Zack Snyder has graciously passed the torch to James Gunn and Henry Cavill has happily handed over his cape to David Corenswet, and yet somehow the social media civil war over Superman continues to rage: What kind of Superman fan are you?
Snyder supporters prefer his intense and operatic take, while the Gunn Club is excited to see a Superman with a sunnier disposition and supporting cast. Both sides of the fandom are battling it out online with the simmering fury of siblings swinging haphazardly at the air.
Keep in mind, this maelstrom is being fought on the unwilling behalf of two men who are by all accounts friends who literally broke into the industry together (on the Dawn of the Dead remake) – even if their styles are nearly opposite.
Zack Snyder and James Gunn have some extremely different ideas about Superman, which leads us to the all-important question at hand: Who got Superman right?
We know we’re stepping into a minefield here, so we’re going to hold our judgment until both parties have had their day in court. We solemnly swear not to blindly stan or nitpick every sin as we lay out the evidence for and against Snyder and Gunn’s respective versions of Superman.
Let’s get things in order with…
The Case for Zack Snyder’s Superman
Exhibit A: Snyder Was Worth a Shot
DC and Warner Bros. knew what they were getting into. Between Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen, Zack Snyder’s style and vision was readily apparent to the powers-that-be, and they chose him anyway. Frankly? It took some guts.
It’s possible that Warners hoped that producer Christopher Nolan would curb some of Snyder’s more divisive quirks, but the director was clearly running the show. His extravagant, slow-mo CG style isn’t for everybody, but it certainly leaves an impression on the audience – and Superman. Modern Superman is a figure that really benefits from a strong authorial voice. He’s been around for nearly a century. The only way to beat the “generic” charges is to have an opinion on Superman.
Frank Miller imagined Clark as a naive puppet for the powers that be. Grant Morrison manifests him as a metafictional god of creation. In 1986, Alan Moore used Superman to reckon with themes he would cover that same year in Watchmen.
Zack Snyder’s Superman isn’t quite as sophisticated as all that, but he came into the project with a unique point of view and absolutely left it all on the screen.
The studio placed a lot of faith in Snyder because there was, and frankly still is, a lot of potential in his DC Extended Universe – but thanks to a series of strange decisions and real-word tragedies, it never quite got there. Even the name was clumsy.
It would be an uphill battle convincing a post-Avengers world to give the Distinguished Competition a try, and Snyder needed a strong start. He swung for the fences with Man of Steel.
Exhibit B: Taking Superman Seriously
In 2013, Superman was stuck. He never got the ’90s Tim Burton treatment, though it wasn’t for lack of trying, and he just missed the window in the early 2000s where he could have been redefined ala X-Men and Spider-Man. Comics and TV shows did their best to keep the icon alive, but the shot in the arm Superman really needed was a big-budget blockbuster movie to bring him forward into a new era. How do you freshen up a character so old he’s nearly in the public domain? By going as big as possible.
Snyder isn’t particularly interested in Clark Kent’s career at the Daily Planet. He’s unconcerned with how he shaves his Super-beard or keeps his identity secret. Snyder sees superheroes as mythic gods steering our mortal futures from the skies, and he really leans into the religious allegories of Superman as Savior. While it’s been done (poorly) before, Snyder handles the heavy stuff pretty well, and exploring the consequences of Superman’s existence leads to some interesting places.
The director’s Superman is best viewed less through the lens of a character than as an event that humanity has to reckon with. The arrival of Superman is a huge deal for our entire civilization, and Snyder does a great job of giving him gravitas. This is the first Superman designed to fill an IMAX screen.
Exhibit C: Hype Moments and Aura
Snyder’s Clark Kent isn’t brooding or grimdark like haters would have you believe; he just rarely has a chance to be himself. Heck, he rarely has an opportunity to talk. Superman has only 159 lines across Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League – and Henry Cavill makes the most of every single one.
