James Gunn had a lot of work to do when he took on his Superman movie, and he had to avoid one problem fans have always complained about. When Gunn started working on Superman, he had the original Christopher Reeve movies to look at. He also had to consider the Bryan Singer movie from the 2000s and then the Zack Snyder films with Henry Cavill to work around. These were different versions of Superman, with the Reeve movies about a hopeful, heroic man and the Snyder movies about an angry, violent hero. However, they all had one thing in common that was a problem for many fans: Superman was always too powerful in the movies.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It seemed that, even in the comics, Superman had powers that were so far above anyone around him that he never faced any setbacks. The only times he struggled were when someone brought in Kryptonite to use against him or if he faced someone from Krypton with the same powers as him, which he did against General Zod twice (Superman II and Man of Steel). Fans complained because Superman was too powerful, and Gunn fixed that problem. And yet, fans still complained.
James Gunn Fixed Superman’s Powers Problem
In the original Christopher Reeve Superman movies, there weren’t other heroes on Earth, and Superman was the only one. He was the most powerful being on the planet, and it took bringing in more Kryptonians with General Zod and his crew to present any threat. It then took him to turn evil and battle himself to present any roadblock for this character. The Nuclear Man in Superman IV was just a ridiculous creation that was only there because no one else was powerful enough even to challenge Superman. It was a problem.
In the 2000s, Bryan Singer brought back Superman after almost two decades with a sequel to the first two Chripsopher Reeve Superman movies, and it received bad reviews. Fans and critics called it “boring” with not enough action. Of course, the problem was the same. No one could match up with Superman in power. It took General Zod, Kryptonite, and a Kryptonian monster named Doomsday to take down Superman in Zack Snyder’s world. However, how much more could the DCEU push things outside of Darkseid? Superman has always been too powerful. This is even true in comics, where DC keeps making Superman more and more powerful, making it harder for him to find a challenge.
James Gunn fixed that in some creative ways. First, he brought back Lex Luther, who was a villain in Christopher Reeve’s movies, Bryan Singer’s sequel, and Zack Snyder’s films. However, Gunn ensured that Luthor was the smartest he had ever been, and by studying Superman, he knew the Man of Steel’s weaknesses. Gunn also used a clone of Superman, who beat him up pretty badly. Gunn showed that Superman wasn’t completely invincible, and he gave him weaknesses. This helped fix the biggest problem fans have always had about Superman. However, Gunn also learned that nothing is good enough.
Fans Were Still Not Happy With Superman’s Powers
One of the biggest complaints about James Gunn’s Superman movie was that Superman was beaten up and hurt too often. It likely was the same fans who once complained that he was too powerful; now, the complaint was that he wasn’t powerful enough. Of course, Gunn is smart, and he knows there will always be fans who live to complain about things, and his only job is to create the best story and the most interesting heroes he can in his comic book universe.
Gunn did that with his Superman. This isn’t the unbeatable Superman who can win with ease. Gunn didn’t even need a Kryptonian, as Luthor’s intelligence was as much to credit with Superman’s defeat as the clone. Even The Engineer took the fight to Superman, and this made him more interesting than he has ever been in years. Making Superman beatable makes his future battles more interesting than they would be if Gunn had to keep bringing in more mega-powerful villains to match his power levels.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Crunchyroll -
Image Courtesy of Capcom
