- "There is only one way this ends, Kal. Either you die...or I do!"
- —General Zod to Kal-El
The Battle of Metropolis was a battle in which Superman and the U.S. Armed Forces prevented General Zod and the surviving members of the Sword of Rao from terraforming Earth in order to recreate the Kryptonian race.
Prelude[]
In the aftermath of the Battle of Smallville, General Zod and his followers return to the Black Zero in order to repair their damaged visors.
Zod then orders Faora-Ul to position the Black Zero above Metropolis and position the World Engine over the Indian Ocean in order to initiate the terraforming process and create a biosphere favorable to only Kryptonians.
Battle[]
Returning Black Zero to the Phantom Zone[]
The United States Armed Forces were deployed to destroy the Black Zero using F-35s in formation. They all deployed destructive missiles at the alien craft, but the disrupted gravity surrounding the ship caused the missiles to miss and some jets to crash.
A C-17 carried Kal-El's Starcraft with its Phantom Drive, that was to be activated and dropped on the Black Zero as a makeshift bomb, in order to send the ship and it's inhabitants back to the Phantom Zone, permanently. As the C-17 approached its final run, Sub-Commander Faora-Ul intercepted it mid-flight and killed most aboard, before they could activate the ship. General Zod, who had retrieved the Scout Ship containing the Genesis Chamber, followed up behind the C-17 and its 2 security jets, but just before it could destroy the C-17, Superman crashed into the ship, diverting the shot and bringing it crashing down.
Emil Hamilton managed to activate the Phantom Drive, just as Colonel Hardy suicide piloted the craft into the Black Zero, successfully activating a temporary portal to the Phantom Zone, sucking the Black Zero, the remaining Sword of Rao Kryptonians, and most of the surrounding debris inwards. Superman, emerged from the fallen Fortress, and caught Lois mid-flight just in time, as she fell from the C-17, and struggled (bellowing in desperation and visibly beginning to spaghettify) but ultimately managed to fly fast enough to escape the Phantom Zone's tremendous gravitational pull.
Landing in the now open clearing, Superman and Lois subsequently shared their first passionate kiss, before hearing General Zod, who had managed to avoid the Phantom singularity, emerge from rubble.
Final Battle with Zod[]
Furious and devastated that Superman has permanently taken away his soldiers and his only chance of ever re-creating Krypton (ridding his life of any purpose), General Zod engaged Superman in a ferocious battle, promising to personally slaughter every human on the planet. Zod started the fight by leaping at Superman at great speed and landing a massive punch on him, sending Superman flying over a thousand feet away. Superman recovered shortly thereafter, however, defiantly declaring Zod to be a monster, affirming his determination to stop him.
The two mighty aliens subsequently collided in a colossal shock-wave of tremendous force, and Zod sent Superman flying backwards, right through a half-destroyed building, and into the Wayne Financial Building. Zod followed and managed to suddenly activate his heat vision, taking away an entire floor of the building, sending it collapsing on Superman, who managed to escape the falling building just in time. A horrified Bruce Wayne witnessed this particular portion of the aliens' battle from a nearby street, desperately urging his employees to evacuate the building (via mobile phone), just as he saw beams of Zod's heat vision cutting through an upper floor's walls. Bruce was too late, however, as the building had already begun collapsing, but he fearlessly ran right into the falling debris, desperate to save someone.
As their battle continued, Zod then proceeded to attack Superman again on street-level, sending him flying through many walls of a building's ground floor.
As soon as Superman emerged, Zod attacked again, effortlessly kicked a massive LexCorp truck at his opponent (which instantly exploded as it collides with a building with tremendous force), and promptly punched Superman hundreds of feet into the air, right up a skyscraper, though the latter soon managed to regain control of his motion with his flight. Zod furiously declared that this fight would only end with one of them dying. Zod proceeded to quickly scale up the building in huge leaps, as Superman quickly flew down, and the two mighty aliens collided again, in yet another colossal shock-wave, this time with Superman sending Zod flying onto an unfinished skyscraper, where Zod successfully ambushed his opponent with a huge broken metal beam, before finally mastering his power of flight, and ripping off his armor. Zod proceeded to mock Superman's lack of combat skill, and seemed sure in his imminent victory, as their powers were now equal.
Superman proceeded to defiantly tackle the malevolent general into the air, and they fought above the Metropolis skyline, where Superman initially had the upper hand, dragging Zod's face through many windows of a skyscraper and landing several massive punches on his opponent, all of which sent Zod flying. Soon, however, Zod's superior fighting skills took over, and he took ahold of Superman's cape, and hurled his opponent right through numerous skyscrapers (bringing them down in the process), after which Zod tackled Superman up, miles out of the atmosphere. Superman managed to hurl Zod away, towards a Wayne Enterprises satellite, though the latter quickly grabbed ahold of it, and brought the massive satellite crashing down on Superman, sending both of them back towards Earth. With the satellite's debris around them burning as they re-entered the atmosphere, Zod continued pummeling Superman with mighty blows. They soon came crashing down into Metropolis Central Station.
