When Superman deconstructs
Many have criticized the new film’s twist on its hero’s origin story. I found it powerfully resonant.
For many of us, the arrival of another superhero summer blockbuster is an occasion for mixed emotions. The market has become so saturated with tales of web slingers, flying warriors, multiverses, and end-of-the-world stakes. Many of them have been, to put it plainly, uninspired. Yet the well has not been fully tapped, and a new iteration of Superman, directed by James Gunn of Marvel’s beloved Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, soared to a $217 million global box office opening.
A bit worn but hopeful, I joined the throngs of theatergoers last week to see if this Superman (portrayed by David Corenswet) could rise above the noise. Some tired superhero tropes remain: Mass destruction, violence as conflict resolution, and universe-threatening plots take center stage. But I was delighted to also find space for reflection on identity, deconstruction, and the narratives handed to us amid the action-packed chaos.
Despite Superman’s longevity as one of the most recognizable cultural icons of the last century, he’s a hard character to get right on the big screen. The youthful earnestness and unwavering commitment to justice of Metropolis’s soaring superhero can easily feel trite when he isn’t given enough grounding. In Superman’s previous iteration (portrayed by Henry Cavill), Zack Snyder overcompensated by darkening the hero, downplaying his vibrant humanity and upping his propensity for superhuman violence. Gunn’s film, the beginning of a revamped DC film universe, is more in line with the Christopher Reeve films of the ’70s and ’80s—filled with comic book color, wit, and a Superman who balances strength and compassion, quirkiness and earnest conviction.
