James Gunn Superman

The new Superman movie is literally peak fiction.

I don’t cry a lot, so when I say that the scene where the group of kids are holding up a flag, Superman symbol embroidered, in-front of the sun while the music swells, made me cry. I’m telling you it’s one of the best scenes I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

I haven’t seen Superman this hopeful….. in my life, actually. I grew up with Henry Cavil’s Man of Steel being the norm (he’s been rocking the cape since 2011 ffs), so it was so nice to finally get to see “the real Superman” get his turn. An actual beacon of hope, as he was meant to be.

One thing I didn’t like was the reveal that Supergirl was already an established character in the world, and was just off world for the events of the movie. Like, I get why the choice was made, but I didn’t feel right to me. Especially since she’s already rocking her own superhero suit.I feel like the classic super-girl plot could’ve been a good sequel, but alas. (I’m probably in the minority with this opinions anyway).

Guy Gardener was an amazing character, surprisingly. When I saw him in the trailers, I automatically assumed he was gonna be a Luther lackey for the entire film, and just be another antagonist. But he was actually pretty chill. Not exactly a good dude by any means, but he wasn’t an antagonist either, which was nice. Hawgirl was barely a character, but I liked her inclusion anyway. I haven’t seen her in any media outside of Young Justice and the LEGO games lmao.

Mr. Terrific, despite the fact this movie is the first I’ve ever heard of him, is the absolute GOAT. His powerset is really cool (even if undefined (I’m sure that’s just cause I haven’t seen him before)), and his personality felt so real. Also shoutout to him for being the only member of the “Justice Gang” to help out before the final act. And speaking of the Justice Gang, I loved the setup for the Justice League as well (or, as I hope it’s called, the Justice Society)

Metamorpho, a name I’ve heard literally once ever, was an INSANE pull from James Gunn. I would’ve NEVER thought to include such a deep cut character in the movie, and they did it so well too. Though I wonder how they’ll build upon the mention of there being no more kryptonite on the planet. Seems interesting.

Ultraman was certainly a surprising addition, cause in the comics he’s a fucked up and evil superman from another universe (shoutout to the Crime Syndicate) (another shoutout specifically to Johnny Quick). When Lex revealed he was a clone and started talking about “but the cloning was imperfect” or whatever, I thought he was gonna reveal that he used his own DNA to fill the gaps, and Ultraman would have a Super Boy storyline. But that didn’t happen, and I’m glad.

It’s nice that the several Dailey Planet side characters were all included and name dropped. Although I personally only ever knew Jimmy Olsen and Betty Brant, I’m sure actual comic readers LOVED all the Dailey Planet scenes lol.

Anyway. Movie was peak, 10/10. Catch ya later.