Man-of-Steel-EW-2-Zod

Just look at him! I would totally kneel before that.

The hawk-eyed gents at /Film got a new batch of images scanned out of the new issue of EW but quick, and you can see all of them here. Nothing particularly huge after the full trailer we’ve seen, but along with the great look of Mecha-Zod above we also get more looks at Cavill-as-demigod, and our supporting characters.

Man-of-Steel-EW-1More interestingly are the allusions to the wider universe Snyder is setting up and what surprises are in store for fans in terms of the hero’s origin story. Turns out Nolan and co. have made some significant tweaks. And while WB head Jeff Robinov is still playing coy about explicit Justice League setups or cameos, he’s happy to tease fans to go and find out for themselves (duh).

Beginning with the origin stuff, according to /Film’s reading of the EW piece, it is ” largely the same — Jor-El saves his son by sending him to Earth — but there are a few major differences. The main one is in this film, children of Krypton are genetically engineered to be something specific. Kal-El, aka Superman, is different and infamous because he was the rare child conceived naturally, meaning he can choose his path in life. Unfortunately for him, that also means his existence is against the law. Just another way to lend imperfections to a character that’s naturally perfect.”

That’s already a significant step away from what we’re used to, and I couldn’t be happier. This film needs to take bold steps in its own direction, or at the very least use bold hues in places where it must color in the lines. It also supports what we’ve heard from Nolan and Snyder about what makes this Kal-el more dynamic and modern than others we’ve seen before.

Robinov promises in the piece that Warner Bros. will be making major DC announcements in the next few weeks. He also reaffirms what we already know- that Man Of Steel deliberately exists within a world that can contain other heroes:

“It’s setting the tone for what the movies are going to be like going forward. In that, Man of Steel is definitely a first step… What Zack and Chris have done with this film is allow you to really introduce other characters into the same world.”

Oh yeah, and no kryptonite this time…