Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for James Gunn’s SupermanJames Gunn’s Superman features a major twist involving one of its key villains, though I think his story has only just begun. In the DCU’s first live-action movie, Lex Luthor unleashes a master plan to kill Superman, one where he’ll still have the world’s approval doing so. Likewise, a big part of his plan involves his enforcer, the incredibly powerful Ultraman.

In the comics, Ultraman was the evil Superman of Earth-3. However, the DCU’s Ultraman is revealed to be a clone of Superman himself, created by Lex Luthor to rival the Man of Steel’s power and share his DNA (giving him access to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude). While Ultraman is ultimately defeated by Superman, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Man of Steel’s dark clone by any means.

Superman Defeated “Ultraman” With A Black Hole

But Is The DCU’s Apparent Bizarro Really ᴅᴇᴀᴅ?

In the final act of Superman, Kal-El fights both The Engineer and Ultraman, as a rift caused by Luthor’s pocket universe tears Metropolis in half. After Kal-El knocks The Engineer unconscious, Ultraman removes his broken mask to reveal his true idenтιтy as Superman’s clone. Luthor initially had the upper hand, giving his creation fight commands due to the clone’s reported low intelligence, confirming his status as the DCU’s quasi-Bizarro.

That said, Superman gains the advantage once Krypto the Superdog takes out Luthor’s drones, allowing Superman to send Ultraman into a black hole. However, I don’t think Superman should be considered a killer just yet. After all, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that a Kryptonian (even a clone of one) could survive and perhaps even escape.

I Think The DCU May Lean Further Into Bizarro’s Comics Origins

Evolving Into Bizzaro From Ultraman

Given his status as a clone and low IQ, it’s quite apparent that James Gunn elected to use the Ultraman name while riffing on the origins of the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Bizarro, a clone created by Luthor. However, I have to wonder if we might see a full-fledged “true” Bizarro in the future, one who was perhaps transformed during his time in the black hole.

Likewise, the Pre-Crisis Bizarro lived on the inverse cube-shaped world of Htrae (“Earth” spelled backwards). With that in mind, I think it’s worth noting just how much of Luthor’s pocket dimension was made of cuboids. Perhaps Gunn intends to merge both versions of the comics’ Bizarro into one for the DCU?

I also think an Ultraman/Bizarro return is likely given how much the DCU’s Superman values life in all its forms. It’d seem borderline hypocritical if Ultraman were no more. At any rate, I really hope we get to see a genuine Bizarro in the DCU’s future, especially now that the Ultraman mask is removed and the truth many had guessed at was finally confirmed by Superman’s ending.

James Gunn’s Superman is now playing in theaters from DC Studios.