They say to never meet your heroes, that one’s heroes can’t ever measure up to the version we build up in our minds. Where some people look up to actors, musicians, painters, or poets, artisans whose works move and/or inspire them, my hero was Superman; a.k.a. Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton; a.k.a. Clark Kent); the comic book character first created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and whose custodians (the writers and artists of DC Comics) have continued to manage the hero’s adventures ever since. Here was an individual from another planet; the lone survivor of its destruction; raised by generous, loving strangers; who chooses day after day to help those in distress. As written, the radiation of our solar system’s yellow sun gives him near-godlike powers in strength, speed, sight, hearing, among others, and, yet, he decides, actively, daily, to use them not for self-profit but for the betterment of all. This character has leapt from page to screen in live-action and animation many times, each actor and showrunner/director becoming the latest steward of Superman. Taking up the mantle now is David Corenswet (Twisters; The Greatest Hits) with James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy; The Suicide Squad) in the director’s chair, using their opportunity to tell a story in which the usual fisticuffs of superhero fare isn’t the point, the point is the battle within.
L-R: Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERMAN. Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio. © 2025 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.
In the three years since Superman (Corenswet) appeared, he’s never lost a fight, but he finds himself on the ropes when the so-called The Hammer of Boravia appears in Metropolis looking for the Man of Steel after Superman involved himself in an invasion between neighboring countries Boravia and Jarhanpur. While Superman and The Hammer fight, Lex Luthor (Nicolas Hoult) works on his own plan to subvert the public’s perception of Superman in order to finally put the hero down. As the plot thickens and Superman finds himself entrenched, it will prove to be the battle with himself that will make the difference for a better tomorrow.
L-R: María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ SUPERMAN. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2025 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.
Let’s get this out of the way, leaving Super and his time with Troma out of this, if you didn’t enjoy the Guardians of the Galaxy films or The Suicide Squad then this iteration of Superman likely isn’t going to be your cup of tea. Like other directors, Gunn has a specific style of storytelling and his includes leaning hard on the sincerity, specially-timed needle drops, and getting ugly when he has to. This takes the form of a sequence that feels ripped right out of Guardians Vol 2. (2017) and its “Come a Little Bit Closer” sequence with Yondu (frequent Gunn collaborator Michael Rooker). It means that the bad guys are going to be real bad guys, but instead of shying from showing murder and having the audience presume collateral damage, Gunn puts it front and center. It also means heroes with a smart mouth who don’t mind getting dirty, represented here by Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern Guy Gardner and Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl (presumably of Thanagarian heritage), bring their own version of heroism that the general public is ok with yet grates against what Superman represents. If these types of now-staple elements of a Gunn cape movie are going to bother you, then this Superman film isn’t going to work for you because all of these elements that feel lifted from his other works are likely going to distract you from the point of their collective inclusion — you’re not supposed to be ok with them. Audiences have grown so accustomed to a certain form of quippy heroes who do violence and then go home that we’ve forgotten that this isn’t all that there is or all that they can be. If we are to be judged by the company we keep, there’s a reason why those two (Green Lantern and Hawkgirl) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) make up the Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn)-sponsored Justice Gang and Superman isn’t included: because Superman would find another way, a different method, each time.
“Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul, I swear… until my dream of a world where dignity, honor, and justice becomes the reality we all share … I’ll never stop fighting. Ever.”
– Superman in Superman in Action Comics #775, “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, & the American Way?”
So, let’s talk about Gunn’s approach within a context so as to address the film without digging into aspects that might be spoilery for those who’ve yet to see it. That context is the sequence in which Clark and (established via the trailer that she knows his hero identity) Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) sit down for an impromptu interview about his involvement in stopping the Boravia invasion which caused the Hammer’s attack in Metropolis. In the trailer, we’re shown Superman grows visibility agitated, even angry, at her questions. This, of course, prompted a great deal of frustration from individuals online who are used to a more measured Superman, thereby assuming that not only does Gunn not know what he was doing with the character, but that this would be another WB debacle. Within the correct context, the setup, and execution, not only does Gunn demonstrate a clear understanding of the hero, but so do Corenswet and Brosnahan of their respective characters, all to a level which we haven’t seen in some time. For this three-year experienced individual, possessing the powers he has, jumping in to prevent a country, one presumably more advanced than the other, from invading another is simply doing the right thing. Through the interview, though, Lois — and remember, she’s an award-winner for a reason — asks questions of Superman which bring to light his inability to think beyond the good and the bad. More than that, where he may have overstepped and didn’t realize. As the two characters go back and forth, Superman jumping between himself and Clark with answers, Lois holding her ground the entire time, Superman’s growing agitation isn’t a sign of immaturity, but shame in realizing the mistakes he made. When pressed, he can’t argue and comes down on himself. Gunn is showing us that even this version of Superman isn’t the ideal and the frustration of that eats at Clark not because he seeks perfection, but because he believes that he was sent to Earth to protect it and, if he’s making the kinds of mistakes Lois points out, how can he do what he believes he’s meant for? This is where the outburst comes from (heartbreakingly portrayed by Corenswet and Brosnahan through scene work that nails the reason these two works so well) and that’s not uncommon in the comics. Not that the character is frequently dysregulated, but that the standard he holds others to, the standard which causes all other heroes to look up and remeasure themselves, is a high one for himself as well. Audiences expect that the stakes are going to be set by the villain the hero must defeat, but, with this single scene, Gunn sets up where the real battle will lie for Clark, and its within himself. A battle that Corenswet, like any Act 1 performer, conveys will be an uphill battle and one worth fighting.
