It seems ridiculous to have to get that granular and justify a single, instinctual heat-of-the-moment choice by a first-time combatant (just hours earlier a life-long pacifist) against a veteran soldier… but this keeps coming up! read more

Tornado Topics: Adjusting for Age

MOSAIC has tackled a number of peripheral issues relating to the controversial tornado scene in Man of Steel. We’ve talked a little about the incorrect assumptions about available powers, unknown limits and vulnerabilities, distinguished this scene from the bus rescue, and more (with much more to come in the complete analysis), but I just wanted to touch on an aspect that layers throughout that analysis and goes to some of our gut instinctual biases rather than engaging our intellect, imagination, and empathy.

Problem with Perception

Essentially, it has to do with our intuition about age.

tumblr_mwky1r2rAV1rei3gfo3_1280Part of the gut reaction to Jonathan Kent as the man of action while Clark stands by… comes from seeing a man in the prime of his life staying in place, while a man nearing his sixties is performing a rescue. To make things a little more concrete, Costner was born in 1955, Cavill in 1983. At the time of filming (August 2011 in Illinois) they’d be around the ages of 56 and 28 respectively. Hair and makeup did a great job, but there’s still that dissonance. We want the adult Clark to rebel, to take initiative, to demonstrate the capability that is so plainly visible in his strength and youth… meanwhile the older man, approaching his 60s, seems like the better candidate to run to presumed safety.

Within the timeline of the film, we know Jonathan is 46 and Clark is about 17 in this scene, on the cusp of becoming an adult. Both actors were dealing with a decade plus gap. Costner was 56 playing 46 and Cavill was 28 playing 17. Incidentally, Dylan Sprayberry was 13 when filming and is 17 today.

Reasons for Using Cavill

So why did they use Cavill instead of trying to age-up Sprayberry or use another actor?

1461348_624250417620917_1461800411_nI’m speculating,  but I think the filmmakers felt that this was a critical moment of continuity for Cavill; showing his Clark experienced this moment which carried forwards, through, and until becoming Superman. With another actor, Cavill is denied a moment to work with Costner and the audience perhaps separates this seminal event with the contemporaneous Superman. Maybe. I know that for myself, I don’t quite think of Reeve as the one who witnessed his father’s heart-attack, but instead that was something left behind on the farm or in a cave by someone else.

Inserting a fourth (fifth, if you count Kal-El on Krypton) Clark into the mix may introduce additional risk of confusion or alienation. Continuing to use Sprayberry might mitigate the confusion but might fail to show how close Clark was to manhood (something highly significant that we’ll definitely analyze in depth in the future) and ready to set out on his own.

So trying to de-age Cavill was a calculated risk with sensible reasons. Even if it challenged audiences to consider how old these characters were supposed to be. That choice wasn’t entirely without precedent in the story of Superman: Tom Welling was 24 playing 14 and Jeff East was 21 playing 17. It tends to be something expected and requires some suspension of disbelief from the audience.

In retrospect, aging-up Sprayberry and suggesting that Clark developed a little slower than everyone else might have been better; However, we’ll never know.

Examples of Actors Age 46 and 17

Of course, age 46 and 17 may perhaps still not be intuitive; so to illustrate, let’s consider some actors who fit these demographics right now in June 2015. Jonathan Kent was a healthy active fifth-generation farmer. Consider these other men who, today, are about Jonathan Kent’s age in that scene:

Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, Will Smith, Eric Bana, Timothy Olyphant, Josh Brolin, Aaron Eckhard, and Terry Crews.

MenOfACertainAgeWould any of these men seem out of place as men of action? As having the authority to command their 17-year-old teenager? To be respected and listened to by that 17-year-old?

Although it’s a little harder to find 17 year olds who’ve distinguished themselves, consider the following teens who, today, are about Clark Kent’s age in that scene:

Dylan Sprayberry, Asa Butterfield, Chandler Riggs, Jaden Smith, Max Burkholder, Rico Rodriguez, and Tye Sheridan.

Age17forMOSIf you match up the men, age 46, with a teen around the age of 17, the dynamics of the tornado scene are more intuitive. Jonathan Kent’s protectiveness of his teenaged son is easier to grasp. Remember, that just prior, Clark expresses his frustration with being “safe”… meaning that for the past 4 years, nearly a quarter of his entire life and the time Jonathan has spent with his son… was with the powers suppressed, safe, and unseen. Jonathan had spent the last 1,500 consecutive days with just his son Clark and not his abilities.

approxJust as we, the audience, struggle to overcome our intuitions and assumptions based on what we see… for Jonathan, when he looks at Clark, he doesn’t see an alien filled with powers or abilities… he sees his teenaged son who still needs protection and guidance.

