Richard Parker fight from Amazing Spider Man 2 versus Jor-El fight from Man of Steel

[DA_Champion]

Man of Steel opens with an early scene where the protagonist's father, Jor-El, beats the living daylights out of a man who was genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier. Zod was also, rather than being raised on a farm, trained to be an effective killer. I'll note that it is arguable that Jor-El is the true protagonist of Man of Steel, as he is the origin of many of the plot points in that movie and their resolution.

The Amazing Spider Man 2: Rise of Elektro opens with an early scene where the protagonist's father, scientist Richard Parker, who appears to be in his 40s, beats the living daylights out of a trained assassin. This assassin, in addition to being trained, was blessed with an athletic body type due to good genes. I'll note that it is arguable that Richard Parker is the true protagonist of Amazing Spider Man 2, as he is the origin of many of the plot points in that movie and their resolution.

Which scene is better, both on its own and in contribution to the plot?

 

[DA_Champion]

I voted for the Richard Parker fight, because it's not an easy victory. Parker has to use his environment and benefits from the shaking of the plane to come out on top.

A good argument for the MoS fight is that it contributes to the overall plot of the movie. Maybe that matters more. We see Zod failing which is a core theme of the movie, that he's a failure due to the fallacy of genetic perfectionism.

 

[TeeKay]

Jor el should not have been able to beat Zod. Plain and Simple. A genetically bred soldier getting his ass whooped by a scientist? Yeah no lol

 

[Spider-Fan83]

hate to be that guy, but... whose Robert Parker?

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

MOS wins by default. Both scenes are intense and poignant, but MOS's is actually narratively relevant since it involves the movie's main villain, setting up what he's after, what he's willing to do, etc.

I enjoy TASM2 quite a bit, but all the stuff about Peter's parents was all a subplot that didn't connect enough with Peter's main story in the movie and ended up being a huge waste of time. They should have had Peter realize something about his situation with Gwen when he sees the footage of his mother dead and his father in danger because of their heroic actions. Maybe have Richard actually say the 'great power great responsibility' line, since Ben only paraphrased it in the first, and have Peter come out of that station changed. Or connect it on a plot level (in this movie, not the third), with Peter investigating Oscorp, and have this be what changes the Peter/Harry relationship, instead of Spider-Man not giving him blood.

 

[Spider-Fan]

This thread fails due to not even getting RICHARD Parker's name right

 

[DA_Champion]

This thread fails due to not even getting RICHARD Parker's name right

I'm sorry -- can you edit the name?

 

[TeeKay]

This thread fails due to not even getting RICHARD Parker's name right.But that's none of my business.

Fixed.

 

[Batmannerism]

Sorry, MOS takes it easily (well IMO anyway).

Jor El is a reasonably iconic character, the father of Superman - and seeing him portrayed as a bad-ass was a nice change. The choreography was superior in MOS, with the fights still being frantic but enjoyable. Russell Crowe was far more enaging than Campbell Scott - who just comes off as a secretive, manipulative weirdo.

As for Richard Parker.....well Richard Parker was the name of the Tiger in Life of Pi, now that's a more impressive Richard Parker.

Hey, I'm very biased for this one - possibly because I loved MOS, and only mildly tolerated ASM 2.

Again, just IMO.

 

[Keehar]

They both were meh but Jor-El's was less meh.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

hate to be that guy, but... whose Robert Parker?

I believe he's Peter Palmer's father.

 

[DA_Champion]

Well, the vote is 10-1, unexpected.

 

[Flint Marko]

I was almost immediately turned off by the Jor-El fight in Man of Steel. I wanted to understand why Krypton was in peril, why the council was not listening to reason, what the relationship between Zod and Jor-El was like, what the process of having a natural born child consisted of for Clark's parents, how the citizens of Krypton were affected by these circumstances, etc.
Instead we breeze past all that to get an excessive action set-piece because seeing Russell Crowe fly a dragon thing and steal a skull (?) is apparently more interesting than all of those questions.
So, by default, I'd say the ASM 2 one is better because there is an air of mystery about it that got me intrigued from the beginning. I didn't like the rest of the movie, but I can't fault the opening sequence.

 

[flickchick85]

MoS was the better movie, but I voted for the TASM2 fight. Didn't like the Zod/Jor-El fight at all.

 

[titansupes]

I think we're officially out of things to make "which is better" polls out of...

 

[DA_Champion]

I think we're officially out of things to make "which is better" polls out of...

I am sorry that you do not find this poll interesting. I think it is interesting and potentially insightful.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

It is interesting how tiny details can be taken and compared, some of them are interesting.
Anyway, I like the Jor-El vs Zod fight more, the dragon ride is part of it, and the change in scenery is great for a fight.
Plus the danger of the exploding planet, the codex, saving the baby...etc.

