One Of James Gunn's Superman Characters Was Created By The Godfather's Writer

One of the best characters in James Gunn's 2025 film "Superman" is easily Eve Teschmacher, played by Sara Sampaio. Eve is the girlfriend of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), but she doesn't share his sense of ambition or villainy. Indeed, she's more of a classic "ditz" archetype, obsessed with selfies and fashion; the first time we see her in "Superman," she's snapping selfies while Superman (David Corenswet) and a mysterious, all-powerful villain called The Hammer of Boravia duke it out over the streets of Metropolis. She seems to be oblivious, and Lex treats her as if she's dumb. 

But, of course, she's not. Eve is terrified. She dares not confront Lex because he's abusive to her. Her flightiness is a survival tactic, a way to deflect negative attention from her temperamental lover. Her only escape is communication with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), one of the reporters at the Daily Planet. She longs to be with Jimmy, a much nicer guy, and leaks information to him to stay on his good side. Eve is one of the more relatable characters in "Superman," as she only has her own wits to survive and only relatable, everyday tools at her disposal. And she's good at heart. She's not dumb or ditzy, she's energetic and alert.

Eve is an all-new version of a character that was originally created for Richard Donner's "Superman" back in 1978. In Donner's film, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is also dating a somewhat clueless Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) who goes along with his schemes. In that film, however, Eve frees a trapped Superman (Christopher Reeve) when she realizes that Lex Luthor might kill her mother in his destructive ploys. 

The 1978 "Superman," one might recall, was co-written by Mario Puzo, the author of "The Godfather," series, both the novels and the screenplays to Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptations. It's wild to think that the selfie-snapping "ditz" character came from the same mind that brought us Vito Corleone.

Donner and Puzo clearly felt that Lex Luthor, as he appeared in the original "Superman" comics, wasn't dramatic enough on his own. At the very least, Puzo felt that he should have some compatriots to talk to. As such, he invented a girlfriend, Eve Teschmacher, and a bumbling sidekick named Otis (Ned Beatty). Luthor is a mad genius without scruples, but only manages to surround himself with people who are either too oblivious to grasp the true depths of his villainy (Eve), or too stupid to question him (Otis). The message here, of course, is that wicked people rarely attract the best and brightest. Lex has no real peers, and definitely has no friends. No one likes him.

Eve isn't stupid in Donner's "Superman," either. She may be a little oblivious at first, but she eventually begins to witness how evil Lex is, especially when he wraps a Kryptonite necklace around Superman's neck. Seeing that Lex is going to go through with an elaborate scheme to destroy large parts of the United States (he has aimed a nuclear missile at Hackensack, New Jersey), Eve has an attack of conscience. She ends up removing Superman's Kryptonite necklace, allowing him to go save the world. 

Eve Teschmacher slipped into "Superman" canon after that. A version of the character has appeared, via small cameos, in "Superman" comics, having turned up in 2000's "JLA: Earth 2" and in 2016's DC Rebirth event. A re-named version of Eve turned up in the "Smallville" TV show in 2001, where she was called Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman). Eve Teschmacher also had a small role in the 2016 "Supergirl" TV series, where she was played by Andrea Brooks. 

James Gunn's "Superman" is the first appearance of Eve Teschmacher on the big screen since 1980's "Superman II." Thankfully, Gunn treated her with the utmost respect.