While the MCU featured alien beings as celebrities, Man of Steel made the arrival of the Kryptonians a spooky event that changed the world.

Steel man made the DCEU’s portrayal of alien beings much more realistic and terrifying than the MCU’s. The DCEU and MCU are filled to the brim with a wide variety of fictional entities like aliens and mythical gods, but the way Earth receives and accepts them is very different. While the two shared universes put these intricacies aside in favor of the conflict between superheroes and villains, the DCEU manages to make alien invasions feel much closer to Earth’s reaction in a similar situation in real life.

The MCU has moved away from purely scientific explanations for the existence of Asgardian gods, wizards, and witches. In the span of a decade or so, humans have gone from seeing a billionaire flying inside metal armor to disappearing due to an alien warlord, but the concepts of magic and of science in the MCU haven’t changed much. Earth has been through a lot in the MCU, although that doesn’t explain why humans, who have only been exposed to so many strange beings for just over a decade at the start of Phase 4, seem so unfazed about the existence of alien life.

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The first contact with aliens that the 21st century DCEU version of Earth has ever had was the arrival of the Kryptonians in Steel man, when General Zod suddenly hacks every electronic device in the world to send an ultimatum through a mechanism that automatically translates his message into any language. Naturally, the world goes into a state of panic not only because of the existence of extraterrestrial beings, but also because one of them has been living among them from the beginning. As soon as Zod delivers his message, authorities pursue Lois Lane for being the only human known to have information on this alien intruder. The army is also quick to stop Superman and treat him very carefully until he is revealed to be a humble person like the rest. And despite their technological superiority, Zod and the Kryptonians must adapt to Earth’s atmosphere, which also affects their physiology.

Steel man doesn’t show all of the aftermath of the Kryptonian invasion on Earth, but it does create a sense of dread that resembles what would happen in real life if an extremely intelligent race of alien beings showed up at our cosmic gate looking of one of their own. The contrast between Perry White’s categorical belief that aliens don’t exist and his desperation to keep the Daily Planet under control when the Kryptonians arrive shows a more genuine reaction to the aftermath of The Avengers“ Battle of New York, where humans seemed to rebuild an entire city in record time and carry on with their daily lives despite two true Norse gods destroying New York with giant alien worms coming from a portal in the sky. Other weird individuals like Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman and Aquaman also exhibit varying degrees of recognition, ranging from complete secrecy to urban legends, in contrast to the MCU’s abrupt human acceptance of a wizard appearing out of nowhere in Central Park. .

Although the Battle of Metropolis has been criticized for being too destructive, the DCEU managed to hint at the toll it had on Earth, showing a planet changed and divided into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Half the world turned on Superman and the other half saw him as a god, while the social and political landscape turned with the question of Superman’s existence among humans, not to mention the rise of supporters. anti-aliens like Lex Luthor and, at one point, Batman. The vengeful plan of Darkseid in Zack Snyder’s Justice League complements the idea that the universe is extremely large and full of good and bad alien races, and it reveals the abundance of true mythological figures like the Olympian gods, Amazons and Atlanteans. The MCU does a great job of bringing multiple types of characters together, but it’s strange that the most extravagant of beings are treated like regular celebrities rather than world-changing individuals.

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