Man of Steel

The planet Krypton is destabilizing due to reckless mining of the planetary core. The Kryptonian Council ignores the warnings of renowned scientist Jor-El, who then steals and infuses the Kryptonian genetics codex into his new-born son, Kal-El, the first naturally-born Kryptonian in centuries. Jor-El and his wife Lara manage to evacuate Kal-El in a spacecraft toward Earth before Jor-El is killed by General Zod during a coup d'état. Zod's insurrection is stopped by the Kryptonian Council; he and his followers are sent into the Phantom Zone as punishment. Krypton is destroyed, along with all its remaining inhabitants. Kal-El lands in Kansas, where he is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent and named Clark. As he grows older, due to his Kryptonian physiology and Earth's yellow sun, he develops superhuman powers that Jonathan urges him to keep hidden until he is mature enough to handle the global consequences, even refusing Clark's help years later, leading to his death in a storm. Burdened with guilt, Clark travels the globe hiding under various aliases, seeking his purpose, and discreetly helping those in need. Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane investigates the discovery of a Kryptonian scout ship in the Arctic. Disguised as a worker, Clark enters the ship. He learns from its artificial intelligence, modeled after Jor-El, about his origins, and that Clark was sent to Earth with the hope he would guide its people. While following Clark, Lois inadvertently triggers the ship's security system. Clark uses his powers to rescue her. Wearing a uniform provided by the ship, he begins testing his abilities. Unable to convince her editor-in-chief, Perry White, to publish an article on the incident, Lois leaks the story to a popular blogger. She tracks down Clark in Smallville intent on exposing him. However, upon hearing of Jonathan Kent's sacrifice, Lois decides to keep Clark's identity safe, while fueling Perry's suspicions. Zod and his followers are revealed to have been released from the Phantom Zone when Krypton was destroyed. They retrofitted their prison vessel into a functioning ship and salvaged several xenoforming devices from abandoned Kryptonian outposts. Waiting thirty-three years for a sign of Kryptonian survival, they are drawn to Earth when Clark accessed the ancient scout ship. Zod threatens Earth unless Clark surrenders to him; Clark reveals himself to U.S. military personnel and surrenders to their custody. Lois is also captured by the military due to her leaked story. Clark negotiates a meeting with Zod, who demands Clark and Lois join him on his ship. Onboard, Zod infiltrates their minds, revealing his intention to xenoform Earth into a new Krypton once he is in possession of the codex, which will result in humanity's extinction. Clark refuses to join Zod. Using the Jor-El AI to temporarily take over the ship, he and Lois escape. Intending to use the codex to repopulate his species, Zod investigates Clark's pod in Smallville. However, the codex cannot be found and Zod angrily threatens Martha. Clark fights off Zod's followers across Smallville, convincing the military of his allegiance to Earth. Zod's science officer, Jax-Ur, discovers Jor-El hid the codex's information within Clark's genes, the extraction of which would be fatal. Zod nevertheless deploys his xenoforming device, the World Engine to the Indian Ocean, while descending his ship over Metropolis. The two work in concert to xenoform Earth, severely damaging Metropolis. Clark, now dubbed "Superman" by Lois, destroys the World Engine while the military launches an attack on Zod's primary vessel, utilizing Clark's pod to create a singularity. The attack is successful, sending Zod's troops back to the Phantom Zone. With his ship destroyed and Krypton's only hope of revival gone, a vengeful Zod vows to destroy Earth and its inhabitants. He and Clark engage in a cataclysmic battle across Metropolis, which concludes when Clark is forced to kill Zod as he attacks a family trapped in a train station. Sometime later, Clark, as Superman, persuades the government to let him act independently, promising not to turn against humanity. To gain covert access to dangerous situations, Clark takes a job reporting for the Daily Planet alongside Lois.