Why Superman Is a Perfect Movie.
Yup. We're getting nerdy. Plus, Book Rex for young readers!
full disclosure: i was prepared to hate it
It’s true. If you know me, you know I am a Marvel boy through and through. I grew up on X-Men, New Mutants, and Generation X, and if I’m trapped on a desert island, the X titles are what I’m taking with me.
But more than that, I never thought Superman—as a character—was all that great. As a young reader, I just wasn’t attracted to the premise. I thought, “He’s a god. He has all these powers and no one can beat him. So how is he relatable?” While the X-Men were always getting their butts handed to them, Superman seemed to always come out on top. The stories I’ve always been drawn to have pain in them. Because that’s real life. Living hurts. And Superman never really seemed to hurt. And if he did, it was never for long.
As life would have it, that boy who deemed Superman “dumb”, would grow up to work at DC Comics for 6 years. Early in my tenure, I was at dinner with Geoff Johns, and had had one too many to drink and mentioned that I thought Superman was lame at best. He asked me why. I said, “He’s just not a good character.” To that, Geoff replied, “Rex, there are no bad characters, just bad writers.” That quote has stuck with me ever since.
If you know me now, you know I never complain about book characters, just those who write them. LOL. And I have opinions. Trust. But I keep them to myself as I don’t like shit-talking other writers… unless it’s to their face at which point I beg them to explain their bad decisions. LOLx2.
So yeah, I walked into the theater last night with a slight eye roll prepared. Cuz let’s face it. We all have superhero movie malaise, and for good reason. At some point, the powers-that-be moved away from creating comic book movies out of love, and started making them to sell merch. And it’s obvious.
But James Gunn’s 2025 Superman is different.
james gunn makes comic book movies from a place of true fanboy love… and it shows.
Yes, I know that James (can I call him James? I’ve never met him, but I’m going to call him James) works for a company. At the end of the day, I suspect, he has to answer to shareholders and people in fancy suits and whole marketing teams who are like, “How do we use this franchise to sell more underwear and lunchboxes?!” (I know this to be true from my time at DC. Since the early 00’s, comic books don’t make money. What makes money is the merch—especially underwear and lunchboxes.)
BUT, it is clear—at least to me—that James grew up reading comic books and that they resonated so deeply with them, he devoted his life to creating entertainment that paid homage to them. So while some may hate his decisions, I can see what he is doing: he is playing an impossible juggling act trying to satisfy his bosses (and all the hundreds of cooks in the kitchen), while also trying to make movies that his younger self would have wanted to watch over and over and over again.
I was a licensed editor for 15 years. It is a juggling act. And a difficult one. Creating stories—for and with the characters you grew up loving—within a business situation is like walking a tightrope. On one side, you want to create the best story ever. And on the other, you have a buncha of corporate yahoos being like, “Yeah, but, Superman can’t be associated with naughty words or sexy stuff or anything that’s even a little morally ambiguous because that might hurt lunchbox sales.”
And yet, James Gunn made a movie to be proud of.
It made me laugh, it made me wince, it made me tear up a little. Plus… Krypto? Ooof. I could write an entire essay on just the Super Dog. Dogs rule.
there is so much to love within the movie: the sets, the acting, the pure joy, and of course, the story.
I’m not going to belabor the above point. Because then we would be here all day.
But I do want to give to give 3 shout-outs.
One, to the cast. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan are the best Clark Kent / Lois Lane I’ve ever seen on screen. And the whole Daily Planet crew? So well done. And the parents? OMG. Ma and Pa Kent? You remind me of some of my kinder relatives and thus, have stolen my heart.
Two, to the out-and-proud in-your-face refugee arc. It was not only timely, but important. And let’s face it. Superman himself is a refugee on our planet, so it only makes sense that he would want to help others who need a safe place to call home.
And three, to the magic of turning characters I hate into characters I love. Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, Green Lantern’s Guy Gardner. I’ve always thought these characters were so dumb. The costumes, the haircuts, the giant “T” on the face? Ugh. Soooooo dumb to me—both as a boy and an adult. But holy sh*t. These characters had me laughing my arse off in the movie last night because they were so real.
I feel like I finally get these characters. Like Geoff Johns said, “There are no bad characters, just bad writers.” And James Gunn? He’s a brilliant f*cking writer and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.
this movie made me feel like a kid again.
And isn’t that the point of these comic book movies? To take us back to a place of wonder, when the world was less complicated, before we grew up and learned to be jerks in a society of jerks? Watching it, I felt like I was five again and seeing Christopher Reeves flying for the first time on the big screen in San Marcos, Texas. I believed he could really fly. And I wanted to fly.
James Gunn’s Clark Kent showed me a realistic relationship with Lois Lane. It showed me a hero that was doing what was right. He’s not complicated. Superman wants to help me. And there’s nothing more beautiful than that.
This movie reminded me how when I was a kid, I wanted to help people too. Just like Superman.
And right now—especially right now—with everything going on in our world—I think every one of us could take a lesson from this movie’s Kal-El. No matter what our parents wants, no matter what the world tells us, we should be doing everything in our power to make this world a better place for everyone.
book rex-omendations!
Okay, folks. For those of you who are librarians, educators, and booksellers (and even for those who are not ), here are some recommendations for the comics that inspired this movie (or characters in it) directly or indirectly.
ALL STAR SUPERMAN, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
If there’s no other book you’re going to choose on this list, choose this one. What Grant does so well is weave the lore of the 1940’s and 1950’s with a modern sensibility. And if you look closely, you’ll see some of the characters and fashion from the book directly influence the movie. There were several times when I could see Frank Quitely’s art up on the screen. Truly epic.
JLA: EARTH 2, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Okay, I’m not obsessed with these 2 writer. (Yes, I am.) But they also created this amazing story where the Justice League we know so well meets their darker counterparts from a mirror reality. The first time I read this, I got such a kick out of the story I was left giggling for days.
THE AUTHORITY, specifically the first two story arcs, by writers Warren Ellis and Mark Millar (and some truly amazing artists… including Frank Quitely, LOL)
In the late 90’s, Ellis came along and gave us a very real version of superheroes in the Authority, who are heroes who decide if they’re going to save the world over and over, they are going to make the world worth saving. Just like the movie, there is an entire arc dealing with refugees (as well as socioeconomic divides). Caution: this book is ultra-violent, but reluctant readers will pick this up and be like, “Wait, hold on. Are superheroes allowed to do that?”
Oh, and the villainess from the movie, the Engineer. This is where that character was born, though in the Authority, she’s one of the good guys.
NEXTWAVE, by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
Okay, so I don’t know that this one has anything to do with the movie, but this 12-part limited series is both ridiculous and fun. It pokes fun at the comic genre itself while also telling just a really hilarious story full of D-list anti-heroes. It’s just pure fun. Did I say it was fun? It’s fun. Read it. For the fun-ness. So fun.
aight. that’s all i got. you go and have yourselves a nice day, ya hear?
Til next time. HUGS. -R