Comics DC

Zack Snyder Shows Superman How To Properly Snap Someone's Neck

By AJ Caulfield/

Director Zack Snyder is known for his enthusiasm and all-in attitude when helming a film. And apparently, that includes demonstrating the proper neck-snapping technique to his lead actor.

A behind-the-scenes featurette on the Blu-ray for Man of Steel shows Snyder's snapping skills. Entitled "Kal-El vs. Zod," the clip focuses on Henry Cavill (Superman) and Michael Shannon (General Zod) rehearsing for the film's final sequence, which includes Superman twisting Zod's neck, killing him instantly. While Cavill's technique would be pretty convincing to the everyday viewer, Snyder steps in to show him how it's really done.

"What is that?" Snyder says with a laugh, mimicking Cavill's gentle hand movements.

"[Like], 'thanks for wiping my brow,'" Cavill retorts.

With a crew member's head in his hands, Snyder displays to Cavill the real way to crack someone's neck (or, at least, how to pretend to). He lets out a "tsshhh" sound as he vigorously pulls his arms in opposite directions. "That's the ticket!" Snyder exclaims in satisfaction. Shannon quips that Snyder's technique, though visually effective, looks like a "chiropractic adjustment." We can't say we disagree, but then again, we've never cracked anyone's neck before.

Cavill and Shannon run through the intense scene once more. Thanks to Snyder's demonstration, Superman finally (and more effectively) takes out General Zord for good. Take a look in the video above.

While the featurette, which is a part of the Journey of Discovery: Creating Man of Steel special feature, offers more insight into the film's infamous ending, fans were more interested in immortalizing the "Snyder snapping necks" moment. Reddit user Pulazthl submitted the GIF to a DC Extended Universe-focused thread, reportedly because they knew it would cause trouble for Snyder.

"I made the GIF [a] few minutes ago after watching [the video]" Pulazthl explained. "Seriously though, [I] couldn't stop laughing at it because you know about the s*** storm that's gonna hit Snyder after this."

The GIF quickly spread to Twitter, with user SirSpinky urging others to turn it into the latest internet meme. The post has gained quite a bit of attention, amassing over 2,600 likes and 1,200 retweets at the time of this writing.


Others soon began adding their own humorous spin on the GIF. One user jokingly captioned: "I am convinced Zack Snyder is Satan," while another superimposed the Rotten Tomatoes logo onto the crew member's face.


Hopefully Snyder's next superhero venture, Justice League, will steer clear of any neck-snap-related deaths. Of course, we'll have to wait until the movie is released on November 17 to know for sure. Until then, focus on something a bit happier by checking out what the Justice League cast looked like as kids. (So adorable.)

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