Has the time when superhero movies will no longer feel obligated to kick things off with an origin story finally arrived?  James Gunn stated as such in a recent interview.  “And I don’t need to see baby Kal coming from Krypton in a little baby rocket.”  I’ve seen that scene twice, first in 1978’s Superman and again in Man of Steel.  I suppose moviegoers who are new to Superman can simply watch either of those films to get the gist of it.  Consider this task not as homework, but extra credit.

Accordingly, this year’s Superman begins with title cards that briefly summarize his life before now, counting down from thirty years ago (Superman’s arrival on Earth) to three minutes ago, when he lost his first battle.  Superman (David Corenswet) then abruptly crash lands in the Antarctic, with his face bloodied and body broken.  Who could have inflicted this much damage upon a superhero who’s nearly indestructible?  That’s the big secret buried within this movie, patiently revealed in the third act.

Superman whistles for Krypto, the Kryptonian dog who also found his way to Earth after the destruction of Krypton.  (Cousin Kara, or Supergirl, is on hand for a cameo at the end.)  Krypto arrives and mistakenly (and hilariously) believes its playtime.  Only after a minute passes is Superman able to get the pooch to drag him to his Fortress of Solitude for some much needed repairs.  Krypto may be a superdog, but he is a dog, after all.

At the Fortress, a gaggle of shiny robots led by Four (Alan Tyduck) carefully place Superman on a table and bombard him with sunlight.  Although Superman draws his incredible powers from the sun, his injuries are so severe the healing process stings a bit.  Along with his recent defeat, the idea that Superman bleeds and feels pain humanizes him significantly, more so than in any film following Christopher Reeve’s turn.

The session gets Superman up to 80% healthy, and he flies off to confront his new enemy, the Hammer of Boravia (more on him in a bit).  Once he’s away, Lex Luther (Nicholas Hoult) and his nanobyte-enabled henchwoman The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) break into the Fortress looking for the means to defeat Superman.  They find it in the message Superman’s parents placed in his spaceship before they sent him to Earth.  The second half was damaged, but when The Engineer repairs it, it reveals a whopper of a sendoff.

Back in Metropolis, Superman fights the Hammer to a draw, and he escapes to a pocket dimension created by Luthor.  The Boravia in question has been a longstanding ally of the US and recently invaded neighboring country Jarhanpur.  Boravia’s wild-haired president denies sending the Hammer and accuses the US military of interfering in its backyard.  In a crafty bit of misdirection, Luthor spreads doubt about Superman’s intentions to General Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) and other top US government types.  Luthor says that he and his paramilitary outfit can eliminate Superman as a threat, if the US government gives him the go-ahead.

Is your head spinning yet?  The plot of Superman is the densest of any movie featuring him that I’ve ever seen.  Buckle up, because things only get more complex from here on out.

You’re probably wondering where Clark Kent is in all this.  As you’d expect, he’s a reporter working for the Daily Planet, along with fellow reporters Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and editor Perry White (Wendell Pierce).  Clark/Superman is in a relationship with Lois, who knows his true identity and cautions him to stop interviewing himself.  (People may become suspicious.  Funny that never happened with Peter Parker.)  

In an attempt at being forthright, Clark asks Lois to interview him and not hold back.  This backfires because Superman chafes at Lois’ implication that everyone doesn’t believe his actions are altruistic.  A huge contingent of people on social media hate him, for example.  (One of the movie’s funniest moments is when the true nature of these haters is revealed.)

After The Engineer has finished repairing the farewell message from Superman’s parents, Luthor sets a monster on the road to Metropolis.  Superman responds to the threat, but so do a trio of superheroes who call themselves the “Justice Gang”.  Well, at least that’s what Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), their self-annointed leader, wants them to be called.  To be fair, Justice League and Justice Society are already taken.  (Too bad the movie didn’t use “Justice Crew”, or “JCrew”.)  The Gang includes Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), superheroes new to DC movies.  (You’ll learn little about them here.  I anticipate they’ll get their own series on HBO Max soon.)

