Zod's broadcast to Earth is made in the languages of English, Chinese, Portuguese, Esperanto and Star Trek (1966)'s Klingon.
Henry Cavill said that the most difficult part of making the movie was definitely his two shirtless scenes. He had been training for months prior to filming began but for his shirtless scenes, he specially went on extremely difficult calorie restriction diet and training regimen that cut his calorie intake from 5000 to near 1500 for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks he reached a body fat level of just 3% which is the level achieved by professional body-builders during competitions. Henry said this was done because he wanted to make his abs as pronounced and his muscles as defined as humanly possible to create the best possible Superman physique. Cavill returned to a more manageable routine after the scenes were shot but felt his effort was rewarded when audiences and critics alike praised his physique for the true embodiment of what Superman would look like. After he had shot his shirtless scenes, director Zack Snyder gave him a tub of ice cream and pizza to reward him for his Herculean effort for the shirtless scenes.
Earlier in the film during one of the scenes at the Kent house, a double tanker truck passing by in the background bears the "Lexcorp" brand name. Also, a building in Metropolis and a tanker truck later bear the name as well. This is the company run by Superman's arch rival, Lex Luthor, and hints at his appearance in a sequel.
Henry Cavill naturally has a hairy chest and left it untouched for the shoot of this movie. He insisted that Superman has chest hair in this film; he rejected the notion that just because you are muscular, you should not have chest hair and cited the Superman comic book "The Death Of Superman" as being an iconic representation in which Superman had a hairy chest.
Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe had met years prior to playing father and son when Henry was an extra in Proof of Life (2000) and received words of encouragement to pursue acting and an autographed picture from Crowe, who was his favorite actor.
Ben Affleck turned down directing the film because he wasn't experienced in visual effects shots: "A lesson I've learned is to not look at movies based on budget, how much they'll spend on effects or where they will shoot. Story is what's important."
The idea that Superman's S-Shield means "hope" is taken from Mark Waid's "Superman: Birthright" comic: the S-Shield is the Kryptonian symbol for "hope", and Superman (1978) created the concept of the Shield being a Kryptonian herald for the house of El.
Aaron Smolinski, who plays a communications officer, previously played baby Clark Kent in Superman (1978).
Henry Cavill embarked on a special four-month training regimen by his trainer Mark Twight to get the appropriate physique for his roles as Kal-El. He gained weight by drinking 5 1000-calorie protein shakes a day, then he did cardiovascular workouts to burn away the fat and build muscle, and finally he underwent a grueling two-hour workout to build up his muscles and abdomen. According to Cavill, the real problem he faced was the workout's intensity: "Mark based his technique on going beyond yourself. Instead of slowing down towards the end of the workout, he asked me to actually work harder and harder for the body to reach its limits. His point was that if his client is able to walk out of the gym, he had not worked hard enough..."
Matthew Goode, Armie Hammer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Zac Efron and Colin O'Donoghue were on the final shortlist for the lead role. Henry Cavill was finally cast. He was the front runner to play Superman in another Superman movie (working title: flyby) but the movie failed to be greenlit and Brandon Routh was cast in Superman Returns (2006) instead. Cavill was also runner-up to Daniel Craig for the James Bond role in Casino Royale (2006), Christian Bale for Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins (2005).
When Clark is first learning to fly, he is only able to make a few gigantic bounds. In the first few Superman comics in 1938-9, he was not able to fly but could only leap 1/8 of a mile.
Director Zack Snyder said that he really wanted to include a shirtless scene of star Henry Cavill in the film because throughout the film, you see him in a form-fitting body suit where he appears extremely muscular. He said the audience would think it was all rubber muscles, but it was important to show them it was indeed Henry Cavill's body in that suit and that it was all real.
The filmmakers hired Professor Christine Schreyer, an expert in anthropology and linguistics at British Columbia, to create the Kryptonian language. She developed an object-subject-verb sentence structure, contrasting the subject-verb-object structure of English (e.g. "I see him" in English would be "Him I see" in Kryptonian), to reflect that people on Krypton had become selfish and materialistic.
The film released in June 2013, the 75th anniversary of Superman.
According to Zack Snyder, the filmmakers outfitted Henry Cavill in the Superman (1978) costume to see how well he fit the role. Despite the outfit bearing a lighter blue color and red trunks, no one laughed at Cavill. Snyder knew then that Cavill was right for the role.
