It's been five long years since Superman (Brandon Routh) defeated General Zod and his cronies (in Superman II). Five years since the Man of Steel mysteriously disappeared. And now he's back. Metropolis is still there. So's the Daily Planet, with Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), editor Perry White (Frank Langella) and photographer Jimmy Olsen (Sam Huntington). But the world has moved on. Lois even won a Pulitzer Prize for her 'Why The World Doesn't Need Superman' article. It seems that the Man of Steel no longer has a part to play, that the people of Earth are fine without him. And then Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is sprung from prison. And an ominous shadow looms over the planet once more...