Much has been said about whether James Gunn set out to make a political statement with Superman. A key part of the movie revolved around a conflict between Boravia and Jarhanpur, with fans and political commentators alike drawing strong parallels between this fictional war and the real-world Israel-Palestine conflict.
For what it's worth, Gunn says he didn't write the movie with any real-life conflicts in mind and has repeatedly stated that he wasn't trying to make a statement about the Middle East. However, the debate has been reignited today by popular Twitch streamer and leftist commentator, Hasan Piker.
Talking to Variety, Piker shared his belief that the DC Studios co-CEO had a clear agenda when it came to how things played out in Superman.
"James Gunn is a lot more woke than he lets on. And he lets on how woke he is all the time," the social media personality exclaimed. "Come on, man, you made the [Boravian leader] look like David Ben-Gurion. He just straight-up looks one-to-one like the first prime minister of Israel. We don’t even care what you say about this. We know exactly what we’re looking at."
"Lex Luthor is cutting a direct contract with Boravia to extract natural resources and then also have a testing ground for their weapons," Piker added. "I mean, that’s literally what we do. Gaza is a weapons laboratory. That’s how imperialism works."
Sharing his take on David Corenswet, he said, "From what I understand, [he's] Jewish, and he’s very cool. He’s not like pro-Israel or anything like that either, as far as I’ve seen." Those remarks, however, are a stark contrast to his thoughts on former Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot.
"I think she should be banned from the Oscars for being a dogshit actress," Piker started. "I think she has no business being there for the crime of what she has done to not only the DC franchise, but really any movie she’s been a part of."
"All jokes aside, Gal Gadot serves an important role in normalizing Israel as not a fascist ethno-state, but instead a place where a lot of beautiful women come from. And those beautiful women happen to serve in the IDF, because there’s also this weird sexualization of the forces as well that takes place, and it plays another role in normalizing Israel and its activities and actions, and whitewashing it."
Lest the MCU be left out in this surprisingly political conversation about the DC Universe, Piker was asked about the franchise and told the trade, "I’ve always been a Marvel fan growing up, but I cannot stand the Marvel Cinematic Universe." So, that was the end of that.
Despite Gunn's repeated denials that he deliberately commented on real-life events with Superman, it's hard not to look at the movie and be reminded of what's currently happening. However, comics have long reflected the world around us, so looking into it too deeply could be where some pundits, like Piker, are going wrong.
As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.