Warning! This article contains spoilers for Superman.
Superman makes a significant change to the тιтular hero’s origin story in a way that is irreversible and will likely impact his DCU future. James Gunn’s Superman movie has long been in development, with one aspect of its story being made clear from the off: it is not an origin story.
Instead, the first installment of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters jumps straight into Superman’s adventures, foregoing flashbacks to the now-destroyed Krypton that previous iterations have included. By the time of Superman‘s climactic ending, though, the film adequately explains the hero’s origin story without explicitly showing it.
Several Superman Easter eggs link to Krypton and the journey that saw Kal-El come to Earth decades ago. Interestingly, one of these Easter eggs plays a big role in the film’s story thanks to Lex Luthor’s dark machinations. Via this plot point, James Gunn changes a common aspect of Superman’s origin story irreversibly.
James Gunn Retcons Why Superman Was Sent To Earth
Superman’s Kryptonian Parents Have A Much Different Motivation
The Easter egg in question comes in the form of a video recording by Superman’s biological parents, the Kryptonians known as Jor-El and Lara. The video is a message for Kal-El, outlining the common reason why Superman is sent to Earth. Superman believes his parents chose Earth as his destination so that he could protect its citizens.
This is shown to drive Clark in both his personal life and his heroic life as Superman. However, a big twist midway through the story changes this drastically. The villains of Superman, led by Lex Luthor, manage to infiltrate the Fortress of Solitude. One of these villains, a nanobot-infused woman known as The Engineer, accesses the video message.
Superman makes it clear that the message from Jor-El and Lara was damaged during the trip to Earth, yet The Engineer manages to fix it. Lex releases this message to the world, outlining a mᴀssive comic change. In Superman, Jor-El and Lara chose Earth as they knew Kal-El’s powers would allow him to enslave the planet, find several wives, and repopulate the universe with Kryptonian children.
In the comic books, and most other iterations of Superman, for that matter, Kal-El is sent to Earth simply as a means of survival. Jor-El and Lara know that Earth is habitable for Kryptonians, explaining their reasoning for sending their son to the planet. Superman includes this in the first half of the Kryptonian message, but the secret second half features darker ulterior motives.
What James Gunn’s Superman Origin Story Retcon Means For The DC Universe
This Marks A Different Story For Superman
As expected, such a big change to Superman’s origin story has a big impact, not only on his character arc, but the wider DC Universe. Upcoming DC movies will undoubtedly explore the latter, meaning it is first worth delving into the former. The true meaning of the message from Jor-El and Lara gives Clark a crisis of faith.
Superman‘s first act makes it clear that his heroic drive stems from the first half of the Kryptonian message, which includes his parents telling him he is an embodiment of hope. Naturally, the reveal that he is a hope for Krypton’s future, not Earth’s, shakes Clark. It is only when visiting the Kent farm that Clark realizes his ideals came from Jonathan and Martha.
It sullies Krypton and those ᴀssociated with it, including Superman…
This allows a reinvigorated Superman to fight back against Luthor as Earth’s protector, as that is what any good human with strong morals would do with incredible powers. For the wider DC Universe, though, these changes to Superman’s origin are interesting. For one, it sullies Krypton and those ᴀssociated with it, including Superman, for a period in the movie.
This could impact Supergirl. A drunken Supergirl appears in Superman, with Clark confirming she doesn’t spend much time on Earth. Once she does, humanity could be less trusting of her, despite Superman’s heroics, due to Jor-El’s message. Regardless of whether this is true, it is clear Krypton’s reputation will not be a good one in the DCU’s future.
Why James Gunn’s Superman Origin Story Retcon Is Good
It Drives Home The Importance Of Superman
With a change as big as this to established DC Comics lore comes controversy, as has already been established by chatter online since Superman‘s release. That said, I believe James Gunn’s Superman origin story change is for the better. The reason for this is how Gunn’s Superman is different from other iterations.
The entire basis of this version of Superman, be it the character or the message of the movie itself, is about being good and kind in a world that thinks these values are old-fashioned. Superman explores how its central character will embody these values regardless of what goes on around him, which the Krypton origin story retcon doubles down on.
In showcasing that even his birth parents would commit evil acts for their own gain, such as the enslavement of Earth and countless women just so Kal-El can reproduce and recreate Krypton, this message is allowed to shine through clearly. It is not only humans like Lex Luthor and his followers who will do dark things, but superpowered aliens, too.
Two beings that Clark thought stood for hope and optimism actually think those things are pointless as well. As Ma and Pa Kent help Clark realize, though, he does not. It is Clark’s choices and his actions that make him Superman and, above all else, a good human being. This is the crux of Superman‘s thematic message, and the Krypton retcon aids that.
The DCU’s Superman is not content with being an embodiment of hope from an alien planet that is now destroyed and has no connection to Earth or its people. Instead, James Gunn made Superman a human, first and foremost, who fights for what is right and decent.
The Krypton change typifies that and drives home the idea that Superman should be a hero to follow because of his willingness to push back against evil, no matter who embodies it. While the drastic deviation from typical stories about the Man of Steel may be controversial, it allows the central message of Superman to truly take flight.
