Who Is The Engineer? Everything You Need To Know About The Superman Legacy Villain
When James Gunn's version of the Man of Steel arrives on screen in 2025, he might be facing off against a DC hero who's just as powerful as he is — The Engineer. Though plot details of "Superman: Legacy" are still under wraps, casting news about the first major DC Universe project planned under the Gunn-Safran era has once again begun to break now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has ended. The latest cast edition is María Gabriela De Faría, who's set to play the aforementioned nano-powered character, per Deadline.
De Faría joins a growing ensemble that includes both traditional, universally recognized Superman characters ("Pearl" actor David Corenswet will be Clark Kent to "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane) and more eclectic members of the DC back catalog. "Twilight" actor Edi Gathegi is on board as Mister Terrific, "Barry" scene stealer Anthony Carrigan will play Metamorpho, and "Instant Family" breakout Isabela Merced will appear as Hawkgirl. But The Engineer is the only character in the group who belongs to a distinct DC antihero group, The Authority, making her an especially intriguing addition to Gunn's ambitious-sounding take on Superman. So who is De Faría, and what should we expect from this character? Here's what we know:
Who is The Engineer?
The Engineer was first introduced in DC Comics decades later than some of the franchise's most familiar heroes, making her debut in 1999's "The Authority #1." Created by writer Warren Ellis and artist and writer Bryan Hitch, the character was born Dr. Angela Spica. The Queens-born hero came from a working-class family but as an adult, she ended up working on advanced research related to fusing together humans and machines. Spica is actually the second Engineer, as the first was a man who appeared in an earlier comics run called the Wildstorm Universe as part of a crew called The Changers.
The Changers had ambitious, ill-fated plans to change the world, and The Engineer 1.0 used nano-powered technology in an attempt to end world hunger. By the time the original run of "The Authority" began, The Engineer had been killed, but his research lived on – and eventually coupled with Spica's own to create the nanotechnology that turned her into a superhero. The Engineer's nanotech replaced Spica's own blood, making her form oddly malleable and turning her into a person who is basically also liquid metal. She can use it to create objects, interact with machines, and even shapeshift, though her most instantly recognizable feature is her silvery metallic full-body suit.
Who are The Authority?
The Engineer is one of the original members of The Authority. Far from your typical Avengers or Justice League style crew, The Authority is a ruthless and radical group of heroes (or "heroes") who in Ellis' initial run were put together by influential figure Jenny Sparks after a different supergroup, Stormwatch, was shut down. They operate as a black ops-style team, hence the air quotes around heroes. The Authority often goes to extreme lengths to pull off their missions and have arguably done as much harm as good over the years. Founding member Jenny Sparks, for example, operated as the spirit of the 20th century and accidentally talked Adolf Hitler into trying out politics (no, seriously, that's canon).
The team composition of The Authority changed a few times after the comic's original run, but The Engineer has largely stuck around. When DC revamped its canon with the New 52 event in 2011, The Engineer became more of a villain figure, one who was hell-bent on eliminating humankind and creating a new vision of the world. Not every version of The Engineer is an outright villain, but given the extensive moral gray area within which The Authority operates, it's likely she won't be a straightforward ally of Superman in the new movie.
Gunn spoke about transporting The Authority characters into the DCU back in January, saying, "They are basically good-intentioned, but they think that the world is completely broken and the only way to fix it is to take things into their own hands. Whether that means killing people, destroying heads of state, changing governments ... whatever they want to do to make the world better."
Where have we seen María Gabriela De Faría?
María Gabriela De Faría is set to suit up as The Engineer in "Superman: Legacy," marking the DC Universe debut for the actress and singer. Originally a child actor on Venezuelan television, one of the actress' most popular roles was as the lead of the Spanish-language Nickelodeon show "Yo Soy Franky." She's appeared in movies including the 2018 rom-com "Plan V," 2021's Sundance drama "R#J," the horror flick "The Exorcism of God," and more.
Though "Superman: Legacy" will be her biggest project to date, De Faría is no stranger to edgy comic book adaptations. She appeared as one of the main cast members of the Joe and Anthony Russo-produced Syfy series "Deadly Class," which was based on the Image Comics series of the same name. The show only ran for one season, in which the actress played Maria, a student at an assassin school where tragedy-plagued teen protagonist Marcus (Benjamin Wadsworth) is recruited at the series' beginning. You can also catch De Faría on "The Moodys," another fairly short-lived series starring Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins.
The actress will transform into The Engineer in "Superman: Legacy," which soars into theaters on July 11, 2025.