I need the DC Universe to do right by one Superman character after their big two movie deaths – and, thankfully, the franchise’s current trajectory paints a hopeful picture that it indeed will. In DC’s movie history, it’s almost unheard of to have an instalment wherein a character doesn’t die – especially in the world of live-action films, wherein the action-packed events these stories focus on usually culminate in the death of at least their villain. That said, it’s not just villains that are facing the music in DC films by any means.

Whether it’s someone being killed off to establish the threat of specific antagonists, the threat of other dangers, or just to up the ante of the overall story, DC movies have been killing off characters aplenty since time immemorial – and that includes a range of some of the most beloved DC comic characters in history, too. Since DC’s Superman movies have killed off one such notable character twice in ultimately underwhelming ways, I’m hoping the DC Universe timeline can switch things up a bit, and at least add a little longer onto the character’s story before ending it altogether.

Jonathan Kent’s 2 Movie Fates Are Both Underwhelming

Jonathan Kent’s fate in Man of Steel is somewhat notorious to this day, with the character’s decision to sacrifice himself in a storm being the subject of some considerable controversy, given it didn’t seem he necessarily needed to do so, and it appeared there were other ways his concerns about Clark revealing his idenтιтy if he went to save him could have been addressed that didn’t involve his death. Instead, though, the last we see of Jonathan Kent in the DCEU timeline is him having an argument with Clark, and then shortly after being ripped away by a tornado.

Though the 1978 Superman doesn’t pit Jonathan against a tornado, his demise is similarly somewhat underwhelming in terms of limiting how much of a story he gets in the movie series. After taking in Clark and raising him for most of his youth, Jonathan is shown in the early portion of Superman facing a heart attack and almost immediately dying to it. While Jonathan’s heart problems are teased beforehand, this still can feel like the plot killing him off for the sake of its story, especially since Clark’s superpowers conveniently don’t manage to let him hear the struggles of his dying adoptive father.

Both movie iterations of Jonathan Kent serve important roles in their respective narratives, and help establish why both versions of Superman are so strong in their moral beliefs to help others by showing just how much he learned this from both sets of his parents. That said, this also means that, despite a wealth of Superman movies having debuted in the decades since the character first appeared in the pages of DC’s comic releases, the input and impact of Jonathan Kent has largely been limited to the first act of two movies here.

The DC Universe Has A Perfect Chance To Handle Its Jonathan Kent Story Differently

Jonathan dying in both of these Superman origin story movies has made sense in as far as explaining why Clark decides to go out and experience the world by himself, but it hampers the degree with which we get to learn about the character and see Superman interact with both of his parents, versus just Martha. This can be a little bit of a shame, since Jonathan Kent has played a range of interesting roles in comic storylines alongside his wife, which all become essentially impossible for these movie worlds to ever delve into.

However, the DC Universe seems like it could take a very different approach to what has come before in this regard. With this backdrop in mind, taking a different route by instead exploring how Clark’s life on the big screen could look different if Jonathan survived – and what advice or perspective an older Jonathan might have for his superpowered son – seems like it could bear more fruit for the franchise, and serve the added benefit of exploring the kind of unusual superhero movie dynamics that many of James Gunn’s other superhero releases have thrirved from focusing upon.

With the Superman story already looking to focus more on Clark Kent’s “ordinary life” – in terms of his career at the Daily Planet, and his struggles to act as a totally average everyday person – it would make a lot of sense to have both of Clark’s parents live on. This would both provide a fresh perspective for the story in terms of how the films have usually handled this aspect of things, and open a new avenue for comedy and drama, since the Man of Steel speaking to or visiting his entirely normal parents can easily work both ways.

The DCU’s Approach To Superman Already Looks Like It Could Go Differently

Jonathan Kent’s DCU story already looks more promising when it comes to the matter of his survival. We already know Superman explores the Man of Steel’s life later into him being an active superhero – versus showing him becoming Superman and beginning to operate as a hero – which means the sH๏τs of Clark hugging his dad already suggest he’s outlived his 70s and 2010s counterparts. Since the DCU doesn’t have the same need to kill Jonathan to show where Superman’s adventures started, there’s a lot more room for him to continue to live on in this movie world instead.

Since the intention with the DC Universe going into it is for it to blossom into an exensive interconnected franchise that can draw from the wealth of comic stories DC has created over the years, it would make sense to keep as many major characters alive as possible in the early stages of its present day story. With this in mind, avoiding killing off Jonathan seems in the franchise’s best interest, especially since his death would also be rehashing what’s come before on a lot of levels.

I think there are still certainly ways the DC Universe could make Jonathan Kent’s death work, but the concept of it delving into the relatively unexplored movie territory of what Superman’s life could look like without Jonathan’s death to galvanize him into certain actions could prove the better call for the franchise, especially this early in what hopefully could be an extensive overall run. With that said, the exact road the DC Universe intends to take will likely only become clear in Superman, if not potentially even later down the line than that.