Who Is Ultraman In James Gunn's Superman? The Villain Twist, Explained

This article contains spoilers for "Superman."

Superman's archenemy is, without a doubt, Lex Luthor. But the problem the movies have always run into is that Luthor is a normal guy; one punch from Superman and he's dust. So how do you make Lex stand toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel? Traditionally, there have been two options: Either put Lex in a suit of armor, or give him a superpowered enforcer.

Superman movies have always gone with the latter, and James Gunn's new "Superman" is no different. Lex's (Nicholas Hoult) muscle is Ultraman. Yes, the rumors were true, Ultraman does appear in "Superman" as a key villain. However, he's a bit different than the comic book version.

During "Superman," Ultraman stays silent and wears a full body black suit, with a goggled mask resembling Doomsday's.

Warner Bros./DC Comics

But the hints to his true self aren't subtle. He has the same powers as Superman (David Corenswet); flight, strength, heat vision, etc. He also wears a "U" insignia on his chest, mirroring the "S" adorning Superman's costume. Lex is also somehow able to get into the Fortress of Solitude with Ultraman, even though it only opens for Superman's DNA signature. In the third act, Ultraman and Superman crash into the ground together. Ultraman tears off his ruined mask, revealing Superman's own face staring back at the hero.

See, Lex managed to get his hands on a strand of Superman's hair from a battle scene. He used it to make a (much less intelligent) clone of the hero. Not to worry, though, because by the end of the film, Ultraman is thrown into a black hole; hard to picture even someone as strong as him coming back from that.

There is precedent for an evil Superman called Ultraman in DC Comics. However, in the comics, Ultraman is the Clark Kent from a parallel universe ("Earth-3") where the Justice League are villains called the Crime Syndicate. That Ultraman has appeared in some other DC movies and TV, such as the 2010 animated film "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths," where he was voiced by Brian Bloom and characterized as a mob boss with superpowers. ("Superman via Tony Soprano," the movie's script says.)

This Ultraman is instead part of a long trend of evil mirrors to Superman in "Superman" movies.

The first time Superman faced an evil version of himself in a movie was in 1983's "Superman III." In that movie, synthetic Kryptonite temporarily separated Superman (Christopher Reeve) into two halves: the good Clark Kent and the evil Superman. By the film's end, they were rejoined as one.

In the fourth, final, and worst Christopher Reeve Superman film, "The Quest for Peace," Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) steals a piece of Superman's hair. The hair, infused with the power of a nuclear missile and the sun itself, births Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow). Though not identical to Superman, Nuclear Man shares his Kryptonian powers and sun-given gifts.

Hoult's Lex Luthor making a Superman clone from one of Superman's hairs feels ripped right from Nuclear Man. But both of these characters evoke a different comic book villain: Bizarro, the evil opposite of Superman, generally depicted as Superman but with white zombie skin and a backwards "S" on his chest.

Originally created by Otto Binder and George Papp, Bizarro first appeared in "Superboy" #68. The concept behind him has never really changed, but his origin varies widely. Sometimes he, like the comic Ultraman, comes from another universe: Htrae/Bizarro World. (This was the origin Binder devised, for what it's worth.) Other times, Bizarro is instead a degenerated clone of Superman created by Lex Luthor. This goes back to the 1986 Superman comic reboot "The Man of Steel," by John Byrne. "Superman: The Animated Series" also used the Bizarro clone origin.

Despite a long history in the comics, Bizarro has yet to appear in a Superman movie. Given how Ultraman absorbs most of his role, don't hold your breath to see him in the DCU. The premise of an evil Superman is solid, but Bizarro's name just doesn't conjure the same imperious menace that "Ultraman" does.

"Superman" is now playing in theaters.