According to David S. Goyer, Superman's costume is defined in this film to be an undergarment: "All the battle armor goes on top of the suits. But since Superman's a refugee, his outfit doesn't have that gear, and would make him defenseless on his own Kryptonian turf." This is also a nod to pop culture's running joke that Superman's costume appears to be underwear.
When Clark talks to Father Leone, there is a stained-glass window behind him, which contains a painting of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. This was where Christ prayed for strength to undergo the ordeal he will face, and parallels Clark's own need for support before his surrender.
To completely distinguish this film as a new film separate from previous ones, the iconic "Superman Theme" by John Williams wasn't heard. This is the first Warner Bros. Superman film to not incorporate Williams' score from Superman (1978).
The visual effects team described the Kryptonian computer displays as liquid geometry: "It's a bunch of silver beads suspended through a magnetic field; the machine is able to control that magnetic field so that the collection of beads behave like 3D pixels, and create a surface that floats in the air and describes whatever the thing is you're supposed to be seeing."
Director Zack Snyder originally planned for the infamous red trunks that Superman has worn throughout his 75 year existence to be part of the suit in the movie. However, when looking over 1,500 different designs, he said that it just didn't work, so he decided to take them out.
The monologue used by Jor-El (Russell Crowe) in the teaser trailer is taken directly from Grant Morrison's "All-Star Superman", widely considered one of the best Superman stories ever written.
Both director Bryan Singer and actor Brandon Routh expressed interest in reprising their positions from Superman Returns (2006) on this film; Singer had originally outlined several sequels to follow his story, and Routh was contracted as well. When Warner Bros. announced this film as a "clean reboot" from Singer's film, Routh still expressed interest in returning before Zack Snyder declared that this movie would have no ties to any previous cinematic incarnation of the character.
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson said that while the Superman suit emphasized and highlighted Henry Cavill's muscular physique, for the scenes where he is playing Clark Kent, they tried to hide his physique by giving him layers of clothing and baggy clothes so that he could blend in more. Only in once scene does Clark wear a form-fitting T shirt which reveals that he is powerfully built, but that is when he is with Martha who knows his identity.
During Jor-el and Kal-El's first conversation and 3D history of Krypton, Jor tells Kal about how he was sent away. In the background, a pod with the "S" and spikes can be seen flying away. This is not the way it looks in this movie, but in fact how it appears in Superman (1978).
British actor Henry Cavill is the first non-American actor to play the role of Clark Kent. The now deceased, London-born Lee Quigley played Superman as a baby, (Baby Kal-El) in the 1978 feature film Superman (1978).
While coming up with the aesthetic of how the Superman physique should look, trainer Mark Twight said the he wanted the classic V shape - broad shoulders and narrow waist, which Henry Cavill naturally had, he just had to pack on more muscle to his frame. Additionally, he said he looked to Steve Reeves's physique in the film Hercules (1958) as a model for Superman, as to attain a Greek God ideal. Zack Snyder instructed Henry Cavill that his physique should look so great that in his shirtless scenes, he had to look like a "freak" and be in "absolutely crazy shape". Zack Snyder was subsequently very impressed with the results of Henry Cavill's 11 month hard training and called his physique "a great accomplishment". Henry Cavill said that even he was surprised by how big he looked in the film.
The robots in the House of El are named Kelex and Kelor. These were the names of robots that aided Superman at his Fortress of Solitude. In the 1979 mini-series "World of Krypton" Kelex and Kelor were assistants in the House of El at the service for Seyg-El and later for his son, Jor-El.
Distributed to cinemas under the title 'Skyrim'.
On his first flight Superman soars over a herd of zebra. This is a homage to Mark Waid's "Superman: Birthright", which had Superman doing the same thing.
Composer Hans Zimmer and director Zack Snyder used what they considered the best drummers in the world to perform on the film's musical score. Zimmer created a single drum track for all of the drummers to play at the same time, but encouraged them to maintain their own unique styles. The drummers included Danny Carey, Pharrell Williams, Josh Freese, Sheila E., Jason Bonham, Toss Panos, Satnam Ramgotra, Matt Chamberlain, 'John JR Robinson', Jim Keltner, Bernie Dresel, Curt Bisquera, Ryeland Allison, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Trevor Lawrence Jr.
The Fortress of Solitude in this film is a Kryptonian spacecraft secreted in the Arctic. This combines various comic versions of the Fortress of Solitude: an Arctic location with a key (the Silver Age comics (1958)), an artifact from previous Kryptonians ("Adventures of Superman" (1989)), and an abandoned ship (the New 52 comics (2011)).
