"Destruction in Comic Book Movies"
"DESTRUCTION IN COMIC BOOK MOVIES"
Two things happened to me recently. One, I had just finished a re-watch of the 2012 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, "THE AVENGERS". And two, I came across this ARTICLE praising the MCU’s portrayal of the destruction of Midtown Manhattan in the film’s final action sequence and in many other films from the franchise.
After reading that particular article that praised how Joss Whedon handled the destruction of Mid-Town Manhattan, I had stumbled across another ARTICLE that claimed the 2015 MCU film, "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON" handled massive destruction better than the 2013 D.C. Extended Universe (DCEU) movie, "MAN OF STEEL". Why? Because this movie featured the Avengers also trying to help Sokovia's citizens during its battle against the A.I. known as Ultron. The author also credited "THE AVENGERS" for doing this, as well. The article claimed that "MAN OF STEEL" had failed to achieve this. And if I must be honest, the article featured mainly shallow arguments that in my eyes, had failed to hold up.
I have come to the conclusion that the media and many moviegoers were and still are incredibly hypocritical when it came to the MCU and the DCEU franchises. And I suspect that this is due to Disney Studios' grip on the media. These same critics did not pitch a fit over the destruction featured in movies like "THE AVENGERS" and "AGE OF ULTRON". And when the MCU had finally decided to address the issue in its 2016 movie, "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR", it was more or less shoved aside for the Bucky Barnes manhunt. And the destruction in "AGE OF ULTRON" was more or less used as a motive for Helmut Zemo’s convoluted revenge plot against the Avengers. Come to think of it, no one had raised a fuss over the destruction in Greenwich, England in 2013's "THOR: THE DARK WORLD", aside from one snarky comment used as a joke in Season One of "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.".
But when the Kryptonians under General Zod nearly destroyed downtown Metropolis with their World Machine in "MAN OF STEEL", both the media and many moviegoers went into a SNIT FIT over the destruction. They accused Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer of going too far with the film’s sequence known as the Black Zero Event. Many of them are still bitching about it to this day. I can only wonder why. After all, it has been recently hinted that Disney Studios has maintained a tight grip over most of the media outlets. I am not claiming that this is true. But I find it odd that many film critics had complained about the level of destruction in "MAN OF STEEL" or had failed to do so when movies like "THE AVENGERS", "AGE OF ULTRON" and "THOR: THE DARK WORLD" were released.
As for the accusation that "MAN OF STEEL" had failed to convey images of Superman saving people . . . all I can say is that person had not been paying attention to the film's plot and what was shown on the movie screen. Earlier in the film, Superman saved workers from a destructive oil rig fire and saved his fellow students from a bus that had crashed off a bridge and into the water. He had warned many of Smallville's citizens to get off the streets or hide before his fight against General Zod's first officer, Faora-Ul and two other Kryptonians. He had even turned himself in to the U.S. Army and later, Zod, in order to prevent the latter from wrecking havoc upon Earth. And . . . he had to fly all the way to the other side of the world to prevent the Kryptonian World Machine from terra forming the Earth and killing Humans. And moviegoers are expected to believe that this version of Superman was never concerned with saving people?
Many critics and moviegoers had complained that Superman helped cause Metropolis’ destruction by not bothering to re-direct his fight against General Zod to a safer location, later in the film. In the 2013 movie, Superman had made two attempts to direct his fight against Zod away from Metropolis. Unfortunately for him, Zod kept returning to Metropolis in his determination to kill Humans. Many had also failed to notice that the Kryptonians’ World Machine was responsible for most of the destruction that was inflicted upon downtown Metropolis, while Superman was trying to destroy the damn thing. They had also failed to notice that most of the destruction from Superman's fight against Zod came from the latter, not the Man of Steel.
Oh wait . . . my bad. I forgot that many of these critics had complained about the lack of scenes featuring Superman helping people during the Black Zero Event, just as some the Avengers were seen doing just that during the Battle of Sokovia in "AGE OF ULTRON". According to these critics, Superman should have been seen helping people evade death and deal with Metropolis' destruction, instead of being on the other side of the world trying to destroy the very technology that was terraforming the Earth and killing Humans. Nor was he supposed to be seen fighting an enraged Zod. But he was seen helping others upon his return from the Indian Ocean and after Faora and other Kryptonians were sucked back into the Phantom Zone. Unfortunately, his efforts were interrupted when Zod appeared with the intent to kill Superman and as many Humans as possible. Apparently, Zack Snyder was not allowed to include this in "MAN OF STEEL" or the fight that ensued between the two Kryptonians. And the director should have never allowed Superman to kill Zod, despite the fact that this act saved an entrapped family from being killed by the older Kryptonian. They were in such a tizzy over the manner of Zod's death that they had failed to note Superman's horrified reaction of his action.
In the end, the two Avengers movies had received praise for its portrayal of the destruction of midtown Manhattan and Sokovia. At the same time, many fans and critics continue to criticize "MAN OF STEEL" for its destruction of Metropolis. It is bad enough that some of those criticisms have been proven to be erroneous. They have also struck me as petty. And I cannot help but wonder if some of these criticisms stem from some desire to favor the MCU franchise over the DCEU franchise on behalf of Disney Studios. But many of these critics have also failed to point out that the consequences of the movie’s Black Zero Event had a main role in the narrative for 2016's "BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE". I am not only amazed at this hypocrisy, but also disgusted.