‘Man Of Steel' Violence Was Avoidable! Comic Artist Neal Adams Criticizes 'Neck Snap' Scene As Illogical! Did Snyder Go Too Far?

While everyone is talking about the casting rumors and plot spoilers for "Batman V Superman," there are still critics of Zack Snyder's handling of the "Man of Steel." The 'neck snap' scene in particular left a sting in legendary comic artist Neal Adams.

In a podcast with Kevin Smith titled Fat Man on Batman, he talks about how the neck snap could have been avoided:

"And then at the end, what did he do? He killed a guy. Can't put his hand over his eyes? I'm just saying...put your hand over his eyes. That would stop it pretty much. One arm is around the throat, put the other hand in front of his eyes. That's pretty much it. Take him off to the moon or Saudi Arabia or someplace, and finish the battle there."

This is a rebuttal to Snyder's response that it was unavoidable since there were people in the line of fire (from Zod's heat vision).

"The other thing that they did too. I don't know...there's like a rivet in the back of what-his-name's head that makes his eyes not move like our eyes can move. Like there are people over there...all I have to do is go like that, and they're dead. Why are his eyes traveling the movement of his head?"

That's a logical question, and Neal Adams would understand the dynamics of super villains. Snyder might have exaggerated the danger to justify his ending.

But another point he raised is that the scene should not have happened in the first place:

" But why were they fighting in Metropolis? I don't understand...even the Kelvinator movies...I'm sorry I was just joking...the robot movies...Transformers movies, they went to Saudi Arabia to fight. They're knocking down the Sphinx and stuff, but they're not so many people. They're in the middle of nowhere. They could have gone on the moon, but as soon as Superman hits a building, it's going to fall down. Didn't we lose 500 people there? It feels weird."

Snyder wanted a sense of urgency and sympathy from the viewer. He set it in the Metropolis to make the battle more relatable to the viewers, most of which are in the city.

It has long been teased that the depiction of violence in "Man of Steel" serves as a backdrop for the next movie "Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice."  Multiple plot spoilers point out that the question of whether superheroes are also a 'threat' due to the mass destruction plays a key role.

However, on the basis of judging a film on its own, Adams has a valid point. Perhaps it should be better for Snyder to admit that it's his prerogative as a director and that was how he wanted the scene to end, rather than provide a justification that is a fallacy.

Do YOU think "Man of Steel" was too violent?

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man of steel
Neal Adams
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