TLDR Super Watch: Supergirl (2026)

Watched:  06/25/2026

Format:  Regal

Viewing:  First

Director:  Craig Gillespie

It is probably worth noting that while a great IP to slap on thermoses and t-shirts, Supergirl is maybe the least consistently written mainstream character in comics.  So there is no "right way" to write Kara Zor-El.

I've read my fair share of comic books starring Supergirl over the past few decades.  I've read Silver-Age, Bronze and Copper-Era stories.  I read 90's-00's Not-Kara Supergirl by Peter David.  And was one of people who was flipping out when they brought Kara back in the mid-00's.  Aside from giving New 52 Supergirl a pass, I have pretty complete runs of pretty much everything since the 2005 reboot.  I heartily recommend the current series by Sophie Campbell as one of the best comics I've read in a while.  I own a copy of Action Comics 252.  

I've seen the 1980's Supergirl movie at least three times - including on VHS as a kid.  I watched the entire run of the CW TV show.  Am familiar with various incarnations in live action and animation.  (I have an affection for almost all of those takes.)

I am not a Supergirl PhD, but I feel pretty well oriented.  So, there's my bona fides.

Superman Movie - Catching Up On "Man of Tomorrow"

Today, James Gunn, Director and Writer of the next Superman film - Man of Tomorrow - released this still of Nicholas Hoult in some very familiar looking armor.  

This unleashed hordes of people who think they're clever and have never picked up a Superman comic, never watched a Justice League cartoon, walked down a toy aisle, etc... to flap their arms and ask if Gunn was ripping off any of the man franchises in which people show up in power armor, especially the video game I have never played, Halo.   

Look, dumb dumbs, this armor first showed up in a comic in 1983.  It's been adapted and changed by artist after artist since then - to the point where a few details remain common, but the general idea is that Lex, like Tony Stark, is constantly fiddling.  And, by the way, not one of you blinked about all the armored guys in the *last* Superman movie, so what are we even doing?

Friday Superhero Watch: Superman (2025)

Watched:  05/01/2026

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  Sixth

Director:  James Gunn

With zero prompting from me, on Friday night Jamie put on Superman (2025) as our evening's viewing.

I married well.

This is my sixth viewing in a year, which is too many, to be honest.  One starts to look at the seams rather than the quilt, seeing how the thing is put together, and that's not all bad if you want to start really dissecting a movie, but for staying in the intended flow, it can give you time to think about things other than the story presented.  

After this viewing, I still think Superman does so many things very well that were necessary for reframing the character in the public consciousness.  But it is an odd movie because the metatext of the reframing becomes what the story is *about*.  We're reframing Superman after Superman Returns and the Snyder universe films.  While also setting up the fundamental argument of Luthor versus the argument for Superman.*

Eschewing the direct origin story, Superman has to do the heavy lifting and table-setting for what's to come with the DC Studios Universe.  

Gerry Conway Merges With The Infinite

It's hard to measure what any one creator gives to comics, but since the original wave of creators in the 30's and 40's, and since Stan, Jack and Ditko did their thing - there have been some major players.  And top among these is Gerry Conway.

Conway is responsible for some of the most important storylines and characters in comics.  The man was wildly prolific - having started at age 19 writing at Marvel and just going wild.  

Here's a list of characters he co-created:  From Wikipedia

Here's some of my favorites:

• Power Girl
• Firestorm
• Punisher
• Jason Todd
• Vixen
• Atomic Skull
• Star Sapphire

Can you imagine?

And, among his many important contributions, he wrote "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", one of the most important stories in Marvel Comics history.  The guy had chops.

I assumed Conway was in his mid-80's, having no idea he was a teenager when he started his career.  Gone way too soon.  

Super Watch: Superman Returns (2006)

Watched:  04/26/2026

Format:  HBOmax

Viewing:  Unknown

Director:  Bryan Singer

I was maybe ten minutes into this rewatch of Superman Returns (2006) when I messaged Stuart that we needed to bring back the podcast just to do a ten-part series on this movie.  The pre-history of the movie is worth discussing, as is the production, months up to the release, the lackluster response to the movie, what came after with a reboot in the form of the Snyder movies, and that both the director and Spacey were canceled.  

It's also a movie from the wild west, exciting days of the superhero explosion that came after two great Spider-Man and X-Men movies, Batman Begins and a terrible Catwoman film.*  But no real rules had been written yet for how superhero films should work.  We're two years prior to Iron Man here.

The DVD releases of the Superman quadrilogy had really brought the Donner film (and its sequels) back to the public consciousness, and looking for a safe bet, with Batman done and Wonder Woman the only other DC IP that seemed possible - but that was a girl and Catwoman had failed -Warner Bros went back to DC's original moneymaker.  