Superman's Kryptonian family name El is one of the Hebrew names for God, one of many savior allusions in the character's mythos. This comes from the original comic writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, who, being Jewish, would have been familiar with this trivia as part of their cultural heritage.
This is the first Superman feature film that doesn't incorporate the word "Superman" in its title. Interestingly enough, the first Batman film to not incorporate the word "Batman" was Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008) which like, Man of Steel, is the main character's nickname.
According to David S. Goyer, the story's major theme is first contact: "We approached Superman as if it weren't a comic book movie, as if it were real. He's an alien. If the world found out he existed, it would be the biggest thing that ever happened in human history. Just his existence would change the face of the Earth forever."
In Perry White's office at the Daily Planet there is a bugle trophy on top of the shelf. This is a reference to the Marvel Comics newspaper office the Daily Bugle (most famously seen in the "Spider-Man" comics).
When Superman learns to fly, he has a short flyover towards the camera. This is an homage to previous movies in which Superman would fly over the Earth and then smile at the camera.
This is Amy Adams's third time auditioning for Lois Lane. She first read for Lois Lane in Brett Ratner's abandoned film, then for Superman Returns (2006). Adams has stated that it became ridiculous and this time she had to play Lois and put her stamp on it.
Both Amy Adams (Lois Lane) and David Paetkau (Northcom Threat Analyst) appeared in one episode of Smallville (2001) each.
According to the comics, General Zod's first name is Dru.
According to designer Peter Mitchell Rubin, Krypton's look was primarily influenced by the 19-20th century Art Nouveau style ("Art Nouveau designers assumed that nothing could ever be as beautiful as what nature creates, so we tried to be as true to that ideal as we could.") and electron scope/macro/micro-photographs of biological systems (primarily bones, bark, fungi, insect shells and dried plants).
The majority of the action scenes use a CGI cape for Superman and a CGI armor for the other Kryptonians.
Many scenes were taken from the Superman graphic novel "Superman: Birthright" written by comic book writer Mark Waid.
When Jor-El escapes the Council, there is a shattered moon can be seen in the sky. This is Wegthor, a moon of Krypton which, according to the comics, was destroyed when a warhead was accidentally launched, leading to Kryptonian space flight/colonization being abandoned (brought up by Jor-El's hologram to his son).
Russell Crowe becomes the second Oscar winner to portray Jor-El after Marlon Brando. Crowe once had a song with his band "Rus Le Roq" entitled "I want to be like Marlon Brando".
Clark Kent is only referred to as "Superman" once in the entire film. In the comics, government agents (known classically as "G-Men") would refer to him in code over transmissions as "the S-Man."
Both posters for the film are homages to images of Superman from Mark Waid's critically acclaimed 1996 comic "Kingdom Come", which examined Superman's detachment from humanity and his place in the modern world.
The Kent family dog is named Shelby, a name also applied in Smallville (2001) and Superman Returns (2006).
WILHELM SCREAM: When Faora throws a soldier out the back of the C-17.
The World Engine ship bears tentacles, and holds three dots in a triangular pattern. This is a homage to the Kryptonian AI Brainiac, who carries these characteristics.
The flying animal Jor-El rides is named H'Raka, which means "fast" in Swahili.
Viggo Mortensen was considered to play General Zod.
General Zod wears a black astronaut suit. This is based on the Modern Age comics (where he wore a special red suit that filtered sunlight) and the "Man of Steel"/"Action Comics" issues of the early 2000s (where he wore a warlord uniform in red and black).
Production designer Alex McDowell described the Kryptonian technology in the film as "geo-tech, scientifically advanced but also less glossy and more organic than the styles on Earth. There's no rock or stone or metal; Kryptonians had perfected the ability to manipulate DNA, for thousands of years they built almost anything by biological means."
The Superman costume in this film is based on the costume seen in DC's New 52 comics.
Michael Kelly gives the first live action portrayal of Superman comics character Steve Lombard, a Sports journalist at the Daily Planet who often bullies and insults Clark Kent.
According to Christine Schreyer, the inscriptions in Krypton's Ruling Council Chamber read: "The Light of Rao warms us / The four Moons of Yuda protect us /The Wisdom of Telle guides us / The Beauty of Lorra inspires us." It was the first four Kryptonian phrases Schreyer formulated, and are her favourite phrases.
Russell Crowe (Jor-El) and Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), who play both of Superman's fathers, have shared the role of Robin Hood: Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Crowe in Robin Hood (2010). Both have also played law officers bringing down mobsters: Costner as Elliot Ness in The Untouchables (1987) and Crowe as Richie Roberts in American Gangster (2007).
