Did James Gunn Succeed In Rebooting ‘Superman’?

In our era of superhero overload, Superman is a tricky character to get right—filmmaker James Gunn needed his Superman to be a major hit to reboot the cinematic universe of DC Studios.

Superman opened to $217M globally, and has been hailed as a success by Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav, but did Gunn manage to reinvigorate an old-fashioned hero for the modern world?

Why Is Superman Difficult to Adapt?

Much ink has been spilled on the problems with Superman, a character who often feels out of time in the modern world.

Superman can be thought of as the archetypal superhero, the simple, straightforward take on the genre—he’s an earnest man in a cynical world, a beacon of hope in the darkness.

Viewers have seen so many superhero stories at this point—from the MCU films to Amazon’s The Boys—that Superman’s simplicity seems a disadvantage.

After all, what does he have to offer that we haven’t seen before?

Superman is not traumatized like Batman, or burdened by his powers like Spider-Man. The character is often accused of being overpowered, too righteous and unrelatable to a modern audience.

Gunn seems very aware of these online talking points, and his Superman seems designed to confront critics.

The last time we saw Superman on screen (in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and Justice League), it was a very serious take on the character, which leaned heavily into the idea of Superman being a messiah.

In the new Superman, the titular hero is just a dude who happens to be Superman.

How Did James Gunn Reboot Superman For A Modern Audience?

From the very first scene, Gunn depicts Superman (David Corenswet) as vulnerable, having lost a fight for the first time.

Superman has been badly beaten, and relies on Krypto the super-dog to save his life. Krypto turns out to be vital to this Superman, being crucial to his success, but also, providing something the audience can relate to.

Superman may have godly powers, but he can’t quite control his unruly dog.

Instead of retelling an origin story that audiences are familiar with, Gunn launches straight into a world already inhabited by superheroes, in which Superman stands out because of his boy scout personality.

The kaijus and supervillains that constantly attack Metropolis are practically background noise—there are plenty of heroes that can take care of it when Superman is busy (although, in the DC universe they are referred to as “metahumans,” probably for branding reasons).

Gunn (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy) is at his best when he’s exploring lesser known, quirky characters from the comics, and it’s definitely the case here—the standout is Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), who gives a generous dose of personality and charisma to this busy film.

Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) are eccentric personalities next to Superman’s simple heroism, and the film is at its most interesting when their values clash.

One standout scene sees Superman struggle to take down a kaiju without hurting the beast, much to the annoyance of his fellow metahumans.

Gunn really leans into the goodness of the character, showing Superman saving several civilians—even rescuing a squirrel at one point. However, he also focuses on Superman’s messy humanity—Clark Kent is a slightly insecure man who doesn’t have all the answers, just a strong moral compass.

One scene in which Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) gives him a mock interview, challenging his recent actions, sees Superman lose his cool and get overly defensive.

This Superman, refreshingly, is just a man.

The film underlines this in a rather on-the-nose speech to Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), in which Superman explains that his fallibility is what makes him human, and that his alien heritage is irrelevant.

Hoult is a superb Luther, a genuinely intimidating villain, and his obsessive dedication to taking down Superman is what really makes the film work.

One gets the impression that this Luther spends every single waking moment of his life planning how to take down Superman, and he comes very close to succeeding.

Superman is constantly being beaten down, weakened by Kryptonite, before rising up and displaying his might.

This Superman feels powerful without being overpowered, strong-willed, and just capable enough to tackle the obstacles that Lex Luther is constantly throwing at him.

Gunn makes a major change to Superman’s heritage that reflects the plot of Amazon’s Invincible, emphasizing that Superman’s choices are more important than his roots.

While the film is a bit messy, often jumping erratically from scene to scene, it’s a good start to the new DC cinematic universe, creating a comic book world that feels lived in.

Gunn rebooted Superman for the modern era by leaning into the character’s earnestness and cartoonish lore, ensuring that there are plenty of cynical characters around him to create contrast.

There’s more personality in Gunn’s Superman than the average Marvel movie—the film makes a solid launching pad for more superpowered stories.

MORE FROM FORBES