SUPERMAN Makes A Huge Change To DC Lore That's Definitley Going To Be Controversial - SPOILERS

SUPERMAN Makes A Huge Change To DC Lore That's Definitley Going To Be Controversial - SPOILERS

For the most part, Superman remains pretty faithful to the established comic book lore of the character, with one major exception! Spoilers follow...

By MarkCassidy - Jul 11, 2025 07:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Superman

"You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Yeahhhh... not exactly what Kal-El's Kryptonian parents had in mind for their son when they sent him to Earth in James Gunn's Superman.

The movie begins with the Man of Steel suffering his first ever defeat at the hands of the Hammer of Boravia. When Krypto drags the hero to the Fortress of Solitude to be healed by the sun, the Caretaker Robots play the message his Kryptonian parents Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Von (Angela Sarafyan) sent their son to Earth with. We then learn that the second half of the message was damaged in the crash.

Later on, Lex Luthor gains entry to the Fortress and The Engineer manages to decipher the corrupted part of the message. It turns out that Clark Kent's biological parents actually sent him to Earth as a conqueror, and specifically chose the planet because its people are weak and will be easily dominated. There's also the implication that Kal-El should impregnate as many of Earth's women as possible in order to restart the Kryptonian race.

Luthor uses this information to turn the public against Superman, who is initially under the impression that the message must be fake - as are we. But no, in the DCU, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Von are more like the Viltrumites from Invincible than the heroic figures that are generally depicted in the comics and all previous adaptations of Superman's origin.

Though this change to the lore does work well for this story and Superman's arc, it's certain to be controversial, and we can see it emerging as the most divisive aspect of the movie.

Superman stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.

The cast also Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as "Ma" and "Pa" Kent, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl has been confirmed to make her debut ahead of her own Woman of Tomorrow movie.

"And that’s a wrap," Gunn posted last year when filming concluded. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life. I set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much. And the goodness and kindness and love I’ve encountered on a daily basis on the set has inspired me and thrust me forward when I felt too spent to move on my own.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."

You can check out a synopsis for the movie below.

"In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind."

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vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 7:56 AM
I dont think it is real and it is just fuel for the snyser crowd to salivate on
BigPhilbowski
BigPhilbowski - 7/11/2025, 8:25 AM
@vectorsigma - nah I've seen it. It's real. Well according Lexs translation it is anyway
thedrudo
thedrudo - 7/11/2025, 8:25 AM
@vectorsigma - I leaned that way but as someone said below, for him to alter it after this movie would look bad and people would never believe he had the plan to do so all along.
captainwalker
captainwalker - 7/11/2025, 8:28 AM
@vectorsigma - You're better off to snap one evil intentioned man's neck than destroy an entire people. Man, the similarities to today's time is eery.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 8:31 AM
@BigPhilbowski - ive seen it 3 times. So we are believing Lex now? Someone who can pay any expert to say that it is authentic? Hell, henpaid billions to start a war just to get rid of Superman. How cheap it is to pay people that will suport his lies on this message?
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 8:33 AM
@thedrudo - why will it look bad? It is a mystery to look forward to on getting resolved.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 8:34 AM
@captainwalker - so you believe the words if the villain?

A villain willing to spend billioms just to get rid of superman????
captainwalker
captainwalker - 7/11/2025, 8:41 AM
@vectorsigma - He's obviously not going along with what his parents wished so, no. The article implies that the translation is correct.
BigPhilbowski
BigPhilbowski - 7/11/2025, 8:58 AM
@vectorsigma - sorry I mistook what you were saying. I thought you were you didn't think what the article was saying was real
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 9:01 AM
@BigPhilbowski - oh got it, no problem!
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 7/11/2025, 9:15 AM
@BigPhilbowski - They doubled down on it being real. This is what Gunn wants and it’s an awful (and blatant) Invincible rip-off that eliminates Clark’s struggle to balance his love for his Kryptonian parents with his love for his earth parents. It also makes no sense when you throw Supergirl into the equation. She was sent when she wa solder. She didn’t know Kryptonians were ruthless despots and that her family wanted Clark (and her?) to rule? There are major holes there
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 7/11/2025, 9:28 AM
@vectorsigma - it could be fake from Luther but the movie (not just Luther) portray it as 100% real and it drives the narrative including Superman rejecting his alien identity. Such a bad choice!
bobevanz
bobevanz - 7/11/2025, 9:45 AM
Pa Kent from MOS was so much worse than this change. The point of this movie is he wasn't raised by those kryptonians, he was raised by simple folk who believe in integrity and doing the right thing. Comparing these is [frick]ing laughable. At least this Superman wasn't raised on the premise that "you can't save everyone" MOTHER [frick]ER THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM SUPER
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 7/11/2025, 10:01 AM
@vectorsigma - trust me, it’s real

