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| just some punk-rock kid from Bakerline |
Watched: 09/21/2025
Format: HBOmax
Viewing: Fourth
Director: James Gunn
So, before I forget... surely James Gunn was referencing The Simpsons' Radioactive Man in the first minutes of Superman (2025) when Number 4 says he'll have Superman "up and at them", right?
Okay, maybe it's just me.
Unlike some folks I've seen online, I don't love watching the same movie over and over in a short span these days. Maybe I especially don't like doing this with movies I really liked as I start to see the movie as parts or components instead of as a whole, and that's less enjoyable even if it's great for criticism. I bring this up as some of the folks online are reporting re-watching this movie more than 10 times. But, look, I think if Superman is what you need right now, I'm all for it.
All that said, it was nice getting to see Superman again - and in the manner how I'll probably see it the rest of my life, unless there's a screening in town - on my sofa interrupted by the dog. But, yes, I would gladly attend screenings if they replay the film leading up to the upcoming movies.
It's been fun seeing the waves of folks on social media who missed the initial theatrical release of the movie as they caught it on digital streaming. And that pattern repeated as this weekend's wave of folks saw Superman on HBOmax for the first time.
The response feels positive and I think people generally dug the movie. I wouldn't expect anyone to not have quibbles. And I'd maybe grok folks had some confusion if their first and/ or only real exposure to Superman has been during the Man of Steel era. But if this is the thing that made you think "oh, Superman is kind of nifty", welcome to the Superman Family, amigos!
In the 2010's, Marvel did the clever thing of endlessly running the first few Marvel films on basic cable, which I suspect had as much of an impact on the general population getting into Marvel than the first few years as theatrical releases (I can't tell you how often I stopped to watch all or parts of CA: First Avenger). And I think a strong build up of the DC Studios Universe via theater/digital/streamer could be a similar sort of thing as The Youths don't really watch basic cable anymore. Get them hyped for that sequel any which way you can (I recommend having a K-Pop star hold a phone playing the movie).
And, of course, with more folks seeing Superman, it gives the coming Supergirl film (slated for next year) a very interesting shot. But also, I hear they're flirting with a Jimmy Olsen show, and I am here for The Jimmy Olsen/ Eve Tessmacher Adventure Hour.
It's funny how the movie does a lot of things I wish the comics did more often. Don't just start at The Daily Planet, keep coming back to that location with Lois and Jimmy, et al - make it part of the story. Superman doesn't have to solve everything himself, and shouldn't. Have a supporting cast that does things. Have a dramatic theme and/or a point to the story other than pushing sci-fi concepts and fisticuffs at folks. The "lore"* will build itself along the way without DC forcing it.
In Superman's world, we can look to what's about to be 90 years of Superman comics, movies, television and more for themes and stories. You only have so much time with these characters in movies, so you don't need to worry about just dropping a monthly issue. And writers... please, for the love of Rao, ponder where it is your story is going and what the point is. Not just big set pieces.
And it seems James Gunn is well aware of all this as he has another story he's ready to tell, what with Man of Tomorrow already in the works and filming slated for April 2026. And what he's saying we can expect.
This re-view also made me think about how weird Superman comics are at the moment, as DC is awful about continuity, favoring reboots and mixing timelines, while also insisting on continuity even as writers walk off the books and leave huge weights for the following writers to deal with - and the subsequent writers often just... don't. Thus, right now Superman seems like a guy in his mid-40's juggling two Superboys, a Superman of China, a Supergirl AND Power Girl, and two kids left over from a storyline that were clearly intended to let Lois and Clark play house again like at the start of Rebirth. It's... a lot. And there's room for it. But I think this continuity needs to get cleaved off and we get a DCU that is cleaned up and lean, with Lois and Superman dating, no kids. Maybe one Supergirl.
And, tbh, this is why I was disappointed in the path taken for Absolute Superman, which is just alt-rock emo Superman, really, no matter how visually spectacular the take is. But it's not *really* Superman. It's Superman for angsty kids.
I've already kind of talked the movie to death in previous posts. It's still a bit weird that this movie starts more like Empire Strikes Back than Star Wars. And while it is very on-the-nose with some ideas (Superman CAN be injured, Superman has feelings and is basically a normal-ish guy with bad music taste and heat vision) it seems like some ideas are getting argued in the margins. It doesn't seem like everyone quite gets that Superman stopping to save people and squirrels is welcome by everyone, or that things as simple as "why does the lady save her pet turtles?" is clearly understood (which is almost worrying). And I think that's the legacy of Snyder's take, which had Superman making out with Lois on the ashes of his city. It really did present Superman as the Ubermensch, so when Superman is handing himself in to authorities so he can find a scared dog in this film, you're going to lose some edgelords along the way - edgelords who should be not be allowed to have pets.
I also really appreciated Brosnahan again in this viewing. She's... pretty great, and I think her part in the film is large, but I'd like to see much more of her in the follow up. And, yes, there are the obvious reasons for that, but also - the Lois presented here is compelling and cool. This is what I'm talking about when I think The Daily Planet folks should and can be involved. Now, give Cat and Ron more to do.
Probably also worth mentioning that Superman really does think people can be better. Even as Engineer and the clone are knocking him around in the Meteors' stadium, he's offering them a chance to stop and think about what they're doing. You want to know who Superman is? He's this.
Unrelated, while the movie necessarily winds up as a slugfest of sorts, it is the first time we get to see Superman kind of uncorked. After all, he gets his ass handed to him by everyone else in the movie, from the Hammer/ clone, to the Kaiju to even a few raptors walloping him while he's weakened. He's fighting uphill the whole way. So, yeah, it's a bit of a release as a fan and audience member to see him come back against The Engineer and clone, and just shake off The Raptors. Good stuff.
Anyway - if the movie achieves nothing else, it really does re-set the table for who and what Superman is within his world, and how we relate to him as a character. He really believes in people around him - even asking Lex, at the end of his speech, to embrace his own humanity as it could change the world. And so don't be surprised if the Superman movies are about Superman kind of refusing to give up on fixing Lex, knowing what Lex could do for the world.
*I absolutely loathe that word, but I'm trying to write for The People
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