His reserved portrayal of Kal-El embodies the otherness and isolation that comes with the burdens of godhood. He might not be your first choice for a fun night out at Dave & Buster’s, but he’s nowhere near the angsty edgelord caricature opponents paint him as. If anything, Cavill’s Superman was let down by iffy writing and bizarre character choices, which we’ll get to later, but there’s not much fault to find in his performance. If nothing else, he is absolutely unmatched in terms of aura farming.
Cavill looks awesome as Superman, helped in huge part by Snyder’s undeniable mastery behind the camera. Kal-El oozes power out of every 18K pore. Heat vision gushes out of his eyes with crackling chaos. He flies like an F-22 Raptor with enough force to obliterate an IHOP. His body hair has yet to be matched by any onscreen superhero.
From the costume design to the chiseled jaw, Cavill embodies the staggering presence of this mighty visitor from another planet and it rules to watch him fight. Whether he is soloing the Justice League or going HAM on some New Gods, Cavill’s Superman is a hype-moments machine.
Snyder’s work raised the bar for blockbuster action with an excellence in production design, fight choreography, and visual effects that’s seldom seen today, despite its undeniable influence. His Superman is a gripping combination of somber, horrific, post 9/11 imagery with absurd anime action straight out of Shonen Jump. It’s not going to work for everybody.
For some fans, it was their live-action Dragon Ball dream come true. For others, it might have been too much. Well, now they have an alternative.
The Case for James Gunn’s Superman
Exhibit A: A New Hope
As the DCEU wheezed its last breaths, the studio hired James Gunn to pick up the pieces.
Gunn was already in the DC mix with his critically-acclaimed Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad, and he was about to score an increasingly-rare superhero success with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He seemed like a perfect choice to mastermind Warner Discovery boss David Zaslav’s all-new DCU.
Gunn’s superhero films (which, unlike Snyder, he also writes) are known for their charming characters and clever dialogue that rarely crosses the line into Whedonesque cringe. There’s a heart and hopefulness to Gunn’s work that Snyder himself would surely admit somewhat lacks in his own – and it’s just what Superman needs after a decade of dour.
The world of James Gunn’s Superman is kinder and more colorful than the DCEU. This Clark Kent has co-workers, friends, an adorable dog, and actual chemistry with the actor playing Lois. Gunn’s tone has a lot more in common with well-regarded TV incarnations of Superman, none of which are nearly as downer and divisive as the DCEU. As impressive as Snyder’s apocalyptic angst is, it doesn’t exactly scream four-quadrant demographic appeal.
Superman is a universal symbol for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow – for everyone. Gunn’s Superman is an opportunity to open up the tent and show as many people as possible why the character is so special. This isn’t to say that Gunn’s films are childlike, or even kid-friendly – they’re actually rather violent and gory, but in a winking, campy way that befits his Troma origins.
There’s plenty of blood and guts and broken necks, but James Gunn’s films are fun, first and foremost. And why shouldn’t Superman be fun?
Exhibit B: Sunshine Superman
David Corenswet’s interpretation of Superman is a very different beast from Cavill’s. He has supportive (and alive) parents, a cute dog, a best pal, and a partner he actually seems comfortable being around. He has friends and allies who can empathize with him. He loves. He fears. He’s human.
Some might say too human, that Gunn isn’t taking Superman seriously – he shouldn’t be cracking jokes and getting his butt kicked in a manner undignified of the world’s first and most famous superhero.
While there’s little doubt that Cavill’s Superman would win in a fight, his statuesque facade isn’t the easiest for audiences to relate to. The Man of Tomorrow doesn’t need to be miserable. Gunn has called All-Star Superman his “guiding light” when making the film, Grant Morrison’s all-time classic comic book that serves as a love letter/mission statement for the character.
While other adaptations have pulled from All-Star, including Man of Steel, Gunn is leaning all the way into the optimistic theme and crisp, colorful aesthetic envisioned by artist Frank Quitely. In the iconic cover of All-Star Superman #1, Superman isn’t clenching his fists or flexing his pecs. He’s not blasting through the sky with a determined grimace or sulking in a rainstorm. He’s just chilling on a cloud, relaxed as can be, basking in the yellow sun and taking in the beauty of his adopted home. What does he have to worry about? He’s Superman!