Of course, that imagery isn’t necessary for us to imagine or empathize with that attitude. It simply makes that empathy a little easier and more intuitive. Certainly we all have had, know, or been that parent who can only see their child- no matter how grown-up, independent, or powerful- as their little boy or girl to be protected. In that sense, no matter how mature Cavill’s Clark looked, Costner’s Jonathan would and could still see the same baby he cradled, boy he took fishing, teen he had long talks with, etc. I don’t think stretching our empathy (challenging it) rather than manipulating it (with a younger actor) is necessarily a bad thing.

Why Would Jonathan Be Protective?

45It’s a little bit ridiculous to believe that Jonathan performed a careful dispassionate utilitarian calculation in the face of a sudden emergency. Instead, he went with his gut which reasonably sought to protect a son three decades his junior. Jonathan didn’t do some heartless calculation, but even if he did, he be missing gross amounts of data and figures critics routinely assume as immutable facts known to the characters. How would Jonathan know that Clark would be safe against one of the most incredible and destructive forces of nature? A tornado contains 6 times the energy density of a hurricane and even average or typical tornadoes pack the power of 300 gallons of jet fuel, much less a tornado ranked 4 or 5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale (throwing cars through the air).

15-kevin-henry-dianeFor this level of threat, as far as Jonathan knew, Clark was as in just as much mortal jeopardy as he was. So the father did as you’d expect: prioritize his son’s life over his own. This is self-evident with respect to his own rescue, since Jonathan prefers Clark to live free from persecution, for a time, over his own life.  Clark, meanwhile, has reason to trust and obey the man who has lived three times as long and done nothing but love him his entire life.

However, we’ll get into all that soon, for now, the takeaway: while the film does present us with a 28-year-old actor following the wishes of a 56-year-old actor… if we consider what the scene is to meant to convey, we might overcome some of the biases based on perceived ages instead of what the story tells us their ages are and expand the capacity and thoughtfulness of our empathy.

Rambling: How It Could Have Ended

I enjoy How It Should Have Ended. Based on the prominence of Superman (and Batman) at the Super Café, I think their affection for Superman is obvious and I generally take their offerings in the spirit in which I think they were intended: superficial lighthearted jabs at plotting meant to raise an eyebrow and chuckle. HISHE isn’t a serious indictment of or malicious bitterness towards the films (they do take a few more pot-shots at Man of Steel in later clips, but nothing too vitriolic).

I think they tend to humorously raise the questions the general audience might, under the short window of their production schedule (this video was originally published a little over a month after the premiere), but often those questions can be answered by those more invested in the work than general audiences. For example, the issue of the eagles with The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King.

They’re under time pressure to try to find a more seemingly rational course of action (and ending) while hoping that it’s received as funny. Their aim isn’t to test any film’s staunchest apologists. By the same token, the following isn’t meant to impinge on their intelligence, attack their efforts, or criticize their creation (never meant to do much more than make you chuckle) however it does address the questions raised by How It Should Have Ended.

The video basically raises these questions:

  1. Why didn’t Jor-El copy Lara’s consciousness too?
  2. Why didn’t Clark consult with Jor-El in response to Zod’s ultimatum?
  3. Why did Zod give Earth 24 hours to respond?
  4. Why didn’t Superman blitz the Black Zero with his vessel?
  5. Why didn’t Superman just do what everyone was expecting?

The biggest flaw in raising these questions is assuming too much about what characters know or don’t know.  If we don’t make the same assumptions, let’s see how things could have ended!

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Kryptonian Armor Doesn’t Grant Super-Strength – How Kryptonian Powers Work – Take Two

CD3it1rWoAAEivVWith more images of Batman’s armor, the question has been raised as to how it might be able to contend with Superman and the idea that it grants Batman increased strength is a reasonable theory. The idea of armor or exo-skeletal strength enhancement is prevalent in real-world R&D and extensible from Kryptonian technology (but perhaps not in the way many assume).

There are many justifications on how Batman might, under contrived circumstances, stand a chance against Superman and increasing Batman’s strength is just part of it. However, this has re-raised the question as to whether Kryptonians in the Battle of Smallville had armor which granted them the abilities seen then. I don’t think so.

The topic has been raised before and it took me a while to crystallize my own thinking about what was actually happening, so my previous efforts tended to be more rebuttals of other theories than affirmative statement of what I think the final theory on powers actually is, but let me take one more crack at it. I’ll start with a quick rebuttal, a short statement of the rules, then a justification and support for what those rules are.

I respectfully request that you clear your mind of preconceptions and assumptions and try to operate under the theories to be set forth. read more