Why Zack Snyder’s Superman Was So Underpowered

Superman was the superhero that kicked off the concept of the superhero when he debuted in the comics back in 1938 and then kicked off the superhero movie genre in 1978 with Superman: The Movie. That only made it fitting for Superman, the character, to be the starting point for Warner Bros. plans for a shared DC Cinematic Universe to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 2013’s Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder, introduced a new take on the Last Son of Krypton.

Played by Henry Cavill in 2013’s Man of Steel, 2016’s Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, both 2017’s Justice League and 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and 2022’s Black Adam, audiences saw Cavill’s Superman pull off some incredible feats of strength. He fended off a Kryptonian invasion, fought villains like Doomsday and Steppenwolf, and brief faceless cameos in movies like The Flash showed he was even able to deal with a volcano. This is why it might shock viewers to know that despite Cavill’s incredible build and the task his Superman accomplished, he is not the most powerful take on the character. In fact, on film, he might be on the weaker versions, and this was designed by the creators.

Every On-Screen Version of Superman

Henry Cavill’s Superman Compared To Others

Superman on TV

Due to the limits of the television budget, it is safe to say that Cavill’s Superman has shown incredible feet of strength compared to Dean Cain’s Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman or Tom Welling’s young Clark Kent in Smallville, yet it can certainly be said that Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman on Superman & Lois is certainly pretty powerful and likely on par with Cavill’s take on the hero. However, when compared to past Superman film depictions, Cavill’s Superman doesn’t appear to be as strong.

Brandon Routh’s Superman is nothing to sleep on. He fights another Superman from the Arrowverse, one played by Tyler Hoechlin in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. This is also nothing compared to the DC Comics version of Superman, be it the character from the Silver Age to DC Rebirth, where his powers seem immeasurable.

Superman in Movies

First, there is Christopher Reeve’s version of Superman, who moves so fast that he is able to travel in time. There is debate on whether this is Superman literally moving the Earth’s rotation backward, causing time to reverse, or if Superman is traveling so fast he is able to travel through time similar to the Flash. Regardless of the answer, that is an incredible display of power from the first feature film Superman. This is by design, as when Superman: The Movie came out in 1978, Superman’s status in the comics had grown to an extreme level of power that would force DC to reset in order to give his stories tension. However, in 1978, Superman, the character, was known as an all-powerful hero, so it makes sense that this live-action depiction is able to accomplish near-impossible feats.

Routh’s Superman is supposed to be the same Superman that Christopher Reeve played, but since Superman Returns was released in 2006, and after the comics had made efforts to put limits on Superman’s powers, the movie has to balance fitting within the canon of the prior films while also fitting in new comic book developments.

The film opts to showcase Superman’s strength less in fight scenes but highlights his incredible speed and showcasing his strength by contrasting his human-size appearance lifting massive objects. Superman is able to essentially save millions of Metropolis citizens by moving at such fast speeds that he stops the damage from the Earthquake underneath the city from hurting anyone.

He is not only able to stop a Boeing 77 plane, but later in the film, he lifts a yacht out of the ocean. In the film’s epic climax, he lifts an entire alien content that Lex Luthor has grown on Earth up out of the ground and sends it into space. Even though the landmass has a Kryptonite core, one that eventually starts to impact Superman, he is able to remove it from the planet’s atmosphere. While he does “die,” unlike Cavill’s Superman, Routh’s version doesn’t stay dead for long and returns without the need for a Mother Box.

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Cavill’s Superman does have the disadvantage of seemingly appearing weaker just because of how many more physical foes he has to fight. For example, General Zod and Doomsday are actually able to hurt Superman, but Reeves’ Superman also deals with physical threats like his own version of General Zod, as well as Nuclear Man in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. So far, all the cinematic incarnations of Superman pale in comparison to most people’s idea of what the character can do in the comics.

Man of Steel’s Title Might Indicate Why Cavill’s Superman Is Underpowered

In 1985, DC published Crisis on Infinite Earths. Crisis on Infinite Earths was a massive 12-issue epic that served two purposes. The event allowed DC to reboot its entire universe. More importantly, it allowed them to tell new origin stories for their classic characters, updating them for modern audiences. When it came to Superman, they saw it as a chance to jettison some concepts that had been introduced to the character over the years. Characters like Supergirl and other Kryptonian characters were dropped to restore Superman’s status as the last of his kind.

Written and drawn by John Byrne, Man of Steel was a six-issue miniseries that launched in July 1986. Man of Steel became the dividing point between the Silver Age of Comics and the Modern Age, often referred to by fans as Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis. One of the biggest hallmarks of Bryne’s new Superman was deescalating his powers. Superman would still have many of his iconic abilities, but they also wanted to place limitations on him to give his story a sense of suspense with more obstacles for him to overcome. This was the character’s origin until 2003’s Superman: Birthright, and there would be a limit on his powers until Superman’s resurrection following his death.

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Man of Steel, the 2013 film, looked to do something similar with the character of Superman that the comic of the same name did in 1986. Not only did it adopt many elements from Bryne’s take on the character, including the depiction of Krypton as a society moving more towards scientific breeding as opposed to natural birth. Man of Steel the comic also informed the creative intent for Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. Man of Steel film. It wanted to relaunch Superman for a new modern audience and make him more relatable. Maybe this is why the film has the exact same name as the comic, as both an homage and a clear indicator that these are Superman stories for a new audience that looked to ground the character.

Unlike most live-action takes on Superman, Zack Snyder’s version exists in a world filled with other superheroes, including gods and aliens. He is still considered the strongest in the franchise but has a greater curve to be graded on than the likes of Christopher Reeve or Brandon Routh. At the end of the day, though, he is still Superman, which makes him one of the strongest heroes in fiction. It just appears Zack Snyder drew from DC Comics history and lore to feature a less overtly overpowered take on the hero. With James Gunn’s Superman drawing heavily from comics that showcase Superman at the top of his power, like All-Star Superman and A Superman for All Seasons, it will be interesting to see how he stacks up against the rest.