Look up! In the skies! A new Superman trailer! Alasdair Stuart refuses to come down to Earth as he analyses what it means for the movie arriving in two months’ time…

0.18 – ‘Let’s do it, Cronkite.’

I LOVE that the spine of the trailer, and I suspect the movie, is this interview with Lois. It shows us Lois as something other than a designated damsel, Clark as something other than Superman and gives us some fascinating nuance into the point where his fundamental sweetness turns a little bullish. Also, as someone raised by people who remember watching legendary American newscaster Walter Cronkite, this particular trash talk is both for me and tells me exactly how old James Gunn is.

0.24 – ‘Superman.’ ‘Ms Lane.’

One of the things that bores me towards unconsciousness is the endless debates across all of fandom as to who the ‘true’ character is, or why this costume has a collar, or ‘I liked them but the writing was bad.’ We’ve had a couple of ‘But is Coronswet good enough to be Superman?’ versions of that. I hope everyone who’s said that out loud sees this trailer notes the posture and voice shift here then puts that incredibly tired question to bed.

0.34 – Rick Flagg Sr, Secretary of State for Defense

The way this is cut sure looks like Flagg is who Lois is talking about. Which, given he’s only the head of ARGUS in Peacemaker Season 2 suggests someone’s getting quite the promotion.

0.37 – Smirk

THIS. This, and the ‘Hey Pal! Eyes up here!’ beat in the fight are where things get really interesting. This Clark is as massive hearted and sweet as any we’ve seen before but he’s also chipper, funny and just a little bit of a smartass.

0.47 – Superman Arrested

Superman taken into custody by Rick Flagg, the Engineer who we’ll talk about more in a bit and whoever the gentleman in the black suit is. There’s suspicion he’s everyone from an evil Superman clone to The Engineer’s Authority colleague The Midnighter to Ultraman, an evil Superman from one universe over. My guess is the clone, given that ties into the Silver Age, bouncy style of the movie.

1.08 – The Hammer of Boravia

Who’s the big lad in the suit? Apparently the Hammer of Boravia, a supervillain connected to the country where Clark just stopped a war. There’s also speculation he’s actually Lex, and the suit, in the movie, will be Lex’s usual green and purple.

1.11 – ‘PEOPLE WERE GOING TO DIE!’

And there’s my guy. Clark is good to his core, and nuance is not something he tends to do in his superheroic career. He’s also not wrong, and I love that the movie looks set to explore both that and how he can operate in a world that responds badly to his fundamental ethics.

1.19 – Fanfare/Help

Clark crashing to the ground, a citizen helping him up and the fanfare playing? This movie is going to wreck me in the best of ways.

1.34 – The Engineer

The woman in the skintight black suit throwing razor sharp discs around is most likely Angela Spica, also known as The Engineer. She’s played by Maria Gabriela de Faria here and I have some complicated feelings about the character. The Engineer was introduced in The Authority, a book that started off as an excellent big format superheroic action and shifted quickly to the sort of cheerfully unpleasant dead-eyed spectacle that got a lot of superhero comics a lousy, and deserved, rep in the ’00s. What’s concerning me slightly is The Engineer was always written as a fundamentally decent person, and one of the ‘control’ characters that anchored the human emotion of the book when no one else did. I’m seeing none of that here and I’m hoping she’s a little more complex than she seems.

1.50 – The Kents

This is an entirely personal thing I freely admit but judging by the trailer Clark’s parents are both alive for at least some, if not all, the movie and that’s a huge relief. The Kent family’s unforced, unconditional love for one another is a big part of why I love the character and I’m looking forward to seeing it onscreen. Pruit Taylor Vince and Neva Howell are both great, and I’d recommend Howell’s work as DeeDee in Outcast and Vince’s in Constantine and Identity. Also, Pa Kent being a big, strong kind dude feels like something the character will suit very well.

1.56 – Mr Terrific

The chap in the motorcycle jacket with the spherical robots is Michael Holt, also known as Mr Terrific. Played by Edi Gathegi, who’s best known for his great work on For All Mankind, Michael’s one of the most perfect humans on Earth. Literally. 14 PhDs, an Olympic level decathlete and a genius, he’s Tony Stark without the substance abuse. He’s another really strong character, and if you watched the Arrowverse shows you’ll have seen Echo Kellum do great work as another version of the character. Given the fact Maxwell Lord seems to be running the Justice League, I suspect Michael’s skills and resources, as well as how close he is ethically to Clark, will mean he ends up taking over that role as the movies progress.

2.05 – Metamorpho

Just visible behind Clark is Rex Mason. Played by Barry’s Anthony Carrigan, Rex is an adventurer whose molecular structure was changed into a shifting mass of chemicals by an ancient artifact. He’s a veteran DC superhero, and his presence here suggests that there are a lot more metahumans in custody (especially as he and Clark seem to be sharing a cell) and that he may be sticking around. I hope so, he’s great fun.

2.11 – Guy.

There’s a lot of speculation that Max Lord, the character Sean Gunn is playing, is running the Justice League at this point. Given how similar Guy, Hawkgirl and Mr Terrific’s uniforms are, that seems to track. Nice touch that Terrific is using a ‘chair’ made of his drones too. Also apparently they’re called the Justice Gang. ‘League’ has a nicer ring don’t you think?

2.28 – And speaking of rings!

I honestly do not think the world is ready for Guy Gardner, superpowered meathead. Fillion LOVES playing assholes and this offhanded Lantern slap suggests his Guy is going to be 100% that way.

2.48 – ‘You have a dog?’

Beautiful. Perfect sign off. I can’t wait for this movie, it’s goodest boy and also his dog. Especially as his dog is going to end up popping over to see his cousin in her movie next year.

One last note. I love how much Lex is in this trailer and how little we know about his plan. Looking forward to seeing what it is when the movie releases on July 11th

 

Superman is in four or five titles a month but they’re all a good time. If you wanted to read the titles that inspired the movie, they’re Superman: Legacy, Superman: Birthright, All-Star Superman, Superman: Brainiac and Superman: Ending Battle. But like I say, they’re all pretty fun.

Hawkgirl just starred in a brilliant, character redefining mini-series written by Jadzia Axelrod. It’s collected in a book called Once Upon A Galaxy and you should read it.

Guy Gardner is another character who’s been everywhere. The one that seems like it’s most relevant here, especially as it’s also where Maxwell Lord shows up, is Justice League International.

Metamorpho is the star of Metamorpho: The Element Man which is currently running in single issues

Strange Adventures by Tom King is a very good Mr Terrific story even if it’s not strictly about him.

 All of these are available at your local comic store. Support a local business, not a billionaire! It’s what Clark would do! https://www.comicshoplocator.com/

 

 

 

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