There’s no reason to be tense, or angry, and certainly not sad – he’s the most powerful being on the planet, and that’s great, because it means he can help as many people as he possibly can.
This is the baseline Gunn and Corenswet are building on: a Superman who is pure, upbeat, and inspiring. He’ll be challenged, he’ll be tested, and he won’t be able to save everybody, but his never-ending battle isn’t a burden. It’s a purpose that brings him joy.
It can be hard for us to connect with the man who has everything, but if James Gunn can bring us to tears over a CGI otter, making us feel for this strange visitor from another planet is a cake walk.
Exhibit C: A Silver Age Salute
Snyder created the most realistic version of Superman possible, which prevented him from embracing the comic-book craziness that makes the character so rich and textured. It would have been extremely strange to see Henry Cavill date a mermaid, or find Mister Mxyzptlk zipping about the stacks of corpses in Metropolis, but the silly stuff is a huge part of Superman’s legacy that has never really been explored on the big screen.
This is a character that has been in continuous development since 1938. The basics are simple on paper, but Superman lore is so jam-packed with stuff that the comics have been in a near-constant state of reboots and retcons since the ’70s, and every time the goofier elements get stripped away in the name of realism or simplicity, they somehow find a way back into canon eventually. Like the red trunks, it feels like something’s missing without them.
It takes a confident filmmaker to embrace the unadulterated wackiness of Silver Age Superman, but no one has earned more benefit of the doubt than James Gunn. From Polka-Dot Man to Taserface, he excels at bringing some of the dumbest parts of comics to life and making you care about them.
Gunn’s Superman wears high-tech hypnoglasses to keep his identity a secret. His best friend is a scruffy dog with the power to level mountains. He owns a fleet of robots that wear little capes just like their daddy… and that’s barely scratching the surface of the strangeness that Superman has accumulated over 80-plus years.
Could we eventually see Superman shooting miniature doppelgangers out of his palms or splitting into red and blue versions of himself? Will Jimmy Olsen transform into a human porcupine or a giant turtle man in Superman 2? Is the world finally ready to meet Beppo the Super-Monkey? Maybe, maybe not, but the point is that James Gunn’s Superman leaves every option on the table, a vast toy box of possibilities to play with and stories to tell.
And with that, the defense rests, but don’t go up, up, and away just yet – we still have to hear the prosecution’s case for why Zack Snyder and/or James Gunn have ruined Superman forever.
The Case Against Snyder
Exhibit A: Unforced Errors
Adaptation is an exercise in making difficult choices, especially when it comes to superhero movies. Which version of the origin are you going to use? Should you jettison their secret identity? How are you going to explain things comic fans have taken for granted for 50 years? Does the character kill or not?
Some choices are genuinely bad ideas. Others might raise a few eyebrows but wind up working well in the context, like Sam Raimi’s biological webshooters and Burton’s homicidal Dark Knight.
The decisions made by Snyder and company for their Superman story are in a category of their own: They’re extremely divisive but they largely work, just not well enough to justify the controversy they were stepping into. Case in point: Superman snapping the neck of Zod.
Christopher Nolan advised against Superman killing Zod, but was swayed by the arguments of Snyder and writer David S. Goyer. He should have stuck to his guns. Many, many people did not approve of the Man of Steel getting blood on his hands. Countless words and hours of video essays have already argued the precedent for Superman taking lives and morally justified his desperate act, but even if you agree with every single one of their points, the question is: What did we gain from this?
Now that the DCEU is over, it’s apparent just how little Zod’s killing was a factor. The world is pretty mad at Clark when Batman v Superman starts, but not about executing the alien who was destroying the planet – they’re more concerned with his North African excursion where he explicitly says he didn’t kill anyone. Kind of hard to believe, but let’s take his word for it.
Metropolis doesn’t seem to disapprove of Zod’s manner of death considering they built a statue of the guy who practically ripped his head off. Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor aren’t afraid of Superman because he took a life to save some kids; they’re scared that he’s going to conquer the world. The decision to kill Zod was valid, but it was purely subtractive – all it did was turn off a sizable section of the audience that prefers a kinder, gentler Man of Steel.
