“With Hitler’s rise in Europe with his anti-Semitic words and the negative stereotypes of Jewish people, pushed Siegel and Shuster to make a hero that defended the weak. They often would portray Superman protecting the weak and those who were mistreated. He was a hero the world needed as World War II began in Europe.”– Cassandra Burris
Source: Noblemania.com
Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Superman’s primary-coloured self has been flying through comic strips and screens since 1938. They drew from their experiences and lives to create a hero who protected the weak and oppressed.
“Superman! Champion of the oppressed. The physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need.” – Jerry Siegel, Action Comics issue #1
Over the course of his adaptations, the character of Superman has upheld hope for decades.
In every adaptation of Superman, he’s factually either an immigrant or a refugee to America. Whether and how they acknowledge that fact is dependent on the adaptation itself. The previous film adaptation doesn’t reflect the core values of Superman at all; it reinforced ‘traditional’ American values. The previous adaptation of Superman was played by Henry Cavill and directed by Zack Snyder – ranging from 2012’s Man of Steel and culminating in Justice League (2017). Although Henry Cavill appeared as a good candidate in theory, his portrayal of Superman was far too serious for the bright blue Boy Scout. It was a significant tonal shift to the character’s existing legacy. He smiled, but barely. Though his film portrayed his internal coming-to-terms with being Superman, there were barely moments when compassion shone in his eyes. The colour grading further emphasized a significant lack of warmth that Clark seemed to have. It received attention, but not much love for the character himself.
James Gunn’s Superman (2025) came at a time of great superhero fatigue. Although this is a result of Marvel consistently releasing projects at a worrying pace, its presence as a dominant superhero media distributor affects the entire genre. The last few live-action superhero movies have been hit-or-misses; either succeeding (Thunderbolts*(2025)) or losing millions (Kraven the Hunter (2024)). But even compared to Thunderbolts*, which closed the box office at over $382.4 million, Superman was astoundingly more successful at $615.7 million.
The Man of Steel (2012) depicts Superman as someone larger than life — as a god who walks among humans. This could work to portray how someone in that world might perceive him. but it appears to show humanity’s fascination with Superman’s power rather than why – never breaching the base level of ‘a hero who saves people’. It’s not an issue to portray a superhero with a messiah complex in mind, but it’s not the most applicable with Superman; he’s historically been a humble individual. Even without him saying it outright, there’s no way to miss the subtle (and not so subtle) instances when this complex presents itself.
At the times when people have aggravated him, the man of steel’s ‘strength’ is shown in holding himself back —but still exhibiting harm to his environment. As a child, other children mock and belittle Clark against a metal fence. When the mean children are chased away, Clark gets up, and there’s an imprint of his hand on the bottom of the fencepost. A truck driver aggravates Clark, then pours a drink on him as he silently stares on with clenched teeth. Then, the driver leaves the bar to see that his truck is seen suspended in the air– impaled with what appear to be concrete columns. These instances aim to send a message of Clark holding back, and the restraint he exercises on a consistent basis, but the latter instance just appears to be an outright immature reaction. It’s reminiscent of an aggressive man who punches holes in walls when upset. This movie disingenuously portrays his strength in his restraint, instead of his compassion and optimism for the world.
Source: Youtube
Clip: An introductory clip of Superman in Batman V Superman features a news clip debating the circumstances of a real god coming to Earth. In the visuals, Superman descends to the earth with a girl in her arms, then gently places her down. The crowd around him reaches out for him in adoration and reverence. He looks around him, then up to the sky. The audio states: “90% of people believe in a higher power and every religion believes in some sort of messianic figure- and when the saviour actually comes to earth, do we want to make him abide by our rules?” The clip continues with different news outlets debating the political grounds of Superman- some saying that he should be held to the same laws that humans are, and others claiming that his alien nature deems him above it. Superman hovers in the air as a woman reaches up to him. He’s adored, he’s criticized, he’s feared, but he’s still somehow revered.
Source: Digital Spy
This adaptation of Superman takes several strides to show him as someone who reinforces the American Christian ideal. People speak of the divine in relation to him and his abilities. His decision to turn himself in to the American military was made in a church. A promotional image of Henry Cavill as Superman against an American flag was part of its press package.
