James Gunn's Superman Proves Zack Snyder's Take On The Character Was Always Nonsense

Just like Spider-Man, Batman, and James Bond, everyone has their favorite iteration of Superman. In the case of Clark Kent's alter ego, however, there's no doubt that the newest iteration of the Man of Steel, played by David Corenswet in James Gunn's "Superman," surpasses the previous one simply because it leans into just how truly good Superman is. That's something Henry Cavill's solo outing in Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" and his subsequent appearances as the Last Son of Krypton never truly accomplished.

I want to make it clear that this is not another screed against the Snyderverse. The internet has enough of those as it is. Zack Snyder's attempt at bringing the DCEU to life was a struggle, but the 2013 take on Supes is still one of his best movies. While I'm not a particularly big fan of the franchise as a whole, there's no doubt that his take on Krypton and Superman's effort to show he's the planet's hero and not its enemy still hits the spot in some places ("I grew up in Kansas, General. I'm about as American as it gets"). Even Zimmer's score does indeed give the original classic theme (which even Gunn couldn't go without) a run for its money. That being said, there's too much in "Superman" that highlights, after all this time, just how much "Man of Steel" got wrong.

James Gunn might be beginning a new era of gods and monsters with the DC Universe, but as clearly shown throughout Corenswet's affable performance and his writer/director's lighthearted script, the hero at the center of its first big-screen chapter is a guy with everyday problems. He's trying to hide a secret office romance, he's babysitting a dog that is borderline untrainable, and he's trying not to step on any other super colleagues' toes with his job on the side. It's through these dilemmas, blended with efforts to avert catastrophe, that we see an alien not just fighting for humanity, but being human in his own way, which is something Superman always should be and Snyder's "Man of Steel" protagonist just wasn't.

Superman may have always been bound by messianic comparisons, but in Snyder's outing, Kal-El's godliness is pushed to the forefront, even including a brief talk with a priest. While it's undoubtedly an unavoidable trait of what makes Superman super, Cavill's Superman always felt distant, never quite encompassing the friendly hero he's shown to be in so many avenues of popular culture. Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne was right to fear this outsider because there were never moments when we saw him truly walk among us. For Gunn's version, both Superman and Clark Kent interact with the locals of Metropolis, making the world they're so set on saving a believable and enjoyable place to be in, and one that welcomes their new hero. Above all, though, at no point in this Superman movie does he ever show killer tendencies.

Long before Thanos did it, Kal-El performed a snap that was heard around the world, and it was one of many life and death choices in Snyder's Superman story that have been debated ever since. Between breaking the neck of Zod (Michael Shannon) and letting his Earth-bound father, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), get swept away in a tornado, there were some choices that just didn't land well with audiences (and that was before the terrible move of killing Superman himself in the next movie). That's not the hero we should be looking to "join in the sun," as Russell Crowe's Jor-El pitched. Superman should be the hero who, as rightfully stated by Corenswet's version, is driven by his humanity first and foremost. Killing isn't in this Superman's skill set, and making that clear in the new movie highlights just how much of a mistake it was in the Snyderverse.

Even after the box office success "Superman" has become, the argument will still continue that Cavill is the superior Superman next to the new Big Blue on the block. Perhaps if different decisions had been made and we got a more upbeat story in "Man of Steel," that might've been the case. As it stands, though, "Superman" proves that Snyder's struggle with the character resulted in a tonally off-kilter Kryptonian the world didn't need. Now, thanks to the chipper, bashful day-saver Corenswet has brought to the screen, things are finally looking up for Superman again.

"Superman" is in theaters now.