The Dark Herald Recommends (I Guess): Superman
I was hoping for better but I was expecting so much worse
The ghost of Brightburn haunts this movie.
Brightburn, in case you missed it, was an “evil Superboy” movie from 2019 written by one of James Gunn’s brothers and produced by Gunn himself. Its premise: given infinite power, man will always choose evil. We’re asked to accept—without evidence—that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
This tired adage fallacy is either an unfalsifiable hypothesis at best or glorified folk wisdom at worst, but it's generally treated as an ironclad law of the human race which is bullshit.
That mindset—cynical, reductionist—has been poisoning Superman stories for years now. Yes, a villain with Superman’s powers could potentially be a compelling threat. But that’s not what we’re dealing with here. What we keep getting instead is Superman himself corrupted by power.
Based on that — and other reasons I won’t get into — I had serious reservations when James Gunn was handed the keys to the DC Universe.
And no, it didn’t meet my worst expectations. But it didn’t come close to my best hopes, either. Gunn didn’t make a Superman movie—he made a James Gunn movie. Which, if we’re being honest, is all anyone really expected of him anyway.
So yes, this is a bad Superman movie.
But I’ll grant this much—it’s a good Clark Kent movie.
To explain that, I’ll have to get into the plot, so...
SPOILER ALERT from here on out.
A Plot Stitched from Cartoons and Cynicism
The film opens with Superman getting his ass kicked. (BTW if watching Superman get his ass kicked for two hours sounds like fun, you’re in for a treat.)
This is the scene from the trailer where Superman crash-lands in Antarctica, and Krypto drags him back to the Fortress of Solitude. Silver Age-style robots tend to him while a fragmented message from Jor-El and Lara plays in the background.
Only the beginning of the message is intact, which Kal-El interprets as a noble call to protect Earth. So he recovers (via a convenient Yellow Sun infusion) and flies off to get his ass kicked again—this time by Armored Gort Thing, who then returns to Lex Luthor’s corporate headquarters.
Cut to the Daily Planet: Lois Lane critiques Clark’s article on the battle. I briefly thought she was his editor (which honestly would have worked), but Perry White is still in charge, and a Jimmy Olsen who actually looks like Jimmy Olsen is there as well.
Lois and Clark’s working relationship is quickly established, and later that night at Lois’s apartment we see their personal one. They’re dating—not married—but she knows his secret. Things are rocky, as dating Superman comes with more than its fair share of issues. But if she does break it off with him she has handed herself the ultimate hypergamy issue.
Then a baby kaiju is unleashed in Metropolis as a diversion, while Lex and his enforcers invade the Fortress of Solitude. Using “science magic,” they kidnap Krypto and recover the rest of Jor-El and Lara’s message.
That’s where this movie utterly fails as a Superman story.
The Kryptonian Manifesto of Super Evil
Here’s what Jor-El and Lara actually tell their son:
Jor-El: “The people there are simple and profoundly confused; weak of mind, spirit, and body. Lord over the planet as the Last Son of Krypton.”
Lara: “Dispatch anyone unable or unwilling to serve you, Kal-El. Take as many wives as you can so your genes, and Krypton's might and legacy, will live on in this new frontier.”
Jor-El: “Do us proud, our beloved son. Rule without mercy.”
Welcome to the Handsome Son Hypothesis, now taken to its most Nietzschean extreme.
Superman’s parents are eugenicist colonizers.
This very James Gunn twist obliterates the mythic core of Superman. He was not deliverer sent from the heavens. He was not born to be an aspirational hero.
Forget all about:
“They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way… for this reason above all—their capacity for good—I have sent them you… My only son.”
That got flushed down the James Gunn shitter—with a creepy sex-breeder subplot tacked on for good measure.
So no, this is not a Superman movie.
But It’s a Decent Clark Kent Movie
Despite all that, Clark Kent gets real character development.
He’s sincere, grounded, and trying to do the right thing. But after hearing his parents' Nietzschean manifesto, the foundation of his identity is shattered. All that’s left is Clark.
Also, Lex stole his dog.
The Understudy Justice League
Darklings: Dude, what about the Kaiju?
Oh yeah. Superman didn’t beat that either. The Justice... Gang did. (Sigh.)
They hang out in the Hall of Justice from the 1970s cartoon and are funded by Maxwell Lord. You might remember Pedro Pascal’s Carlton Sheets version of Lord from Wonder Woman 1984. Sean Gunn plays him here and — I can’t believe I’m saying this but Sean Gunn is a welcome improvement.
The current Justice Gang consists of:
Hawkgirl – who’d like a to be a girl boss but Hollywood isn’t interested in that anymore.
Guy Gardner – played by Nathan Fillion, who’s basically reprising Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible, but with a green ring.
