The nostalgia-heavy first teaser for DC Studios’ Superman certainly provided plenty for fans to talk about over the next seven months while they wait for its release. The cleverly edited teaser gave first looks at not only Clark Kent/Kal-El and Lois Lane but also several other heroes who are already established in the all-new DCU, a villain or two and several members of Superman’s supporting cast. It also revealed the first look a several familiar settings, including Metropolis and the Fortress of Solitude, which will obviously be integral not only to the story that unfolds in Superman but also the larger DCU narrative. Additionally, a closer look at the teaser reveals a third setting that serves both as a call back to one of Superman’s earliest comic book adventures and may ultimately be tied to the film’s central conflict.
While addressing the opening shot of the teaser, which sees a bloody Superman crash into the Arctic tundra likely near his Fortress of Solitude, director James Gunn explained the symbolism of portraying the hero who has always fought for truth, justice and the American way in such a state. “We do have a battered Superman at the beginning, and I think that is our country,” explained Gunn. “I believe in the goodness of human beings,” he added, “and I believe that most people in this country despite their ideological beliefs or politics are doing their best to get by and are trying to be good people despite what it might seem like to the other side or what that other side might be, and I think this movie is about that.” And if Gunn didn’t hesitate to include commentary on the current state of politics in America, it’s reasonable to assume he may have drawn from other ongoing sociopolitical conflicts as well.
The latter third of the trailer contains an eye-catching moment in which a little boy, surrounded by gunfire and explosions, struggles to raise a flag adorned with the symbol of the House of El while seemingly calling out for Superman’s help. Later in the trailer, the same brave boy can be seen on a Luthorcorps monitor as part of GBS News’ coverage of a border dispute involving Boravia. Though it’s not explained in the trailer, additional casting along with a reference in this week’s fourth episode of Creature Commandos have led to the theory that the country on the other side of the border is Jarhanpur and the front page of the Daily Planet seen in the teaser indicates that Boravians–perhaps led by Gorilla Grodd– are likely preparing to invade Jarhanpur when the movie starts which means that’s probably what’s happening when the boy cries out for Superman. And while that invasion may or may not have taken inspiration from a significant real-world border dispute, Superman has found himself involved in disputes in both nations in the pages of DC Comics and his visit to Boravia over 80 years ago may give some insight into what’s happening in the film.
In a story titled “Superman Champions Universal Peace” contained in 1939’s Superman #2, the Man of Steel found himself amid a civil war in Boravia after following a character by the name of Bartow into the country. Bartow, as it turns out, was hired by a Boravian warlord to deliver a horrific chemical weapon to him to help turn the tide of the civil war. As the champion of universal peace, Superman chose to put a stop not only to the usage of the weapon but also the civil war by helping speed up the negotiation process between the two sides.
Gunn has stated that while both Superman and Lex Luthor have been active in their own individual ways for some time when the movie begins, they have not met each other. It’s possible, and potentially supported by another scene in the trailer, that should Superman heed to young boy’s call and intercede in the Boravian invasion of Jarhanpur, he and some of the film’s other heroes may stumble into some nefarious involvement in the invasion by LuthorCorp. Though it’s purely speculative, it’s possible that the scene in the trailer in which Mr. Terrific finds himself under fire by LuthorCorp goons in what appear to be prototype warsuits could reveal Lex Luthor’s involvement in the Boravian invasion. And should Superman choose to step in and, as he did in Superman #2, put an abrupt end to the war, that would certainly garner the attention of Lex. Of course, there are numerous other scenarios that could explain Lex’s disdain for Kal-El; however, given Gunn’s respect for all of Superman’s history, it would not be surprising in the least to find out he drew inspiration from one of the Man of Steel’s earliest comic book adventures.
Source: Deadline
Leave a Reply