Man of Steel Beat Sheet

Man of Steel Beat Sheet

Man of Steel

Screenplay by David S. Goyer
Story by David S. Goyer & Christopher Nolan
Directed by Zack Snyder
Running time: 133 minutes
Year: 2013

MAN OF STEEL BEAT SHEET

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Act I

ACT I

Sequence I: KAL-EL’S BIRTH AND ESCAPE FROM KRYPTON.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Jor-El Lara Lor-Van

1-2 OPENING: LARA LOR-VAN gives birth to a son, KAL-EL. Her husband, JOR-EL, assists in the delivery.

9 – Jor-El chooses Earth as the destination for Kal-El. Lara fears for their baby’s life, but Jor-El convinces her that it’s their son’s, and the people of Krypton’s, only hope.

LARA

He’ll be an outcast, a freak. They’ll kill him.

JOR-EL

How? He’ll be a god to them.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Inciting Incident

14 – INCITING INCIDENT: As Jor-El battles Zod, Lara initiates the launch and sends Kal-El toward his new home. Jor-El is stabbed and killed by Zod as he watches his son leave the planet.

_______________________________________

Sequence II: ZOD IS SENTENCED AND KAL-EL LANDS IN SMALLVILLE ON THE KENT FARM.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Strong Movement Forward

20 – STRONG MOVEMENT FORWARD: Kal-El’s space craft crash lands on Earth.

_______________________________________

Sequence III: CLARK SAVES LIVES WITH HIS SUPER POWERS AND WE SEE HIM AS A CHILD STRUGGLING TO DEAL WITH HIS DEVELOPING ABILITIES.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Act I Sequence III

_______________________________________

Sequence IV: YOUNG CLARK SAVES HIS CLASSMATES FROM DEATH BUT IS TOLD BY HIS DAD TO KEEP HIS POWERS SECRET, AT ALL COSTS.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet End of Act One Internal

30 – FLASHBACK: END OF ACT ONE (INTERNAL): Outside, Jonathan pleads with Clark to keep his powers secret.

JONATHAN

You have to keep this side of yourself a secret.

CLARK

What was I supposed to do? Just let them die?

JONATHAN

Maybe.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet End of Act One External

31 – FLASHBACK: END OF ACT ONE TURN (EXTERNAL): Jonathan shows Clark the space craft they found him in. Clark is proof to extra-terrestrial life, but Jonathan is fearful of what the world would do if they discover him. Jonathan hands him a black command key with the famous Superman symbol on it.

ACT II

Sequence I: CLARK DISCOVERS THE KRYPTONIAN SCOUT SHIP AND SAVES LOIS LANE’S LIFE.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet First Trial

38 – FIRST TRIAL: Using his heat vision, Clark melts a pathway and discovers an alien spaceship. On board, he inserts the command key, triggering the ship to come alive. A MAN the audience knows as Jor-El appears, beckoning Clark to follow him deeper into the craft.

41 – FIRST CASUALTY: Clark saves Lois from the droid, notices the attack has caused internal hemorrhaging. He calms her and explains he must cauterize the wound. Lois screams as Clark uses his heat vision to prevent further hemorrhaging. (Also, the eventual casualty of his true identity because Lois will find out with her journalistic skills.)

_______________________________________

Sequence II: CLARK LEARNS ABOUT KRYPTON FROM JOR-EL AND FLIES FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Training Knowledge Destiny Sequence

45 – TRAINING / KNOWLEDGE / DESTINY BEAT: Back on the spaceship, the mystery man on board reveals himself as Jor-El, Clark’s biological father. Though deceased, Jor-El is a hologram containing the preserved consciousness of the real Jor-El. Clark is told his real name is Kal-El.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Training Sequence Reeve Donner Homage

JOR-EL

You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.

_______________________________________

Sequence III: CLARK TELLS LOIS ABOUT JONATHAN KENT’S DEATH AND GENERAL ZOD ARRIVES, THREATENING THE EARTH TO GIVE UP KAL-EL.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Act II-A Sequence III

54 – Clark finds Lois at Jonathan Kent’s grave. He tells her that he doesn’t wish to have his story told, but ends up sharing the story of Jonathan Kent’s death with her.

