Yesterday, I reviewed James Gunn’s Superman. The short version is that I really liked it. Great action, great characters, some really funny jokes (General Tyler: “What’s this Kryptonite stuff called?” Lex Luthor: “It’s called Kryptonite.”), and a genuine colourful and lighter comic book feel. A stark difference to the doom and gloom of the previous Man of Steel universe. However, Superman does have some darker elements mixed in with the lighter tone. I mentioned in my review that I was avoiding major spoilers, but there was one story beat that I really wanted to comment on… which is a gargantuan spoiler. Hence this separate article. I’m going to do a spoiler-rific look at the biggest plot twist in the film. Again, SPOLIERS!!!

I’m sure that you are already aware of Kal-El’s backstory. Born on planet Krypton to Jor-El and Lara (Lor-Van). Krypton it totally destroyed but before it is, Kal-El is sent to Earth by his parents and becomes the Last Son of Krypton. On Earth, Kal-El becomes Clark Kent, who is really Superman. Superman is seen as the all-American hero, a real boy scout-type who is on Earth to be a protector. As Kal-El’s father said in the 1978 flick.

Jor-El: “Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. But always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you… my only son.”

Superman is the good guy, he’s supposed to live as a human, look over us and be a paragon of good. It’s a classic origin and a set up for one of the most well-loved superheroes. Superman is a good guy. With this new Superman film, that’s not quite how it works. It’s still the same basic backstory with Kal-El born on Krypton to Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. Krypton it totally destroyed but before it is, Kal-El is sent to Earth by his parents and becomes the Last Son of Krypton. When Kal-El’s ship crashed on Earth 30 years ago, the message from his parents was damaged and he has only ever heard the first half of it.

Speaking Kryptonian, Jor-El and Lara explain to their son what happened to Krypton and that he has been sent to Earth to do the most good. With the rest of the message being damaged in the crash, we and Superman have no idea what else his parents told him. Enter Lex Luthor, who gains access to the Fortress of Solitude, fixes and translates the rest of the message. Lex then goes on TV where the whole message is played. It turns out that Kal-El was not sent to Earth to be the good guy. I can’t remember the exact quote from the film, but the basic gist is that Jor-El and Lara say that humans are a simple people and that Kal-El should forcibly rule the planet. Take on as many wives as he can, create a massive harem, have lots of babies, water down the human bloodline and fill the planet with Kryptonians… oh, and to kill anyone who stands in his way. “Rule without mercy” is a line that I do remember Jor-El saying.

Essentially, Kal-El has been sent to Earth to destroy the human race, create a new Krypton, and Superman is the bad guy. He’s not Earth’s protector, he is Earth’s biggest villain. It’s the polar opposite to the classic tale and his well-known origin. It certainly is a sharp left turn and one that I think will piss off a lot of fans (as I alluded to in my review). But, this is not a James Gunn original idea. Similar stories have been told in the comics, with an alternate version of Jor-El becoming an evil overlord called Mister Oz. Or the Flashpoint Beyond story where Jor-El plans to invade Earth and turn it into a new Krypton. Evil Jor-El is not a new thing and taking over Earth to turn it into a new Krypton has been done before in the comics.

Besides, even James Gunn has had first-hand experience in telling and evil Superman tale before. The 2019 film, Brightburn is a great example. It tells the story of a Superman-like alien, given the name Brandon Breyer, who comes to Earth just like Kal-El. But, it has a horror twist and Brandon and uses his powers to kill people and such. Brightburn was written by Brian Gunn, James’ brother and his cousin, Mark Gunn. The film was even produced by James Gunn himself. So this evil Superman idea is not new territory for Gunn or even DC.

However, In Superman, Kal-El doesn’t turn evil, he doesn’t try to take over the world and he stays the paragon of good that he is supposed to be, he defies his parent’s wishes. There’s also the possibility that Lex Luthor was lying about the message. While he does get hold of the damaged message and we are told that he had it repaired and translated… we don’t see any proof of this. Lex goes on TV and says that the message is genuine, that it has been checked by experts and that it is 100% genuine. But he is Lex Luthor, he’s the bad guy, he is hellbent on destroying Superman. We and the entire world only have Lex’s word that the message is real. He could be lying about that, he could’ve paid off the “experts” to lie for him. He could’ve manufactured the message to say whatever Lex wanted it to say. It’s an interesting bit of storytelling that Gunn has cleverly been very vague about. We don’t see any proof that Lex genuinely translated the message and that the message is real… but we don’t see any proof of the contrary either.

The whole idea that Kal-El was sent to Earth to rule is left open to interpretation, for Gunn to come back to in a later films, and play with it. In this film, Superman (possibly) being the bad guy is a major plot point and there is this divide of people who believe the message and they turn on him, and those don’t believe the message who support him (like the audience watching the film). This is something that can remain subtext in future films if Gunn doesn’t fully address it and just leaves it lingering in the background. I do think that, at some point, it will have to be clarified… but I want it to just be there for a film or two and not be fully answered.

When it is answered, I actually want the message to be real, I want Lex to have been telling the truth, I want Jor-El and Lara to be evil warlords telling their only son to rule Earth with an iron fist. Why? Because the whole thing would tie in brilliantly with a speech (that I really liked) that Superman gives towards the end of this film.

Superman: “I’m as human as anyone. I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.”

Kal-El sees himself has human, he accepts that he is not perfect, but he does strive to to the best he can… “that’s my greatest strength”. So if he defies his lineage, his heritage, his parent’s last wish, then that’s another massive step towards being human and accepted as much too.