Movie was a sacrilegious abomination of the highest order. It’s absolutely comical to think that Gunn was hired specifically to right-the-wrongs of the Snyderverse and actually managed to out-Snyder, Snyder
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 7/11/2025, 10:05 AM
@vectorsigma - * *heavy spoilers* *38 different verified experts confirmed the validity of the message (Mr. Terrific plainly states that their reputations were sacrosanct (translation: you MIGHT be able to buy off a couple, but not 38). Also the montage of Supes replacing the Kryptonian message w the hillbilly Kent childhood montage was designed to show that he had foresworn Krypton and embraced Earth
Goldboink
Goldboink - 7/11/2025, 10:07 AM
@vectorsigma -
Here's the thing. Nobody gives a shit other than the microverse of Redditors and other comics purists. These folks represent a tiny fraction of the audience requiured to make one of these thingies profitable and successful.

Remember this guy?

User Comment Image

The hew and cry from the denizens of this board and others was insane. Childhoods rapeed etc. It turned out to be the highest grossing IM film to date and did Avengers level money.

Nobody will care about what his mission was when he was an infant.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/11/2025, 11:28 AM
@vectorsigma - It's def real. Why would Lex lie to that evil dictator? We saw Engineer decode it. If they retcon this shit then that's dumb.

BUT! It's not the entire people, it's just Jor-El. Doesn't make all Kryptonians like this. Doesn't mean Kara agrees with him. You never had a parent or older relative say something racist? It's like that. This is what Jor-El thinks is best. Of course he values his people and son over all else, especially a backwater planet in Butt[frick], Milky Way.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/11/2025, 11:45 AM
@BigPhilbowski - Lex's translation would have been the same as the robots translation. The first part was the same, word-for-word and The Engineer was in their systems and would have access to their translator technology.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 11:57 AM
@ObserverIO - Engineer decoded it, but it isnt hard for Lex to order her to release a fake version. That is easier than paying billions to start a war just to get rid of superman. And he can always lie to anyone just to manipulate things for his desires. Hell, he is willing to pay billioms to set up a dake war. Lying is simple.

As ive said above, the expressions of jorel doesnt match the supposed mesaage. And it doesnt jive with the first half of the message.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 7/11/2025, 12:11 PM
@vectorsigma - Mister Terrific also said it was real. And if it wasn't, they never did anything to clear that up by the time the movie ended.

Plus, that would undo the clear direction Gunn was trying to go in with having the people rally behind Superman again despite his parents' message, not to mention the ending scene at the Fortress when the new videos of his other parents are playing.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 12:37 PM
@EskimoJ - mr terrific just said the experts who looked at it "doesnt make mistakes". That doesnt sit well with me especially if Lex can pay anyone to do hia bidding.

And i agree that this became the emotional core of the movie. Superman get to act based on the kindness his earth parwnts instilled on him.and the peoole saw that. Retconning it (that it was fake) will not really undo it because the movie has shown that people believed the video
BigPhilbowski
BigPhilbowski - 7/11/2025, 12:55 PM
@ObserverIO - this is true but we also don't see the translation from her perspective. Just when Lex releases it to the public so it's possible he manipulated the translation. Who's gonna argue with him?
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/11/2025, 1:09 PM
@vectorsigma - I think it does jive with the earlier portion and with the big happy smiles on their faces even. These are just their political views. They don't think they're saying anything bad here.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/11/2025, 1:15 PM
@SauronthePower - couldn't disagree more. I understand being upset with the change but it only cements Clark all the more as human. It works really well in the film IMO. When I read the leak I expected this to make me seethe but with Pa Kent's speech, it just works.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 1:16 PM
@ObserverIO - i am in the belief that highly intelligent beings has a high level of morality as well. But this is just a personal take.

