[quote=@Eddie Brock]
<Snipped quote by Vandy>

That's [i]exactly[/i] my problem. Superman's gut reaction, first instinct -- regardless of how inexperienced and out-of-his-depth he is -- should [i]never[/i] be to kill.
[/quote]

I didn't say it was his first option nor his gut reaction. It was what he felt he had to do. And think about it, what else was he going to do? The phantom zone projectors were all destroyed. You can't hold Zod in a prison. You can't let him go after a stern talking to and expect him not to return. Christopher Reeves killed Zod depowered in the fortress of solitude with a smile. In that he had plenty of other options yet everyone seems to ignore that.