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This is part one of a two part article that analyzes the central moral argument of Man of Steel. This article focuses on the influences of Friedrich Nietzsche, and the second part, “The Christian Superman in Man of Steel,” discusses the Christian aspects of Superman’s character.

Zack Snyder’s 2013 Superman film, Man of Steel, is a well produced, stylized film that embraces many of the fundamental aspects of the comic book source material.

As an origin story, Man of Steel depicts the struggle of Clark Kent/Superman’s childhood, his coming to terms with his powers, and his attempt to find his place within an alien world. He exists as human and alien, greater than both on their own, yet he is uncertain as to his purpose in life.

Having not known his home planet of Krypton before it was destroyed, any connection to his first home is his weakness. The appearance of General Zod and his soldiers, banished to the Phantom Zone due to their attempted coup of the Kryptonian government, forces Superman to choose between his origin as a Kryptonian and his life as a human. It is an existential crisis manifested on the big screen.

Although the reception of the film was mixed among critics and general audiences, most of the negative reaction was due to the battle between conflicting moral systems. Many viewers wished the film was lighter like its predecessors, dealing more with the overwhelming super-heroic charisma of the title character instead of a darker, bleaker look at humanity.

But art is not mere entertainment. Instead, true art, be it in comic or film format, must educate and challenge its audience. It is nigh impossible to pose tough moral questions while embracing a “lighter” tone.

Superman as Morality

After finding a Kryptonian ship and discovering an artificial intelligence version of his father, Jor-El, Superman begins to test out his powers in the arctic. Just as he struggles, Jor-El’s words can be heard:

You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.

From his first depiction in Action Comics, Superman, as an idealized version of humanity, sets a moral example for his audience. No other DC Comic hero is as great as he. He is the one, the only, and he stands above all others. He is the ultimate defender of “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.”

When Christopher Reeves says those very words in the 1978 classic, Superman, it is a throw away line without power. Lois Lane laughs and makes a joke at his expense, dismissing him right off. He is a man who is invincible and can fly, and she playfully mocks him.

That is a human response. You cannot just declare those words; you have to embody them. An audience needs to see this moral system develop.

We cannot take Superman’s virtue for granted. It must be tested and challenged, set forth into the crucible to force the impurities to run out. A film depiction must put him to the test, challenging him not only physically but morally to determine if he is right to serve as our protector.

The Übermensch

When discussing Superman and morality, we must first start with the other type of “super man,” the Übermensch. Translated from German to be “super man,” “beyond man,” or “over man,” the term is known from its embodiment of Friedrich Nietzsche’s influential yet often misunderstood philosophy.

In many of his works, Nietzsche contrasts philosophical and theological views that promote a focus on an afterlife over this life. He believed that those who create moral systems focusing on the next world were dissatisfied with their own lack of power in this life.

By creating another world with an eternal heaven and hell, they were able to control the rules of the system. Codifying their beliefs as morality, they could impose their will upon others through intimidation and fear.

In Nietzsche’s view, these false systems must be exposed and destroyed to allow for the ultimate form of man (Übermensch) to reign. The Übermensch represents a new type of humanity free of binding moral systems, and the new man abides by a set of values that exist only within the material world.

Although idealized in a material sense, the concept of the Übermensch influenced two other concepts: Eugenic Perfection and Objectivist Individuality. The former promotes a eugenic purification of humanity, which places those who are deemed perfect as “master” over those of a lesser stock, ultimately seeking to eliminate weakness through preventing the reproduction of those deemed unworthy. The latter promotes the absolute production of a unique individual over social considerations, setting those with talent above all others.

Both traits are attributed to the Kryptonian people. In the confrontation between Jor-El and Zod, it is revealed that Krypton has a rigorous genetic selection program in place that controls reproduction. Zod is a staunch defender of biological superiority, placing himself as both the perfect individual who should rule over all others.

The Will to Power

Zod’s biological fascism is central to the moral struggle of Man of Steel. Faora, one of the extremist followers of Zod also imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, declares in the heat of battle:

You are weak, Son of El, unsure of yourself. The fact that you possess a sense of morality, and we do not, gives us an evolutionary advantage. And if history has proven anything… It is that evolution always wins.

Faora believes that only the strongest should rule, and the strongest should not be bound by any other consideration. Evolution, in this passage, denotes the absolutely control over reproduction that has led to a “perfect” race (eugenics). By comparing biology to morality, she embraces the darkest possibilities of Nietzsche’s philosophy.

Some scholars would differ as to the accuracy of their interpretation of Nietzsche’s writings, but the interpretation has been adopted by many who embrace the “will to power” concept. Fascists, especially Hitler, attributed their radical promotion of a “master race” to Nietzsche, and Zod repeats many of their philosophical arguments. They see others as beneath them, merely taking up resources and getting in the way.

Ultimately, the fascists embrace a “might equals right” moral construct that ignores theological-based concepts of morality. They deem themselves strong because they are genetically “pure,” which, in turn, denotes everyone else as weak. Then, they use the weakness of others to justify the purification of the lesser races. It is possible that the fascists embrace a caricature of Nietzsche, and this code of nihilistic selfishness is the inevitable result of a desire to replace religion with science.

Nietzsche warned against substituting science for religion in Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (The Gay Science), stating:

But what I have in view will now be understood, namely, that it is always a metaphysical belief on which our belief in science rests… still take our fire from the conflagration kindled by a belief a millennium old, the Christian belief, which was also the belief of Plato, that God is truth, that the truth is divine.

To believe so fervently in science is to turn it into a religion. To turn evolution into a militarized motivation to purge weakness is to turn against humanity itself.

The Christian Superman

Now that we established how Man of Steel reveals the false “Super Man,” we can discuss how Snyder depicts an alternative to the fascism of Zod’s Kryptonians.

Part 2 of this article analyzes the parallels between Superman and Christianity within the film. Superman, however, is not a substitute for Christ but one struggling to find an appropriate moral identity in this life. He is not the savior of souls, but the guardian of humanity. He is modeled on Christ without being Christ.