 

[Batmannerism]

It is interesting how tiny details can be taken and compared, some of them are interesting.
Anyway, I like the Jor-El vs Zod fight more, the dragon ride is part of it, and the change in scenery is great for a fight.
Plus the danger of the exploding planet, the codex, saving the baby...etc.

Dude, totally on the same page.

The background to Jor-El's desperate actions is the impending destruction of Krypton. There's a reason he moves like a man possessed, and it's because he's absolutely desperate to save his son (and his species).

And yeah, if you watch the dragon flight frame by frame you see the incredible detail that Weta Workshop put into creating the world of Krypton ( I know a guy who worked on it, and he said he was very proud of what they'd done).

At first even I was a little surprised at how skillful a fighter Jor El was....I mean for a scientist. But really, who cares ? I mean, you've got to cheer for him as he kicks Zod's ass. On that note, nice work Snyder, because we learn everything we need to know about Zod in the first 10 seconds of his appearance....what's the first thing he does, shoot an unarmed old lady !

Yeah, there was waayyyy more excitement and satisfaction in that fight scene than in ASM 2 - I kind of liked old classic Spidey, where the parents were simply dead and not part of some weird conspiracy.

But again, just IMO. If people liked ASM 2 in general, and the fight scene on the plane, hey fair enough !

 

[Flint Marko]

Dude, totally on the same page.

The background to Jor-El's desperate actions is the impending destruction of Krypton. There's a reason he moves like a man possessed, and it's because he's absolutely desperate to save his son (and his species).

And yeah, if you watch the dragon flight frame by frame you see the incredible detail that Weta Workshop put into creating the world of Krypton ( I know a guy who worked on it, and he said he was very proud of what they'd done).

At first even I was a little surprised at how skillful a fighter Jor El was....I mean for a scientist. But really, who cares ? I mean, you've got to cheer for him as he kicks Zod's ass. On that note, nice work Snyder, because we learn everything we need to know about Zod in the first 10 seconds of his appearance....what's the first thing he does, shoot an unarmed old lady !

Yeah, there was waayyyy more excitement and satisfaction in that fight scene than in ASM 2 - I kind of liked old classic Spidey, where the parents were simply dead and not part of some weird conspiracy.

But again, just IMO. If people liked ASM 2 in general, and the fight scene on the plane, hey fair enough !

I'm not going to wave a flag and defend ASM 2, because I think it's a truly terrible movie while I just find MoS to be mediocre. But in terms of the opening sequences, I felt the action in MoS was completely unnecessary and unsatisfying in light of the fact that we didn't really know the characters and we don't learn much about them through these frantic action sequences.

 

[DA_Champion]

It is certainly true that the Jor El fight is more awesome, i am not sure that makes it better.

 

[The Endless]

It definitely looks better. Plus Crowe and Shannon are awesome.

But yea it's still stupid and superfluous. Snyder could have done more interesting and important things on Krypton than having over the top action scenes.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Dude, totally on the same page.

The background to Jor-El's desperate actions is the impending destruction of Krypton. There's a reason he moves like a man possessed, and it's because he's absolutely desperate to save his son (and his species).

And yeah, if you watch the dragon flight frame by frame you see the incredible detail that Weta Workshop put into creating the world of Krypton ( I know a guy who worked on it, and he said he was very proud of what they'd done).

At first even I was a little surprised at how skillful a fighter Jor El was....I mean for a scientist. But really, who cares ? I mean, you've got to cheer for him as he kicks Zod's ass. On that note, nice work Snyder, because we learn everything we need to know about Zod in the first 10 seconds of his appearance....what's the first thing he does, shoot an unarmed old lady !

Yeah, there was waayyyy more excitement and satisfaction in that fight scene than in ASM 2 - I kind of liked old classic Spidey, where the parents were simply dead and not part of some weird conspiracy.

But again, just IMO. If people liked ASM 2 in general, and the fight scene on the plane, hey fair enough !

This post is awesome.
*brofist*

 

[Batmannerism]

This post is awesome.
*brofist*

Thanks dude, very kind of you to say - although I can understand why
folks who didn't like MOS in general, probably didn't like this fight scene.
Cheers.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

It is interesting how tiny details can be taken and compared, some of them are interesting.
Anyway, I like the Jor-El vs Zod fight more, the dragon ride is part of it, and the change in scenery is great for a fight.
Plus the danger of the exploding planet, the codex, saving the baby...etc.

Agreed, was the much better of the two.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Only remember Jor El getting stabbed, don't recall the fight. The Richard Parker one being in the air and trying to send the details was more memorable so voted that.