How to make "Superman: New Krypton" into a good movie

Note:
This is my most in-depth plot so far, it make seem like a lot, but I think that if edited well, could be shot into a film just over two and a half hours long. The main plots of the movie are Luthor’s return and rise to power, alongside the reintroduction of Krypton. Yes, I am aware that Luthor doesn’t meet Zod or Superman until the final climax, but that’s because I’m trying to do something different than Superman II. Also, Luthor is working from behind the scenes putting things in motion, so his presence should be felt all the way through. I also know this unfolds more like a novel than a Superhero flick. Any comments or suggestions on this, let me know. (I’ll try and smooth out all plot holes mentioned here in the next film plot.)


This is the fourth plot I’ve written in the assumption that the franchise will reboot. To better understand it, feel free to read my earlier plots, found here:
First Movie’s Plot: Origins
Second Movie’s Plot: Doomsday
Third Movie’s Plot: Resurrection and Brainiac

Summary:
I know Spill members have better stuff to do than to read a detailed plot, so I'll summarize it; Steel and Superboy are attacked, Zod is released, Superman rebuilds the world with Zod after Brainiac's attack in last film. Luthor attacks Zod's people. People turn against Zod. Supergirl is killed stopping a massacre. Zod attacks everyone, Superman turns against him but is beaten. Luthor saves the day and says he'll save Superwoman if Superman goes into his debt. Superman exiles Superboy from his life.

There, that's the big events of the plot, so don't read any more if you don't want to. If you want more, read the detailed plot below.

Plot:
Superman and Lois Lane look over the information that was left behind by Brainiac. They are reading it in the Fortress of Solitude. Superman tells Lois how he made it up in the Arctic when he first found out about his powers. He is showing Lois strange Alien’s that he has on display and shows her the Kryptonian technology that he uses to keep everything running. He reveals that the ship he arrived in has been converted into an electronic heart of the base.

He then talks about how Brainiac’s information says that Superman’s father put a group of exiles into a pocket dimension to protect them from Krypton’s Explosion. He wonders what scientists, explorers and philosophers could be brought back into his reality.

Meanwhile, in Metropolis, John Henry Irons is now a celebrity, helping Ghetto children get inspired to reach higher and not fall into gang violence. But just then he is shot and collapses. We cut to Superboy stopping a bank robbery, but he turns around when his super-hearing listens to the shot and John Henry’s supposed death. While he is distracted, the crooks shoot him with a glowing red bullet attempt to get away, he feels weakened, and is conflicted over which situation to stop, Superboy goes to help save a life and lets the villains go, much to the disappointment of one of the banks patrons.

Even though he is suffering from the bullet wound, Superboy arrives at the scene and tells everyone to stand back, and that Steel is not dead, he uses his super-breath to freeze the wound and flies him to a hospital. Meanwhile Jimmy takes a picture of the beaten up bank crooks tied up outside the police station with a superman symbol burnt onto a card. The picture transfers to the bottom of the front page (top story is how Superboy saved the man of Steel), where Lois and Perry are talking. Lois claims that this is not Superman’s style. Perry agrees and wonders how many more Supermen this city needs. Lois then points to Steel’s picture and tells him that he should be thankful there wasn’t one less. Perry then asks “where’s Clark.”

Clark is shown at his farm, talking to Supergirl and asking here why she got involved in stopping the bank robbery. She claims that she was just trying to do the right thing, Superman tells here that things are not as simple as just doing the right thing. He explains that the people she put away had their houses unfairly taken by the banks. When she asked what he would have done, he tells her that he would have done the exact same thing. He then tells her that he is proud of her, since even without Brainiac’s conditioning, she is a good person. He then asks her what she remembers about Krypton.

She says that she was raised on Brainiac’s ship, but she did read some files about them, and wondered what it would be like to grow up on the culture there, Superman tells her that he often wondered the same. He then tells her that he is planning to bring them back.

We cut to Lex Luthor who is in a government base, working on some sort of gun. Luthor’s informant tells him that the bullet was a success and actually seemed to injure Superboy. The military official smiles and says that he was surprised that it worked. Lex Luthor brags about how it had to work, since he designed the bullets himself. Lex then tells of how he’s been working on these for a while and it will soon be time to up the stakes.

Back in the arctic, Superman uses the technology that Brainiac left behind up there to open a porthole and let in the Kryptonians. Supergirl is there with him, and in the back is Conner. The porthole opens, and out through it comes General Zod and his commanders.

Zod asks Superman how Krypton was saved, but Superman says that Krypton wasn’t. Zod shows a hint of sorrow and mentions how all his work and sins were for nothing. Superman tells him that they are still alive so it wasn’t all in vain. As they walk, Zod sees Superman’s ship and realizes that it is a miniature design of the one Zod gave Supe’s father. Zod then realizes that Superman in Jor-El’s son and bows before him, saying how he is in Superman’s debt.