The Gang kills the monster, much to Superman’s dismay.  But then a breaking story fills the airwaves.  It involves the reconstructed part of the message from Superman’s parents, and it’s bad.  With everyone turned against him, Superman turns himself in to Luthor, who imprisons him in his pocket dimension.  With Superman on ice, Luthor is free to execute his nefarious plan without interference from the Man of Steel.  That may be true, but that doesn’t stop Lois and the staff on the Daily Planet from digging into Luthor’s shady dealings with Boravia.  And don’t count out the Justice Gang, who despite their cynicism can’t resist the call to be heroes.

Recommendation

Do we really need to be introduced to Superman again?  From writer-director James Gunn’s perspective, the answer is a decisive “no”.  His Superman throws us right into the thick of things, anticipating that our cultural awareness of Superman and his surrounding cast will suffice.  After several decades of origin stories from DC and Marvel, it’s an audacious gambit that pays off, because it allows Gunn to grab our attention from the beginning, instead of wasting time covering familiar ground.  While I was fine with this approach, others new to Superman may find themselves lost in what is a very dense story comprising over a dozen characters.

Gunn’s Superman feels like a direct sequel to the Superman movies from 1978 and 1981.  David Corenswet’s Superman is very aligned with Christopher Reeve’s interpretation, in that he sees himself as human being first and an alien from another world second.  This Superman wears his heart on his sleeve, a refreshing change of pace from the aloof “God from Mount Olympus” type that some fans prefer.  He’s a well-intentioned but flawed hero, which makes him relatable, sympathetic and most importantly, interesting beyond his superpowers.

Rachel Brosnahan is terrific as Lois Lane.  Similar to Margot Kidder, I believed she was a hard-charging, big-city reporter fueled by caffeine (sorry, no cigarettes allowed).  I liked her confrontational, get to the bottom of things personality, and the movie gives her a surprising amount of agency in the plot.

I don’t think Nicholas Hoult could have been any more detestable as Lex Luthor.  He’s even more punchable than Jesse Eisenberg in Batman v. Superman, which says something.  While Hoult does well exhibiting Luthor’s megalomania in every scene, the performance could have benefited from some modulation.

The x-factor in Superman turns out to be Krypto, a fully CGI creation like Rocket in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.  Although I was always aware that he wasn’t a real dog, Krypto acts like one to the point where the artifice quickly vanishes.  This is critical because the relationship between Krypto and Superman that gives this movie its heart.  There’s no question that Superman loves Lois, but nothing can get between the bond of a boy and his dog.

If you appreciate Gunn’s wacky sensibilities, Superman is chock full of them.  Similar to Guardians, this movie expresses his love for oddball characters, strange worlds, bizarrely framed action sequences, a nerdy sense of humor and a love of animals.  It’s also very up-front with Gunn’s optimism and abiding humanism.  Through Superman, Gunn tells us to never give up doing the right thing, always try to help those less fortunate than ourselves and to protect life, whether it be in the form of a hundred-story monster or a random squirrel.  A superhero movie that preaches love and kindness?  In Gunn’s view, Superman (and friends) can be a tonic for our world’s overwhelming cynicism, if we let them.

Superman is a lot. Stuffed with characters and subplots, the movie takes time getting into a rhythm.  But when it does, it’s a strange, wild ride.  Writer-director James Gunn’s film honors Superman’s roots while taking him in wonderfully weird new directions.  For the first time in years, I cared about Superman and wanted to see what happens next.  Recommended.

Analysis

I admire James Gunn’s chutzpah.  Instead of spending a couple minutes introducing us to everyone in his new DCU, he gets right down to it.  While overwhelming at first, this approach worked well for several reasons.  For the characters surrounding Superman, Gunn knows that most–if not all–moviegoers will already be familiar with Clark Kent, Lois, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Ma & Pa Kent and Lex Luthor.  They’ve been part of our collective cultural consciousness for decades, so there’s no need to tell us who they are.

It’s a different story with all of the new characters, who are placed before us with no explanation.  The Engineer, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner and Metamorpho have never appeared in a DC movie before, and there’s nothing to go on besides their personalities.  For example, I liked how Mr. Terrific sounded like Shaft, but where did he come from?  What are the extent of his powers?  Why did he become a superhero?  None of what I would describe as basic information for unfamiliar characters were provided by this movie.

