We still have a serious, bruised Superman enduring the public’s ire.
I feel like that’s just standard Lex behavior. You’re right we saw that in Batman v Superman, but that was also Lex.
The difference is optimism. When we first meet the DCEU Superman he ends his film saying that he’s from Kansas, a regular American, you can trust him and he’ll trust you. (Link). But we don’t see that level of optimism later on in the series.
Think of Superman like Captain America, he’s a boy scout. Now take the Captain America you know and put him in the DC films playing Superman. It wouldn’t quite work. Superman behaves in a way that just isn’t quite right.
But now look at this trailer. Superman is beaten, but he’s getting back up. Superman has trash thrown at him, but he’s saving children. A child a world away is raising a flag of Superman.
I expect the full trailer will show us everything going wrong for Superman. He will have every reason to quit. No one will want him to get involved. But he won’t. He’ll keep on helping.
Really well said.
However, I am already sold on the film by what James Gun has said in his interviews and the comic books he is seemingly using as references. I was only reflecting on what I saw in the teaser, and did not put deep thought into it.
I am sure the film (even the full trailer) would showcase Superman’s optimistic characteristics, and James Gunn has assured in his interviews that his iteration of the character will be hopeful.
The point of my reflection being that it is a bold choice for the teaser to show a Superman similar to the one in previous films.
Though I would like to add that the previous, more serious Superman iteration was not a reaction to Lex Luthor, as that iteration was already established as a darker, more grounded, and more serious adaptation in DCEU’s maiden feature.
It may be a product of the filmmaker’s desire (Zack Snyder does like his superheroes deconstructed), an attempt to differentiate from previous iterations of the character and the lighter MCU films of early 2010s, or something else. But it was before Lex Luthor’s introduction to the DCEU.
But now look at this trailer. Superman is beaten, but he’s getting back up. Superman has trash thrown at him, but he’s saving children. A child a world away is raising a flag of Superman.
It is funny that you mentioned this, because when I saw this in the teaser, it reinforced the similarities. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the savings montage in BvS which was interspersed with media debates and critiques of Superman’s actions (or rather, existence).
It is unwise for me or anyone to blindly believe that this iteration is more of the same, as I know that context matters, and the teaser is devoid of that very thing. Thankfully, going by the online discourse surrounding the teaser, it seems my reflection is uncommon – which is a good thing.
