Superman: The Last Son of Krypton

**Superman: The Last Son of Krypton** is a 2010 superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. It was directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Chris Terrio. It stars Chris Evans, Kate Mara, Joe Manganiello, Robert Pattinson, Lynda Carter, Kat Dennings, Kevin Costner, and Angela Bassett. The film ran 98 minutes, the shortest DCEU film, and was released on July 16, 2010.

## Plot

On the planet of Krypton in the Earth year 1981, the war on the surface of the planet is about to set off it's sensitive planet core, which would destroy the planet. General Jor-El and his wife Lara send their newborn child, Kal-El, to Earth to protect him. The three year journey allows Kal to land on Earth in 1984, already three years old. He is adopted by Smallville couple Martha and Jonathan Kent. 26 years later in 2010, Kal has adopted the name Clark Kent and moved to Metropolis. He has befriended his co-workers at the Daily Planet, a news company, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. However, no one knows his secret of being an alien, along with his extraordinary powers, besides Martha, Jonathan having died 13 years before.

In a cornfield just outside Smallville, a large UFO crash lands in the middle of the field. Amanda Waller, the Director of A.R.G.U.S., arrives along with her agents. They are then attacked by the man inside, plus his army. Waller survives, but is injured while everyone else dies. Clark and the rest of the Daily Planet learn of the event and Clark visits Waller. He reveals the powers he has and Waller enlists him to stop the aliens that did this to her, also Kryptonian. Clark makes himself a suit to fit his powers (flying, super-strength, super-speed, heat vision, freeze breath, invulnerability, and super-hearing) and becomes Metropolis' superhero, Superman.

Superman finds the Kryptonian aliens and learn they were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone by Jor-El and have come to get revenge by ending his bloodline. Superman kills Zod's wife, forcing him to retreat. Superman continues to stop crime until Jimmy gets a picture of Superman and compares it to Clark, realizing his secret. Lois refuses to believe her friend is an alien. However, Zod attacks the Daily Planet and Lois watches Clark escape and Superman show up the next second. Superman rescues his friends and stops Zod. The two aliens fly to a secluded area and fight, to get no casualties. Zod reveals his army have set up a platform in Metropolis that will tear everything on the planet to ash and dust, allowing Zod to create New Krypton.

Superman flies to Metropolis, where he is attacked by Zod's army. Zod reveals that to activate the machine, they need an El to open it up. Superman refuses to, so Zod threatens to kill Lois, Jimmy, Martha, Lena Luthor, and Perry White, the latter two being the business executives of the Daily Planey. Superman makes a deal that he will activate it as long as he and his city get to make it out safely and can be protected from the wrath. Zod agrees so Clark activates the machine and Zod watches as it almost works until it shuts down and ends up stopping his army instead. Superman reveals that Waller rewired the machine to attack everyone on the platform instead. Waller arrests Zod and manages to get him to an A.R.G.U.S. cell. He also formally reveals his secret to Lois and Jimmy.

In a mid-credits scene, Waller asks Clark to join a team she is putting together.

## Cast

* Chris Evans as Clark Kent/Superman
* Kate Mara as Lois Lane
* Joe Manganiello as General Zod
* Robert Pattinson as Jimmy Olsen
* Lynda Carter as Martha Kent
* Kat Dennings as Lena Luthor
* Kevin Costner as Perry White
* Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller

## Reception

### **Box office**

The film grossed $217,581,231 in the United States and Canada and $277,297,528 in foreign countries with a worldwide total of $494,878,759.

### **Critical reception**

*Superman: The Last Son of Krypton* received critical acclaim upon its release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 98% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 200 reviews from professional critics, with an overall rating average of 7.9 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that, "With amazing special effects making Kryptonians believable in *Superman: The Last Son of Krypton*, the dramatic script and surprising stakes make the film soar." On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 0–100 reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 74 based on 33 reviews, indicating 'Generally favorable reviews.' CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave *Superman: The Last Son of Krypton* was A on an A+ to F scale.