Mister Terrific – carries the team and the movie's B-plot.
I figured Mister Terrific would have an outsized presence in the movie. First, he’s black in a film where there are too many whites for modern Hollywood comfort. However, what was much more important here is that he’s James Gunn’s favorite kind of comic book character, one whose continuity is a trainwreck of so many conflicting backstories and reboots that Gunn can do whatever he likes with the character.
Lex Luthor: Evil Elon the Pokémon Trainer
Lex is back to being a corporate villain, but this time with a Muskian tech-guru vibe, closer to a Bond villain than an evil scientist. Eve Tessmacher returns from the 1978 film (she’s an influencer now), and Otis is back too (I almost missed him).
Lex has several devoted henchman, one is the Evil version of Cyborg and thus can do whatever the plot needs her to because nanites! The other is clearly and obviously a clone of Superman. That is obvious in the first ten minutes of movie. He was the Armored Gort Thing. Problem, he’s a defective clone so Lex has to tell him what to do during his fight scenes all the time like he’s a (I-swear-to-Glob) pokemon.
Metamorpho shows up too. That was nice.
Lex manipulates the Department of Justice into declaring Superman a threat. Clark—being Clark—turns himself in. And from there, the rest plays out exactly how you think it will. There. Are. No. Surprises.
Acting That Deserved a Better Movie
Let me give credit where it’s due: the cast brought their A-game.
David Corenswet: Like Christopher Reeve, is a Juilliard grad—and it shows. He doesn’t achieve Reeve’s legendary physical transformation between Clark and Superman, just by taking off his glasses, but he does draw a believable distinction between the two personas. It's sincere, measured, and—frankly—more respectful of the character than his director was.
Nicholas Hoult: Surprisingly effective and menacing as Lex Luthor. Cold, calculated, with just the right dose of obsessive madness. Honestly? The best live-action Lex we’ve had—excluding Clancy Brown’s definitive voice work in the animated series.
Rachel Brosnahan: She lacks Margot Kidder’s fiery charisma, but she feels like a real woman. Her chemistry with Corenswet is believable, if not electric. Lois Lane actually seems interested in Clark Kent, which—sadly—is rare today but Brosnahan clears that low bar with ease.
Supporting Cast: Nobody phoned it in. Fillion brought the charm. Mister Terrific added gravitas. Even Otis and Miss Tessmacher felt more at home here than they did in 1978.
As for Krypto the Dog? He was there for cheap emotional manipulation—and I’m no position to complain. I’ve done the same thing as a writer.
Final Judgment
This is not a Superman movie.
It’s a Clark Kent movie wrapped in a James Gunn Saturday morning cartoon casserole, sprinkled with Silver Age references, and served with a side of Pokémon battles and eugenics.
If that sounds like your kind of fun? Have at it.
If you were hoping for the mythic Superman?
Tough luck.
If you want a good DC film? The quest continues. If you’re normie looking for a decent superhero flick… Well, you’re in luck, it’s way better than anything Marvel has delivered in years.
Darklings: Which would you rather watch again, this or Snyder’s Man of Steel?
This one. This one right here. In a heart beat if those are my only two options, I’ll take Gunn’s Superman. At least he delivered a Clark Kent movie, Snyder’s was just another brood-fest of deconstruction and I absolutely loath, detest, and hate those.
If I get a third choice, it is now and will forever always be Richard Donner’s 1978, Superman the Movie.*
Consequently…
The Dark Herald Recommends with Caution (3.5 / 5)
Discuss in the comments below
*RE:View will be posted Wednesday.
This is something of non-sequitur, but I've always seen Luthor's hatred of Superman as an actual Nietzschean Ubermensh finding himself face-to-face with The Good and desperately trying to deny the underlying reality it points to.
My favorite part of All-Star Superman was at the end, (SPOILERS) when Superman defeats Luthor through his good nature. Grant Morrison's an Atheist, but the spiritual power of the moment shines right through despite that. It's an almost perfect attestation to why Superman is what and who he is.
Luthor has all Superman's powers. Superman is beaten. But those powers force Luthor to see reality as Superman sees it. The wonder and majesty and fragility of it brings Luthor to tears. He at last understands why Superman must *serve* and not *rule.* When the power leaves him, the egomaniac is left desperately pleading for it back, to act, to use it for good.
And Superman's response explains why the original quote from Jor-El was spot on:
That Luthor always had the opportunity to act justly. That the power was always within him. But he always *chose* not to.
And the weight of that condemnation shatters Luthor once and for all.
Re the ultimate hypergamy issue if Lois doesn’t want to marry Superman! lol 😂 Sven Stoffels mentioned in his stream that it would be almost like rejecting God, but she’s a girl boss who is thinking “maybe I can do better!”