Superman then tells him how his adoptive world is in trouble, and how it was greatly damaged by Brainiac’s attack and needs more help than Superman can provide alone in order to get back to normal within his lifetime. Zod and him minions promise to help, Superman. Once Superman hears this, he is delighted and hovers to show them that this place give them opportunities that they could only ever dream about. But Zod tells Superman that a second opportunity at life is more than he could ever hope for. With this, Superman asks Supergirl and Superboy to greet them.

Zod is immensely pleased to see Supergirl (since she was taken from the zone as an infant) but less than thrilled to see Superboy, who Zod feels is an insult to the pure Kyrptonian identity. Superman tells Zod that Superboy has proven himself time and time again. And that even Luthor, one of the most corrupt men Supes had ever met, died to save others. He then tells Zod that if he will honour his debt, Superman will teach the Kryptonians how to live.

A time passes (a year, a month, don’t matter,) and The President is shaking hands with Superman, telling him that the Kyptonian initiative has brought all states that followed into a swifter recovery than was ever thought possible.

We then get Lois and Jimmy interviewing random people, as we see if the public likes or hates or distrusts the Kryptonians. Some love them and say all the good they did, others refuse to let them in their cities, and others say it doesn’t matter what they think, since how can we stop them?

Transition to let Luthor talking to the Vice President saying “We must stop them.” Lex shows satellite photos of a device in Alaska, he then shows photos of a similar device in Superman’s fortress. He claims that it must be destroyed, since it will let others like Zod in, and soon, Luthor’s new weapons won’t even be able to stop the Kryptonians. The Vice President agrees that the device must be destroyed before it is activated.

Conner and Supergirl are talking. Supergirl claims that it’s nice that she is back with her people. But Conner claims to now feel isolated from both sides.

Clark is talking to Perry about Zod and the Kryptonians, trying to convince him that if Superman and Supergirl have been only a benefit to society, than Zod should be too. Perry disagrees and says it’ll just take one act of human stupidity to set them off. Lois and Clark see Zod in the window behind Perry, and Clark leaves while Lois distracts the newspaper manager. Zod talks to Clark and tells Clark that he finds it strange that he dresses human and walks among them. He then tells Clark how he could do more if he gave up his civilian life and spent all his time as Kel-El, making the world safe. Clark responds that he should never be too apart from those he is saving and is about to tell Zod that the Kryptonians are almost finished their job of rebuilding the states and can retire soon. But before Superman can convince Zod, they feel a loss within themselves.

Zod says that the feeling means a fellow Kryptonian had dies violently without preparing for death. They quickly speed off towards Alaska. Zod and Superman arrive where the strange building was. Zod wants to look for survivors but Clark says that there is some form of Kryptonite radiation from around the site. Zod goes in anyways and retrieves his soldier. The soldier is death. Zod than claims that he can feel more of his people dying.

We see some of the ways the kryptonians are being taken down by Lex’s men.

Zod finally breaks/snaps and unleashes pent up anger and arrogance at Clark, telling him that humanity just used them for their own purposes and now plans to get rid of them. After the outburst, Superman looks at what is left of the destroyed structure and notices that it looks like his gateway to the negative zone.

We then see Lois and Clark talking about the destruction, the dead Kryptonian and what this could mean. Lois reminds Clark that Kryptonite missiles are nothing new, but Clark rebuts with the news that the radiation is, and that Zod’s journey into ground Zero might have started to effect his mind.

Just then, Jimmy calls with his cell phone and tells them to turn on the news. Perry White gets all the TV’s on in the Daily Planet and we see a reporter saying how the Vice President has been killed and the Kryptonians have destroyed half the capital in under a half hour. Jimmy is taking pictures as Zod walks up to speak.

Zod makes a quick speech about how his people only helped humanity, they had been targeted and killed. He then claims to have only killed the person responsible for it and undid the rebuilding efforts that happened after Brainiac’s attack. He says that Washington city will be the only casualty unless he is further provoked.

Cut to Luthor’s Lab/Bunker, the officer tells Luthor that he has a guest. The President enters, but Luthor refuses to stand. The President wants to know if Luthor has a larger bomb that could take out all the Kryptonians in Washington. Luthor says that that information is going to cost him. The President almost refuses, until Luthor tells him that if the country does nothing, it will certainly be lost. The President asks Luthor what he wants, and Luthor says that he heard the position of Vice President was now open. The President agrees, but only if Luthor delivers a bigger bomb. Luthor’s response is “This is America, we always have a bigger bomb.”

