I saw some comic pros talking about the Pa Kent death scene in Man of Steel and I refrained from butting in with my take on it, cos I didn't want to come across like a wacky Snyder Bro, but now that I'm thinking about it I need to let it out, so here it is again...

(I went through a period of banging on about Man of Steel quite a lot when it came out, so apologies to those who've heard this before)...

A big part of Superman's character is that he's a friend that's here to help and not an alien invader forcing us to do what he thinks is good for us. If you think about the ramifications of this it's actually quite dark. Superman has to deliberately not intervene in some...

... situations where he could definitely save lives, otherwise he would be winning wars for people and deciding the fates of entire countries. If he did that, ultimately he would become King of the World, whether he intended to or not (see Red Son)...

...This is why I think his role as a mild mannered reporter is so important to the character, because it's his way of combatting global injustices as a human being rather thab as a super powered god. Clark can try and save the lives that Superman can't. But I digress...

...Zack Snyder and the MoS writers are some of the few creators to have explored the painful ramifications of Superman's decision to be "a friend" rather than a benevolent alien invader. In fact they show young Clark being taught this lesson by Pa Kent...

...Clark could easily save Pa from the hurricane but Pa feels that to do so would risk exposing Clark to the world. Whether this is a good idea, or whether Pa is right to fear the world's reaction is irrelevant. It's what he wants and he's willing to die for it...

...So this scene is Superman learning that it's not his place to go against the free will of humanity. If a human being feels that something is important enough to sacrifice their life for then it's not for Superman to deny them that sacrifice...

... and the film makers show the consequences of Superman's decision to respect our free will in the most personal and emotionally affecting way possible. The death of his own father...

...You may think that Clark was wrong not to save Pa, or that Pa was wrong to ask that of him, but it's a barely spoken aspect of the character that he makes a decision like this on a larger scale every day...

...each time he decides not to use his powers to end wars or overthrow dictators then he's making a similar decision to the one he made during that hurricane. Zack Snyder showed us the reality of that decision...

... I find the conflict and contradiction of Superman's desire to save everyone but also not interfere with human destiny to be a fascinating aspect of the character. If you do too I recommend the following comics...

'Must There Be A Superman?' Superman #247 (1972)
Probably the first Superman story to explore this issue.

Greg Rucka's run on Adventures of Superman #625-648 (2004-2005), collected in 'Unconventional Warfare, That Healing Touch, Ruin Revealed'. Superman flies into a warzone to rescue Lois Lane and affects the outcome of a war.

As much as I'm not a fan of Mark Millar I have to grudgingly admit that Superman: Red Son (2003) is probably the best look at what would happen if Superman didn't have a respect for individual freedom and decided he knew what was best for everyone.

End of thread, apologies for banging on about Superman again.