the ship, sending Zod's troops back to the Phantom Zone. With the ship destroyed and Krypton's only hope of revival gone, Zod vows to destroy the Earth and its inhabitants out of revenge. The two Kryptonians engage in a lengthy battle across Metropolis, which concludes when Kent is forced to kill Zod as he attacks a cornered family in a train station. In the aftermath, Kent adopts a separate public identity with the military codename Superman and persuades General Calvin Swanwick to let him act independently, so long as he does not turn against humanity. To allow access to dangerous situations without attracting attention, he covertly maintains his civilian identity and takes a job as a freelance reporter for the Daily Planet. Controversial figure In 2015, Superman is now a controversial figure, being hailed as a hero by some, but denounced as a "false god" and dangerous by others, including Wayne Enterprises CEO Bruce Wayne. Kent is now in a relationship with Lane and has received a promotion at the Daily Planet, while as Superman, he has engaged in numerous acts such as engaging wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, rescuing passengers on a train, halting a missile attack on the United States, and apprehending criminals. Kent is assigned a sports story in Gotham City by White, but instead starts investigating on Batman. Kent is invited to a gala by Lex Luthor who requests that Kent be the reporter to cover the event. There, he meets Wayne, asking him about his opinion on Batman much to Wayne's annoyance, leading to an argument about the deeds of Superman compared with Batman's, before Luthor injects himself into the conversation to introduce himself. Wayne is at the gala to try and steal information from Luthor, and is also seeking kryptonite in an attempt to take on Superman. While watching television, Kent sees numerous personalities, including cosmologist Neil DeGrasse Tyson and U.S. Senator June Finch argue about Superman's effect on the world, with Tyson supporting Superman and Finch expressing skepticism. Following White's rebuff of Kent's attempts to investigate Batman and reports of misconduct by Batman from the Gotham Free Press, he decides to confront the caped crusader more directly as Superman, halting Batman's attempt to seize kryptonite from Luthor's men and leaving him a warning. During a publicized congressional hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Superman's actions, Finch questions Superman for some of