Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Superman!
Ultraman’s apparent death in Superman sets up his return as a different DCU villain inspired by the comics. One of the biggest twists in Superman is Ultraman’s idenтιтy reveal. At some point before the events of Superman, Lex Luthor used genetic material from a strand of Superman’s hair to clone the Man of Steel. This new Kal El doesn’t have a consciousness of his own, and he’s controlled remotely by Luthor and his team.
After Superman defeats the Engineer and unmasks Ultraman, he turns the tide against Luthor by neutralizing Ultraman. Rather controversially, David Corenswet’s Superman appears to kill Ultraman, though Ultraman isn’t explicitly confirmed to be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Since Superman throws Ultraman into a black hole, it’s possible that Ultraman survives and gets the chance to return for revenge, even more powerful than before.
Superman’s Clone Might Fully Become DC’s Ultraman
James Gunn’s Superman Might Be Ultraman’s Origin Story
James Gunn’s Superman presents an original take on Ultraman. In the comics, Ultraman is a wicked, alternate-universe version of Superman. Just as intelligent as his prime counterpart, Ultraman uses his powers for evil and ᴀssembles a team of villainous Justice League equivalents — the Crime Syndicate. While the DCU’s Ultraman only resembles his comic book counterpart in name only, Lex Luthor’s Superman clone could eventually evolve into a more accurate adaptation of the comic book villain.
According to Mister Terrific, pocket dimensions exist in the “space” between two universes. Instead of a simple black hole, the destructive force that apparently kills Ultraman could be a wormhole that sends him to a neighboring universe, where Ultraman could gradually become an evil but intelligent Superman. This universe could be Earth-Three, where villainous versions of DCU heroes might be ready to welcome Ultraman as their leader.
It might be too early to add the concept of alternate universes into the mix. However, James Gunn’s Superman features plenty of high-concept ideas as early as the DCU’s second installment. By the time Ultraman returns, a face-off between the DCU’s Justice League and the Crime Syndicate could be set up by other multiverse-themed projects.
Superman’s Clone Could Return As The DCU’s Cyborg Superman
Ultraman May Be Damaged Enough To Warrant A Cyborg Upgrade
In the comics, the astronaut Hank Henshaw blames Superman for the death of his crew and transfers his consciousness to a cybernetic body almost identical to Superman’s. While most of Superman’s foes have had few live-action interpretations, Cyborg Superman has only been adapted to live-action once. In Supergirl, David Harewood briefly played Cyborg Superman before moving on to the fan-favorite Martian Manhunter.
In the DCU, Ultraman’s body could suffer significant damage after surviving his pᴀssage through the black hole. On the other side, an unnamed villain or an alternate-universe Lex Luthor could rebuild Ultraman and gift him an appearance more akin to Superman. Resentful over his humiliating defeat at the hands of Superman, Ultraman could also try to mirror the Man of Steel’s image and make his way back to the DCU’s prime universe to replace him.
The prequel novel Superman: Welcome to Metropolis reveals that Lex Luthor created Metallo prior to the events of the movie, meaning he could use the same technology to transform another character into Cyborg Superman.
Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor could also try his hand at upgrading Ultraman if he gains access to the pocket dimension he discovered. Luthor’s capture in Superman‘s ending definitely won’t be the end of his story. Whenever Luthor returns, he will surely craft a detailed and possibly convoluted plan to exact revenge on Superman. It’s in Luthor’s character to retrieve Ultraman back and improve his clone exclusively because of its symbolic value.
Superman’s Clone Could Eventually Become The DCU’s Superboy Prime
Ultraman’s Defeat May Have Transformed Him Into A Resentful Superhero Hater
After witnessing his world’s destruction, DC Comics’ Superboy Prime becomes obsessed with restoring what he believes is the perfect timeline. His strength is virtually unmatched, and his lack of emotional restraint makes him even more dangerous than evil Kryptonians like General Zod. Superboy Prime has slaughtered entire teams of heroes and pushed the Multiverse to its limits, and all out of a twisted sense of enтιтlement and nostalgia.
DC’s Superboy Prime is a critique of toxic fan enтιтlement and backlash
Similarly, the DCU’s Ultraman might land in a different universe where he becomes disillusioned and violent. The foundations for a DCU Superboy Prime are already set: Ultraman is already a corrupted Superman, and exposure to isolation or a distorted new world could radicalize him further. Upon returning, Ultraman could see the DCU’s superheroes as flawed pretenders, just as Superboy Prime does in the comics. Besides, his trip through a black hole could make him a dangerous multiversal threat.
Ultraman’s transformation into Superboy Prime strengthens both villains’ meta-commentary on superhero culture. Superman’s Ultraman seems to satirize the overly grim and stoic Superman interpretations that dominated pop culture in previous years. Meanwhile, DC’s Superboy Prime is a critique of toxic fan enтιтlement and backlash.
Superman’s Clone May Have Been Sent To Bizarro World
Ultraman’s Transformation Into Bizarro Is The Most Likely Scenario After Superman’s Ending
Although the DCU could reveal Ultraman’s fate to be a completely unexpected one in a future project, Superman sets the stage for his transformation into Bizarro quite clearly. Like most versions of Bizarro, the DCU’s Ultraman is a Superman clone with limited intelligence created by Lex Luthor to be a living weapon.
What’s more, Superman establishes that an anti-proton river leads to the black hole inside Lex Luthor’s pocket dimension. This river is composed of countless cubes that feed into the black hole’s event horizon. In the comics, a defeated Bizarro travels to a cube-shaped world he calls “Htrae,” where he creates an army of Bizarros.
Bizarro develops the opposite powers to Superman. Instead of heat vision, Bizarro possesses freeze vision, and instead of freeze breath, he has heat breath.
Bizarro has been adapted to live-action multiple times, from 1988’s Superboy to Smallville to the Arrowverse’s Supergirl to Superman & Lois. However, the more lighthearted and extravagant parts of Bizarro lore haven’t been explored to the fullest yet. Superman sets the stage for a faithful dive into Bizarro World and an epic rematch between David Corenswet’s Superman and David Corenswet’s Bizarro.