Along with multiple images indicating the savior-like nature of Superman, he tells Dr. Hamilton that he's been on Earth for 33 years - the widely regarded age of Jesus Christ when he died.
This is the first live action Superman movie not to feature the character Jimmy Olsen. Not only was the Jimmy Olsen character in every live action Superman movie prior to Man of Steel (2013) but he was also in Supergirl (1984).
Laurence Fishburne based his performance as Perry White on CBS correspondent Ed Bradley: "Ed was a friend, a mentor, and a role model for me. Particularly because he worked in journalism, and he was the kind of guy who walked with kings, but he had the common touch." In homage to Bradley, White has an ear piercing.
According to VFX Supervisor John 'D.J.' Des Jardin, the VFX are inspired by Gary Hutzel's work on Battlestar Galactica (2004): "The film had to appear very natural and documentary-like, because there's some very fantastical things in there and we wanted people to suspend their disbelief, so we had to make it as easy as possible for them to do so."
The Kryptonian ship had one pod left open before Clark entered. It was revealed in a separate comic that the ship was once occupied by Clark's cousin Kara Zor-el, better known as Supergirl. This has led to speculation that she will appear in a later film.
Whenever Kal-El takes flight, there is a sound effect of rushing wind. According to the VFXperts, this was a homage to Adventures of Superman (1952), which used a similar effect whenever Superman flew away, and they used it deliberately to homage that show.
This is the third film where Diane Lane is mother to a "special" child. The first was Jack (1996) (starring Robin Williams, the best friend of Superman actor Christopher Reeve) and the second was Jumper (2008).
According to Zack Snyder, the Superman shield is designed after post-World War II versions, specifically the 1950-60s shields: "I feel he was born again in that era, he came to represent the American fighting machine and the way America exported its morality to the world. I was drawn to that, and I wanted to get back to a more elegant and sophisticated shield."
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson's main influences for the suit were "the Richard Donner movie [Superman (1978)], the Frank Miller graphic novels, and the beautiful illustrations of Alex Ross."
Due to his success with the Batman franchise Christopher Nolan was brought on to help develop the reboot of Superman along with screenwriter David S. Goyer. This was merely as a creative consultant, it was never intended for Nolan to direct. When Zack Snyder was later brought on as director, Nolan chose to hand all creative control over to Snyder and focus on The Dark Knight Rises (2012). According to Nolan's wife/producer Emma Thomas, "They [Nolan and Goyer] brought it to an appropriate screenplay and it's now Snyder's picture."
The character WoodBurn (Chad Krowchuk), the blogger who leaks Lois Lane's story about Superman, is an oblique reference to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two reporters who received classified information from a government source revealing the Watergate Scandal.
Superman's flight montage includes a flyby over the White Cliffs of Dover and the English Channel. Henry Cavill is from the Channel island of Jersey.
One of Zod's soldiers is named Nam-Ek. Nam-Ek was a minor Kryptonian who appeared in the December 1974 Superman comic "The Loneliest Man in the Universe" (Superman Vol 1, Number 282). Nam-Ek was also one of the Kryptonians to arrive on Earth in the season 5 premiere episode of Smallville (2001). Additionally, Nam-Ek is also the name of the home planet of the character Piccolo from the anime "Dragon Ball-Z" - a story which centers around a child being sent to earth as the last of his kind who possesses special powers and protecting earth from a surviving member of his race bent on global domination.
Natalie Portman, Charlotte Riley, Anne Hathaway, Dianna Agron, Kristen Stewart, Malin Akerman, Rachel McAdams, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kristen Bell, Lake Bell, Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis and Jessica Biel were considered to play Lois Lane.
Zod's ship is named the Black Zero, after a Kryptonian antagonist of Superman. In the comic "World of Krypton" Black Zero was a terrorist organization that destroyed Kandor, Krypton's capital, during a revolution about the rights for the clones that kryptonians used as mindless sleepers in order to repair their physical damage.
According to costume designer Michael Wilkinson, the Kryptonian outfits are based on the wardrobes of the Versailles aristocracy, prior to the French Revolution. The designers etched into velvets and embroidered and screen-printed on fabrics to create over-elaborate indulgent costumes.
Filming in Plano, IL and Chicago, IL in August and September of 2011 was done under the code name of "Autumn Frost." It was such a badly-kept secret that on September 6, 2011, the Chicago Tribune published a full article about it. ("Code Name: Go Figure").