So many moments throughout Snyder’s Superman feel like they just didn’t have to go there. Why get rid of Pa Kent with a ridiculous “stop, my invincible son” moment just to bring him back for a lengthy conversation with his ghost in the sequel? Did we have to blow Jimmy Olsen’s brains out and barely give it a passing mention? Could Superman have shown just a little hustle before Congress blew up?
No one forced Snyder and his screenwriters to make Lex Luthor the most obnoxious man alive, or build the final battle between Batman and Superman around comic-nerd trivia. Can you imagine pitching Holly Hunter the scene where her character sniffs a jar of pee? At nearly every fork in the road, these movies take the strangest, most alienating path possible, resulting in a Superman that somehow feels more weird than the one who’s friends with Metamorpho.
Exhibit B: Misery Business
It’s genuinely hard to picture Zack Snyder’s Superman having a good time.
He’s in a near constant state of mourning, from his father’s boneheaded demise to the massive casualties in Metropolis and even his own funeral. Kal-El’s entire DCEU career is defined by death and disaster in a way that doesn’t really suit the character. Batman’s lost four Robins, Spider-Man has burned his marriage, but Superman has largely avoided tragedies beyond the one he experienced on the day he was born.
It’s great territory for hypotheticals like “What if the Joker killed Lois Lane and nuked Metropolis?” or “What if Superman was a mustachioed sleeper agent?” but it’s not really what the character is about. Elseworlds and alternate universes are bursting with examples of a grim and tragic Superman who abuses his power, while pastiches like The Boys and Invincible take the thought experiment to even further extreme.
Snyder re-introduced Superman by finally bringing these questions before mainstream moviegoers, and it kind of made them uncomfortable. Man of Steel’s anime battles come to life are a huge mark in its favor, but there’s a reason why death is so cheap in the Dragon Ball universe. Snyder isn’t afraid to evoke 9/11 imagery for the cataclysmic clash between Kal-El and Zod. We’ve seen cities smashed in blockbusters before, but the sheer, horrific scale of Snyder’s devastation stays with you for a while – and it can be unsettling.
It’s not like he treats it flippantly. He actually builds on the destruction of Metropolis as a shocking status quo for the entire DCEU moving forward, but that’s kind of the problem. A hundred 9/11s is kind of a somber way to start your fun superhero universe, and audiences really don’t like getting bummed out at the movies. In hindsight, the biggest successes of the whole experiment were more upbeat films like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Suicide Squad.
The whole saga of the DCEU is sad, in front of and behind the scenes: the studio trying to tame Snyder’s vision, and the loss of his daughter that forced him to step away; the amateurish hack job that was Joss Whedon’s Justice League; the failed sequels and cancelled projects; and the online toxicity that still taints the discourse. The DCEU isn’t so much cursed as it is haunted, a fascinating glimpse into one of Hollywood’s most heartbreaking failures.
But Snyder’s Superman is in the rear-view mirror now, and no amount of e-signatures on your petition are going to bring him back. Gunn has the herculean task of introducing an all-new cinematic universe while simultaneously doing justice to one of the most well-known and beloved characters in human history.
While it’s a little soon to rush into judgment on the DCU, we’ll entertain a couple of legitimate concerns in…
The Case Against James Gunn
Exhibit A: Superheroes Aren’t Special
As a visual filmmaker, James Gunn is gonna have a hard time when compared to Zack Snyder. For all his faults when it comes to storytelling, characters, and basic cohesion, Snyder can shoot one heck of a movie. There’s no mistaking a Zack Snyder film, but Gunn’s visual identity isn’t quite so defined.
To be clear: Gunn’s Superman looks great, and anyone comparing it to the production values of The CW deserves a pleather wedgie. The action is crisp and clean, the costumes are complex but still colorful, and the creature design is somehow both revolting and charming. In short, it looks like a modern superhero film.