Gunn, however, knows from experience that audiences for superhero movies are very flexible when it comes to understanding new characters.  He utilized a similar approach with his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel, which brought us Star-Lord, Gamera, Drax, Rocket and Mantis.  Unless you had read the comics, they were all new to you.  Gunn did grant each character some latitude to explain themselves along the way, albeit briefly.  Superman, however, gives us nothing to go on for its new characters.  

In the modern era of superhero movies, the only other film I can think of that skipped character introductions entirely was 2000’s X-Men.  Of the seven X-Men and the four members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the movie, only Ian McKellan’s Magneto is provided with any backstory, and that is limited to a single traumatic episode from his childhood.  Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Sabertooth and the rest are presented “as is”, with no details given about their personal history.

Gunn understands that fans of the superhero movie genre are comfortable following new characters without introductions, provided they have enough distinguishing characteristics to tell them apart.  In the case of X-Men and GoTG, having names, distinct personalities and unique powers was enough for those movies to work as narratives, even though we little beyond that over the course of the movie.  The same also holds true for Superman, a sage recognition on Gunn’s behalf to take advantage of the audience’s flexibility with this genre.  After DC and Marvel spent the last twenty years giving us origin stories, Gunn’s risk at not going the same is practically revolutionary.

Stuck in the middle

A common refrain I’d read before seeing Superman was that the movie thrusts us into a narrative that’s already well underway.  Superman’s intrusion in the Boravia/Jarhanpur conflict already happened.   We don’t see Superman’s initial battle with the Hammer of Boravia, only its result.  The Justice Gang is recognized by the public as a group of superheroes.  Clark and Lois have been romantically involved for three months.  Lex Luthor has a formidable paramilitary operation and is a partner with the Department of Defense.  Jimmy Olsen and Eve Teschmacher have broken up.  As others have described it, the experience is similar to watching a television show starting with the seventh episode of the second season, or reading the fourth comic in a series of eight.

In addition to GoTG and X-Men, the movie reminded me of another “start in the middle” narrative.  The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) also begins the story sometime after the beginning, where the multi-talented Buckarroo Banzai leads a group of musicians/crusaders known as the “The Hong Kong Cavaliers”.  Like the Justice Gang, each member of the group has a distinct personality and a role on the team, but we’re never told where they came from or why they’ve partnered up with Banzai.  

Critical to one’s appreciation of Buckaroo Banzai is accepting that the film isn’t going to give us the context to make sense of the entire story.  It’s a postmodern text along the lines of Tomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, which inserts the reader into an alternate reality without a map and asks us to roll with it.  Because the audience brings their knowledge of Superman and the DCU with them to the movie, Superman isn’t a postmodern text by definition.  But its refusal to explain key aspects of itself puts it in the ballpark.

Superman is human after all

A god who bleeds is not a god.  This principle has been used in movies as varied as The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and 300 (2006), where it becomes the fulcrum of the plot.  In Man, the people of Kafiristan kill Sean Connery’s Dravot when his wife cuts him, exposing his lie of being a god.  For the latter, Leonidas strikes King Xerxes’ face with a spear, shattering his godlike image and inspiring the rest of Greece to join forces against the invading Persians.

Gunn uses this principle in Superman to have us see Superman as vulnerable and human.  An invulnerable Superman isn’t dramatically compelling, because he can’t be harmed, no matter how much force is used against him.  In Superman’s previous cinematic appearances, only green kryptonite or a fellow Kryptonian, like Zod, were able to stop him.  Superman’s invulnerability led directly to the scene in Superman Returns (2006), where he takes a bullet to the eye and doesn’t even blink.  Although it was cool visually, the scene exemplified how difficult it has been to build a franchise around Superman.  If he is a god, there’s few avenues to take him because there are no narrative stakes.  He can always physically outlast whomever his foe is.