When Hardy flies in helicopter above Smallville, he uses the nickname "Guardian". In DC Comics, Guardian was a superhero and Head of Security of a secret organization called Project Cadmus.
The monologue used by Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) in the teaser trailer is taken directly from Geoff Johns's "Superman: Secret Origin", considered a definite creation comic story for Superman after the Infinite Crisis Events.
Director Zack Snyder enlisted the services of Gym Jones to get lead star Henry Cavill in shape for this role. Snyder had first worked with Gym Jones on 300 (2006) and then subsequently collaborated with them for all his live action films, to get his cast into the right physical shape.
Clark's line "Can't I keep pretending I'm Your son?" and Jonathan's response "You are My son" are taken from ''Superman: Secret Origin'' by Geoff Johns.
According to Kevin Smith's account (found in An Evening with Kevin Smith (2002)), when he was attached to write a Superman movie, he met with producer Jon Peters. Peters insisted on Superman fighting a giant mechanical spider, super-villain Braniac fighting a polar bear, and so on (much to the frustration of Smith and WB/DC executives, they even asked Smith to work around it by calling the mechanical spider something different, according to Smith). Eventually Smith left and Peters went on to make Wild Wild West (1999), featuring a giant mechanical spider. Superman Returns (2006) was eventually made with Bryan Singer and its sequel was abandoned. With the success of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005) franchise, he and the series writer David S. Goyer were brought in to helm Man of Steel (2013) along with Zack Snyder. Jon Peters is one of the film's producers along with Christopher Nolan's usual team of producers. The 'World Engines' that Superman has to destroy resemble giant spiders. There is also a scene in which a polar bear is running through the Arctic as the team explores the Kryptonian vessel that had been discovered in the ice.
Alessandro Juliani, who plays Sergeant Sedowsky, is no stranger to the world of Superman. Juliani also played Dr. Emil Hamilton on the Superman TV series Smallville (2001).
This is the third live-action theatrical Superman films to not feature Superman's archnemesis Lex Luthor. The other films were Superman III (1983) and Superman and the Mole-Men (1951).
Superman's conversations with General Swanwick were based on scenes from the graphic novel "Superman: Secret Identity" written by Kurt Busiek. This novel presents an "alternate" origin for the character which both pays tribute to and spoofs the traditional Superman story.
Dennis Quaid, Bruce Greenwood, Michael Biehn and Kurt Russell were considered for the role of Jonathan Kent.
A boyhood photo of young Clark and Jonathan standing at a science fair project (a volcano) has small sign behind them that reads "Weisinger Public School" - a nod to longtime "Silver Age" Superman comics editor Mort Weisinger, who introduced many science fiction elements to the Superman canon.
Diane Kruger, Rosamund Pike, Alice Eve and Lindsay Lohan were considered for the role of Faora.
Sean Penn and Clive Owen were considered for the role of Jor-El.
Darren Aronofsky, Duncan Jones, Ben Affleck, Tony Scott, Matt Reeves and Jonathan Liebesman were considered to direct the movie before Zack Snyder was later chosen.
Christina Wren plays Captain Carrie Ferris, who has almost the same name as Carol Ferris, love interest of Superman's colleague Hal Jordan the Green Lantern.
Julianne Moore, Lisa Rinna, Jodie Foster, Sela Ward and Elisabeth Shue were considered for the role of Martha Kent.
Diane Lane previously appeared in the Superman-themed Hollywoodland (2006). In that she played Toni Lanier-Mannix, an ex girlfriend of Adventures of Superman (1952) actor George Reeves.
The character of Whitney Fordman was not in the original DC comics. He was created for Smallville (2001), a TV series based on Clark Kent's time at high school.
Connie Nielsen was considered for the role of Lara Lor-Van. Julia Ormond was cast, but she dropped out, so Ayelet Zurer was cast in her place.
Richard Schiff (Professor Emil Hamilton) shares a few scenes with Alessandro Juliani (an army officer), who had previously played Emil Hamilton in Smallville (2001).
The twin-engine aircraft in the Smallville ground attack scene are Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthogs," and the single-engine aircraft in the Metropolis air battle are Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs. The A-10 was produced from 1972-1984, and the F-35 is still in development and will not be combat-ready until December 2015.
The helicopters used in the battle of Smallville scene that transported Col. Hardy and the detachment of Army Rangers were MH-6 and AH-6 "little bird" aircraft. The MH-6 is an unarmed transport aircraft while the AH-6 is a gunship armed with Pylon-mounted General Dynamics GAU-17/A miniguns alongside 2.75 rockets.
