David Corenswet's Kal El looks up in a Metropolis street in James Gunn's Superman
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Nicolas Ayala
Published 23 minutes ago
Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows.
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With James Gunn's Superman covering the basics, the DCU needs to dive deep into DC Comics lore to push the Man of Steel's story forward in Man of Tomorrow and beyond. Despite being the most famous and influential superhero in history, Superman hasn't received the same movie treatment as other heroes like Batman and Spider-Man. While memorable, all Superman movies prior to James Gunn's 2025 film centered around a narrow pool of characters and conflicts.
James Gunn’s Superman takes a bold first step toward correcting this issue. In just one film, Gunn introduces Krypto, the Fortress of Solitude’s robot caretakers, kaiju monsters, pocket dimensions, and metahumans with wild origins and abilities. Yet, this may only be the beginning.
7 Bibbo Bibbowski And Smallville & Metropolis’ Cast Of Human Characters
Bibbo Is Tailor-Made For A James Gunn Project
Bibbo Bibbowski runs through a Metropolis crowd wearing a Superman shirt
Smallville and Metropolis’ human characters are essential to grounding Superman’s mythos. Characters like Lana Lang, Dan Turpin, Bill Henderson, Maggie Sawyer, and Ron Troupe enrich Superman's world from a purely human angle. It has taken a while for a DC movie to do Jimmy Olsen justice, and other human characters like Cat Grant and Steve Lombard are only beginning to find a place in the public consciousness thanks to the DCU.
Bibbo Bibbowski in particular feels like a character ripped straight from a James Gunn project. His goofy charm and big heart embody the hopeful, blue-collar spirit Gunn excels at writing. Bibbo’s role as a bar owner and self-proclaimed “Superman’s biggest fan” would bring some extra warmth and humor to a project like the upcoming Man of Tomorrow. Although Michael Rooker already made his DCU debut in Peacemaker season 2, he would make a perfect live-action Bibbo.
6 The Phantom Zone's Full Lore
DC's Phantom Zone Is More Than A Space Prison
Superman struggles to get out of the Phantom Zone in DC Comics
Both 1978’s Superman and 2013’s Man of Steel feature the Phantom Zone as a prison for Krypton’s worst criminals, but the comics reveal a much deeper mythology. The Phantom Zone is the domain of the dark entity Aethyr and an entire suspended reality where time doesn't exist. The Phantom Zone also operates as the membrane separating the DC multiverse from the Dark Multiverse.
Neither Richard Donner nor Zack Snyder's movies fully convey the nightmarish nature of the Phantom Zone’s vast nothingness. Its distortions of physics and soul-rending eternal stasis make Krypton's maximum-security prison a living hell. While the DCU will probably avoid adapting Zod's arrival a third time, a mention of the Phantom Zone's inhumane conditions could drive home the idea that the Kryptonians were far from heroes.
5 The Bottled City Of Kandor
One Of The Most Iconic Pieces Of Krypton Legacy Has Never Been Part Of A Superman Movie
Superman kneels and looks at the Bottled City of Kandor while Batman fights enemies in DC Comics
Now that James Gunn’s Superman has firmly established the Man of Steel’s Kryptonian origins, the DCU can dive deeper into Krypton's lore than any previous movie. Kandor offers a new layer of conflict to Superman's Kryptonian origins twist. Having fully embraced his human nurture, David Corenswet's Superman could find himself having to revisit his extraterrestrial origins and meet a Kryptonian city, miniaturized and stolen before the planet exploded.
Craig Gillespie's Supergirl or Gunn's Man of Tomorrow could introduce Kandor as part of a Brainiac storyline, either teasing the villain’s existence or featuring him outright. Once introduced, Kandor could become an ongoing fixture of the DCU and serve as a constant reminder that Krypton’s legacy never truly died. It could then be constantly threatened by other villains, including Lex Luthor.
4 Superman’s Vulnerability To Magic
No Live-Action Movie Superman Has Gotten The Chance To Face Magic
Shazam holds Superman in a headlock while calling out his magic weakness
Henry Cavill’s Superman is the movie iteration of the Man of Steel who has had the longest on-screen journey so far. And yet, the DCEU's Superman only faced extraterrestrial threats like Zod, Doomsday, Steppenwolf, and Darkseid. The DCEU does have magical characters, including Enchantress, Shazam, and Doctor Fate. However, Superman never crosses paths with them.
