Superman is the pinnacle of strength in James Gunn’s new DC Universe. The start of his latest solo movie explains that the Man of Steel hadn’t lost a battle until only a few minutes before the opening crawl, which is impressive because he’s been active for a couple of years. As Superman goes on, Metropolis’ resident hero fights all sorts of enemies, including a giant kaiju and Lex Luthor’s Raptor army. The only person who gives him trouble is Ultraman, who turns out to be a clone created by Luthor. It takes Krypto and Superman working together to take down the doppelganger, proving that the titular hero still has a lot of room to grow.
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Across the aisle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thunderbolts* introduces Bob Reynolds, a troubled young man who’s part of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s Sentry Program. Working with the Thunderbolts helps Bob realize that he can do more good than harm, but that doesn’t mean he avoids causing trouble entirely. No, Sentry flexes his muscles and makes it clear that the MCU’s version of Superman is already in his prime.
Sentry Really Is Stronger Than All of the Avengers Combined
Valentina’s goal with the Sentry Program is to create Earth’s Mightiest Hero, someone capable of replacing all of the Avengers. When Bob lands on her doorstep, she doesn’t stop to think about the ramifications of putting him in a costume and calling him a superhero. Bob proceeds to make quick work of his former friends, knocking around super soldiers with ease. The Thunderbolts don’t even land a hit on Bob, opting to live to fight another day. Unfortunately, Bob realizes he doesn’t need to listen to Valentina, which forces Mel to activate the killswitch. Rather than killing Bob, though, the device unleashes his alter ego, the Void, a dark entity that consumes everything in its path.
What Thunderbolts* makes clear is that the only thing that can stop the Void is itself. But Bob doesn’t know how to control the power, so he locks it away, along with his Sentry persona. However, if Sentry ever does resurface, the DCU’s Superman is going to want to steer clear of him because it won’t be a good matchup for him. Sentry punches with the power of one thousand suns behind him, and Superman proves he can’t handle that kind of heat during his fight with Ultraman. The one thing the Man of Steel has going for him is that he hasn’t really had the chance to let loose yet.
Superman Will Become More Powerful as the DCU Continues
While Superman goes out of its way to flex Kal-El’s near-perfect fighting record, it doesn’t go into details about his previous opponents. There’s a decent chance that Superman has been fighting below his weight class for years, and Ultraman is a major wake-up call for him. In the years to come, the DCU is sure to introduce more powerful villains, such as Brainiac, Zod, and Darkseid, who will all motivate the Man of Steel to get stronger and learn what he’s really capable of. In the meantime, Gunn and Co. will just have to live with the fact that a Superman pastiche is stronger than the real deal.
Superman is in theaters.
Do you think the MCU’s Sentry is stronger than the DCU’s Superman? Do you think the Man of Steel will be able to close the gap? Let us know in the comments below!
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