The battle between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the now-defunct DC Extended Universe was really more of an extended smackdown. Not once did a DCEU film finish ahead of a Marvel movie at the box office; ignoring 2020, when shutdowns precluded a theatrical MCU release, the last time DC could look down on its rival was in 2008, when Christopher Nolan’s bombastic Batman sequel crushed an intriguing new experiment called Iron Man.
But the new DCU, née E, managed this feat with its very first outing, as James Gunn’s Superman grossed nearly $100 million more than Marvel’s adequate but by-the-numbers Fantastic Four: First Steps. Neither blew the doors off the box office; the last time a superhero movie finished at the very top was 2021, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. But in this new world where superheroes are merely another part of the movie landscape instead of all that’s on the horizon, it’s suddenly DC that feels inventive while Marvel gets stuck in cinematic goop. And if you missed this summer’s sea change, DC’s hopeful new effort is now streaming on HBO Max.
James Gunn’s reboot won’t be remembered as an all-time classic, but it’s the only superhero movie in years to feel truly optimistic, in all senses of the word. Its upbeat but unpatronizing attitude is a refreshing alternative to the DCEU’s grimdark slogs and the increasingly hollow fluffiness of the MCU, but most importantly, it launched the new DCU with something that resembles a proper vision. Can you remember who directed First Steps? How about Brave New World? As Marvel’s assembly line churns out potboilers, it’s nice to have a superhero flick that, for good and ill, feels like the product of a single creator’s vision.
Superman starts with David Corenswet, who gives the hero a gee-whiz enthusiasm that anchors viewers thrown into an established universe. While Marvel continues to resist introducing so much as Bucky’s pet gerbil without a multi-year teasing process, Gunn mixes in several heroes and villains with little set-up, then focuses on how a Superman still finding his feet interacts with them. You might not be familiar with Hawkgirl, but we don’t need an entire origin story to grasp that she flies around and hits people.
As a foil to Superman’s earnest do-goodery, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is an amalgam of every annoying tech titan out there today. Genuinely brilliant but exhaustingly entitled, his evil scheme has material benefits but is primarily motivated by a petty desire to re-establish himself at the top of the food chain. Superman smartly shows us how Luthor could see himself as a hero harnessing massive resources to bring down a demigod, and rather than getting bogged in the technicalities of Superman’s endless powers, their clash is really a clash of worldviews.
Gunn’s weaknesses are on display here, too, as Superman is a bit overstuffed and overlong. Some of its themes wobble if you study them for a while, and the world didn’t really need another of his beloved “protagonist effortlessly strolls through an army of baddies in slo-mo” musical numbers, among other quibbles. But all in all, Superman was a strong start that’s worth revisiting as the DCU ramps up to two movies and another TV show next year.
Where that slate is taking us remains to be seen. Gunn seems more interested in (relatively) grounded character drama than the MCU’s broad spectacle, and the upcoming Supergirl and Clayface offer respective paths to a lighter and heavier adventure. But what’s supposed to be a streamlined new franchise already feels a little muddled. The DCU is apparently rushing to add a multiverse that feels impossible to summon any enthusiasm for, and despite being a curtain-raiser, Superman was technically and confusingly preceded in canon by a cartoon, parts of Peacemaker Season 1, and the vague gist of The Suicide Squad.
Time will reveal the DCU’s fate, but Superman has given it a strong foundation. In calling it “the best Superman film so far,” prolific comic book writer Grant Morrison noted that, unlike Henry Cavill’s stoic DCEU Man of Steel, this new Superman “is not immune to fear, shame, anger, guilt, grief, or sadness.” But as seriously as he takes his mantle, he also seems to be having a lot of fun with it, and that fun is infectious. Gunn’s triumph is that he reminded audiences of what the superhero genre has long taken for granted: it should be thrilling to watch a man fly.
Superman is streaming on HBO Max.