CLARK

My father believed if the world found out who I really was, they’d reject me.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Midpoint

65 – MIDPOINT: Zod takes over all sources of communication around the world with a message…

ZOD

My name is General Zod. I have journeyed across an ocean of stars to reach you. For some time, your world has sheltered one of my citizens. He will look like you, but he is not one of you. I request that you return this individual to my custody. To those of you who know of his location, the fate of your planet rests in your hands. To Kal-El, I say this: Surrender within twenty-four hours, or watch this world suffer the consequences.

ACT II-B

Sequence I: CLARK STRUGGLES TO MAKE HIS DECISION TO ACT. FLASHBACK TO JONATHAN KENT CHARGING CLARK TO DECIDE WHAT KIND OF MAN HE WANTS TO BE.

68 – FLASHBACK: Outside of Sullivan Truck & Tractor Repair, thirteen-year-old Clark is pushed around by a bully, but doesn’t fight back. Jonathan’s presence scares them away. Clark begins to question whether or not to fight back.

JONATHAN

You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he’s going to change the world.

_______________________________________

Sequence II: CLARK AND LOIS BOARD ZOD’S SHIP AND CLARK COLLAPSES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN ATMOSPHERE. ZOD ENTERS HIS DREAM, TELLS HIM HOW HE GOT TO EARTH, AND VOWS TO ANNIHILATE THE HUMAN RACE.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Assumption of Power

75 –ASSUMPTION OF POWER: Outside the base, ZOD’S SOLDIERS arrive for Clark, led by Zod’s second in command, FAORA-UL. Faora greets Clark and then informs Swanwick that Zod has requested Lois on the journey. Swanwick pushes back, but Lois defuses the situation and agrees to go.

81 – DECLARATION OF WAR: Zod reveals his intent to transform Earth into a new Krypton, annihilating the human population in the process, and use the codex to repopulate the planet with genetically engineered Kryptonians. Superman resists.

_______________________________________

Sequence III: JOR-EL TEACHES LOIS AND CLARK HOW TO DEFEAT ZOD WHILE ZOD GOES TO THE KENT FARM TO FIND THE CODEX.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Act II Sequence III Kent Farm

_______________________________________

Sequence IV: CLARK BATTLES ZOD, FAORA AND NAM-EK AND WINS THE TRUST OF THE MILITARY.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Act II-B Smallville Battle

_______________________________________

Sequence V: CLARK AND THE MILITARY FORMULATE A PLAN TO STOP ZOD.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet End of Act Two Turn

105 – END OF ACT TWO TURN: At the military command center, Dr. Hamilton sees Earth’s mass increasing and realizes the world machine intends terraforming, turning Earth into Krypton.

106 – END OF ACT TWO DECISION: With Superman and Lois, the military devises a plan to re-purpose Clark’s original space craft into a Phantom Zone Projector and bomb the world machine in Metropolis. First, Superman must take out the world machine along the Indian Ocean, but due to the atmospheric changes, he will be weaker.

ACT III

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Zod Act III

Sequence I: BATTLE ON MULTIPLE FRONTS AND BOTH WORLD MACHINES ARE DESTROYED. SUPERMAN CHOOSES HUMANS OVER KRYPTONIANS.

117 –TRUE POINT OF NO RETURN: In the scout ship, Zod closes in on Hardy’s plane. Moments before he can fire on it, Superman crashes into the ship, knocking it off course. Inside, he uses his heat vision to destroy the ship, thwarting Zod’s plans.

ZOD

If you destroy this ship, you destroy Krypton!

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Act III Metropolis Battle

_______________________________________

Sequence II: FINAL BATTLE OF ZOD AND SUPERMAN. SUPERMAN KILLS ZOD.

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Superman Zod Fight

127 – They crash land back into a Metropolis’ version of Grand Central Station. Superman puts Zod in a chokehold. With no way out, Zod uses his heat vision to threaten a group of citizens.

ZOD

If you love these people so much, you can mourn for them!

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Climax

128 – CLIMAX: Superman snaps Zod’s neck to protect the citizens, making himself the last surviving citizen of Krypton.

EPILOGUE

Man of Steel Beat Sheet Epilogue

Sequence I: CLARK SAYS GOODBYE TO HIS MOTHER AND BEGINS HIS NEW LIFE.

______________________

Learn More About Man of Steel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_Steel_(film)

https://www.scripts.com/script/man_of_steel_13262

William Robert Rich
William Robert Rich

William Robert Rich is a story analyst, screenwriter, and co-author of Story Maps: The Films of Christopher Nolan. He's currently based in Austin, Texas.

Articles: 120

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.