Promotional material for Superman By McKenzie Pickett
“I love, I get scared, but that is being human, and that is my greatest strength.” – Superman
Is Hope Core still alive and well in the 2025 media cycle? According to this year’s adaptation of Superman, yes, yes, it is.
The current state of the world is portrayed tragically in the media, so it felt great to go to the theater and walk out of a superhero movie feeling better about the world and my place in it.
In a striking contrast to Zack Snyder’s take on Superman, James Gunn’s adaptation struck joy and hope as opposed to fear and despair. There are some noticeable differences between the two adaptations that make the latest one the most impactful.
A noticeable difference is that at times, Snyder’s version lets people get hurt for the sake of objectively cool action moments, highlighting the “super’ part of Superman. Gunn’s version was the opposite, highlighting the “man” in Superman. He showed more humanity, sympathizing with the people and truly risking himself for their benefit.
He also cares about seemingly small creatures, finds human issues to be his issues (politics, etc.), and doesn’t really care about being the “main character”.
Because of this, I mean, he called the Justice Gang for help to handle the war while he helped the city. He didn’t push the limits to try and do both. He really leaned into his humanity, making him more receptive to audiences.
In this adaptation, there was a twist with his birth parents; they sent him to Earth to subjugate and rule over the people living there. Though his birth parents had harmful intentions for his time on Earth, he allowed the nurturing of his adopted parents to form his views and chose to continue helping the people of Earth even though they were against him at times).
Another example of his humanity was shown by him being noticeably hurt when he couldn’t save the life of the falafel vendor; he had previously had run-ins with. He screamed and cried in agony as the man died.
This was in opposition to the other version, where Superman was hovering over the ruin he helped cause, prompting him to look hurt but missing the mark.
Gunn’s Superman also had meaningful relationships outside of Lois and his family, making him more relatable and less one-dimensional. His work relationship became an important staple in the film.
The lasting impact of this characterization of this adaptation has left people wanting to take a more active and positive role in the world, leading them to want to be better people. Parents are showing their kids this film to show them that, on a large scale, good morals and ethics are still prevalent and essential for surviving a world that often gets dark.
