SUPERMAN Merchandise Listing Confirms Identity Of Movie's Villain And A Few Other Interesting Additions

@TheLobster - To be fair, I don’t remember him saying that it wasn’t Ultraman. He just said Lex was the main villain.

@TheLobster - it’s not about “lying.”

It’s about telling the story, & revealing the story spoiler free as it’s intended to be seen.

James Gunn does not owe you anything. Even if you guess a plot point in someone’s story, that author does not have to tell you the guess is right. That’s not lying.

@TrentCrimm - Agreed. One quote even was something like “why would you want to know before seeing the movie anyways?”

@TheLobster - others here are right. James Gunn never said that Ultraman wasn’t in the movie. what he said was that Lex Luthor is the primary antagonist. So no lie.

@Steel86 - I appreciate the response sir!

@Forthas - Man of Steel features a Kal El who lets his dad commit suicide by tornado whilst he watches from 20 feet away. That movie was filled with stupid.

@NinnesMBC - Yeah, Cryers Lex was pretty good actually. He was a good combo of menacing and comedic.

@RedFury - Your comparisons don't work. Blade Runner was slow and intimate and the movie was not a huge hit. It didn't have dozens of heroes to get to know. Star Wars went to different locales. But it was focused on just a few people & plots. A better comparison to what Gunn is doing would be The Phantom Menace which had way too many important characters suddenly dropped on the audience and too many subplots and unlike A New Hope, spent much too little time letting viewers get to know the characters before putting them in action scenes.

The best way to understand what made the MCU a success is to realize it was a timely hit TV series in theaters. Just like TWD, Sopranos, Seinfeld, Dallas. Each one of those series were created by people who didn't know they would be such hits. Each had a lead and supporting cast and characters people, over time, decided they wanted to follow. If you look back at early episodes you will see early episodes might seem odd and characters might seem different than what you know because it took a bit for the actors and showrunners to figure out how to do the show. Everyone of those hit series and the MCU had to have the perfect person as the lead or they would not have been as big.

NO ONE mapped out the rise of those shows. The shows took off. Right place, right time, right lead. Showrunners and writers adapted to what they had, realizing how to write the actor's portrayals.

No one at Marvel knew in 2008 how big the MCU would be. RDJ had difficulties getting cast as Stark because Marvel could not imagine he would be so popular as Stark, he would carry the MCU as it's biggest draw after having a solo movie were he could flesh out Stark and develop a following. That is the advantage of starting small scale. And small scale allows viewers to develop connections. If Iron Man 2008 had The Avengers in it like Captain America Civil War, it wouldn't have worked.

And I'll also point out that just because one studio created a massive hit superhero series, it does not mean the public wants another one to follow. Execs at WB have acted like they are entitled to Marvel's numbers because DC superheroes are as popular as Marvel superheroes. That is not true.

The MCU was in the right place, at the right time, with the right star. Lightning struck.

@ObserverIO @PartyKiller - I appreciate your thought out responses guys, thanks for giving me your perspectives. And I will honestly say I agree with a lot of your points, they make total sense especially coming from where you guys are at. I'd like to just say quickly though that my examples weren't meant to be direct examples in terms of story or characters; but just general examples of movies that bring the audience into something that already exists.

I still think that if Gunn does establish this world and gives the audience answers to questions on how it all works, it'll end up working just as well as all of those other successful franchises. And I have a good feeling we'll get those answers based on how he describes Superman as the introduction to the DCU on the big screen.

So what the success of this movie and the new DCU relies on is good story telling with thought out ideas which I think we're all in agreement on. And it appears Gunn is navigating a thought out plan from the get-go with his writers group (from what we've heard online). Understandably jumping into an already existing world does add to the pressure of getting the audience on board. But don't forget we've had over 16 years of the MCU. Your general audience member already understands cinematic universes and superheroes on a basic level, so a lot of the leg work for the DCU is already done. It just needs to be executed properly.

Creature Commandos will give an introduction to the more outlandish side of the DCU to the hardcore fans like ourselves. Superman will introduce everyone into the new DCU and it's cast, establish Metropolis, and whatever other locations it shows. We'll get a taste of a Green Lantern which will be followed up by a Green Lantern show explaining more about that side of the DCU. So on and so forth.

To me it seems like we'll get the answers we need, and the ones we don't will be answered in more content coming right after. I'm personally excited that we get to step into a realized world from the start. I always thought that was one of the weak points of the MCU, in that the heroes we are introduced too don't have much history if at all, and we have to watch them become the heroes we know while skipping over some major moments in their lives. With Gunn's DCU sure we'll miss out on seeing some stories, but at the same time they'll actually still get to exist in that characters life and be used as canon. Batman will have a big rouges gallery already, and we won't have to see the origin of every one of his villains. The Robins will already have existed and we get to see Nightwing for a change, and Red Hood. And that's just a little bit of Batman stuff. We can apply that to all the characters that will already exist in this world.

Anyways, my hype is showing lol. Sorry for the novel!