James Gunn has captured all audiences with the summer release of Superman (2025), grossing US$614 million at the global box office against a $200 million budget. Spoilers ahead!

A newfound optimism has returned to the DC universe, leaving audiences with hope and a reminder that perhaps kindness is the real punk rock. Gunn achieves this version of Superman not by ignoring our darker realities, but instead by looking them in the eye. 

In his vision of the DC universe, Gunn’s depiction of Superman returns the Man of Steel to his comic book source material while simultaneously bringing him into modernity. This version of the caped hero believes in truth, justice and a good southern breakfast. 

The movie opens with Superman in a moment of weakness. Yamcha Death Pose in a crater, he has just lost his very first fight. 

Viewers are plunged in the middle of a land dispute between two fictional countries: Jarhanpur and Boravia. Jarhanpur is a small nation suffering from constant invasions by its neighbouring nation of Boravia, which is looking to seize Jarhanpur’s land. Boravia happens to have a stronger army and close alliance with multiple Western powers, and claim their only goal is to “free Jarhanpur from a tyrannical government”. Sound familiar?  

Since the film’s release, it has been interpreted by audiences as an allegory to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which escalated to a fever pitch in 2025. In an interview with The Times of London, Gunn has since spoken out to say that when he wrote the script, “the Middle Eastern conflict wasn’t happening”, and denounced theories of his script being intended as a direct parallel to the conflict in Gaza. Simply put, according to Gunn, “It’s an invasion by a much more powerful country run by a despot into a country that’s problematic in terms of its political history, but has totally no defense against the other country. It really is fictional.” Despite this, audiences have taken his titular character’s decision to interfere as a call-to-action. 

Our hero in blue and red interferes with the most recent Boravian invasion, using his powers to restore peace at their border. His country has now lost their faith in their superhero for interfering in global conflicts. 

We are introduced to journalist and love interest Lois Lane, who has already figured out that Clark Kent—her shy, bumbling coworker at “The Daily Planet”—is Superman. We are given a sweet scene where Kent has broken into Lane’s home to make her “breakfast for dinner”, his favourite. 

We revel in sweet new love until she reminds Kent that he has some explaining to do as Superman, picking up her recording device and turning on her reporter mode. On the record, she interviews Kent, who instantly changes into his superhero demeanour, addressing her with a simple “Miss Lane.” In this  scene, she pointedly asks Kent, “Did you consult with the President before entering Boravian airspace?” 

Here, Lane serves as a critical counterpoint against Superman’s “rogue” foreign intervention. Her voice adds nuance to the narrative, questioning unchecked power and “heroic” interference on the world stage. Superman receives pushback from members of the prospective “Justice League”. Guy Gardener, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl all disapprove of the Boravian invasion, yet are hesitant to interfere lest they rock the boat with their government. 

The movie’s main villain and Superman’s archenemy, Lex Luthor, is a bald billionaire CEO who abuses his employees and acts above the law. Sound familiar? He has successfully evaded the law through his creation of a “pocket universe”. Finally, some fiction! Through typical mad-scientist tinkering, LuthorCorp was able to replicate the Big Bang, tearing the “universal fabrics.” In this pocket universe, Luthor has been working out of government reach. He is able to get away with everything, from experimenting on Metahumans–humans with superpowers–to imprisoning his political opponents and ex-girlfriends. Here, Luthor has been able to go as far as creating Superman’s ultimate opponent: his exact clone named Ultraman. 

Luthor has canonically been Superman’s genius, longtime archnemesis, who is able to defeat Superman with sheer brainpower. Gunn leans heavily into Luthor’s corruption in this depiction. Luthor finds himself in the middle of the Boravian-Jarhanpurian conflict: lobbying the government to apprehend Superman for rogue foreign interference, all the while LutherCorps gives away free weapons to the Boravian military. 

Women save the day when Lane and Luthor’s girlfriend, Eve, unveil Luthor’s true contract with Boravia: Luthor will be granted ownership over half of Jarhanpur if Boravia succeeds in their occupation and invasion. 

Gunn’s depiction of Lex Luthor could be swapped out for any modern-day billionaire. This version of Luthor and his company LutherCorps embodies late-stage capitalism and highlights all its real-world abuses of power and overreach. 

Multinational Corporations like Amazon and Nestlé have long wielded political influence in government policies and interfered in foreign affairs in order to lift the red tape and grow their own margins. Gunn calls out these forms of corruption as deeply sown seeds in a broken system. 

Superman is a man of strong moral integrity. Everything he does is driven by a message sent by his Krypton birthparents—a message damaged during the journey to Earth, which he has never heard in its entirety, until it is eventually revealed to the whole world: Superman, or “Kal-El”, was sent to Earth by his parents to rule the planet and populate the world with Kryptonians. 

This revelation shatters his worldview, causing him to spiral and lose faith in who he is. Through his adoptive human parents, Ma and Pa Kent, Superman is reminded that it is your actions and choices in life that make you who you are. Gunn, once again, places a call-to-action in our laps. It is never too late to act, and the freedom to do so is precious.

By using pop culture as a tool to spread a message, Gunn has managed to garner a whole new audience to fall in love with Superman and all that the cape stands for. 

Larger studios often hesitate to rock the boat when so much is at stake. Warner Bros put $200 million USD on the line when giving the green light for this project. They risked reputation, investments and the success of future projects. However, the fiscal and cultural success of Superman (2025) is proof that audiences crave narratives that reflect the times. 

The movie has revitalized DC Studios both in numbers and in their image. It proves that audiences do not simply passively engage with media, but actually care to be engaged with relevant topics. Filmmakers should turn and pick from the bin of taboos in order to tell stories that reveal the human condition. 

Movies are often seen as an escape from reality. However, there is an innate influence that movies wield as a form of media with such large reach and viewership. Many of us are shaped by the movies we grew up watching; therefore, filmmakers have a responsibility to reflect the world around them. Moviemaking matters, and it is due time that studio executives realize what the zeitgeist wants and needs.