General Zod declares his actions in the name of the greater good in the latest Man of Steel TV spot

MAN OF STEEL is throwing new trailers and TV spots almost daily as we approach the two week mark before the movie hits theaters. Each seems to build on the anticipation from the third trailer by showing us more and more of the action in the movie. While the initial trailers underwhelmed some (not including myself) with their slow pace and elegiac music, there can be no question Zack Snyder has knocked the marketing out of the park since then. Each new glimpse of the world gives us the action and grand setpieces we have all been wanting in a Superman movie.

This new spot opens with Michael Shannon as General Zod declaring that his actions are for the greater good, but not of humanity. Shannon looks and sounds more maniacal that Terence Stamp‘s take on the Kryptonian bad guy and I am looking forward to seeing just how crazed he gets.

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young twenty-something journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question – Why am I here? Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack. Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer? Clark must become the hero known as “Superman,” not only to shine as the world’s last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves.

For all the arguing we do online as to whether MAN OF STEEL is going to be good or not, it is absolutely a step in the right direction for the DC brand. David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan created a masterful Batman trilogy and their involvement is clear in MAN OF STEEL. I just hope the movie is not wholly dour and serious as Superman is supposed to be fun as well.

MAN OF STEEL starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Richard Schiff, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, and Laurence Fishburne opens on June 14, 2013.