The missile is shot, from a sub in Metropolis harbour, and Clark tells Lois he’s going to stop it. Lois begs him not to go, since this will defiantly kill him, and the Kryptonians will take vengeance on her anyways. Suprisingly Clark agrees, although he says nothing and stays with her.

We see Luthor and the President looking at the missile tracking device, all of a sudden, the missile changes direction upwards, and explodes in space. Zod feels the explosions, and feels that sense of loss. We see that Clark has felt it to. Clark realizes that it’s Supergirl that was caught in the explosion. He speeds towards her as fast as he can. We cut to Supergirl’s falling corpse. Before it hit’s the ground, Zod catches it, Superman stops 50 yards away from them.

Now Superman and Zod know that there is no going back. Zod makes one last plea for Superman to join them, Superman refuses. Zod’s final pronouncement on the humans is: “That if they refuse to walk beside us, than they will kneel before me.” He places Supergirl on the ground and says “you can save her, or you can prevent me from seeing through justice.”
Supes runs to his friend and as she lays dying she admits that she was just trying to do the right thing and save lives, it didn’t matter who the people she was saving were. Superman puts down her head.

Zod and his henchmen are just about to fly into the Sub, when suddenly, Superman comes in and attacks them. He manages to save the sub, but not before the three Kryptonians finally pin him into the ground. The two henchmen hold Supes down as Zod walks before him. Zod smiles, claiming that if it was not for Superman and his father, no Kryptonian would be here today. That all the destruction and chaos going on is because Superman failed to walk the fine line he set for himself.

Another of Zod’s men than retrieves Lois, and she is brought to him kicking and screaming. Zod tells Superman that he has a choice, that he can allow Zod to take Lois’ life in exchange for the officers who fired the missile on Washington, or he can let justice be served and then serve under Zod. The third choice is that Superman be exiled into the Phantom Zone. But before Superman can choose, there is an explosion which knocks all the Kryptonians over.

Lex Luthor walks in making speeches of past heroes of Earth, mentioning how in humanity’s darkest hour its saviours are said to return. He does this as he’s shooting Kryptonians. He stops after passing on and shivers. “So that’s what it feels like...to kill a god.” Luthor gives his explanations to Superman on how he was able to use Brainiac’s teleporting technology to return to Earth and prepare technology to hold back the inevitable Kryptonian invasion. “Did you ever wonder what Zod was building? It was another gate, there was more than one dimension his people were sent to, and that’s why the gate had to be destroyed."

Superman asks Lex is the weapons are Brainiac’s too. Lex reveals that he developed these the first year after Superman’s public appearance. When Superman asks why he is still alive, Lex just smiles and evil grin. Lex then kills Zod off screen and claims that for all of Superman’s powers and strength, it was human ingenuity that saved the planet.

Superman is lying weak, at the mercy of Lex, Lex looks up at the sky and shouts to the Kryptonians that humanity has the means to destroy them, but that he will be merciful and offers to put them in stasis before sending them back to the Phantom Zone, so that when humanity is ready, or Superman moves onto another planet, Krypton can get a second chance.

What happens next is a montage of events, shown in Lois Lane's news reports, telling how Kryptonians were place in exile, and how this lead to Luthor’s rise in popularity among people. She then looks at Clark with the monologue that even though Superman was allowed to stay he was never as loved as he once had been. His ideals, and good nature had caused disaster, while Lex’s sins were what stopped a war in the end. But to Lois, and every true American spirit, there would always be a place for Superman.

The next scene shows Superman and Conner standing next to Lex Luthor over Supergirl's frozen body. Luthor claims that she is not actually dead, and her body is in a state of advanced shock thanks to the Kryptonite radiation of the missile she stopped. Luthor claims that he can resurrect her, but it’ll cost him a great deal, and will only help Superman for a steep price. Superman agrees.

Superman leaves with Conner, once alone, Superman looks at Conner and tells him that Lex had no way of knowing the Alaskan building was a teleporter like the one in his base. Conner admits that he took pictures of the Kryptonians coming through and sent them to Lex. Because he feared that Kryptionians wouldn’t be as caring as Clark, and was found to be right. Clark looks at Conner and tells him that this betrayal breaks his heart and that Conner almost started a war because of his actions. When Conner claims that it was Superman’s fault for releasing the aliens in the first place. Supes claims that Conner really does take after Lex and banishes him from his life, claiming that in the last while he’s caused nothing but pain.

Credits Roll


After credits, we see Steel lying in the hospital bed, and the nurse running for the doctor. The doctor comes in to see Steel sitting up and asking them: “So, what did I miss?”


Comments:
I want to know what you guys think, is the plot too complex? Too long, out of character, did I miss any major element? etc. (I couldn't think of anything for Steel to do.) Or did you like it better than the Superman films you are expecting from Warner Bros? Let me know!

The Final Movie Plot Superman: American Dream is now posted.