“That man won’t quit as long as he can still draw a breath. None of my teammates will. Me? I’ve got a different problem. I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can’t you, big man? What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am.”
– Superman (voiced by George Newbern) in Justice League Unlimited episode “Destroyer.”
There are, of course, several other things going on the film that are worth exploring as it relates to the politics of the film and its loud message: in a world in which the most powerful are telling you righteousness comes from strength, being kind is punk rock. We see this in the battle with the kaiju depicted in the trailer, first in the way that Superman tries to deflect, protect, and redirect and, later, in the way he responds to the Justice Gang’s version of helping. Gardner’s typical flippancy, his arrogance amplified by being chosen by the Green Lantern Corps to serve, is emblematic of the worldview that might equals right. In a world like that, Garnder is a hammer and the whole world is a nail, thereby justifying violence, regardless of other options. And there’s always another way. Gunn makes a point to show the audience how Superman uses his powers to see what the Justice Gang’s attack does to the kaiju, something that, at first, seems like an inability to take the Troma out of the director when, in fact, it’s a demonstration of what Superman sees regularly and how that shifted perspective influences his choices. If you could see the damage done by violence under the skin, if you could hear the sounds of pain outside your normal range, how would you react to the viciousness around you? How would that shape your perception? We even see this in the final confrontation with Lex when all the cards are finally laid out, Lex’s reasoning laid out in the brightest sunshine, when Superman tells him that it doesn’t have to be this way. Even after all the cruelty that Lex has inflicted through his machinations just to attempt to defame and defeat Superman, Superman still tries to remind him that things could be different, reminds him of the hope for a better tomorrow. In the comics, Superman has, on more than one occasion, told Lex that if he just stopped being an envious, selfish, egomaniac and put his genius toward the things he claims to want for the world, the world would be as he saw it. This is, of course, Lex’s fatal flaw — he can only become the hero he envisions if Superman is the villain, as is the case with Earth-Three where Ultraman is from as the leader of the Crime Syndicate and Lex seeks to topple his regime. This is also why, in a critical moment against the kaiju, Superman makes sure to save a squirrel — all life matters, and if you can save even one, then the losses are a little lighter.
“And how pathetic you are Kryptonian. Kal-El. Dual heritage or no, you can never be truly one of them. They will never full accept or trust you. Inevitably, they will come against you to destroy you. How hopelessly naïve for a ‘Superman.’”
– Jor-El, Superman: The Man of Steel, Elseworlds Annual #3 1994
In terms of narrative, Superman is going to feel totally familiar and foreign at the same time. At the very start of the film, Gunn lays out that metahumans and superheroes have existed for three centuries before we even see Superman. When we do, it’s right in the middle of things, which creates natural moments of exposition while setting up things to come. So, if you’re not familiar with how Superman’s powers work (yellow sun-based), how he heals, how he ended up on Earth, and several other factors, Gunn throws you in quick. He also has laid the groundwork for ways in which the DC Universe (gone is the DC Extended Universe established under filmmaker Zack Snyder) will grow to include the Justice League (Hall of Justice appearance), The Authority (María Gabriela de Faría plays a deadlier version of Angela Spica/The Engineer), The Bleed, and other possibly less-explored avenues of the DC Comics catalog. What impresses the most, however, is the way the script goes out of its way to make quite plain what villainy looks like, painting it with strokes so obvious that all it’s missing are Looney Tunes-style neon signs pointing at it, because the time in which Superman is being released is when villains are too frequently being regarded are heroes. People think they want a tech broliarchy in charge when they are Tony Stark, but we’ve got faux-Justin Hammer in the real world and people can’t tell that he’s got Lex Luthor-sized access on your info. More than that, the choices that Lex makes here, while they start to feel rudimentary and rote, reveal themselves to be the type of cruelty last seen enacted in 1930s-1940s Germany and are starting to become commonplace here. Why do audiences understand that Lex Luthor is the villain of Superman, but the same actions are being executed in the real world (minus interplanetary/interdimensional travel) and too few cry foul. But not here. A line is drawn in the sand regarding what’s acceptable and what’s not and that the responsibility of the those with the power to protect meek is to stand before the mighty as a shield and say, “no.” That’s what makes this iteration of Superman feel as close to the comics as we’ve received in ages. Through Gunn’s script, Clark/Superman wrestles with what it means to be good and the weight that goodness carries, all while continuously moving forward (metaphorically and literally) to do the right thing, even when it’s hard; especially when it’s hard. Amid all the bullshit in the real world there’s a bittersweet comfort in knowing that within this fictional one what makes the world great is protected and what makes it weak and vulnerable, what inspires it to cower, is given the chance to recant, to seek absolution and, failing that, is served justice unimpeded. That’s what makes Clark/Superman so great — he could conquer, but he chooses every day to serve instead.
“Superman is what I can do. Clark Kent is who I am.”
– Clark Kent (as played by Dean Cain) Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode “Tempus Fugitive”
Folks can argue all day long about what “Superman” is. There have been many iterations of the character since his creation in 1933 in print, in television, on film, and in multimedia. Across the multiverse, Superman has been young and ancient, powerless and powerful, a being of energy that gets split in twain, alive and dead, cloned and entirely singular. Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman has been many things to many people and, even when the actors who portrayed him diverge from the essence of the role, their presentation of the character still means something to us. But whichever version you read, whichever version you look up to, they’ll always be there for you, reminding you that to make the world the kind of place it should be, powers or not, all you need to be is kind. In a world where fear and retribution are how bad guys get and stay in power, when what is legal doesn’t align with what is moral, the most heroic thing you can be is kind.
In theaters July 11th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Warner Bros. Pictures Superman website.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
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