Source: Movie-Screencaps.com
When he dies in Batman V Superman, an American flag is draped over his coffin. This is something that’s done traditionally for those who’ve served in the American Military, Fire department, or Law enforcement. But that’s the problem – Superman was never born to serve the country of America; he was created (by his writers) to serve the world. With all these instances, it’s impossible to ignore the implications that Snyder wanted to make Superman into an American and Christian-adjacent hero.
Source: ComicBook.com
Superman (2025) reinstates Superman as a hero of the Earth. The film begins by displaying the cynicism of the modern world – and the radical growth that Clark Kent’s unwavering optimism has against it. Lois Lane spends the beginning of the movie not understanding his ability to see the best in those around him, and he outright states that “maybe [kindness] is the real punk rock.”
Source: Youtube
When Jarhanpur is invaded by Boravia in the absence of Superman, A young boy makes a flag out of the Superman symbol and waves it, chanting for him. He puts his hope into the one person who seemed to care about his people. Superman doesn’t come to save Jarhanpur. But his fellow superheroes – people who had previously considered civilians caught in crossfire inevitable and unnecessary to avoid – came onto the scene and saved them. Green Lantern flipped tanks and disarmed soldiers. Hawk Girl dropped the genocidal president of Boravia from an unimaginable height. These people previously didn’t care for of Jarhanpur’s plight because of the political ramifications of taking a side. They considered Superman to be soft for putting his energy into people who lived oceans away. But he drove them to care. He drove them to extend compassion and protect them.
The primary motivation of this film’s main villain, Lex Luthor, is to profit from the hostile government takeover of Jarhanpur by Boravia. His secondary motivation is that he doesn’t like nor trust Superman’s alien origins. He creates a clone of Superman for the express purpose of causing harm to him – before even meeting him. He accuses Superman of having ulterior motives as an alien, but Clark immediately argues back:
“I’m as human as anyone. I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning and, despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that’s being human. And that’s my greatest strength. And someday, I hope, for the sake of the world, you understand that it’s yours too.” -Superman’s monologue to Lex Luthor in Superman (2025)
Overall, he displays immense care for human life that his previous adaptation lacked. In the middle of a fight with a giant creature causing havoc on Metropolis, the other super-powered characters spend their energy fighting it. Superman, on the other hand, puts his effort into mitigating the damage of the fight. He saves squirrels. He uses his freeze breath to coax a dog away from the path of destruction, rushes to a burnt office cubicle and asks if everyone is okay. He also checks in with a woman he saved and suggests deep breaths to keep her grounded. He lets himself get arrested by the American government purely to find his cousin’s dog because “he’s not even a very good [dog]. But he’s out there alone, and probably scared.”
Although the contexts and villains of the two stories are different, the characterization of how the film wants the viewer to see Superman is completely different. Snyder’s Man of Steel adaptation draws attention to his godly strength, while Gunn’s Superman draws attention to his unwavering humanity.
Bibliography
“ Batman v Superman – God Among Us [4k, HDR.” YouTube. Accessed October 1, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsWGdZoo1xY.
“Kraven the Hunter (2024) – Box Office and Financial Information.” The Numbers. Accessed September 10, 2025. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Kraven-the-Hunter-(2024)#tab=summary.
Man of Steel (blu-ray). DVD. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013.
“Man of Steel: Superman and American Flag.” Digital Spy. Accessed October 1, 2025. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a476175/man-of-steel-picture-henry-cavill-superman-in-front-of-american-flag/.
ohc_admin. “Origin Story: The Creation of Superman.” Ohio History Connection, April 20, 2022. https://www.ohiohistory.org/origin-story-the-creation-of-superman/#:~:text=With%20Hitler’s%20rise%20in%20Europe,War%20II%20began%20in%20Europe.
Siegel, Jerry. Action Comics #1. Vol. 1. DC Comics, 1938.
“Superman (2025) – Box Office and Financial Information.” The Numbers. Accessed September 5, 2025. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Superman-(2025)#tab=summary.
“Superman – Raising the Flag Scene.” YouTube. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://youtu.be/Zh3V_2Y3vY0?si=4bS7ILlmB99cNecl&t=20.
Superman. Film. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures, 2025.
“Thunderbolts* (2025) – Box Office and Financial Information.” The Numbers. Accessed October 7, 2025. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thunderbolts-(2025)#tab=summary.
