James Gunn’s Superman has renewed moviegoers’ interest in DC’s cinematic output after a series of flops resulted in the ultimate cancellation of the DCEU as we knew it. David Corenswet is the latest actor to don the iconic costume, and as mental health expert Jonathan Decker explained, he is a non-toxic superhero and an ideal male role model for youngsters.
The 2025 Superman movie feels like a return to form for the character and the superhero genre, and the birth of the DCU has anticipation through the roof for the upcoming promising projects slated for release in the next couple of years. With a message of hope and a classic good vs. evil storyline, the film has returned simplicity to the genre.
However, Superman isn’t a simple and superficial good-guys-save-the-day movie. There are deep uses of symbolism in Superman, and one of the best instances is in arguably the most controversial creative decision that secretly contributes to making this the character’s best and most hopeful movie in years. Superman fans may feel skeptical of Gunn’s vision after the change, but it’s meaningful.
Jor-El’s Full Message In Superman Makes Him Seem Evil
Early in the movie, we see Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan as Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s birth parents, on a damaged recording that the robots in the Fortress of Solitude play for Clark while he recovers. It is a heartwarming message about the mission that they envisioned for Superman, a.k.a. Kal-El, of helping out planet Earth’s inhabitants.
However, it is soon revealed that the damaged part of the recording can be recovered. The Engineer, Lex’s biologically modified, ex-special operative team member, played by María Gabriela de Faría, retrieves the lost footage, and the complete message is shocking in contrast to the part that Clark has heard:
“The people there are simple and profoundly confused. Weak of mind and spirit and body. Lord over the planet as the last son of Krypton. Dispatch of anyone unable or unwilling to serve you, Kal-El. Take as many wives as you can, so your genes and Krypton’s might and legacy will live on in this new frontier. Do us proud, our beloved son. Rule without mercy.” – Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, Superman (2025)
For the characters in the movie, this makes Superman an evil overlord, since they’re convinced he’s following the words originally recorded by his birth parents and not just the part he previously had access to. More importantly, though, for viewers, it seems like James Gunn has turned Superman’s birth parents evil.
However, it is through this premise that Gunn can take Superman on an arc of identity crisis and recovery. Clark learns to have faith in himself through the film by realizing that his actions define him, not his parentage – adoptive or biological. Viewers are also urged to have some faith.
Gunn Uses Symbolism To Rehabilitate Superman’s Image
Over the past couple of decades, alternative interpretations of Superman have become more popular than the traditional version of the world’s first superhero. Injustice Superman, a character whose existence asks, “What if Superman was evil?”, reached such heights of popularity that the original point of the character seemed to be erased from all discourse about him.
While it’s an interesting concept on paper, if it’s not serving the purpose of reminding people why it matters that Superman isn’t evil, it becomes a cynical, self-indulgent act of tarnishing not just the character, but also the intentions of his creators. The increasing popularity of Invincible‘s Omni-Man and The Boys‘ Homelander only further removes discourse from that point.
In many ways, the media and the viewers collectively contributed to changing Superman’s point. He was no longer a symbol of hope meant to inspire us, but either a man burdened with bearing the brunt of humanity’s sins (the DCEU interpretation) or a literal villain (the Injustice interpretation). The idea of an incorruptible symbol perhaps seemed too alien to embrace.
But through this twist on Superman’s parents origins, James Gunn reminds us that if this leaves a bad taste in our mouths, watching Superman’s image being destroyed through other depictions of his corruption and/or death should have elicited an even bigger response. Superman’s arc in the film should help viewers rediscover his true purpose.
That Message Shouldn’t Be Declared Fake In Later Installments
The impact of watching Superman rediscover his faith in himself and his mission, even if it’s based on a minor fragment of a problematic message, is inspiring. Pa Kent’s words about a parent’s relationship with their child ring with universal truth, and they can cause you to realize, much like Clark, that you can choose to be who you want.
Moreover, watching Superman reject the full message and find comfort and inspiration elsewhere, namely, his adoptive parents’ memories, reminds viewers of what he truly stands for. Suppose the Kryptonian birth parents symbolize the media that has removed the character from the original inspiration behind his creation. It then follows that we, as viewers, are Superman, rediscovering his purpose and meaning.
David Krumholtz, star of 2026’s Supergirl, has confirmed that this retcon will be addressed in the upcoming movie, but I’m sure the message won’t be declared fake. As Gunn has pointed out, Lex Luthor himself acknowledges it’s not fake to the Jahranpurian president, who he needn’t have lied to. Declaring it fake also loses this symbolic significance.