David Corenswet’s Superman has a far better chance to get to know magic given how James Gunn’s DCU openly embraces the fantastical side of DC right from the start. The world of sorcerers, ancient artifacts, magical realms, and characters like Zatanna, Etrigan, and Constantine could easily collide with the Kryptonians early on. And with these encounters, Superman could realize that Kryptonite isn't his only weakness.
3 Kryptonite Of All Colors
Only Green Kryptonite Has Appeared In DC Movies
Superman and Jimmy Kryptonite Colors Comic Art
Green Kryptonite has been a staple of Superman movies and shows throughout the years, but there's a whole spectrum of Kryptonite types and colors with unique effects that hasn't been explored in live-action. Not even Red Kryptonite, the second most common kind, has appeared in a movie so far. The power-neutralizing Gold, the Bizarro-weakening Blue, and the identity-dividing Black Kryptonite would be interesting additions to the DCU.
DC’s 2025 comic Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum introduces the time-shifting Purple Kryptonite, as well as the size-augmenting Cobalt and the Rainbow Kryptonite, which transforms Superman into a Fifth-Dimensional Imp. The DCU is so unapologetically fantastical that it introduces Fifth-Dimensional imps in its first big-screen installment. It wouldn't be strange for Man of Tomorrow to feature the whole Kryptonite spectrum as a major plot point.
2 DC's Fifth Dimension
The DCU Already Teased The Fifth Dimension As A Joke
Mister Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite share a bag of popcorn surrounded by a crowd of DC Comics villains
On that note, James Gunn's Superman opens the door for an in-depth dive into the mind-bending lore of the Fifth Dimension. The imp that the Justice Gang fight is treated like comic relief, but it may only be a tease of a bigger threat. Mister Mxyzptlk is probably Superman's most powerful foe, and the only reason why he isn't more dangerous is that he's more mischievous than he's evil.
Featuring Mister Mxyzptlk as Man of Tomorrow's main antagonist might be a step too far for the DCU. Still, Mr. Mxy or other Fifth-Dimensional imps could be genuine menaces to Superman, Supergirl, and other DCU heroes in the near future. Now that we know that imps have already found access to Earth, it's only a matter of time until the Justice Gang is unable to contain them.
1 Superman’s Super-Family
It Took 75 Years For Superman And Supergirl To Interact On The Big Screen
Superman's Super-Family and their biggest enemies assemble for a group photo in DC Comics art
One of the most shocking facts about Superman's movie history is that Clark Kent and Supergirl had never appeared together in a movie before 2023's The Flash and 2025's Superman. Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Helen Slater’s Supergirl only meet in a The Flash cameo, and Henry Cavill’s Superman exists close to Sasha Calle’s version somewhere in the multiverse without ever sharing a scene. Of course, Superman has never interacted with Jon Kent, Conner Kent, or John Henry Irons on-screen.
David Corenswet’s Superman changes everything, as the DCU introduces Krypto and Supergirl immediately in his first movie. This foundation paves the way for a full-fledged, big-screen Super-Family that will finally allow DC to explore the Man of Steel's legacy through multiple characters. The DCU might build both the Super-Family and the Bat-Family parallel to each other, which surprisingly, has never been attempted to this day.
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8.0/10
9/10
Superman
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed PG-13 Science Fiction Adventure Action Release Date July 11, 2025 Runtime 130 minutes Director James Gunn Writers James Gunn, Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel Producers Peter Safran
9 Images
David Corenswet looking serious as Superman
Superman and Lex Luthor squaring off in Superman (2025)
David Corenswet as Superman holding the kaiju's foot in Superman 2025
Superman is getting arrested by Ultraman in Superman
Edi Gathegi's Mister Terrific emerges from his ship at Fort Kramer in Superman (2025)
The Justice Gang in Superman preparing to fight
Clark in costume and Lois kissing in Superman
superman heat vision
Lois Clark and Jimmy staring up at the TV in the Daily Planet office in Superman 2025© Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett CollectionClose
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