I couldve actually believed it to be true if worded properly. But the use of "harem" and "taking many wives" sounds like a joke that either Peacemaker or Vigilante will say. To me Lex was fooling around and it reflects today's world of using highfalutin words to get noticed easily.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/11/2025, 1:16 PM
@ObserverIO - thoughts on the film?
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/11/2025, 2:12 PM
@McMurdo - I'm currently smiling from ear to ear.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 7/11/2025, 3:24 PM
@McMurdo - do not agree at all

Thought it was complete canonical blasphemy and absolutely tone deaf on the duality of the character

Also, regardless of that, the CGI was wildly, wildly uneven and I can see Supes getting beaten once (at absolute worst, twice) but he was literally a punching bag in this movie because Gunn didn’t know how to equivocate power levels (which even Tarantino has commented on as being Superman’s biggest hurdle)
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/11/2025, 4:44 PM
@SauronthePower - you're entitled to feel thay way. I'm just glad you're in the minority and it's doing well. More DC films is great.
Arthorious
Arthorious - 7/11/2025, 5:28 PM
@vectorsigma - I felt like Lex modified it to be translated that way. But I was hoping he would’ve gotten the real translation at the end. But I guess it’s to no significance ever since what Pa Kent told him
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 7/11/2025, 10:30 PM
@McMurdo - I don’t dispute your last point as the entire genre needs elevation right now, so we can kindly dismantle the whole MCU-exclusive shill thing right here. Key on this will be its backend legs and if the narrative gets around about the overpolitization then it is going to experience serious obstacles from the later-engaged casual ticket buying public
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/11/2025, 10:48 PM
@Arthorious - yeah, it was useful for the narrative and superman's character development.

Whether it was real or not is everyone's guess and i also agree with you and im guessing it is fake.

Waiting for Gunn to explain on twitter or in a next dcu project

Arthorious
Arthorious - 7/12/2025, 12:19 AM
@vectorsigma - another reason why I think Lex made this up is because of Kara. She wasn’t wreaking havoc on Earth or sleeping around with random guys (to our knowledge). Clark would’ve had to subdue her or something and would’ve learned about Krypton’s “evil” heritage if that were the case. For me Supergirl being there makes me really think that Lex doctored this up to have the public turn against Superman, just like in Birthright which this movie is also inspired by.
CaptainFlapjaks
CaptainFlapjaks - 7/12/2025, 12:34 AM
@vectorsigma - the "my adventures with superman" show did this but with the twist it was actually brainiac. So im thinking its gonna be something like that. But even if it isnt, the idea of choosing not to be what you were created to be is pretty on brand for gunn (starlord, rocket, gamora, nebula) and superman even as well.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 7/12/2025, 7:02 AM
@CaptainFlapjaks @Arthorious - those theories sound good!

I just got out from my 4th viewing and realized something.

When Lex was introducing Planet Watch, he was explaining thenpowers of The Engineer. That he put nanites on her and she can form anything that she desires (exact wording i cant remember)

And before the engineer was extracting the message, she mentioned something about hating metahumans that is why she had her body changed.

Could it be that this mental state affected the message? So basically the message from the engineer was real (thus all the linhuists and experts confirmed it as per Lex), BUT was affected because of her mental state.

Hope Gunm explains this soon, whatever it is. But man, giving us something to think about is great
WEAPONXOXOXO
WEAPONXOXOXO - 7/11/2025, 7:57 AM
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Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 7/11/2025, 9:20 AM
@WEAPONXOXOXO - Love is love
Forthas
Forthas - 7/11/2025, 9:28 AM
@Feralwookiee - Did James Gunn write this comic?
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/11/2025, 1:18 PM
@Forthas - how long have you had that in the chamber?
Forthas
Forthas - 7/11/2025, 1:20 PM
@McMurdo -

User Comment Image
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