After all, he’s an alien from a distant planet who has abilities that far exceed any of our own. It’s a defining part of the character and a point that must be stressed in order to be understood. So when David Goyer first started developing the screenplay for Man of Steel he made sure that audiences knew exactly where the superhero was coming from. And he did so by literally showing the audience exactly where the superhero came from.

With the new Superman film in theaters nationwide this weekend, I recently had a chance to sit down with the screenwriter and pick his brain about all things Man of Steel. Read on to find out how the story developed in comparison to working with Batman as a lead, the choice to use non-linear storytelling, and how this movie’s version of Superman is really able to fly and lift heavy objects.