What James Gunn’s Superman Costume Reveals About David Corenswet’s Man of Steel
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
It may be slim pickings for new DC movies in 2024, but there’s a big one on the horizon. James Gunn’s Superman is slated for release in 2025, and it’s going to usher in a brand new cinematic DC Universe. To celebrate the start of filming, Gunn just released a photo of actor David Corenswet’s Superman costume.
It may not seem like much, but this lone, close-up costume tease actually reveals a surprising amount about the influences behind and direction of Gunn’s Superman. Let’s break down what we can glean from this image and why the movie seems to be drawing from one of the most iconic DC Comics storylines of all time.
Kingdom Come’s Superman
Corenswet’s Superman costume is a major departure from previous cinematic Superman in at least one way. The emblem on this suit is far more stylized than the rest, boasting a stripped-down, angular S shape. This version of the S emblem should be immediately familiar to anyone who’s read Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ graphic novel Kingdom Come.
Kingdom Come is among the most famous and influential of DC’s many Elseworlds stories. It’s set in a future where a new generation of heroes has arisen to forcibly replace the old. These younger heroes lack the restraint and firm moral code of their predecessors, and Superman and the Justice League are driven into retirement after a cybernetic vigilante named Magog executes the Joker in broad daylight. Superman reluctantly returns to the outside world in Kingdom Come, emerging as a rare voice of reason in a world hurtling toward apocalyptic self-destruction.
The design of the S emblem is a clear sign that Gunn is drawing inspiration from Kingdom Come for his take on Superman. That’s not to say the new movie is going to be a direct adaptation of Kingdom Come. For one thing, we know Corenswet is playing a fairly young version of Kal-El. He’s established as Superman by the time the movie begins, but he’s hardly the embittered, gray-at-the-temples Superman seen in Kingdom Come.
But this Kingdom Come influence does speak to one of the larger themes of the new Superman movie. The movie will focus a great deal on the philosophical divide between Supes and his fellow heroes. As producer Peter Safran put it, “He’s kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.” Just as in Kingdom Come, this version of Superman will stand as a testament to a nobler, gentler way of doing business in a world of increasing violence and conflict. The S may look different, but it definitely still represents “hope.”
With that in mind, some of Gunn’s more eclectic supporting cast choices start to make more sense. Superman features heroes like Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, who could easily clash with the more good-natured Superman. Hawkgirl is known for being one of DC’s more violent heroes. Her whole modus operandi is basically smacking things with a fancy mace. And Guy Gardner is infamous for being one of DC’s most standoffish heroes. Arguably the most iconic Guy scene of all time comes when Batman knocks his fellow Justice Leaguer unconscious in a single punch. This isn’t to say these characters will be treated as outright antagonists in the movie, but they do have the potential to be the more jaded and violence-prone alternatives to Superman’s brand of truth and justice.
Brandon Routh’s Superman
The new Superman emblem may invoke the shape of the Kingdom Come costume, but not the color. Kingdom Come’s Superman costume is notable for being one of the few to leave out the traditional yellow background. Instead, it consists of a red S against a stark black background. The black has effectively become shorthand for a Superman who is older and a little disillusioned with the world around him.
As we’ve already established, that’s not the angle Gunn is trying to take with his Man of Steel. It makes sense that while the movie would adopt Kingdom Come’s logo, it sticks to a more traditional (and less intimidating) color palette.
This emblem actually brings to mind another previous live-action Superman actor. Brandon Routh reprised the Superman role for 2019’s Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. In Crisis, Routh plays the Superman of Earth-96 (a nod to Kingdom Come’s release year, 1996). Routh may have been playing the same incarnation of the Man of Steel seen in 2006’s Superman Returns, depending on how you choose to interpret DC’s live-action multiverse. But at this later stage in his life, the character is very heavily based on the one from Kingdom Come, right down to the costume and red and black emblem. He’s depicted as an older, world-weary Man of Steel who retired to run the Daily Planet after the death of Lois Lane.
However, Routh makes a final appearance at the end of Crisis, where his Kingdom Come costume has been updated to replace the black emblem background with yellow. This visual shakeup tells us that Clark has regained his sense of hope and faith in humanity and is ready to become the world’s greatest protector once more. One small color change makes a huge difference for this particular Superman costume.
Golden Age Superman
The S shape isn’t the only element that sets this Superman costume apart from its predecessors. It’s also unique in that it features a yellow border around the red diamond. It’s a bit of added complexity in a very iconic super-suit design.
But again, that seemingly minor detail could tell us a lot about the way Superman is depicted in the new movie. Threads user jdarwinauthor noted that the yellow border is reminiscent of Superman’s ‘30s and ‘40s-era appearances – both in DC’s early Superman comics and in the iconic Fleischer animated shorts. Gunn himself seemed to confirm that interpretation.
This suggests that, as much as the new movie is drawing inspiration from the futuristic Superman of Kingdom Come, it’s also going back to the character’s roots. The Golden Age Superman is notable for being quite a bit different from more modern interpretations of the character, and not just because he didn’t fly at first.
Golden Ages Supes spent less time battling supervillains and more dealing with mad scientists and common criminals. Some of the earliest Superman comics see him lashing out at a woman’s abusive husband and dealing with a corrupt slumlord. Creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster purposely depicted him as a crusading hero of the common man, one perfectly suited for the waning days of the Great Depression.
Could we see something similar from Gunn’s Superman? Perhaps the focus this time is less on a powerful supervillain like General Zod or Doomsday and more on Superman defending the people from relatively ordinary villains. The only major Superman villain confirmed to be appearing right now is Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. This time around, Superman may have to confront an enemy he can’t simply pummel with his fists, but conquer on the ideological battlefield.
The Fortress of Solitude
The first image of Corenswet’s Superman offers one final clue about the plot of the new movie. The suit is dusted with snow, which can only mean one thing when Superman is involved. We’re headed to the Fortress of Solitude.
The Fortress of Solitude is a crucial link to Superman’s Kryptonian heritage. It’s equal parts secret base and museum stuffed with mementos of the lost world of Krypton. The Fortress of Solitude has been featured in both the Richard Donner and Zack Snyder Superman films, and it’s clear it’s going to be a major focus of Gunn’s Superman series right out of the gate.
That’s a good thing. The last thing the movie world needs is another Superman origin story. Gunn’s Superman isn’t that. Again, it’s a movie that picks up after Superman has become a recognizable public hero. But it is important to have that link to his Kryptonian heritage. In a movie all about Clark trying to find the balance between being Kal-El and being Superman, the Fortress of Solitude becomes a necessary reminder of his lost home world.
And, with any luck, the Fortress can be used to sprinkle in all sorts of fun DC Easter eggs. Superman is just the start of a whole new cinematic universe, so why not give fans a fun tease of what’s to come in the years ahead?
For more on DC’s cinematic future, see what to expect from DC in 2024 and brush up on every DC movie and series in development.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