Superhero cinema has calcified in the days since Man of Steel. Bean counters and corporate suits have polished the experience to an algorithmic sheen, and we rarely see bold stylistic choices like Snyder’s anymore. There are shareholders to think of! Meanwhile, the effects industry is buckling under the weight of corporate expectations and the onscreen product has started to suffer. Workers are burning themselves out to create impossible wonders that we’ve all seen before.
In a time where normal people are having watercooler debates about nano-machine armor and YouTubers are analyzing every frame of FX work, it’s hard to see what separates Gunn’s Superman from the superhero pile. Even its sunny, throwback nature is dulled by its unfortunate proximity to the similarly retro Fantastic Four film that’s about to arrive.
According to James Gunn, Superman is his first “real” superhero movie, and he has a point. It might not seem like it, but he’s a little out of his element here with such a traditional, even archetypical protagonist.
Snyder’s indulgences were a risk that didn’t pan out, and Gunn might not want to stray too far from the proven formula – even as it faces diminishing returns. It’s probably the safe move, but it’s fair to expect more innovation in our superhero movies.
Exhibit B: Superman Isn’t Special
James Gunn believes that three things should never be seen in a superhero movie again: a radioactive spider bite, the Waynes hitting the pavement, and baby Kal-El rocketing away from an exploding Krypton.
Instead, in his film, we meet Superman three years into his career, well-established in a DC Universe that’s used to the costumed hero crowd. It’s a significant departure from Snyder’s timeline, where the coming of Superman essentially marks a new era in human history. In Gunn’s DCU, Green Lanterns, Hawkpeople, and Peacemakers make up the fabric of a more fantastical world, and Superman risks becoming just another cape in the crowd.
The film had a good opening weekend at the box office, but fans have a right to be nervous, because Superman as a marketable concept might not be able to handle another L. This could be the last chance for a long time to rekindle his relevancy and prove he’s a box office draw. It’s tough to look at the sad state of Looney Tunes, or the Muppets, or other venerable franchises struggling to replace their aging audiences without worrying that Superman might suffer the same fate. Fans want to see him treated with the respect and reverence he’s rightfully owed.
Snyder was able to capture this majesty, but it came at the cost of joy and wonder. There’s a balance to be struck, and a lot of upside in giving Superman a bigger sandbox to play in. Superman isn’t a blank slate, but he’s often best defined in contrast to more dramatic characters: as a role model, a mentor, or a light illuminating a dark mirror.
He excels in an ensemble. Some of the greatest Superman stories ever made can be found in Justice League Unlimited, a show with a cast of hundreds. There are so many potential relationships for Gunn’s films to explore, no “Marthas” necessary.
And with that closing statement, the prosecution rests. The judge is seated, the jury has deliberated, and we’ve come to…
The Verdict
So which director’s Superman is superior? Whose camp has the correct choice of Kryptonian? What result would justify your innate notion of who Superman is and what he means to you?
Let’s see it on the scoreboard:
Look, If we rule in favor of Snyder, we’re stuck in the past. If we rule in favor of Gunn, we’ll have to go into witness protection. When tensions are high and the crowd’s all riled up, sometimes the right answer is to just throw down your hockey sticks and hug it out. It’s not gonna leave everyone happy, and your dad might think less of you, but he’s right: They’re both losers.
Life’s too short to fight over a question that’s flawed from the start. No one can get Superman “more right” than anyone else because there is no “right” version.
There’s a Superman for all seasons. He’s malleable enough to meet the moment and flexible enough to change with the times. From Earth One to Earth 52, Dick Donner to the DCU, every take is valid and all… well, most opinions are justified.
Just like Siegel and Shuster and Ross and Byrne and Miller and Moore and Morrison, Zack Snyder and James Gunn have each created their own unique version of the character that’s just as real as any other and will endure forever alongside them.
So that’s where we stand on the great Snyder vs. Gunn debate. Now why don’t you tell us how you really feel? Vote in our poll above, let us know your thoughts about the DCEU, and sound off calmly in the comments about your favorite take on Superman!
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