We’ve known that James Gunn is making a Superman movie for well over two years now, but it was just this past week that some people decided to get mad about it and make it a political issue.
It’s not surprising, perhaps, but the “superwoke” controversy is one of the dumber “debates” the internet has engaged itself with in a while.
Superwoke controversy is almost completely based on a James Gunn soundbyte
Gunn recently told The Times U.K. that Superman “is the story of America. An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
When asked if he thinks the movie will be received differently in red states versus blue states, Gunn said, “Yes, it plays differently. But it’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.”
Those comments went viral, as Fox News quickly dubbed the movie “Superwoke” (and I’d be SHOCKED if anyone at Fox actually saw the movie before spreading that message). Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman actor Dean Cain recently started ranting about the matter as well.
For those who are even vaguely aware of who Superman is, Gunn’s take on the character shouldn’t come as a shock. For a long, long time, Superman’s lore has been the same: He comes from the planet Krypton and, upon arriving in Kansas, has to start living a dual life because there are people in the country who won’t accept him. Superman has always been an allegory for immigration that’s been explored in-depth in comics for decades. Other Superman movies, including Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, have also dealt with this.
Why, now, are people suddenly getting up in arms about this matter? It probably has more to do with the times that we live in more than anything — if there’s an opportunity to promote outrage, certain influencers are going to find it and exploit it for all its worth.
But we really don’t need to do this. If you’ve got a problem with Superman being the “story of America” and seeing the character be nice to other human beings, you don’t have to go to the movie. Nobody’s forcing you to. There are so many other, far more pressing things happening in the world that starting a culture war over a comic book character seems pretty ridiculous. As Nathan Fillion put it, “Just a movie, guys.”
Reviews almost unanimously characterize the movie as lighthearted and not very political
Based on what the reviews for Superman are saying, the movie isn’t preaching any kind of political message, either — unless, again, you find “human kindness” to be political, in which case I encourage you to go take a long, long look at yourself in the mirror.
Rather, though, the critics are largely saying that Superman is a light, fun comic book adventure. People are loving the positivity it inspires and the way David Corenswet perfectly captures the good-hearted nature of the Man of Steel.
Alison Willmore’s headline for Vulture’s Superman review sums things up pretty nicely: “Superman isn’t trying to be political. We just have real-life supervillains now.” Meaning, if you’re looking at Superman and getting mad at its “woke” politics, that’s way more of a reflection on how you view the world rather than anything the movie is saying.
Yes, Lex Luthor, a billionaire, is the villain. Superman, an alien, is the hero. This is who Superman and Lex have always been. Let’s not pretend that Gunn and the DCU leaning into that needs to be controversial.
