Superman Ascends

Superman Ascends is a 2013 American superhero film featuring the DC Comics character Superman, produced by Legendary Pictures and DC Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Superman Ascends is a reboot of the Superman film series that retells the character's origin.

Plot
The planet Krypton is facing imminent destruction due to its increasingly unstable core. Scientist Jor-El attempts to warn the Kryptonian high council of the danger Krypton faces. Before any action can be taken, soldiers led by General Dru-Zod, an old friend of Jor-El’s, launch an uprising and overthrow the council. Knowing that artificial population control and isolationism have ruined their civilization, Jor-El and his wife Lara launch their infant son, Kal-El, the first naturally born Kryptonian child in centuries, on a spacecraft to Earth. Zod and his followers are captured and sentenced to the Phantom Zone for treason. However, they are indirectly freed when Krypton explodes.

Kal-El’s ship crash lands near Smallville, a farming town in Kansas. He is raised as the adopted son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark. Clark’s Kryptonian physiology grants him superhuman powers on Earth, much to his confusion. He then learns that he is an extraterrestrial from Jonathan, who reveals his concern about social rejection. Jonathan assures Clark that he is on Earth for a reason, and gives him a key from the spacecraft that brought him to Earth. Soon after Jonathan dies from a heart attack, Clark hears a strange noise emanating from the key and decides to travel, hoping to find a purpose to his life. Over the next several years, Clark works various jobs, anonymously performs good deeds, and begins to develop a connection to people.

Clark eventually takes a job in Metropolis as a reporter for the Daily Planet, run by editor Perry White. Clark works alongside investigative journalist Lois Lane, to whom he develops an attraction, and photographer Jimmy Olsen. The trio is tasked with traveling to the Arctic, where an ancient Kryptonian scout ship has been discovered. The key leads Clark inside the ship and allows him to activate its central computer. The preserved consciousness of Jor-El appears in the form of a hologram, and explains Clark’s origins and the destruction of his home world. Jor-El tells Clark that he was sent to Earth to help mankind towards a better future, and presents him with a Kryptonian uniform bearing his family’s symbol. Lois sneaks inside the ship following Clark and is injured by the ship’s security system. Clark uses his powers to save Lois and returns her to safety before disappearing. Lois secretly begins to investigate Clark and eventually tracks him back to Smallville. After having dinner with him and Martha, she promises to keep his secret safe.

Clark dons the Kryptonian uniform and using his ability to fly, rescues a commercial airliner from crashing into an airport terminal, revealing himself to the world. Meanwhile, Zod and his crew pick up on a Kryptonian distress signal sent from the ship Clark discovered on Earth. Zod arrives and demands that humanity surrender Kal-El to him or suffer the consequences. After receiving advice from Jor-El, Clark turns himself in, and the military hand him and Lois over to Zod’s second-in-command, Faora Hu-Ul. Zod reveals that he possesses terraforming equipment salvaged from Kryptonian outposts, which he intends to use to transform Earth into a new Krypton. Zod asks Clark to join him, but Clark refuses and escapes Zod’s ship along with Lois. Clark defeats Faora and another Kryptonian sent to eliminate him, and convinces the military that he is an ally, just as Zod and his crew launch their invasion.

Clark destroys the terraforming device while the military launches a suicide attack, sending Zod’s troops back into the Phantom Zone. Zod survives and vows to kill as many humans as possible to avenge the destruction of his race. Zod engages Clark in a destructive battle across Metropolis, endangering and killing many civilians as Clark tries to protect them. When Zod attempts to drop a building on top of a crowd of innocent bystanders, Clark is forced to stop him by breaking his neck.

Clark obtains Zod’s body from the U.S. government and releases it into space, accepting his position as the last free surviving Kryptonian. Lois writes an article on the alien hero, in which she dubs him, "Superman." Clark returns to the scout ship found in the Arctic and transforms it into the Fortress of Solitude, storing the consciousness of his father in the fortress’s computer programs. In order to access dangerous situations without attracting attention, Clark gets his job back at the Daily Planet and continues his career as Superman. In a mid-credits scene, government agent John Jones types out the name "Clark Kent" and saves it in a top secret file.

Cast
Henry Cavill as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman

Amy Adams as Lois Lane

Viggo Mortensen as General Dru-Zod

Kurt Russell as Jonathan Kent

Julianne Moore as Martha Kent

Mel Gibson as Perry White

Chris Marquette as Jimmy Olsen

Lena Headey as Lara Lor-Van

Jim Cavievel as Jor-El

Lynn Collins as Faora Hu-Ul

Laurence Fishburne as John Jones