Here, I'm just really going to cover the movie - but really what I thought at the time versus where I am in 2026.

DC's K.O. Event was, in fact, very dumb

illustration by Aaron Humby

DC line-wide events are very, very seldom any good.  And even if the main titles are worth reading, the ancillary pile-on is almost never worth the effort or cost.  At best the events have a decent starting point, but usually by the time you hit the end it's a confused mess of abstractions yelling at each other and forcing some new editorial mandate, and this was the long way around to get to, say, "now Superman *doesn't* wear shorts over his tights".  

The last big event I recall feeling particularly worth it or well written and which had a spectacular ending that DC absolutely flubbed, was probably Infinite Crisis or maybe, just maybe, just the Morrison issues of Final Crisis.  And I attribute my enthusiasm for those projects now to my general enthusiasm for comics writ-large at the time.  I don't know how they'd actually hold up.

Supergirl (2026) Trailer is Up

Heyyyy!!!  The second Supergirl trailer is up.

You can watch the trailer from YouTube here:

Here's that Teaser Trailer from earlier:

I mean, so far, so good.  It's a very particular take, and very far from her first appearance in 1959.  Which, you know, is fun...  but would never work in a million years as a movie now.  The closest we'll get to that is Helen Slater, and then some of what Melissa Benoist brought to the screen.

I don't mind the traumatized refugee take - it absolutely makes sense.   And, frankly, the comic they're using as the bones for this movie is a gorgeous, memorable story (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow).  

So far, I like Milly Alcock.  The look and feel all feels spot on.  So, sure!  Looks like a blast.

Do I have qualms?  No, man.  I don't.  I am not here to outsmart a trailer that looks perfectly nifty.  At this point in my life I just say "is this for me?"  And I think this is.  Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong.

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" Turns 40

If you weren't in middle school by 1986 or 1987, I don't care what you think about Frank Miller's four-issue series, The Dark Knight Returns.  Sorry, young reader!     

There was context to when the comic came out, an understanding of what was changing in media and culture and comics, and if you grew up on comics in the wake of Dark Knight Returns, it's like trying to tell people Revolver isn't a breakthrough album after all, or that Citizen Kane doesn't matter (which the internet is always more than happy to do, and seem quite foolish in the process).

I don't do this often - generally I'm a "hey, like what you like, but here's my opinion" guy.  But sometimes The Kids(tm) are just wrong, and I don't think you had to be there at the time - you can just have a reasonable knowledge of recent history, comics history and have read a book somewhere along the line.  And so, in this case, when I have seen 10,000 bad takes by bad take-havers, here is mine.

Mainstream superhero comics have some key years.*  

Sal Buscema Merges With the Infinite

Sal Buscema was just one of those names I learned to recognize as one of the greats when I got into comics.  

The truth is, artists come, and artists go.  Most don't last.  Comics is a tough business.  And Sal had the extra challenge of being the sibling of one of the most prolific, beloved artists in comics, John Buscema.  But he became as well known and made his own mark - becoming one of the most beloved artists at the House of Ideas and doing some work for DC.

Honestly, I kind of think Sal Buscema's style bridges the gap between the classic Marvel style and Marvel's more modern look as it passed through the 70's to the 90's.  

Sal passed last week at the age of 89.  

Happy Birthday, Krypto

Today marks the 71st anniversary of the first appearance of Krypto the Superdog in Adventure Comics 210.  

Krypto appeared 17 years or so after Superman first appeared and 10 years after we'd been introduced to Superboy - tales of Superman when he was a boy.  In short, Superman had been around, had a radio show and had been on television for three years by the time Krypto appeared in a Superboy story.

Until Krypto appeared, four years before Supergirl, Superboy had been really the only survivor of Krypton.  This space-faring dog was Superboy's first real, direct connection to not just his home planet, but his actual parents and home.

While Krypto was shown to be an untrained pest (shades of 2025's Superman movie), he was also a fellow, last Kryptonian.  

His story in this comic was that he was the El family dog who had been sent by Jor-El in a test rocket that got knocked off course and lost in space until the events of this issue, Superboy arriving on Earth and becoming a teen in the interim.

DC Studios Universe Watch: Peacemaker Season 2

I'm pretty sure we didn't talk much about Peacemaker Season 1 around here.  Which is too bad, I quite liked it.  

Peacemaker Season 2 just finished on HBOmax.  And, man, are the reactions online weird.  

