NOW IN THEATERS! After enduring one of the most cringeworthy marketing campaigns (second only to Fantastic Four), James Gunn’s Superman is finally here. I should first start by saying that I rarely read Superman comics (I’m a Marvel guy), so all I know of the character comes from Adventures of Superman and the movies. Let’s do this.
Superman opens with the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) crash-landing in the middle of the Arctic. Beaten by the mighty Hammer of Boravia, Superman lies prone in the icy snow. He whistles for Krypto to take him to the Fortress of Solitude, where the Fortress robots mend him back to health with the help of Earth’s yellow sun. Against Dr. Robot’s orders, Clark returns to fight the Hammer only to be beaten again. This time, the Hammer goes away to his lair, which happens to be LuthorCorp, where the Hammer is the pawn of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).
As Metropolis recovers, Superman finds himself under intense scrutiny for ending the war between Boravia and Jarhanpur. You see, Superman is not an authorized foreign agent of the United States, and by preventing Jarhanpur from being taken over by the U.S.-backed country of Boravia, Superman may have committed several federal felonies and possibly even treason. More on this later.
DAVID CORENSWET as Superman and RACHEL BROSNAHAN as Lois Lane in DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “SUPERMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
“Clark has to explain why Superman went rogue and ended a war.”
Meanwhile, at the Daily Planet, Superman and Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) are going hot and heavy, now that they are a couple. This is also a very different world from past Superman movies, as Metahumans are running rampant, including the Justice Gang led by Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). They are friendly-ish with Superman, but when the Feds come after Superman because of a bit of “lore-breaking,” our hero must now stand trial in a prison Lex created in a pocket universe.
I’ll say upfront that I had fun with Superman. It’s flawed but fun. Since I have no real investment in DC Comics or Superman’s lore, much of the discussion about lore-breaking and Superman’s actions not aligning with certain expectations is not a concern to me. Considering the state of the comic book industry, this most likely holds true for many young audiences.
As an old man, though, I was hoping for something reminiscent of all the Superman films I’ve seen to this point, where the focus is on Superman, Lois, and Lex, not a legion of other heroes and villains. While I like to keep my hero tales simple, I found myself fascinated with the Gunn-verse. It’s odd, quirky, and irreverent…like The Suicide Squad. What I like is that in this weird world James Gunn has created stand two solitary figures that are normal, Clark and Lois.
"…what the hell is a Mr. Terrific?"
