In the lead-up to James Gunn’s Superman, I’m writing a series of short essays about what I think are the important things I feel ought to be in a Superman movie. Or at least, this one. Not every Supe movie needs Luthor, but he’s in this one so I’m going to write about Lex.
I will be informed by what we’ve already seen pre-release, by past Superman depictions on film, and my knowledge (decent, but not extensive) of Superman in the comics. I post these here for your reading entertainment (Avocado can be thin for content I find sometimes) and invite anyone interested to add their thoughts. All predictions are just that: I could be wrong about any or all things, and my opinion is solely mine, though I’m going to try and keep my thoughts in third person.
My hope is to have these up every weekend, with the following topics:
- Lois and Clark
- Lex Luthor
- The Kents
- The Justice Gang
- “Look Up”
THE JUSTICE GANG
With this reboot of the DC universe, there’s been a fair bit of concern about it not starting out with just a single hero. Can’t, many people ask, a Superman movie just be about Superman? And this concern is eminently understandable in where it comes from, but hang on a minute: We’ve had loads of Superman movies without any other supers.
Yeah, pretty much the norm for Superman movies has been to have Clark be the only superhero around. It’s been done, and it’s worked well, and it’s worked so-so. So why the trepidation that James Gunn is overpopulating his film with supers? I think this question has two linked answers. To wit:
Vs.
Whether you loved Zach Snyder’s vision or not, it’s pretty clear what the DCEU was trying to do: It was trying to do Marvel. They had to make Man of Steel when they did for licensing reasons (to continue screwing over the estate of Joe Shuster), but then, rather than follow up with standalone Batman, Wonder Woman, and other films, they leapt right into Batman v. Superman: Stupidest Subtitle Ever, bringing Batfleck into the picture without any real backstory to him. Hell, they killed off Robin (and according to Zach Snyder, not Jason Todd but Dick Grayson!!!) offscreen. Wonder Woman was similarly thrown into BvS, and though she at least got a good standalone movie for herself, 2017’s Justice League added, sans context, Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg.
This all in contrast to how Marvel did it. And yes, it’s easy to be fatigued by Marvel’s Cinematic Universe these days, but even if there were ups and downs in Marvel’s “Phase 1” (I didn’t care that much for The First Avenger myself)…
Sorry, Cap. Your sequels were amazing, though.
It has to be acknowledged that The Avengers was an event that earned its hype. And a lot of that was due to the fact that the major players’ backstories were established before we got to the money shot. Tony and Steve had their standalone films; there was a mostly-canonical Incredible Hulk movie,
Thor got his own Kenneth Branagh-directed outing, which also brought Hawkeye into the equation
Heck, there was even an Iron Man sequel before the big team-up happened, which traded in for a superior Rhodey (Don Cheadle is the man) and also introduced the female of the Marvel Superhero species.
Wouldn’t get her own damn movie until after she died though, grumble grumble
Which all meant that by the time the money shot arrived, the antici
pation made it all the sweeter.
But here’s the thing: Does it NEED to happen that way? Not necessarily. It’s quite possible to enter the superhero mythos in media res and have it work. What evidence is there? Well, let’s just take a look at James Gunn’s first toe-dipping into DC shall we?
2021’s The Suicide Squad (not to be confused with the shitty earlier movie with the similar name) is set in a world with the Joker, and by extension with Batman. Stringer “Bloodsport” Bell supposedly shot Superman with a kryptonite bullet. And yet the movie works. It works by using a light touch. Harley Quinn’s history with Mistah J is alluded to, but Jared Leto is nowhere to be seen, thank Jebus. A mention of Superman is all the audience gets, rather than having Big Blue himself show up. So the established superheroes (and villains) don’t overshadow the proceedings, they are used instead as setting.
So what does this have to do with the upcoming Superman and its “Justice Gang?” Again the answer is two-fold. Firstly, there’s the fact (okay opinion) that if Gunn did it right once, he’s liable to do it right again. But the second reason is probably more key: The DCEU threw Bruce Goddamn Wayne (Martha was of the Gotham “Goddamns”) into the mix without a background movie. Batman being, give or take a Spider-Man, the most popular comic book character in the world. Meanwhile, who is Superman going to be sharing screentime with this summer?
Guy, Kendra, Michael.
What is written here is not meant to denigrate any of these characters. Mr. Terrific is awesome. Guy Gardner, for all that he’s a dill-hole, is a very complex and interesting character. And Hawkgirl… okay recent experiences with Hawkgirl (looking at you, S1 of “Legends of Tomorrow”) haven’t been great, but that’s not to say Kendra Saunders can’t soar.
Yeah, smash the Engineer through that building. Get ‘er, Hawkgirl!
But great as these characters are, they’re decidedly B-Tier. Which could be a good thing: While there’s a lot of room for, say, diving into Guy Gardner’s relationship with the Green Lantern Corps in the TV show they have planned, there isn’t nearly the baggage associated with, say, Diana Prince. Just like The Suicide Squad filled its roster with such relative unknowns as Peacemaker, the Ratcatcher, and the freaking Polka-Dot Man, this Superman seems to be pairing Clark with other heroes who are not all that likely to overshadow Supes.
So what does the inclusion of additional heroes potentially offer? It’s difficult to say sight unseen of course, but contrast, plausibly, and an example of other heroing styles. Certainly the fact that they’re working for Bad Guy Maxwell Lord suggests there may be fertile ground for conflict there. (Seen below in the trailer to “Peacemaker” season 2)
Then, too, it’s always been a popular thing to have Superman chumming around with other superheroes.
Like Gleek.
The idea of a “Batman vs. Superman” movie had been kicked around since at least the ’90s. It just makes sense, if done right. The two are natural foils for one another. But Bruce comes with a ton of baggage, not least because most everybody knows him and what he’s about.
Mr. Terrific though? Practically a blank slate for Edi Gathegi and James Gunn to play with, as far as most of the viewing audience is concerned, and the T-spheres are cool as hell. The fact that he looks to be teaming up with Lois Lane for a stretch of the movie also bodes well for the fleshing out of both characters.
(No lie, I know next to nothing about Metamorpho, but the sadness of this guy’s face makes me want to get to know Rex here. If Superman can make a compelling Clark Kent story while also enriching folks like me with some of the deeper roster of DC characters, that’d be phenomenal)
As for Guy, Nathan Fillion was born to play that douche, and for the backstory, the whole Green Lantern thing isn’t too complicated:
So those are this week’s musings on an element of a movie we haven’t seen yet. Please, if you’re so inclined, comment below with your thoughts, opinions, hot takes and the like. Don’t forget to smash that… Oh damn, wrong platform.
Go on with your bad selves. And anyone who still has concerns about the overstuffing of this movie with too many characters, have at it as well.