And, look, I want to be a kind person, but sometimes it's really clear that

• once a show moves beyond a certain number of episodes/ duration, and therefore snowballs in complexity, some viewers don't know how to watch a movie or TV show without being spoonfed what is happening
• in 2025, people are still actively worrying about their fan theories and judging a show based on whether or not the show matches the story they told themselves.  Why would you watch a show so predictable you know exactly where it's going?
• a lot of folks think that if something is character driven, nothing has happened, which just blows my gourd
• a lot of people who consider themselves experts on "the comics" don't seem to actually know anything about the comics.  And I say this as someone who knows nothing about Peacemaker other than that he's a Charlton character with a very oddball helmet.

Super Re-Watch: Superman (2025)

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?  

Super Third Watch: Superman (2025) - the Score, Design, Plot Holes and Discourse

Watched:  07/30/2025

Format:  Drafthouse

Viewing:  Third!

Director:  James Gunn

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

For More on the Movie:

• Super Watch:  Superman (2025) - a pre review post
• Super First Watch:  Superman (2025)
• Superman Second Watch:  Superman (2025) - Part 1 - Likes/Dislikes/Punk Rock Superman
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 2 - Characters
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 3 -  If You Now Like Superman, Hooray!
• Super Third Watch:  Superman (2025)

This will be the last time I watch this in the theater unless it's out for a long, long time.  Or if it gets re-released, I suppose.  But I'm glad I saw it a third time.  Seeing the same movie three times between the 8th and the 30th is a lot, friends, especially when you've spent considerable time writing too many posts on the film.

Good Golly

I didn't previously mention it, but I really liked how the movie handled Superman's language.  Taking a page from Superman: The Movie having Clark say "swell", Superman is mid-kaiju-fight and still saying "golly" and "good gosh" and delivering it absolutely earnest?*  

All this as our guy is getting walloped by a 10 story monster.  Major points for Corenswet there.

It's a movie and a world in which people do swear (Mr. Terrific has a bit of a potty mouth - a sign of higher intelligence if the memes are to be believed) - so it's a delight to see the same Superman who just saved all those people muttering polite swears under his breath.

Super Watch: Supergirl (1984)

Watched:  07/19/2025

Format:  HBO Max

Viewing:  Unknown

Director:  Jeannot Szwarc

With Superman 2025 out, it occurs to me it's been a while since I revisited some Super-Media - and I cannot tell you the last time I actually watched Supergirl (1984) from start to finish - ie: I always give up somewhere in the middle.  

I always feel bad saying this, but the movie is a mess.  And there's no one place to point the blame, but the culprit is neither Helen Slater nor Faye Dunaway.  I don't know that you can even blame director Jeannot Szwarc, as this was the fourth Superman movie by the Salkinds, and he knew he was a hired gun.  So, yeah, as with all things going wrong with the Super-movies from this era, I blame the Salkinds.  But, without them, there would be no Superman: The Movie and Superman II.  And likely without those movies, no Batman '89.  And if none of that, then what...?

Life is complicated.  

Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 3 - If You Now Like Superman, Hooray!

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

For More on the Movie:

• Super Watch:  Superman (2025) - a pre review post
• Super First Watch:  Superman (2025)
• Superman Second Watch:  Superman (2025) - Part 1 - Likes/Dislikes/Punk Rock Superman
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 2 - Characters
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 3 -  If You Now Like Superman, Hooray!
• Super Third Watch:  Superman (2025)

This will be far from my final word on Superman (2025), but I think I should probably not go nuts on you people for too much longer by just circling the Super-drain.  One last thought:

You just never know when your niche interest will go mainstream

In high school, the music I listened to was not exactly underground, but I learned to stay up late on the weekend and catch 120 Minutes on MTV.  That was where I found my bands rather than watching music video blocks during afternoons after school.  Imagine my surprise when the type of music I liked over in my corner suddenly became labeled "alternative" music and was playing on the radio and MTV next to, say, En Vogue.*  By Lollapalooza '93 - frat dudes and sorority girls were standing next to me in sun-pounded fields instead of just moody kids and guys with scalp tattoos.  It was... weird.  But here we all were, enjoying Front 242 together.

Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 2 - Characters

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

For More on the Movie:

• Super Watch:  Superman (2025) - a pre review post
• Super First Watch:  Superman (2025)
• Superman Second Watch:  Superman (2025) - Part 1 - Likes/Dislikes/Punk Rock Superman
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 2 - Characters
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 3 -  If You Now Like Superman, Hooray!
• Super Third Watch:  Superman (2025)

So, this is my consideration of the casting and portrayal of some key characters in the film.  I'm bringing my opinions as an avid Superman comics reader, who prefers certain portrayals - often tied to certain eras.  But I'll be mostly discussing portrayals in the comics over the last two decades.