Superman finally managed to grapple Zod into a choke hold, but a defiant Zod used his heat vision to try and kill a cornered civilian family. Superman subsequently tried to pull his opponent's head away to divert the heat vision, pleading with Zod to stop, which the latter vowed to never do, and a horrified Superman, realizing that he had no choice, broke Zod's neck, killing the malevolent Kryptonian and saving the family. After doing so, Superman loudly bellowed out in tears at what he was forced to do, fully remorseful of the necessary act he had to commit. Lois, who ran after the falling debris of the satellite, arrived to embrace and console the distraught Superman.
Aftermath[]
Kal-El returned home to Smallville shortly thereafter to visit his mother Martha Kent whilst a clean up operation began to clear Metropolis of the debris and rubble that the destructive fight between Kal-El and Zod caused, added to the massive destruction caused by the gravity beam from Black Zero and the World Engine working in tandem.
Metropolis' citizens went back to their normal lives in and around the city for those whose building wasn't destroyed or damaged.
As for the barren wasteland left from where Black Zero had begun the terraformation, Metropolis Park was soon built over it, along with a massive silvery Superman Statue, built in honor of the alien hero, and the extraordinary heroics that he demonstrated, while saving Earth from General Zod and the Sword of Rao. Some others, however, such as Senator Finch, were worried by the display of Superman's tremendous Godlike power, with her claiming that this absolute power of his would "corrupt [him] absolutely". Thus, she would subsequently lead the hearing and inquest into the Battle of Metropolis and the destruction it caused, holding Superman accountable.
Lex Luthor feels threatened by the existence of Superman (especially after this infamous demonstration of the mighty alien's Godlike power), as the latter has the potential to effortlessly overshadow any popularity that Lex himself possesses. This belief leads Lex to expand his business and finances (LexCorp), creating innovative technologies to challenge Superman (finally acquiring Kryptonite xenominerals), and to garner as much power as possible, in order to become even more of a God in his own eyes. To Lex, he and Superman have become bitter rivals for the affections and praise of humanity. Lex is also ultimately the one to somehow obtain General Zod's corpse with the help of his personal assistant Mercy Graves, shortly after the battle.
Bruce Wayne, horrified by the deaths of his many employees in his collapsed financial building, was overcome with despair, fury, and rage, and was determined to bring Superman down (despite Alfred's multiple attempts to dissuade him), as Bruce believed that the alien hero was too powerful - enough for Superman to potentially wipe out the entire human race if he suddenly saw fit. Due to Bruce having seen many seemingly good and virtuous people become horribly corrupted by evil (during his long career as the vigilante Batman), he most certainly doesn't trust Superman with this tremendous Godlike power.
Amanda Waller believed that Superman might have been a beacon for many other individuals with powers, inducing them to finally "creep back from the shadows."
Appearances[]
- Man of Steel (First appearance)
- Man of Steel (Novel)
- Guide to the Caped Crusader/Guide to the Man of Steel: Movie Flip Book
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Flashback)
Trivia[]
Throughout the battle, there are several references to DC Comics.
- Zod kicks a LexCorp truck at Superman, which references to Lex Luthor, who many know for being Superman's greatest foe.
- Superman and Zod crash into a satellite made by Wayne Enterprises, which is a company owned by Bruce Wayne. In addition, a poster inside a building reads, "Keep Calm and Call Batman".
- A Blaze Comics building can be seen in Zod and Superman's fight. Blaze Comics is the name of the company that publishes the Booster Gold comic book.
Events | |
---|---|
Man of Steel | Battle of Krypton | Destruction of Krypton | Battle of Smallville | Black Zero Event | Battle of Metropolis |
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Assassination of Thomas and Martha Wayne | Massacre in Nairomi | Bruce Wayne's Nightmare | Chase of Anatoli Knyazev | Bombing of the United States Capitol | Duel of Gotham City | Rescue of Martha Kent | Battle Against Doomsday | The Death of Superman |
Suicide Squad | Capture of Deadshot | Chase of Joker and Harley Quinn | Capture of Captain Boomerang | Capture of El Diablo | Battle of Midway City | Rescue of Harley Quinn |
Wonder Woman | Creation of Man and the Amazons | War of Olympus | World War I | Assault on Themyscira | Armistice Day | Battle of No Man's Land | Battle of Veld | Massacre of Veld | Assassination of Erich Ludendorff | Battle at the Gas Base |
Justice League | Attack on the Gotham Bank Rooftop | Rescue at the Old Baily Courthouse | Attack on Themyscira | Invasion of Earth | Attack on the Atlantean Vault | Skirmish under Gotham Harbor | The Resurrection of Superman | Battle of Pozharnov |
Aquaman | Attack on the Curry Lighthouse | Attack on the Nuclear Submarine | Attack on the Council of Kings | Attack on the Surface World | Capture of Arthur Curry | Duel in the Ring of Fire | Battle of Sicily | Battle of the Brine Kingdom | Battle of the Trench | Incoronation of Arthur Curry |