Rebuilding Rob

There’s been a lot said in the last 2 years about the demise of the “DC extended universe” it’s failures, shortcomings and Warner Brothers attempt to duplicate the success of Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Likewise, there’s been just as much speculation ever since it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Sarfan were going to run the newly revamped “DC Studios“.

It makes sense that Gunn’s first entry into the new DCU Salvo would be Superman. After all, Superman is the most iconic superhero of all time. He is the most often imitated superhero and probably as universally known as anything can be in today’s world.

And it’s true, that has been more popular, at least over the last three or four decades, that’s Superman. Batman has been, for the most part, DC’s cash cow. Whenever they need a sudden infusion of money, just to make a Batman movie! But the truth is, Batman would not exist if it wasn’t for the success of Superman‘s first run in Action Comics in the late 1930s.

Personally, I’m a Batman guy, so I will make the argument that Batman is the greatest fictional character to come out of America popular culture in the 20th century. That being said, I don’t think that the answer to making Superman return to social relevance is making him too dark, two Batman like. Unfortunately, that was the approach of the Scott Snyder took when he said headed up the DC extended universe.

We’ve gotten some trailers already for the new Superman movie, as its premier date is drawing over closer at July 11. One of the first things I noticed on these trailers was that they were colorful. It looked like Superman. It looked like a Superman comic book come to life; unlike the blood red skies and dark overtones that we saw in Scott Snyder’s Man of Steel movie.

Watching the trailer, and hearing some of the promotional videos with Director writer, James Gunn and star David Corenswet, you hear many of the same ideas echoed that were originally said of Superman during Christopher Reeve’s 1978 movie: he’s a friend. He is someone who represents hope.

I must admit that seeing the first Superman teaser trailer in the winter of 2025, I don’t think most of us knew what to expect at the time. We are knee-deep in the middle of Donald Trump‘s second presidential term, and quite frankly things look bad.

A lot of people are scared right now. Personal freedom on “the American dream” are being snatched from people without your consent. There is economic uncertainty, now the threat of war. I have to admit that there has been several times that I have wondered if I am living through the beginning of the end of this magnificent social experiment called the United States of America.

I don’t think there could ever possibly be a better time for Superman to return to social relevance. I don’t think that there has been another time where the character has been so needed. It is important to remember at times like this that Superman: the movie premiered in 1978. At that time, the US was still relatively fresh off of the Vietnam war and the Watergate scandal. Cynicism was quite high. People really did not know who or what they could believe in. Enter Christopher Reeve as Superman.

Christopher Reeve’s portrayal of Superman gave us hope. He made us believe that Superman was a friend; someone there for all of us. The movie lived up to its tagline and made us all believe that a man could fly. I don’t like speak in hyperbole, and I choose my words carefully, but I am  getting those same vibes from the James Gunn movie, at least what we’ve seen so far.

FINALLY…

If my AI image of Superman squaring off with Donald Trump angers you, then quite frankly that’s the point. I’ve seen a lot of people say in social media “Superman would’ve voted for Trump”. No he would not have. Superman is the ultimate immigrant story. Hell, there’s even an episode of Smallville where Clark is defending a family of migrants and even argues with his mother “I’m an illegal immigrant!”.

If you’ve never had a chance, go back and read some of those early issues of Action Comics, issue number one comes to mind. Superman was truly a hero of the working class. To say that Superman would’ve voted for Donald Trump is absurd. In fact, when John Byrne was given the task of revamping Superman in 1986, he decided to make Lex Luthor the most evil thing he could possibly be in the 80s: a multibillionaire who essentially owned Metropolis. Of course, the mad scientist stuff inevitably creeps its way back in to the mythos, but I digress…

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts

• Rob’s Retro Movie Review: This is Spinal Tap (1984) – The Movie That Scaled to Eleven
• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

AI art courtesy of Chat GPT.

The article “Of James Gunn‘s Superman, and the notion of Hope in Donald Trump‘s America” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.