Throughout his career, James Gunn has built himself something of a reputation when it comes to cooking hard in the superhero genre. Indeed, ever since he was given the keys to Marvel‘s Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014, the filmmaker has been putting out hit after hit involving the Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and now the entire DC library, per his newest position as one of the co-chairs of DC Studios.
Superman is his current muse, and things seem to be chugging along brilliantly so far, judging by recent set photos that have shown off the costumes of Supes and company. One X user, however, has extrapolated a theory from these photos; a theory that, if accurate, means Gunn is cooking far harder than we ever could have thought.
In the tweet, @LanternUpdates suggests that the contrast between Superman’s costume and those of Mister Terrific, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl (the latter three have far more militaristic costumes compared to the much lighter one worn by the Last Son of Krypton) is indicative of the role that Maxwell Lord will play in the story. Specifically, how he’s corporatizing superheroes and designing their appearances to fit that vision; a sort of spiritual ball and chain that Superman, with his limitless humanity, will inspire everyone to break free from.
If this theory turns out to be true, then Superman could represent an unprecedented paradigm shift in the superhero genre. There’s a certain bleakness that many have come to expect from superhero media at this point; if it’s not doomsaying over the Marvel monopoly and its weakened storytelling ability, then it’s enjoying The Boys for more venomous reasons than one probably should. That’s not to say that The Boys and the MCU are inherently bad media, of course, but as they are in this moment in time, they’re both absolutely products of pessimistic sentiment on superheroes. The Boys drives the pessimism, while the MCU keeps recklessly doubling down on its creative shortcomings, thereby inviting said sentiment.
James Gunn’s Superman, however, might now be responding to this sentiment both textually and subtextually. The genuine, joyous enthusiasm that Superman represents and exemplifies is first apparent in his suit, and second in his character; an ideal for people to strive towards, if you will.
By the looks of it, these people could be Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mister Terrific, but what if that also includes Kevin Feige, whose Marvel machine is quite insincerely putting out stories that have little interest in being anything other than products? What if it also includes everyone who insisted on making Superman evil or edgy over the years, because superheroes apparently had to be gritty and dystopian to be interesting?
Indeed, Superman might end up being a revolutionary comic book movie, and ironically enough, it might do so by being as faithful to the source material as possible.