Summary
- Superman’s popularity in films has suffered due to his commonly shallow characterization.
- The MCU used Steve Rogers to show that a humble attitude is more captivating than perfect superpowers.
- Clark Kent’s everyday kindness should be central to the 2025
Superman
reboot.
DC’s greatest hero just can’t seem to overcome his mixed reputation in film. The superhero movie genre overall has experienced a decline in quality in recent years. The Marvel Cinematic Universe lost its strong narrative direction after Avengers: Endgame, being unable to fill the villainous absence that Thanos left behind. At the same time, the DC Extended Universe’s ambitions to surpass Marvel’s franchise efforts resulted in a mixed bag of superhero films. The death of the DCEU with the negatively received Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom suggested that fans’ interest in shared superhero universes is the weakest it’s ever been. But despite these hurdles, heroic icons like Superman have retained their pop culture renown. Moreover, one of the MCU’s earliest triumphs may ultimately save Kal-El’s next blockbuster movie.
James Gunn’s Superman film will chart a new cinematic course for the man of steel. The DC Universe reboot will follow Kal-El, an alien superhero raised among humans under the name of Clark Kent, as he navigates a world filled with superhumans. Gunn’s previous MCU experience will likely enhance his adaptations of Lex Luthor, Hawkgirl, and other DC icons. However, the Superman film will still have to rise above filmgoers’ skepticism towards the character.
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It’s hard to deny that the last son of Krypton was not only one of DC’s biggest initial creations, but also an essential superhero for comic book cinema. The success of the 1978 Superman film definitively proved that comic book movies could become box office triumphs, and it helped popularize the modern superhero film genre as audiences know it today. Yet despite Superman’s contributions, he still retains an unfortunate pop culture reputation as a bland and overly perfect boy scout. The premiere of the 2006 Superman Returns sequel in particular caused significant damage to the Kryptonian’s popularity among audiences. Superman Returns was a follow-up film to the original Superman series, continuing Kal-El’s story with an all-new director and cast. However, the movie notoriously oversimplified its hero’s personality.
The sequel’s middling direction turned Kal-El into an emotionally perfect, almost dispassionate character. During his rooftop reunion with his ex-lover, Lois Lane, he barely reacted to the revelation that Lois moved on from him. Instead, he behaved more like a placid god who returned to Earth to distantly observe humans — even though he grew up and lived among them. This version of Superman didn’t have many memorable personality traits besides being mildly pleasant, which made it very difficult for audiences to become emotionally invested in his story. Superman Returns‘ characterization of Kal-El as an unrelatable angelic figure worsened audiences’ impression of the character and made many casual moviegoers lose interest in Superman altogether.
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Clark Kent may get the silver screen comeback he needs with the DCU. Superman’s 2025 reboot film could help him finally win back the adoration that he lost. However, the shortcomings of the previous DCEU have complicated the restoration of Superman’s status. Zack Snyder and the DCEU previously attempted to rehabilitate Kal-El’s reputation after Superman Returns. In 2013, rebooting Superman for a new film franchise was crucial after the MCU’s Avengers film turned Marvel’s heroes into household names. Yet the DCEU infamously rejected the lighthearted, character-driven approach of its MCU competitor when revamping Superman. Instead, Snyder tried to highlight Kal-El’s incredible Kryptonian abilities as part of his audience appeal. Superman’s formidable strength, durability, and speed quickly distinguished the hero throughout his visually spectacular fight scenes.
The DCEU Superman wrestled with some truly powerful villains — General Zod, Doomsday, and Steppenwolf — in epic battles that ripped apart entire cities. That being said, Kal-El’s impressive power level within the DCEU came at the cost of personal development. Superman’s action-packed DCEU films neglected to portray his personal life and motivations outside his relationship with Lois. As a result, Snyder’s Superman existed mostly as a powerful plot device rather than a fully-realized protagonist. His personality was so underwritten that even his sudden death was emotionally underwhelming for audiences due to a lack of narrative foundation. Overall, the DCEU continued the trend of Superman having shallow characterization in his own films.
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The MCU managed to completely avoid DC’s mistakes when introducing its own boyscout, Captain America. Marvel Studios’ dedication to giving the captain his own movie was quite a risky move after their origin films for Iron Man and Thor. Those two characters became popular due to their arrogance and personality flaws, and the subsequent introduction of a more conventional hero might not have appealed to Marvel’s filmgoing fans. Yet the MCU made a pivotal storytelling choice that guaranteed the captain’s success. Captain America’s film appearances didn’t dwell excessively on his superhero persona and what it meant to the world at large. His stories highlighted the ordinary person underneath the costume, Steve Rogers. Steve’s origin in Captain America: The First Avenger portrayed him as being a compassionate individual before he became a superhero.
The film included scenes of Steve courageously standing against bullies during his civilian life, which emphasized the underlying humanity of his heroism. Moreover, it established that personality-wise, Steve was just a normal person who happened to also be a superpowered Avenger. Steve’s heartfelt promises to reunite with Peggy and stand by Bucky’s side embodied how charmingly down-to-earth his affection was. Although his kindness towards others was remarkably pure, it still felt realistic in a way that greatly humanized his boy scout attitude. The quiet normalcy of Steve Rogers’ attitude made him a compelling hero, even without his powers or his star-spangled alter-ego.
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Steve Rogers’ success story could be the key to fixing Superman’s film reputation. While Superman’s past movies tried to magnify the grandeur of his superheroic persona, Captain America’s MCU origin proved that the opposite approach would’ve been better. DC’s promising 2025 Superman reboot needs to take inspiration from Marvel and make mild-mannered Clark Kent the center of its narrative attention. Clark’s personality would benefit from him being a genuinely kind, fully-realized person who retains all of Superman’s heroic charm.
After all, Steve Rogers’ popularity demonstrated that pure-hearted compassion is more captivating in films where the protagonist practices it in their everyday life. Watching Clark Kent perform small gestures of kindness as an ordinary citizen would carry more weight for his character than any of Superman’s giant CGI slugfests. If the next Superman film intends to revitalize the Kryptonian’s personality in film, it must reexamine his altruism through Clark Kent’s everyman perspective.
Superman’s modern films haven’t painted his character in a positive light. However, the DCU can still save Superman’s cinematic reputation by emulating the MCU’s work with Steve Rogers. The Marvel approach of emphasizing a hero’s humanity would make Clark Kent a beloved protagonist for audiences again.
Superman (2025)
Follows the titular superhero as he reconciles his heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way in a world that views kindness as old-fashioned.
- Release Date
- July 11, 2025
- Cast
- Nicholas Hoult , Rachel Brosnahan , Skyler Gisondo , David Corenswet
- Main Genre
- Superhero
