Newly Discovered Superman Detail Could Undo Movie’s Most Controversial Twist

Superman is now available on home media, which means fans have an opportunity to pause the film and go through it frame by frame with a fine-toothed comb and spot any details they might have missed in theaters. Someone has already found something that could reverse one of Superman‘s most controversial moments. The X account DC Film News shared a screenshot of Maxwell Lord’s appearance on Metropolis Today as seen at the end of the movie. The ticker at the bottom of the screen states that a Daily Planet report has evidence proving Lex Luthor manipulated the message from Superman’s Kryptonian parents that plays such a critical role in the film.

Introduced in the first 10 minutes of Superman, audiences see a portion of a message from Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van that they recorded for Kal-El before sending him to Earth. The recording was damaged en route from Krypton, so Superman has only heard the first half. He believes his biological parents have tasked him with being a beacon of hope and inspiration for the people of Earth, but the truth is deeply unsettling. After the Engineer restores the corrupt file, Lex Luthor reveals to the world that Superman was sent to conquer. Check out an image of the screenshot below:

While the House of El twist has roots in DC Comics (and even Smallville), it still proved to be controversial since Jor-El and Lara have traditionally been portrayed as noble figures in other Superman movie adaptations. Director James Gunn said he was aiming to tell a story that was “interesting for the DCU” while also still honoring who Superman is. He has said that Lex Luthor did not doctor the footage of the message’s second half. In the movie, even Mister Terrific says the message is real, seemingly clearing up any confusion.

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Jor-El and Lara’s sinister portrayal in Superman has been subject of much discussion since the film premiered. Some theories posit it was actually General Zod who recorded the message, posing as Jor-El to ensure Kryptonian supremacy for the future. Others have wondered if Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, was aware of Jor-El’s plans for Earth.

Since Gunn has maintained Jor-El’s full message is true, the existence of that Metropolis news graphic is bound to raise a few eyebrows. Some may interpret it as the filmmakers backtracking from previous statements, allowing them to go in a different direction with Jor-El if they so choose. It’s also possible the chyron is from a period in development where Luthor was actually lying about the message, which would make this a goof that was never fixed. More plausibly, however cynical it may sound, is that someone in a position of power is using the Daily Planet to give Superman a PR boost and restore his reputation by planting a false story. Jor-El’s message was always real, but now the media is saying it wasn’t because Luthor is incarcerated and Superman helped save the world.

It’ll be interesting to see if future DC Universe installments address Jor-El’s message. Perhaps it’ll be revealed who told the Planet the message was fake (or that someone at the Planet was the one who fabricated the story). Regardless, within the context of Superman‘s story, it makes the most sense for Jor-El’s message to be true. Otherwise, it would take away from Kal-El’s emotional arc. The film’s ending scene of Superman watching home movies of Jon and Martha Kent is a very powerful moment, and it only has that impact if the audience knows Superman proved he was better than what his biological parents wanted him to be. Superman is all about the titular hero reconciling his Kryptonian heritage and embracing his Earth family.