The Man of Tomorrow Returns! – Anthony Jalen Herring

July 21, 2025

If you ask me, James Gunn has a stellar track record with comic book films, with his Guardians of the Galaxy films in particular being among the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). When it was announced in late 2022 that he and Peter Safran were to co-lead the new DC Studios–a hopeful competitor to Marvel–I was very optimistic. That optimism grew not too long afterwards when he gave an announcement on the studio’s new “DC Universe” (DCU) in January 2023, which was going to begin with “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.” Said chapter was going to start with Gunn’s next film: the then-titled Superman: Legacy (which had its subtitle dropped last year, becoming just Superman).

After two-and-a-half years, the film has finally released and I’m happy to report that Superman succeeds with flying colors.

The titular hero is played by actor David Corenswet, who succeeds the previous cinematic Clark Kent / Superman, Henry Cavill. (That version of Clark was a part of the previous DC cinematic universe, the “DC Extended Universe” (DCEU).) While Cavill’s Clark became Superman at thirty-three years old and would go on to become a member of the Justice League, Corenswet’s Clark is a few years younger and inhabits a world that has metahumans (superpowered people, in layman’s terms), but no Justice League (more on them in a bit). Instead, Clark has operated as Superman for three years, works at the Daily Planet, and has never lost a fight, which leads into the events of the film.

An interesting aspect about Clark that Superman explores for a bit is his ego. In a scene early on in the film, Clark has Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) give a mock interview on him as Superman, as a response to how Clark would often interview Superman as himself. Lois goes hard on Clark, taking him to task on his prior actions in intervening in a war between two countries–the fictional Baravia and Jarhanpur–which exposes just how little Clark knows in geopolitical circumstances and basic media training. He gets frustrated and upset, promptly ending the interview. I quite like this sequence, as it explores an aspect of Clark’s character that I never really took into consideration before. We often perceive Superman as this being of pure goodness that we often forget that he is prone to human faults just as much as the rest of us (which Clark himself admits towards the end of the film). It gives him plenty of dimension in a story that easily could’ve overlooked it.

Speaking of which, Clark’s inherent goodness is my favorite part of his characterization in Superman. One can argue that making Superman be too good can be boring, but honestly, with the world as it is right now, there’s nothing wrong with having a character being hellbent on doing what is right. (James Gunn would agree.) All throughout the film, Clark does these little things that reveal a purity of heart that is surprisingly effective and incredibly heartwarming. He saves a squirrel from being hurt during a battle. He tells a woman to take deep breathes to relax after he saves her. He looks after Krypto the Superdog even despite the canine doing everything in his power to irritate him. All the while, Corenswet himself does a fine job giving Clark / Superman this quiet strength and inviting warmth that is vital to the character. He never once makes Superman this frightening god-like being. He makes Superman human.

On the other side of the coin is Nicholas Hoult, who plays the film’s main antagonist, Lex Luthor (and funnily enough, lost out on his audition to play Superman). Much like with Corenswet with Cavill, Hoult succeeds the previous cinematic Lex, who was played by Jesse Eisenberg.

To be frank, I wasn’t a fan of Eisenberg’s portrayal whatsoever. To me, Lex is a character that is ruthless, petty, intelligent, and most importantly, threatening. Sure, Eisenberg’s Lex had those same characteristics, but there was something about his performance that felt off. He was just too neurotic and quirky for the type of man I feel Lex should be, nor did I find him menacing. However–and fortunately–Hoult in Superman portrays the character exactly as he should be, with a greater emphasis on Lex’s unhealthy obsession with Superman and a menace that I’ve only really seen Michael Rosenbaum’s and Michael Cudlitz’s previous portrayals (from the Smallville and Superman and Lois TV shows, respectively).

Hoult’s Lex feels that Superman is a true danger to the world, but he believes that only he is the man who save humanity–while at the expense of endangering hundreds upon thousands of lives in the process. There are some truly standout moments with Lex in this film, and Hoult truly does a fantastic job in capturing the character’s sheer hubris. One scene in particular that stuck with me since I saw the film is a monologue that Lex gives to Superman in which he explains his reasoning for why he hates him so much. Hoult imbues the dialogue with such passion and disgust that you really feel the hatred that Lex has for Superman and how it drives every single action that he does. He will not rest until the Man of Steel is dead and buried, and that makes for a truly terrifying villain.

One of my favorite aspects of Superman is its worldbuilding (and as a lore nerd for big franchises like Star Wars, that’s a huge plus for me)!

The film starts off with an opening crawl that establishes the fact that metahumans in the DCU have been around for 300 years, kicking off a “new age of Gods and Monsters” (a heck of a way to work in the real-world chapter name for this cinematic universe). I really love this detail, as it already opens up a wealth of possibilities for future stories in the DCU, particularly in the years leading up to Superman’s in-universe arrival. Compare this to the MCU, which began with 2008’s Iron Man and felt like the start of something new and exciting, but didn’t necessarily feel like you were stepping into an established universe. Everything was being built from the ground up with little Easter eggs here and there, primarily with the inclusion of SHIELD and the Nick Fury post-credits scene. The history of that universe was more-so established in future films, such as Captain Marvel and Eternals.

But I digress. With the presence of other metahumans in Superman, we see the introduction of the so-called “Justice Gang,” a trio of heroes comprised of Guy Gardner / Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Michael Holt / Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Their incorporation of the film helps to drive home the fact that other heroes outside of Superman exist, and they have different methods of dealing with threats. For instance, in the marketing materials, we see Superman battling a massive kaiju monster, and while he desperately wants to save the creature and study it, the Gang are just like, “Yeah….we’re going to kill it.”

On that note, I do appreciate how unique each member of the Gang is. Guy is comical and cocky, really wanting the “Justice Gang” to be the team’s official name–with Hawkgirl and Mister Terrific just shooting down at every opportunity. Hawkgirl is fierce and violent, yet a bit underutilized when compared to her counterparts. Mister Terrific is incredibly intelligent and observant, being my personal favorite of the Gang as he gets the most screentime and development of them. He gets so much to chew on, from teaming up with both Lois and Superman, getting a creative fight scene showcasing his abilities, and saying some fun one-liners. Helps that Gathegi’s performance is also solid, his chemistry with all his co-stars shining through.

On the other hand, you have the “civilian Justice Gang,” which is my nickname for the Daily Planet crew. Unlike the Gang, I feel that the crew is not as incorporated into the film as I would’ve liked. Sure, Lois and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) have plenty to do here, but it’s only really them. Characters like Perry White (Wendell Pierce) don’t have much screentime to the third act, and even then, they’re just along for the ride at that point. It’s even more disappointing when you take into consideration the fact that Clark isn’t in his civilian persona at the Planet much in the film either outside of the very beginning of the film and towards the end. (It’s very similar to 2022’s The Batman where you don’t see Bruce Wayne much in that film, though that’s for a story reason and works a lot better there.)

The final point that I’d like to discuss–and to keep the discussion on Clark–is the relationship between him and Lois. Frankly, I thought their relationship was cute. It’s established that they’ve known each other for at least three years and have been dating for three months, and how Lois is having some doubts. While their relationship isn’t necessarily the focal point of the film, I think it has a sweet culmination at the end, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops in the future.

If you’d like to read my shorter review on Letterboxd, you can click on the link down below. Thank you for reading!

my letterboxd review of superman