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. (admission: I fail in that last here, woefully)

My hope is to have these up every weekend, with the following topics:

1. Lois and Clark
2. Lex Luthor
3. The Kents
4. The Justice Gang
5. “Look Up”

“LOOK UP”

Before we really get into it, a ramble if you’ll allow it: Do you remember that ol’ Jim Croce song “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim?” When Croce sings about disrespectful things you shouldn’t do or you’ll regret it, he says the bad folks say that

“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask of the old Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Jim.”

This take is not original, but after searching for the source, it remains un-cited for now. Anyway: The last three lines, no notes. Don’t do those things. And the “don’t tug on Superman’s cape” line? That works for the song. It’s dumb old bad guys singing it, and “Superman” fits the meter.

But man, Superman is not the one you’d have to worry about tugging on his cape. Why should he care? Look how he’s sitting on that cloud there, glancing over his shoulder with not an ounce of concern. He’s practically a god, you’re not going to hurt Clark Kent by pulling on his darn cape. If anything, Superman might chuckle and, if the tugger was a kid, probably let them play with the cape for a minute or two. Ramble over.

What is Superman’s greatest power?

Obviously.

No just kidding, it’s inspiration. Superman is an icon to galvanize humanity into being better than we are; Superman is a symbol of hope for a better tomorrow. And the tagline for Superman (2025) asks us to

“Look up.” The reference, of course, is to the opening to the Superman radio program of the 1940’s, and of George Reeves’ Adventures of Superman:

“LOOK UP”

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Superman!

But “looking up” has connotations beyond just taking a moment to peer at a cool cloud, or for a bird or a plane. It implies optimism. It suggests hope for the future, despite the pain of the past. When the phrase “look up” appears, it brings to mind a poem by one of America’s greatest writers. In 1993, Maya Angelou read her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President Clinton.

(If you want to skip to the pertinent quote, it’s at 5:35 on the above video)

Told from the perspective of “a rock, a river, a tree,” her poem was at once a piece on humanity’s place within nature, an indictment of America’s (and humanity’s) past, and a call for we, Americans, humans, to become better. To do that, we must acknowledge our shared humanity, acknowledge the darkness of the past, of the African “bought/sold, stolen, arriving on the nightmare/praying for a dream.”

We must acknowledge the trauma of forming a country given space to grow by the supplanting of its First Peoples:

"You, who gave me my first name, you,
Pawnee, Apache, Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet,
Left me to the employment of
Other seekers—desperate for gain,
Starving for gold. "

It’s an unflinching look at the original sins of the American experiment, and honestly it’s no wonder that Angelou’s work has been targeted by the Trump administration, which sees any acknowledgement of the shames of our history as an attack on all white people (as a white person, I can tell you it’s not) and on white supremacy (which, it should be).

But the poem is more than this. It acknowledges the past, yes, but it looks to the future. The river asks the people, in spite of their past, to rest by its bank. The tree tells the people that, on the dawn of a new morning,

Here, on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, and into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope—
Good morning.

“You may have the grace to look up.” This is the challenge that Superman puts to us, to all of us. In a world with Superman, humanity would have a choice, presented with the evidence that we are NOT the pinnacle of evolution we believe ourselves now to be. Will we bury ourselves in resentment and scorn, like Lex Luthor? Will we limit ourselves to good only within well defined limits, like Maxwell Lord? Will we try to rise up above what we once were, and embrace what we might be? Will we allow ourselves to be aided by one who doesn’t aspire to lead us, but to travel beside us, into the sun, to lead us into the light?

Of all recent Superman films, it was Superman Returns, believe it or not, that came closest to understanding and depicting this theme of inspiration. And it did so through the character of Cyclops.

Okay, kidding. James Marsden is here playing Perry White’s nephew Richard. It’s common knowledge that Marsden got done dirty by the X-Man universe because he followed Bryan Singer to do Superman Returns, and I’m glad he’s getting to play Scott Summers in Avengers: Doomsday… But I digress. Even if Marsden got the on-paper thankless role of Lois Lane’s muggle fiancé, his Richard White was a perfect complement to Brandon Routh’s Superman. Without powers of his own, Richard springs into action to save Lois and their son when they are in danger. When Superman is critically wounded, Richard rises above himself and flies himself back into danger to rescue Clark. It’s not explicitly stated that these actions are as a result of the example of Routh’s Superman, but it’s pretty easy to read them as being inspired by Superman’s selflessness and symbol. Whatever the other missteps of Superman Returns, Brandon Routh’s Superman is written as a beacon of hope who lifts up and inspires the people around him.

Snyder-bros can lament all they want that Henry Cavill didn’t get a fair shake as Superman, but I’ll see them and raise them a Brandon Routh. Don’t believe me? Watch him in the “Arrowverse.”

The “Donnerverse” Superman didn’t serve as an inspiration*. He just did awesome stuff. The “Snyderverse” Superman, despite the fact that characters claimed Clark was an inspiration, fell flat on this aspect of Superman. So… and it’s scary to get hopeful here… James Gunn’s Superman has the potential to do something that’s barely appeared on the big screen before, and present Superman as the beacon of hope which is the best of what he can be.

*This refers just to the movies, not to Chris Reeve himself, who will always serve as an inspiration to me and many, many, others.

To that end, Superman‘s teaser introduces a young boy, clearly impoverished and in danger, (and honestly, in this day and age, coded as Palestinian even if his country is fictional) begging for Superman to hear him, to save him. His voice doesn’t reach above a prayerful whisper. But Superman can hear everything, from the failing heartbeat of his aging father to the despair of a suicidal teenager who thinks she’s all alone and too weak to carry on.

You should trust him. After all, he’s Superman.

This image is one of the most famous and powerful in the Superman canon. Not a moment of violence, but of Clark taking the time to care for another person, to help them. Interesting then that the image which Superman previews have been showcasing has been a similar one of rescue:

It is astounding that Maya Angelou, a Black woman, wrote a poem which spoke so powerfully of the potential of America, of humanity, even though what she went through in her life would’ve made anyone understandably cynical if not downright pessimistic about both. I cannot speak for Ms. Angelou, but if I can read into her poetry, perhaps it’s because she recognized the strength in all of us, even if it is buried, to lift ourselves up. To Look Up. To gaze into the eyes of brothers, of sisters, of siblings of all genders, to say simply, very simply, with hope, “good morning.”

Superman believes this about us too, and there’s no need to qualify that statement with “perhaps.” No matter how badly you feel about yourself, no matter how poorly I think of my life choices, Superman’s message is clear: “You are much stronger than you think you are.” You, and I, we have the strength to look up. We have the strength to join him in the sun. Isn’t that a wonderful thing to hear?

We’re only a few days out.. I can’t speak for you, and I’m just guessing here… but I think that next week, I will believe a man can fly.