Mackenzie Gray, who portrays Jax-Ur, previously played an adult clone of Lex Luthor in the TV show Smallville (2001).
David Giuntoli auditioned for the role of Clark Kent/Superman.
Christopher Meloni (Colonel Nathan Hardy) voiced Superman's colleague Hal Jordan alias Green Lantern in the animated movie Green Lantern: First Flight (2009).
Kevin Costner's role as Jonathan Kent was previously played by Glenn Ford. Both of them have been involved in competing projects about Wyatt Earp: Glenn was cast in Tombstone (1993) but had to drop out, while Costner played Wyatt Earp in Wyatt Earp (1994) opposite Gene Hackman (the original Lex Luthor) as his father.
Director Zack Snyder wanted Superman to have a big, muscular stature (as drawn by comic artist Jim Lee). Star Henry Cavill had to work very hard to build a big, muscular physique to get the look envisioned by Snyder.
Amanda Seyfried auditioned for a role but was turned down.
Spoilers
In the final battle when General Zod and Superman fly into outer-space they both hit a satellite with the "Wayne Enterprise" logo. Wayne Enterprises is the company run by Bruce Wayne, aka Batman.
Zack Snyder proposed that Superman kill General Zod, in order to set up Superman's classic "never kills" motto. He wanted it to be brutal and jarring, so that it would forever keep in Superman's mind.
There are a variety of signs in the film that homage Superman/DC Comics' history (in chronological order):
- a school photo of Jonathan and Clark Kent shows that Clark went to Weisinger Primary School. This refers to DC Comics writer/editor Mort Weisinger, who created the Kryptonian solar empathy (yellow sun strength and red sun weakness).
- when Clark is being bullied, it's in the vicinity of "Sullivan Truck and Tractor Repair." Chloe Sullivan was Clark's sidekick, an original character created for Smallville (2001).
- the Smallville barbershop is named "Otto's Barber Styling". Otto refers to DC Comics writer Otto Binder, who created Supergirl, Krypto, Brainiac, the Phantom Zone and Jimmy Olsen's signal watch.
- during the Smallville fight, the residents take shelter in the post office, known as Ezra's Mail Depot. According to Smallville (2001), the hometown was founded by Ezra Small.
- when Zod uses his heat vision for the first time, there is a small sign that says "Keep Calm and Call Batman" on the wall behind Superman.
- when Zod hurls the tanker truck, there is a smiley face behind Superman. A smiley face was the motif for the "Watchmen" comic, which Zack Snyder had previously adapted as Watchmen (2009).
- when Superman and Zod charge each other at the skyscraper, a sign for "Blaze Comics" can be spotted. This was a fictional publishing company that the DC Comics hero Booster Gold hired to tell his tales.
- as Superman flies after Zod, a sign for "S.T.A.R. Labs" is spotted. Scientific and Technoligical Advanced Research Laboratories is a research facility that debuted in a 1971 Superman comic.
- continuing the flight, there is a sign for "Utopia Casinos" and "WGBS News". These are properties owned by unscrupulous businessmen (Tony Gallo and Morgan Edge, respectively) whom Superman faced off against.
- Earlier in the film during one of the scenes at the Kent house, a double tanker truck passing by in the background bears the "Lexcorp" brand name. Also, a building in Metropolis and a tanker truck later bear the name as well. This is the company run by Superman's arch rival, Lex Luthor.
During the final battle between Zod and Superman at the construction site, there is a sign saying "Accident free for 106 days". Zod throws Superman into the sign, making it say "0 days".
Before the film's release DC Comics published a prequel comic book about the crew of the derelict Krypton scout ship that Clark finds frozen in Canada. In the comic book, the ship was piloted by Kara Zor-El who, in the comic books, is better known as Supergirl.
The first "Superman" film, which Lois Lane discovers the true identity of Superman/Clark Kent, before Clark goes to work for the Daily Planet.
During the last battle between Superman and Zod, Zod removes his armor to fight, leaving his crest visible. His family logo is a figure with a strong resemblance to a sickle. In the comic "Superman: Red Son" Superman is introduced as USSR's protector, and in his chest appear the hammer and the sickle, USSR's symbol.
Most of the Smallville scenes were actually filmed in Plainfield, IL. Coincidentally, a massive tornado actually destroyed most of the 4,500 person town in 1990 killing 29 people. In this film, Pa Kent (Kevin Costner) is killed in a tornado outside Smallville. His tombstone gives the date of his death as 1997.
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