While Gunn does make use of both of Superman’s previously known vulnerabilities, he does so in clever ways.  Instead of Zod, Luthor makes a clone of Superman named Ultraman.  If anything is strong enough to hurt Superman, it’s himself.  And since green kryptonite is in short supply, Gunn introduces Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), an alien who can transform his body into any mineral.  Lastly, The Engineer uses her nanotech-enhanced body to prevent Superman from breathing, implying that his metabolism relies on oxygen in order to function.  (Considering how often Superman flies in space, I never realized this.)  In combination, Gunn found a way to make Superman more vulnerable than he’s ever been, and infinitely more compelling as a result.

Being good has never been so hard

Although Superman is filled with high octane action sequences, the movie’s primary theme is kindness.  However, whenever Superman tries to do what he believes is the right thing, his actions create friction and animosity.  Everyone questions his motivations for preventing Boravia from invading Jarhanpur, even though he’s clear that his intentions were only to save lives.  This leads US government officials to question whether Superman (and his unlimited powers) is a threat to take over the country, or even the world.  

The Justice Gang are also suspicious of him, because he interferes in their activities and tries to lead them even though he’s not a member of their team.  In return, they view Superman as infringing upon their turf.  The Justice Gang have been given a mandate to protect Metropolis, unlike Superman, who takes orders from no one and injects himself into situations as he sees fit.

The question of how Superman should make the world a better place remains unanswered by the end of the movie.  Should he focus on little ways to improve things, like saving people and animals from certain death?  Should he report directly to US military leadership and only get involved at their request?  Should he continue to act unilaterally, preventing destruction and death that invariably result from military conflicts?  Or should he work as part of a team?

We are all Superman

As James Gunn has remarked in interviews, he sees Superman as an antidote for the prevailing cynicism of our times.  When Superman tells Lois that “Kindness is the new punk rock”, he’s directly conveying Gunn’s guiding philosophy, which is that we should all be kind to each other and all forms of life, regardless of the naysayers.

Through Superman, Gunn tells us to not let things beyond our control dissuade us from doing the right thing.  While the actions of all-powerful captains of industry (Luthor), our own government (General Rick Flag Sr.) and the lethal military actions of foreign powers (Boravia) can make us feel cynical, pessimistic, defeatist and fatalistic, being optimistic is the best way to rage against the establishment.  The powers that be will only realize that we want the world to be a better place when we give a crap and try to make it happen, regardless of how small our actions are.  Furthermore, Gunn’s Superman asks us to ignore the negativity rampant on social media and instead be kindness activists.  Of all the risks Gunn took with Superman, making him the hero of kindness may be the biggest one of all.

Kryptonian fragments

Evidently, the only thing that could have united everyone against Superman more quickly than the suggestion of polygamy.  Both the left and the right agree:  Superman should not have a harem!

When Ma and Pa Kent talk to Clark on speakerphone, I realized that this is only funny in the movies.  In real life, it’s a huge irritant.

I love that when they’re not being superheroes, the Justice Gang lounge around in their outfits  bored, waiting for the phone to ring.

I bet if Gunn called Ryan Reynolds and asked him to cameo in a future movie as Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Reynolds would say “yes” without hesitation.  The smirk-off between him and Nathon Fillion as rivals would be epic.

I got the feeling that spending time in Clark’s room was a turn-on for Lois.

Folks on social media have said that they thought the way Gunn treated Eve Teschmacher was mean-spirited.  Does this mean that women can’t play bubbleheads in movies anymore?

As a gamer, Lex Luthor must be the sorest loser of all time.  Anyone who’s beaten him at Fortnight probably winds up imprisoned in the pocket universe.

Congratulations to fellow Detroiter Iggy Pop, who handles the vocals on the Teddybears’ “Punkrocker” that plays over the closing credits.  It’s great that people are discovering him through a blockbuster superhero movie.  The song is the latest mark Pop has left on popular culture over the years, which includes David Bowie’s cover of “China Girl”, Pop’s top-forty duet with the B-52’s Kate Pierson (“Candy”) and having one of his songs with The Stooges featured prominently in Nike’s 1996 Olympics marketing campaign (“Search and Destroy”).  Now 78, Pop is still keeping the Punk flame alive on tour.  Superman, indeed.