The new Superman trailer has convinced me that the film will avoid an issue that I think superhero movies have struggled with since The Dark Knight. Superman‘s latest trailer showed more footage than any other has thus far, especially in terms of action sequences. Specifically released to coincide with ticket sales for the movie, the trailer showcased more of the тιтular hero’s Kryptonian abilities while also providing a deeper insight into Superman‘s many villains.
James Gunn’s Superman movie has no shortage of antagonists for the Man of Steel to face. Be it the comic book characters known as the Engineer and Ultraman or the original creation called the Hammer of Boravia, Kal-El has his work cut out for him in the 2025 movie. That said, all of these villains stem from one overarching antagonist, the third pillar of Superman‘s ensemble cast: Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. This trailer showed more of Lex than we have been privy to, indicating that Superman may overcome a superhero movie struggle that has endured since The Dark Knight.
The Latest Superman Trailer Promises A Great Rivalry Between Kal-El & Lex Luthor
The Man Of Steel Vs. His Arch Enemy
More than any other piece of marketing, the recent Superman trailer highlighted how strong the rivalry between Clark Kent and Lex Luthor will be. The trailer opens with Lex outlining his distaste for how Superman is the most powerful being on Earth, yet saying he is glad they have finally met. This leads to Lex saying he will destroy Superman, as well as Lois Lane by ᴀssociation. Luthor goes even further by asking who raised Superman, stating he will kill them too.
These lines are intercut by Superman retorting “No matter what you do to me, Luthor, your plans won’t work.” Lex then puts the rivalry on full show, stating that anyone who even chooses to side with Superman will be allowed to die. While this antagonism will make for a great central plot of Superman, it also promises to fix an issue that I think superhero movies have struggled to overcome for the last 17 years.
The Last Superhero Movie To Have A Truly Great Rivalry Was The Dark Knight
True Rivalries Are Hard To Come By Recently
17 years ago, the last truly great rivalry in superhero cinema was showcased in The Dark Knight. That film centered almost entirely on Batman vs. the Joker. Even the subplots, such as Bruce Wayne’s relationship with Rachel, his alliance with Harvey Dent, and other elements of the story, were linked intrinsically to the Joker’s reign of terror. This made the rivalry between Batman and his comic book arch-nemesis feel so intense in a way superhero movies have struggled to replicate since.
None have reached the same level of intense antagonism that Batman and the Joker did in The Dark Knight…
Several movies over the years, be they DC or Marvel, have included similar rivalries from the comic books, but never on the same level. From Iron Man vs. the Mandarin, Captain America vs. Red Skull, Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin, Thor vs. Loki, or Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah, none have reached the same level of intense antagonism that Batman and the Joker did in The Dark Knight. This is not to say that none of these were good, as some did work in their respective movies, but as truly great rivalries, they cannot reach The Dark Knight‘s level.
James Gunn’s Comments Hint Superman Will Match The Dark Knight
Lex vs. Clark Should Be An Epic Clash
The primary reason as to why some of these aforementioned rivalries did not reach the levels of The Dark Knight was that each movie had other elements at play that took away from the main hero-villain dynamic. As alluded to, The Dark Knight‘s plot was driven entirely by the Joker’s actions and Bruce’s attempts to stop him. Based on what was shown in Superman‘s most recent trailer and some comments Gunn made in a recent article about the film by Entertainment Weekly, Lex Luthor and Superman may have a similar dynamic.
In the article, Gunn stated that everything in the movie is tied to Lex Luthor: “Lex is connected to everything. There’s nothing bad happening in Metropolis during this movie that doesn’t have some connection to Lex Luthor.” This indicates that even Clark’s other battles with the secondary antagonists of the story will be in play because of Lex. Much like the Joker and Batman in The Dark Knight, it seems as though Lex Luthor and the Man of Steel will not be able to escape one another in Superman, reigniting a true superhero rivalry for the first time in decades.
