Minor spoilers ahead for “Superman” (2025).
“Superman” (2025) boldly asks what no superhero movie has dared to in the past decade: what if someone just wanted to do good for the sake of it? If you have grown tired of the formulaic and mildly depressing turn that the superhero genre has taken in the past 10 years or so, I urge you to give “Superman” (2025) a chance. For devout Superman fans like myself and newcomers to the genre alike, “Superman” (2025) is worth the run time. While you cannot catch “Superman” (2025) in theaters as of publishing, it is currently available on streaming platforms such as Apple TV+ and Prime Video. I encourage you to go in blind and with an open mind.
To summarize a very rich plot, “Superman” (2025) explores Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet) being drawn into both domestic and personal conflicts because of both his status as an alien and his drive to do good. His main antagonist is Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who, along with the dictator of the fictional country Boravia, will stop at nothing to take Superman down. Superman and his rag-tag group of heroes and civilians alike win the day and protect their city against these evil masterminds, with good winning out in the end. It is testament to the power of hope and human cooperation.
“Superman” (2025) opens in a world that has grown accustomed to superheroes, with a Superman who has been a hero for 3 years. Instead of an origin story, Director James Gunn takes the audience on a journey to examine how this version of Superman deals with modern conflicts, all while keeping his kind sensibilities. The world is full and the audience is thrown right into it. While it may be a bit jarring for newcomers, the movie market is oversaturated with origin stories and empty worlds, so Gunn’s choice here makes a lot of sense. This is a more modern take on Superman’s moral challenges, but the heart of his character is pure. In this way, “Superman” (2025) exemplifies its core theme: being kind and true to yourself is punk rock. “Superman” (2025) is truly subversive.
Superman, the character, is a simple meal well made. He is not complicated, and while the way he interacts with the world is interesting and worthy of questioning, his morals should be pretty straight forward. We see Clark struggle and become frustrated but, ultimately, he has no arc. He is a static character. Superman is simply good, and that is unchanging. While a story can and should explore what that means, Superman’s actions will always be an earnest attempt at doing the most good. You don’t question Superman, not because he is threatening and all powerful, but because you don’t have to. You trust him and that trust is rewarded. Corenswet’s portrayal of the character exemplifies this perfectly. Of course Superman saved Krypto the dog, even though he was “not even a particularly good dog.” Of course Superman is the one watching out for civilian casualties while other heroes focus on the threat, a moment straight out of “The Death of Superman” (1993). Of course Superman will take on a large-scale threat while saving a baby—he can. Of course he won’t even let a squirrel die, as every life matters. Corenswet’s Superman is a stark departure from Henry Cavill’s portrayal in the Snyderverse from the 2010s. It is a ray of sunshine in a sea of nihilism.
This take on Superman is very fresh for DC, but it has been nice to see some familiarity with Gunn’s style from the early “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies. Gunn’s directorial voice shines through in this movie and while it is a bit much at times, it can be a welcome comfort. In the Kaiju fight, we see a lot of focus on eyeball violence, which has been a hallmark of his movies since the “Guardians” days. The flight scenes of Superman are also shot in a very close, fishbowl, third-person perspective, which Gunn has used consistently throughout his career. Gunn himself admitted that there were meant to be more fishbowl shots, but they were cut due to their oddity. Gunn also has a tendency to write sins of the father narratives, which is on full display in this movie. Most takes on Superman do not have his biological parents being evil. Often, his father tries to save his planet before it is destroyed, which is quite noble of him. It is an interesting take on an over 80-year-old narrative. However, I would say the most James Gunn aspect of this movie is the Mr. Terrific fight scene on the beach. A drone-based superhero nonchalantly taking out a large crowd of people with a needle drop is very reminiscent of his take on Yondu in the “Guardians” movies.
In another break from the new superhero movie norm, this movie has interesting fight choreography, which is often an under-utilized method of characterization. As previously mentioned, Mr. Terrific’s fight choreography shows a sense of ego as he flies around and swiftly handles large numbers of threats. Superman very rarely engages with the main villain and often does crowd control. While he is the most powerful of all the heroes, his fight style shows that his main concern is not killing a villain or stopping a threat immediately, it is and always will be saving people. On the flip side, Hawkgirl is senselessly violent, which is very fitting for an aggressive character. However, my favorite fight choreography in this film has to be Guy Gardner. With Green Lanterns, it is almost impossible to make their fighting boring. To provide some context for how the Green Lanterns work, they are part of a space police force and their rings let them create physical manifestations of willpower. Guy Gardner is fairly consistently the worst Green Lantern. He is cocky, he is rude and he is shady. As such, when he manifests, he does so effortlessly and with obnoxious constructs. In the final fight scene, he flips over trucks with hands flipping the bird. Any other large solid object would have worked, but in an amazing feat of characterization, Guy Gardner continues to be the worst guy even when he’s fighting. The choreography is organic and makes sense for each character. In a movie climate where the focus of fight choreography is just to hit hard and look cool, having distinct and memorable choreography is beautiful.
The most punk rock thing about this movie is its political messaging. More simplistic and cowardly takes on Superman are politically sterile. This movie is not that. The inciting incident for Superman’s conflict in this movie is his protection of the fictional country of Jarhanpur against the invading Boravia, in conflict with the US’s stance on the issue. A billionaire in the US is bankrolling a genocide somewhere overseas. While Gunn has claimed this is not intentionally a parallel to the genocide in Palestine, the parallels are striking. Superman has returned to his roots as an allegory for immigrants and a voice for social change. He is an illegal alien and that is where the strength of his character writing is.
Superman is not human, but every single day he wakes up and chooses not to lord over humanity, but instead to preserve it. He sees something special in it and tries everyday to be the best human he can. Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince do stellar work as the kind Ma and Pa Kent; the audience can easily understand why Clark loves humanity as much as he does. In another departure from past Superman iterations, Ma and Pa Kent look like farmers. Gunn has finally captured Superman’s humble beginnings. While we don’t see much of Clark out of the costume, we see his roots, and that makes up for it. That’s why his down-to-earth farmer parents are so important: they created Superman. Ordinary people showed an extraordinary person with the potential for mass destruction kindness, and that was enough. Humanity is a gift.
If Superman can choose to be good, loving and deeply human, anyone can. You, the audience, can. “Superman” (2025) is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise trying time, both for DC films and our country. On a metatextual level, “Superman” (2025) is counter-culture. This movie is unapologetically a comic book movie. It is cheesy, it plays into genre tropes and the fighting is captivating. Politically, it tells a story of an immigrant fighting for social justice globally. On a deeper level, this Superman is a punk to us. Being punk is not about being cool or edgy, it is about going against the norm and making an impact. He loves freely and without fear. He wants to be good. In a world where some level of apathy is the norm, that is what is truly subversive. Kindness really is the new punk rock.