Man of Steel is finally more than a figment of our wildest reboot dreams.
Sure, a few pics had leaked from the super-secretive set, but today's Comic-Con panel marked the debut of any sort of moving imagery from the film.
Did said imagery get the audience's collective heart pounding faster than a speeding bullet?
To say the least.
From the first shots of Cavill's Clark Kent saving a mess of kids after a bus crash, to Russell Crowe's solemn Jor-El voiceover about "children being inspired to greater things," Kevin Costner as Clark's earthly father saying, "People are afraid of what they don't understand" (isn't that such a Kevin Costner thing to say) and the layout of the Fortress of Solitude, Man of Steel looks (and sounds) amazing.
Hans Zimmer took over the scoring reins, and director Zack Snyder expressed no doubt that the Oscar-winning composer would do John Williams proud.
"We had to act as if no film has been made," said the 300 visionary, who confirmed that Man of Steel is in the can (or on a memory stick somewhere) and is now in postproduction. "When we approached it, we had to say this a Superman for the first time."
Well, they better have, considering Superman Returns underwhelmed all expectations back in 2006.
"It's a dream come true and an honor to be here," said Cavill, who made his Comic-Con debut last year as part of the cast of Immortals (may Man of Steel make a greater impact than that, too).
"I just wanted to bring as much of the modern Superman into the world. You guys [the fans] know everything about him, you're there through thick and thin," the Brit said. "This is for everyone else out there.To bring him to the modern world that everyone can associate with.
Snyder said that the film's story pulls from an assortment of Superman comic book adventures (minus the "Death of Superman," of course) and doesn't follow any one particular plot thread.
With Superman presumably alive and well at the end of the movie then, is Man of Steel the first step on the road to a possible Justice League, as Iron Man was for The Avengers?
"Let's say this: We know that Superman is the jewel in the DC crown," Snyder said. "What we're trying to do is get this house in order. And then, who know what's possible?"
Speaking of the ol' Justice League, a Man of Steel teaser will screen before showings of The Dark Knight in theaters.