I haven't read anything associated with the movie in terms of comic books, so everything in it was a surprise to me. When the villain proved to be a Romulan who wanted to stop Spock from destroying his world, I thought that perhaps he was a rebel from a future in which Romulus and Vulcan were unified, leading to changes in both their cultures -- and from a traditionalist's point of view, "destroying" old Romulan culture. I assumed he would try to capture or kill Spock to prevent unification from happening. I wasn't expecting an insane miner from the future destroying Vulcan just to make Spock sad. Did anyone else suspect the unification angle?
Well, I do. It's a big deal already in Countdown. Spock's presence on Romulus for it is what tips Nero over the edge on him to blame him and destroy Vulcan.