One thing that Gunn seems keen on doing is not re-imagining characters too much.  Except when he does, and I'll get to that.  But the default between Gunn and John Papsidera to go with types for archetypes.  Which may be a bit different from what Sarah Hailey Finn has been doing at Marvel - to great success - which has been finding a personality that will be kind of what you expect, but with a spin.  And that's how you wind up with Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk rather than a 6'2" weightlifter.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 1 - Likes/ Dislikes/ Punk Rock Superman

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

Watched:  07/12/2025

Format:  Drafthouse

Viewing:  Second

Director:  still James Gunn

For More on the Movie:

• Super Watch:  Superman (2025) - a pre review post
• Super First Watch:  Superman (2025)
• Superman Second Watch:  Superman (2025) - Part 1 - Likes/Dislikes/Punk Rock Superman
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 2 - Characters
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 3 -  If You Now Like Superman, Hooray!
• Super Third Watch:  Superman (2025)

We've already posted on seeing Superman (2025) as an initial, kinda spoiler-light/ spoiler-free take that was really about how gobsmacked I was to see a Superman movie that actually cared about four-color comics and what Superman actually stands for.  

While celebrating that the movie felt like a DC comicbook in that first post, I didn't get into the issues I had with the movie, because I wanted to make sure I didn't just miss something.  I also didn't discuss the characters beyond our primary trio of Superman, Lois and Lex - plus Krypto.  Or a few other things I figured I'd cover in a subsequent posts.

In this post, I really don't want to get too much into the social media stuff happening around this film, and, believe me... it is tempting.  There is some incredibly disappointing stuff happening out there.

SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD

What did and did not work

So what didn't work (for me)

Super First Watch: Superman (2025)

Watched:  07/08/2025

Format:  AMC IMAX

Viewing:  First

Director:  James Gunn

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

For More on the Movie:

• Super Watch:  Superman (2025) - a pre review post
• Super First Watch:  Superman (2025)
• Superman Second Watch:  Superman (2025) - Part 1 - Likes/Dislikes/Punk Rock Superman
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 2 - Characters
• Superman Second Watch: Superman (2025) - Part 3 -  If You Now Like Superman, Hooray!
• Super Third Watch:  Superman (2025)

Light spoilers ahead.  We'll do another post or two on the movie getting deeper into details.

Well, kids.  We made it.  It's 2025, and we have a Superman movie.  

We posted some details of our screening previously, right after Jamie and I took in the flick.

At the top - I'll say, a good portion of my life has been spent reading Superman comic books, watching Superman films, television, cartoons, etc... I've read non-fiction about Superman's storied history as a pop-culture figure and feel pretty confident in saying that I'm up to date on the character.

And, yet, it is very, very strange to see Superman come to the screen and feel less like an interpretation of Superman re-imagined for the big screen by people wanting to put their own stamp on the character, and instead get a movie that feels like someone took a really terrific event Superman comic run and said "this is what we're doing.  On the screen.  With a budget that's equal to roughly the combined GDP of Europe."

Superman 2025 Pre-Watch: Superman - The Movie (1978)

Watched:  07/05/2025

Viewing:  a lot.  Whole bunch of times.

Format:  Max

Director:  Richard Donner

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

In prep for seeing Superman 2025 on the 8th, I figured I owed the OG classic one more spin before settling in for what Big Blue has to offer us in our modern era.  

To catch folks up, I saw Superman: The Movie (1978) during its initial release in December of 1978 or shortly thereafter.  Maybe in Spring of 1979.  But I'd certainly seen it in the theater with my dad and brother during that window when I was 3.  I recall seeing it, as they were giving away gumball machines that were red or blue, and at that time, my brother's stuff was coded blue, and mine was red, so my parents could be even-steven giving us things, but we knew what belonged to who.

I think often of how spoiled we were as kids in the 1980s.  One of my first movies outings was seeing Star Wars in the theater at age 2, and then all of the paraphernalia around the movie from toys to wall paper .  To me, movies were just where mind-boggling things happened, and what was the point if you weren't seeing something amazing? 

Superman 2025: Making An Event

You can follow our posts on Superman at this link, and our posts on the new movie, Superman (2025) at this link.

If nothing else, I think WB/DC - and maybe the film industry - will come out of Superman (2025) remembering that movies used to be events. And, how to create events again. 

It's been a while since I've seen a studio work this hard to make a movie something for which they've built anticipation and a desire to participate in by the public... make them want to see it on the biggest screen possible.  Even if Superman doesn't make a billion dollars at the box office, which is may not, WB has fired up the engines of the machines that once brought people out to stand in line for the privilege of watching one of their movies. Right now it *feels* like it's working.