When Does the Film "Man of Steel" (2013) Take Place?
"Man of Steel" is a superhero film written by David S. Goyer with Christopher Nolan [adapting "Action Comics" #1 (1938) by Jerry Siegel as well as "Man of Steel" #1 (1986) by John Byrne and "Superman: Earth One" (2010) by J. Michael Straczynski] and released June 14th, 2013.
It takes place on the fictional DC Films timeline in the year:
We know this because during the sequence in the Canadian Arctic, a quarter into the film, Lois Lane's little digital camera screen displays a timestamp of "9/25/2013" for a clear but quick moment, attached to a photo she has just taken.
2013 AD
We know this because during the sequence in the Canadian Arctic, a quarter into the film, Lois Lane's little digital camera screen displays a timestamp of "9/25/2013" for a clear but quick moment, attached to a photo she has just taken.
Additionally, there's an extended prologue taking place on the planet Krypton prior to the main action of the film in which a less-than-one-day old Kal-El a.k.a. Superman is sent to Earth. Much later, Superman a.k.a. Clark Kent says, "I've been here for 33 years" in reference to his arrival on Earth not being recent.
2013 - 33 = 1980.
Therefore, the Krypton prologue takes place in 1980 AD.
Finally, there are a handful of small flashbacks that are unplaceble but one clearly takes place in the same year Clark Kent's adoptive father died and a tombstone for Jonathan Kent establishes that year as 1997 AD.
It is a chronologically early film in the DC Films timeline (a first chronological film to feature Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman) and can be watched either at its timeline point, before "Justice League" (2017) as an extended flashback, or entirely separately.
