A robot, a loyal pup, a techno-organic being, and baldies, oh my! The 2025 big screen version of Superman boasts quite the lineup of heroes and villains.
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00:00A robot, a loyal pup, a techno-organic being, and baldies? Oh my. The 2025 big-screen version
00:06of Superman boasts quite the lineup of heroes and villains.
00:11The Superman teaser opens with the Man of Steel crashing into snow, seemingly landing
00:15near his Fortress of Solitude. As blood drips from his mouth and pools in the icy powder,
00:20it's not looking good for the last son of Krypton. But then he calls Krypto, who comes
00:25tearing through the snow to find his friend.
00:27The rest of the teaser features plenty of other glimpses of the titular hero. There
00:30are a few moments in and around the Daily Planet, mostly alongside Lois Lane, the obvious
00:36love interest for both Clark and his alter ego.
00:38It seems likely that she knows about Clark's identity, as this movie begins long after
00:43Superman's debut. While not much is known about the film's plot, considering David Cornsweat
00:47is 31, we're guessing that this version of Clark Kent is in his mid-20s and is trying
00:52to sort out who he is in the world.
00:54For viewers who are more familiar with the movie and TV versions of Superman than the
00:59comics, it might seem odd to learn that he has a super-powered, cape-wearing canine named
01:03Krypto the Superdog.
01:05Krypto debuted back in 1955's Adventure Comics No. 210. While he has appeared in animated
01:10form, and on live-action TV, this will be his live-action big-screen debut. It appears
01:15that this Krypto is at least partially animated via CGI, though he still looks amazingly lifelike.
01:21He has superpowers similar to Superman's, which makes sense when you consider that he's
01:24also from Krypton.
01:26In most of his early depictions, Krypto wasn't quite as strong or as fast as Superman, though
01:30he also had super senses and was about as smart as a human. Some of these aspects have
01:35changed over the decades, and he's looked like several different dog breeds depending
01:39on the incarnation. Director James Gunn based this interpretation on his own dog, Ozu, whom
01:44he adopted shortly after he began working on the movie.
01:47It's good to see you again, old friend.
01:49There have been many versions of Green Lanterns over the years. Perhaps the most well-known
01:53is Hal Jordan. But he's not the only human who ever received a Green Lantern ring, as
01:58there's also Guy Gardner, played in this movie by Nathan Fillion, who looks quite a bit different
02:03than he usually does. Fillion is sporting a terrible bowl cut, but that's exactly how
02:08Guy Gardner appears in the comics. He appears briefly in the teaser as he enters a building
02:12surrounded by civilians. He uses his ring to obscure the windows, presumably to give
02:16the superpowered folks a little privacy.
02:19Guy is vastly different from the other Earth-based Green Lanterns, as he's incredibly egocentric
02:24and arrogant. Green Lantern rings are powered by a person's will, and Gardner has that in
02:29spades, making him one of the greatest Green Lanterns in history. Still, he can be challenging
02:34to work with at times. He's been known to use his powers to create hockey sticks, giant
02:38boots, a cosmic motorcycle, a monster truck, and more.
02:43There was a Golden Age hero called Mr. Terrific, but the one featured in this movie is Michael
02:47Holt, who was introduced in 1997's The Spectre No. 54. Played by Eddie Guthegi, he's instantly
02:54recognizable thanks to the large T emblazoned across his face. A relatively new character,
02:59this Mr. Terrific wasn't initially superpowered, as he was instead more of a street-level hero
03:03who relied on his natural abilities and know-how. He's since gained the ability to become invisible
03:08to technology, though his primary power is his significant intelligence. He also created
03:13the T-Spheres, which are floating orbs that he uses to perform a variety of tasks. Some
03:18of his other abilities include flight, force field generation, and invisibility.
03:22Mr. Terrific doesn't do much in the teaser, except for one moment. A force field surrounds
03:27him and someone he's protecting while they're being shot at. Floating above that force field
03:31are what appear to be three T-Spheres.
03:32So what do you need?
03:35More of your T-Spheres.
03:37Alexander Lex Luthor is easily the most iconic Superman villain of all time. He first appeared
03:42in Action Comics No. 23 in 1940, so he's been around for a long time. While Superman
03:47has tried to work with Lex on multiple occasions, he pretty much always reverts to his villainy
03:51by the end.
03:52Nicholas Hoult is playing Lex in this movie, and he truly nails the part — at least visually.
03:57With a bald head, Hoult looks much more menacing than usual. He appears several times in the
04:01teaser, including inside the Luthor Corp. building as Superman flies by.
04:06It seems pretty certain that Lex is the movie's big bad. James Gunn confirmed as much on Threads
04:10in April 2024. Lex may even be responsible for whatever happened to make Superman a bloody
04:16mess in the teaser's opening scene. Lex typically prefers to pull the strings from behind rather
04:20than get his own hands dirty, but he's occasionally willing to take the fight straight to his adversary.
04:26Hawkgirl and her counterpart, Hawkman, have been around since the Golden Age of comics,
04:31and they've changed a lot over the decades. Their origin stories tend to be a bit messy,
04:35though things have stabilized in recent years. And it looks like the Hawkgirl in this movie
04:39is Kendra Saunders, the latest version of the character. She first appeared in JSA Secret
04:43Files No. 1 in 1999. Saunders became a superhero after dying. Her body became possessed by the
04:50spirit of the Golden Age Hawkgirl. She then used her namesake's equipment to become the
04:54new Hawkgirl. She's being played by Isabella Merced, and in the teaser, she's flying through
04:59the city while wielding her Nth Metal Mace, which is what gives her super strength.
