After rewatching all of Superman’s movie roster, I understand the complaints that the DCU Superman movie made him weak even less. Much of the cast of the DCU’s Superman movie enjoyed on-screen upgrades thanks to the film, either because they hadn’t been properly seen in the film world before, or hadn’t been done quite so much justice in this world.

While this is the case for figures like Guy Gardner or Mr. Terrific, the film’s own hero and how powerful he can be considered in the movie is a more divisive topic. However, after revisiting all Superman’s live-action movies, criticisms that the DCU timeline version of Superman comes across as weak make even less sense to me.

Complaints About The DCU’s Superman Being “Weak” Have Existed Since The Movie’s First Trailer

Superman’s DCU Power Level Has Been Under Considerable Scrutiny

Superman‘s first teaser trailer began on the somewhat daring note of showing David Corenswet’s Man of Steel lying bloody and broken in the snow, before trying to summon Krypto to help him. The introduction of sorts to the DCU’s Superman highlighting how he could be defeated convinced some that this iteration of the character would be far weaker, since it was clear something bested him here.

Further teases of the DCU hero further encourage conversations about whether this Superman was weaker or not. The build-up to the July 2025 release of the film also saw Superman beaten into the ground and being helped out of a crater by Metropolis civilians, and gave other glimpses at the fallible side of the hero, exacerbating concerns about his powers.

The release of the movie qualifies Superman’s “weak” moments by showing that the hero was beaten for the first time in seemingly his entire hero career by the “Hammer of Borovia”, i.e his own clone led by Luthor, and that he’s beaten into the earth by a colossal monster he and the Justice Gang then defeat. However, this didn’t fully abate conversations about the DCU hero’s power level.

Though balanced more now by Superman having released – and demonstrating a range of impressive uses of the hero’s powers – this introduction still appears to have influenced some perceptions about the hero. This is interesting to note, since DCU’s Superman movie was arguably only drawing from the hero’s movie history in many ways.

Every Single Superman Movie Features Its Hero Being Beaten In Some Way

Superman’s Film History Has Seen Him End Up In A Lot Of Similar Positions

While Superman’s defeat is notable in the sense it comes right at the start of the movie – and was similarly the first thing we got to see of him in the trailers – him being beaten down isn’t exactly new for the hero. With Superman being so powerful, essentially every solo movie with the hero shows him getting taken down in some capacity, to show he is facing a genuine threat.

For example, 1978’s Superman sees the hero defeated by Lex chaining him to a chunk of Kryptonite and then pushing him into a pool. Superman is only saved from certain death by Eve Teschmacher dragging him to safety, cementing how Lex truly beat him in this segment of the film.

Following suit, Superman II sees the hero temporarily give up his powers and then be beaten up by a random truck driver. Superman III has Superman get beaten up by himself (it’s a long story), and then by a computer. Superman IV sees the hero almost die after facing Nuclear Man, saved only by using the Kryptonian energy module his parents left him.

Superman Returns sees Luthor again almost kill Superman via a mixture of Kryptonite and forcing him into water, the original film serials see the hero beaten by various villains more than once, and even Man of Steel features Superman struggling with his Kryptonian foes. As such, Superman’s DCU defeat making him supposedly weak seems all the weirder of an idea.

I Think The DCU’s Superman Only Continues A Movie Trend For The Hero

Superman Being Beaten Lets Him Demonstrate One Of His True Strengths

All of these examples of Superman being beaten or simply beat down are key for the respective stories they appear in. Without showing that Superman can be defeated – and is up against forces that are perfectly capable of doing so – the tension and stakes of these movie narratives would be mᴀssively undermined.

This is as true for the Superman serials and first feature-length movie as it is for the DCU film. Though Superman can be seen to delve into this approach in perhaps a different way, the films all very much share the concept of exploring the Kryptonian hero’s weaknesses to make his strength appear all the greater when it’s on display.

In this way, movies like Superman are able to keep Clark Kent as a demonstration of the human spirit – and the ability to persevere even when the odds are stacked against you – despite his powers being far beyond conventional human capacity. This is especially important for the DCU movie, since its story hinges around the idea that Superman represents these ideals.

While it makes sense the initial focus on Superman being defeated by an ambiguous opponent would garner some divided reception, rewatching Superman’s movie catalog only further underlines to me that the DCU version of the character isn’t weak. Instead, when compared to the hero’s film peers, it seems Superman merely continues an effective and well-established tradition for the hero on-screen.