The scene joins a long line of Man of Steel inspirations that found their way into X-Men ’97.

Henry Cavill’s Superman might have had a very short tenure, and with the DCEU closing out, it seems highly unlikely that we will see the character again. However, audiences, creators, and some critics alike enjoyed the fresh, more personal take that Zack Snyder had when it came to Superman, as opposed to the Big Blue Boy Scout image the character had boasted.
Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel | DC Studios
X-Men ’97 creator Beau De Mayo talked about how Man of Steel had influenced a few shots in his hit show, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about how much he appreciates the film. While the former head writer of the show has already revealed the influence the film had on the scene where Storm experiences her powers again, DeMayo has come out with some more information about which scene in the show took its cues from Zack Snyder’s maiden voyage into the DCEU.

Clark saving Martha from Zod had a huge influence on the fight between Bastion and Rogue

A look at Bastion from X-Men ’97 (via Marvel Animation)
Beau DeMayo revealed that apart from the scene where Strom gets her powers back, there was yet another scene that took cues from Man of Steel. In particular, the creator of the show pointed towards a specific scene, one where Superman is fighting the Kryptonian soldiers at the Kent farm to protect his mother, Martha Kent.

The scene, as Beau DeMayo points out, is a lot more personal than other scenes in the film, given that Clark is trying to save the woman who loved and raised him, rather than Superman saving some random civilian.

This puts some extra oomph in the scene and makes it that much more emotionally charged, something that we saw when Rogue was whaling on Bastion, as the villain had decided to kill and hurt the people who took Rogue in when she was at her lowest, whether it be Magneto or the X-Men.

Man of Steel had a lot of merit, despite its lack of classic Superman story beats

Henry Cavill as Superman in ZSJL | Warner Bros. Pictures
Man of Steel remains one of the most beloved Superman films, despite the film not following any of the precedents set by previous Superman films. The film is not about the joyful hope that Superman inspires, but about the angst he feels about being that messianic figure without knowing what it means to be human.

Zack Snyder‘s Superman is definitely a god trying to be human, a superbeing trying to adjust to the mundanities of humanity, as is depicted in the many scenes where the character has trouble controlling his powers. When he finally does, the character is able to use the knowledge to fend off other Kryptonians (like when he overwhelms Zod).

There is a reason he is introduced to us as Superman first and only becomes Clark Kent after he has met Lois and begun to understand humanity a little more. During and at the end of the fight, Superman receives advice from his mother and Lois on what it means to be human and hence becomes Clark Kent’s civilian identity as the film closes, picking up the newspaper job only after he has been established as Superman.