05:03This is the only scene featuring Hawkgirl in action, so it's unclear what her characterization
05:08will be like throughout the film. During an interview with Young, Bold & Regal, Merced
05:12revealed what it was like to work on the movie.
05:14It was super fun every day. Like you said, it was like, oh, am I flying from wires now?
05:20Am I doing a scene with Superman today?
05:23Ultraman is the Superman from Earth-3, and he's absolutely evil, as everything in his
05:28world is backward from ours. For example, the Justice League of America is instead the
05:32Crime Syndicate of America. Ultraman has been around since 1964's Justice League of America
05:37No. 14, and he's gone through some changes since then. While some reports have pegged
05:41him as the movie's big bad, James Gunn has instead identified Lex Luthor for that role.
05:46Based on what we know so far, there's no way to tell what Ultraman will be like in the
05:50film, other than the fact that he'll fight Superman and wear a costume that's vastly
05:54different from any outfit he's worn in the comics. In those comics, Ultraman typically
05:57wears a costume similar to Superman's, but instead of the Man of Steel's S-shaped emblem,
06:02he has a large U on his chest.
06:04If this cinematic Ultraman is anything like his comic book counterpart, then it's reasonable
06:09to expect that David Coren Sweat will be playing both him and Superman.
06:14There's one moment in the teaser where Superman is inside the Fortress of Solitude holding
06:18the hand of a broken robot, and it's clear that it's important to him. While there are
06:22many robots featured throughout Superman's history, there's only one that this could
06:25possibly be — Kallax. In the comics, Kallax is Superman's robotic servant who takes care
06:30of things at the Fortress, but he's also much more than that. Kallax first appeared
06:34in 1986's The Man of Steel No. 1. The robot initially belonged to Superman's father, Jor-El,
06:40and he arrived on Earth alongside Kal-El. In short, Kallax has been around for a while,
06:45though he's been destroyed and rebuilt on occasion. In one story, Lex Luthor destroys
06:49Kallax, so there's a chance that a story like that could also play out in the movie.
06:53Kallax has appeared in various TV shows, animated films, and video games, but has never been
06:58a major character outside of the comics. If that truly is Kallax in the teaser, the
07:03robot's destruction would represent the loss of one of the few significant connections
07:06that Superman has to Krypton.
07:09Towards the end of the teaser, there's a brief close-up of a superhero named Metamorpho,
07:13who kind of looks like the Night King from Game of Thrones. Metamorpho's unique powers
07:18include the ability to change himself into any element on the periodic table. He first
07:22appeared in 1965's The Brave and the Bold No. 57. That issue told the story of Rex Mason,
07:28who gained superpowers from an accident that occurred as the result of his villainous boss's
07:32machinations. Anthony Kerrigan is set to play Metamorpho in the movie, but you wouldn't
07:36necessarily know it from the brief slice we see of him. The comic book version of Metamorpho
07:41typically has a gray face, but it's the orange and purple shoulders that really give his
07:45identity away in the teaser.
07:47The character's never been played before, so I'm at least in real life.
07:52Metamorpho's powers are nearly as malleable as his shape-shifting body. He can fashion
07:56his arm into an iron and use it as a hammer, or he can turn parts of his body into pure
08:01kryptonite. Of course, kryptonite isn't found on Earth's periodic table, but Metamorpho
08:05can typically transmute his body into any element that he encounters. He'll most likely
08:10be a hero in the movie, though he has occasionally crossed the line into villainy.
08:14I like to draw inspiration from everywhere. I throw it all into a pot and see what happens.
08:20Another character who's confirmed to appear in 2025's Superman is The Engineer, who will
08:24be played by Maria Gabriela de Feria, but you'd need a magnifying glass to catch her
08:29in the teaser, if she's even there at all. In the shot of the Luther Corp building, there's
08:33a person standing beneath the R atop the glass walkway connecting the two buildings that
08:37fans believe is her.
08:39The Engineer is another relatively recent addition to the DC Comics universe. As she
08:43first appeared in 1999's The Authority No. 1, Angie Spica injected herself with a solution
08:48of nanotechnology that replaced her blood, which transformed her into a techno-organic
08:53being with great powers. Her abilities include flight, force field generation, invulnerability,
08:59and time travel. Though The Engineer is typically a hero in the comics, it's been confirmed
09:03that she'll be a villain in the film, though it's unclear exactly in what capacity. She
09:08could be working alongside Lex Luthor, or she could be hatching her own plan against
09:12the Man of Steel.
09:13The Superman teaser also features a giant, dragon-like kaiju tearing apart a city that's
09:18most likely Metropolis. The massive monster's fiery discharge envelops Superman, but if
09:23you know anything about the Man of Steel, you can rest easy that this is little more
09:27than a minor annoyance to him. Fire can't harm Superman, unless it's magical in nature,
09:32and all he would care about at this moment is getting the monster away from innocent
09:36people.
09:37It's clear from the teaser that this kaiju isn't very friendly, so it's probably unleashed
09:41on Superman by the film's Big Bad. Regardless, it doesn't appear to be directly influenced
09:45by any specific comics character, even though the DC Universe does have plenty of gigantic
09:50monsters in its publication history, a number of which have fought Superman. It seems most
09:54likely that James Gunn has created this creature expressly for the film, though it's possible
09:59he was inspired by something from the comics.