The Man of Steel Teaser Trailer Is Still One of DC’s Best Ever

Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel has left a huge impact on superhero movie history, right down to its first teaser trailer being among the best ever for a DC film. As the first entry in the DC Extended Universe, 2013’s Man of Steel kicked off its marketing campaign with a teaser attached to showings of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises in July of 2012 (Nolan having also been a producer with a co-story credit on Man of Steel). Though only about 94 seconds in length, Man of Steel‘s teaser set anticipation high for the upcoming Superman film.

While Man of Steel has a very polarized reputation (like Snyder’s entire filmography), there is no denying the legacy it holds as a superhero movie that remains on the minds and lips of superhero fans and general moviegoers over a decade after its release. Looking beyond the actual film, Man of Steel also had some truly phenomenal marketing in the lead-up to its June 2013 release. That includes Man of Steel‘s first teaser, which remains one of the all-time crowning achievements for DC movie, and indeed in superhero movie, marketing.

The Man of Steel Teaser Is Both Massive & Minimalist

In setting up the-then next big-screen Superman movie, Man of Steel‘s first teaser is a model of going huge and holding everything back simultaneously. Set to “Gandalf’s Fall” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the Man of Steel teaser presents the origin story of Henry Cavill’s Superman as nothing less than a turning point in human history. There are even two versions of the teaser trailer, with alternative voice overs from the movie by Russell Crowe’s Jor-El and Kevin Costner’s Jonathan Kent. The Man of Steel teaser treats the arrival of Superman with regal, historical, and even religious significance, speaking of Cavill’s Superman as the chosen one who will both “change the world” and “help them accomplish wonders,” as Jonathan and Jor-El respectively put it.

As epic a superhero adventure as the Man of Steel teaser sets up, it also keeps Superman himself and anything involving superpowers largely hidden. The bulk of the Man of Steel teaser contrasts the ethereal soundtrack and Jonathan and Jor-El’s words against Clark Kent’s humble life as a fisherman and hitchhiking nomad, well aware that he is an alien and searching for his place in his adoptive world. It is only at the the end of the teaser than Superman himself is presented with any prominence, and even then, its just a small taste of the DC hero soaring into the sky and breaking the sound barrier with his speed.

Concluding on a shot of Superman’s Kryptonian S-shield, presented like a symbol etched in solid stone, the Man of Steel teaser is one of the best examples any teaser has ever embodied of selling both an epic tale of Biblical proportions with only the bare minimum of footage drawn from the movie it is advertising.

Man of Steel‘s Teaser Set An Epic Tone For Zack Snyder’s Superman

RELATED: Zack Snyder Reveals Man of Steel Scenes That Make Him Cry

With the teaser for Man of Steel debuting with The Dark Knight Rises just under a year before the movie’s release, it also strove to position Zack Snyder’s Superman in a specific manner. It told audiences that this was a Superman movie of an epic, sprawling scale seldom seen in superhero films collectively at that point. With its soundtrack and sweeping shots of the world and Clark Kent’s own life, the Man of Steel teaser emphasizes the importance of Superman as a cultural figure and a living symbol of heroism and inspiration as virtually no other version ever has. The Man of Steel teaser isn’t simply trying to bring Superman fans into the theater, but all moviegoers by conveying that Man of Steel is as much about the idea of Superman as it is Superman himself.

Man of Steel‘s teaser also clearly endeavors to set itself apart from most other superhero movies, and more in the vein of Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy. Presenting the movie it’s selling as having an epic scale worthy of its title character, Man of Steel made a promise that it is treating its hero with the utmost respect and seriousness. Though there’s no real action to speak of in the Man of Steel teaser, the shot of Superman flying into the stratosphere also sells the movie as the tremendously action-packed Superman film the world had been waiting to see. All of the above features are, in hindsight, well born out with Snyder’s Superman story told over the course of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which stands as testimony to Man of Steel‘s trailer promising a Superman movie unlike any ever seen before.

Why Man of Steel‘s First Teaser Is Still One The Best DC Trailers Ever Made

DC movie trailers before and after Man of Steel have run the full gamut of tones and styles in the movies they are selling. Some, like the Shazam! movies and Birds of Prey, sell fun comedic romps. Others, like Aquaman, present light but high-spirited adventures. However, Man of Steel‘s first teaser is unique for much the same reason as the movie itself is in how much it deconstructs Superman as a fictional character, a figure embodying hope and heroism, and the very idea of what he means for the world he protects. Few DC (or Marvel) trailers have ever even attempted to get into the nuts and bolts of their heroes as people who change the world simply by living in it as well as by the example they set as much as Man of Steel‘s teaser does, and in such a short timeframe, too.

In just a minute and a half, Man of Steel‘s teaser promises epic action and deep themes of heroism. Plus a profound level of respect for its protagonist rooted in how much he has changed the world as a fictional character, mirrored in how much he really would do so in our world. Like Man of Steel in its entirety, the movie’s teaser continues to stand as both a love letter to Superman and a meditation on the very concept of heroism and inspiring the best in humanity. There have been good and even great DC movie trailers, and there will surely be more in the future, but seldom have they ever come close to matching the sheer power of Man of Steel‘s still enthralling teaser trailer.

Man of Steel is now available to stream on Max.