I think we were rooting for Zod in the end *on purpose*, because of another Fan Gripe - "Everything's always so cut-and-dry for Superman, you can always tell who the bad guy is because they're just plain EVIL. How about some moral ambiguity?" - ANSWER: In order to save the Earth, Superman has to essentially doom his entire race to extinction.

Remember, this is the *origin story* of a NEW Superman. If they do the next movie right (fingers crossed), we'll see a Superman that is delighting in his powers, using them as his Krypton-Dad had suggested to inspire the Earthlings. They'll leave the dark-n-brooding to Ben Affleck :)