The latest motion-picture retelling of the Superman story, Man of Steel, inadvertently raises significant issues of law that are as relevant today as they were centuries ago. While we may not shortly be visited by tight-jawed zealots from Krypton, the legal issues raised are often taken for granted and yet have momentous import. Loosely put, the law of discovery and conquest are again relevant.
In often moralistic dialog, we have Krypton's military leader on the one hand asserting the need to maintain his native species and, if necessary, terraform Earth to accommodate Krypton's rebirth. We have Superman and his father on the other hand, addressing the need for "bridges" and "co-existence." If we understand them correctly, Earth would remain under human ownership, or possibly joint ownership, and love would find a way.
