The pit of skulls scene in Man of Steel (2013) is one of the most symbolic and memorable moments in the DC movie universe. One of my favorite DC movie scenes as well. Director Zack Snyder showed Superman’s deepest fears and vulnerabilities in a powerful and visually stunning manner. Let’s see what you might have missed from that scene.
How did the Skull scene happen?
Shortly after Superman and Lois are taken to the spaceship, Superman loses consciousness due to the Krypton atmospherics set in the ship. He begins to feel weak, falls to the ground with blood coming from his mouth, and faints. In the next scene, he wakes up in the backyard of his home in Smallville, where he grew up. General Zod stands before him, describing the story of how they ended up there and what they plan to do to Earth. It’s a nightmare scene experienced by Kal-El.
Now the question that may pop into your head is if that’s a nightmare scene of Kal, how does he have conversations like this with Zod? He is not supposed to know any of these through a dream. Well, the explanation is quite simple. That wasn’t exactly a dream. Something of a nightmare, of course, not a dream. You probably know that the Kryptonian technologies are way more advanced than ours. Zod and his crews used such technology to get inside Clark’s mind to extract necessary information. They did the same to Lois Lane too.
The movie doesn’t show the process of that, but later a conversation between Lois and Superman confirms that. After being rescued by Superman, Lois says, “I am sorry. I didn’t wanna tell them anything, but they did something to me. They looked inside my head.” And then Superman assures her by saying that it’s okay, they did the same to him as well.
Pit of the Skull Scene Break-down
After Zod reveals that turning Earth into Krypton would kill everyone on the planet, Superman finds himself standing on a pile of skulls. This visual representation underscores Zod’s declaration about the terraforming casualty: “The foundation has to be built on something,” implying every Earthling. According to Zack Snyder, this scene represents Superman’s vision of hell—the worst possible scenario for him, where everyone around him is dead. Superman is not afraid for his own life but for the lives of everyone else on this planet.
Most of you probably didn’t know, this scene is inspired by a classic Indian film, “Nayak: The Hero” (1966), directed by Oscar-winning director Satyajit Ray. In that scene, the protagonist walks through a desert of money and drowns in a quicksand of cash, while someone he knows (Sankarda) watches without helping. You’ll be able to spot the visual similarities of both scenes pretty easily. Both scenes are nightmare sequences that symbolize the protagonists’ fear and helplessness in their current situations.
In the Man of Steel watch party, Zack Snyder reveals taking inspiration from Satyajit Ray’s film to show the worst possible fear of Superman which is having everyone dead around him.
Skull Scene Reference in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
There is a reference to this scene in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016). In the movie, Superman rescues a girl in Mexico and gets surrounded by people with skull makeup during the Day of the Dead celebration. This scene mirrors the “Drowning into the Skull” scene from “Man of Steel.” The skull scene in “Man of Steel” depicted what could happen if Superman sacrificed Earth for Krypton, while the scene in “Batman v Superman” reflects the reality of his choice to save humanity instead of joining Zod.
Along with severe criticism, Zack Snyder was always appreciated for his stylish visuals and visionary thoughts about the cinematic universe. The Skull scene is a prime example of that.
