What's Next for the Man of Steel?

Metallo as he appears in Action Comics: The New 52.

I figured I'd continue the Man of Steel track I've been on for about a month now and discuss a few of the possible storylines I'd love to see explored in the inevitable sequel.  As with my first Man of Steel post, this one will have it's fair share of spoilers so those who haven't seen the film yet and somehow stumbled onto this blog shouldn't read any further.  As I mentioned previously, I loved the film immensely and was overjoyed by Superman's return to the big screen.  Being a diehard fan of Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, I'd love to see the Last Son of Krypton get the proper trilogy treatment he deserves.  I'm interested in the idea of an eventual Justice League film, but since there's no solid evidence pertaining to that yet, I'll leave that for another time. 
One of the best aspects of Man of Steel is the sheer amount of Easter Eggs to be discovered.  Most of them are quite subtle and unless you're an avid DC Comics reader, pretty obscure.  The most obvious eggs are the references to LexCorp sprinkled throughout the film.  LexCorp is of course the nefarious billion dollar company run by #1 Superman baddie Lex Luthor.  Three times in the film we see the LexCorp logo, twice on the sides of trucks and atop a distant skyscraper in Metropolis.  Just as the Joker is arguably Batman's most well known arch-enemy, Luthor is undoubtedly Superman's most beloved baddie and although these references are subtle, they seem to serve the same function as the Joker card that Batman turns over at the end of Batman Begins.  I know I wasn't alone in hoping for an après credits scene in which we might catch a glimpse of the legendary chrome dome, but the LexCorp references are certainly not just winks to the fans.  Luthor is Superman's best known rogue, so it stands to reason he will pop up in the sequel but not as the real estate obsessed goon who keeps trying to build new continents.  I imagine we'll finally get to see the brilliant and cunning mogul who owns more than half the city and has his hand in everything.  Just as Nolan saved the Joker for the Batman Begins sequel, I feel that Luthor will pop up in Man of Steel 2, although most likely not on his own.

Brainiac pissed and ready to smoke someone

 There is no Kryptonite in Man of Steel, a refreshing change considering how predictable the Kryptonite ploy has become.  Whether they'll introduce it at some point is unclear, but I tend to think we won't be seeing any of the green stuff.  Since Kryptonite is Luthor's only real weapon against Superman, he'll have to team up with a super powered villain to take Superman down or get some steel skin of his own.  Superman's battle with Zod leaves a huge chunk of the city in ruins and also undoubtedly creates some distrust and suspicion towards Superman from those high up in the military.  This is Luthor's opportunity to clean up the city and play on people's fear to turn public opinion against the being he considers an alien invader.  The military, in their paranoia will turn to Luthor, undoubtedly earth's greatest mind, to find a way to stop Superman.  This could be the way to also introduce Lois's father, General Sam Lane as a military liaison who's deeply suspicious of Superman and works with Luthor to stop him. 
In the film, Zod sheds his heavy Kryptonian armor in order to engage Supes in aerial battle and leaves the armor atop what appears to be a LexCorp building under construction.  My friend pointed out that Lex could find the virtually indestructible armor and have top scientists reverse engineer it to create a battle suit like the Kryptonite powered one Lex sometimes wears in the comics.  This could also be a way to introduce a villain such as John Corben, an army Sergeant who becomes Metallo.  Similar to adamantium, the indestructible alloy grafted to Wolverine's skeleton, Metallo is a nearly indestructible metal that if used to reinforce a suit of Kyrptonian armor would be a challenge even for Supes.  Whether Kryptonite is used to power the suit or not, Metallo could still be a formidable adversary for Superman in the sequel.
Another way to go is to have Luthor be contacted by the cyber being known as Brainiac who has been alerted to the presence of the last Kryptonian on earth.  In the New 52, Brainiac is introduced as a being who collects and preserves specimens from dying planets.  Brainiac's plan could be to collect Kal-El as the last of his species as well as eventually collect earthlings by shrinking down the city of Metropolis like he did with the Kryptonian capital Kandor.  Brainiac seeks Luthor out since he is considered earth's foremost scientific mind.  The two of them, along with a military presence, could combine their efforts to neutralize the Man of Steel. 
Of course it'd be terrible to ignore one of the film's most epic easter eggs, which would be the Wayne Enterprises logo on the innocent satellite that got taken out in the battle.  It's too early to say if this is anything more than a nod to Chris Nolan for his input in the film, but just like the LexCorp logos, this sighting confirms that the billionare playboy does very much exist in this world and I feel it's only a matter of time before we'll be seeing him again. 
There are a few other directions a sequel could take, but I'd like to see a variation of either of these storylines.  I'm also curious to see where they take the Lois/Clark relationship now that Lois knows his secret from the start.  The way I see it, they can maintain the playful dynamic when they're at work while also having a deeper relationship.  In order to protect his secret, Lois can still be slightly dismissive of Clark at the office even as she grapples with the difficulties of falling in love with someone who belongs to the world.  In my mind, it makes for more a complex and compelling story  while also maintaining a bit of the old Clark and Lois rapport. 
Bottom line is there are many places they could go in future sequels without falling back into all too familiar territory.  Man of Steel opens up a veritable universe of possibilities for DC Comics and I for one can't wait to see what they pull out of their hats in the upcoming years.