One of the most striking images from the trailers for “Superman” called attention to the titular hero’s connection with the citizens of Metropolis. But perhaps the sweetest moment seen in the trailers was when we see a man help Superman out of the ruins of the street following his battle with the Hammer of Boravia. As it turns out, this man is named Malik “Mali” Ali (Dinesh Thyagarajan), a Metropolis food vendor who once served Superman some food as a token of gratitude for protecting the city on a daily basis. The image of an ordinary citizen helping the most powerful metahuman on Earth in a time of need is a level of sincerity seldom seen in modern superhero films and harkens back to the era of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” movies (starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker), in which the citizens of New York City are given their own distinct personalities.

In “Superman,” Kal-El finds himself at the center of a smear campaign orchestrated by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), culminating with the revelation that his Kryptonian parents’ parting message — which Superman had never seen in full up to that point — called for him to conquer Earth and take on many wives to reestablish Krypton. In response, Kal-El turns himself over to the U.S. government, after which Lex locks him up inside a pocket dimension alongside Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), whose uses his ability to transmute his body into different elements to create Kryptonite to weaken him.

In arguably the most emotionally devastating moment in the film, Lex subsequently brings Boravian power-hungry President Vasil Ghurkos (Zlatko Burić), whom Superman had previously taught a well-deserved lesson after foiling his attempt to invade the country Jarhanpur, along as a witness to the hero’s torture. As it turns out, Lex has taken Mali hostage and elects to play a game of Russian roulette with him while he interrogates the Kryptonite-poisoned Kal-El. Tragically, Lex ends up killing Mali rather quickly, which shakes both Superman and Metamorpho to their cores. This tragedy, in turn, leads to Metamorpho becoming Superman’s ally as he helps him escape from the pocket dimension.

Gunn’s “Superman” successfully rehabilitates numerous elements of the Man of Steel that haven’t been showcased on the big-screen in decades. Perhaps most importantly, it emphasizes and restores the character’s kindness and love for humanity, which is something that shines through all the brighter courtesy of Corenswet’s wonderful performance. Similarly, the film has a relatively low body count for a modern superhero movie of this scale and scope, which some may take as a direct response to the massive death toll in the climax of “Man of Steel.”

Surprisingly, however, none of the film’s principal characters bite the dust in the end; not even Kal-El’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince), who tends to die early on in other cinematic interpretations of the Superman mythos. Sure, the superhero Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) gives President Ghurkos what he deserves in the movie’s third act, but other than that, the most notable death in the film is that of a humble falafel vendor who just wanted to help Superman. His murder at Lex’s hands is as necessary as it is devastating in establishing Hoult’s take on the villain as the most detestable, irredeemable movie version of Lex to date. At the same time, it’s also integral to getting viewers to empathize with Kal-El’s excruciating pain from seeing an innocent person’s life treated as nothing more than a petty game for a man with such power and privilege.

Later, near the end of the film, after Lex is finally defeated and taken into custody at Belle Reve, we see that Kal-El, as Clark Kent, has written and published a front-page story for The Daily Planet to honor the true hero of Metropolis: Malik “Mali” Ali. It might just be the most “Superman” moment in the entire movie — one that proves the most powerful metahuman on Earth’s greatest strength is his kindness, whether he’s in the suit or not.

“Superman” is now playing in theaters everywhere.