Why The Biggest Fan Complaint About James Gunn's Superman Misses The Point

For the most part, the reception to James Gunn's "Superman" has been incredibly positive. The film has earned strong reviews from both critics and fans, with particular praise aimed at the film's sense of campy, heartfelt fun and the lead performances from David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult.

That said, as with any big blockbuster, there have been some critiques and a fair share of detractors. One of the biggest complaints from less positive viewers concerns Superman's fight record over the course of the film — specifically, the number of times he loses fights or gets his cape handed to him.

At face value, it sounds like a fair critique. The opening text exposition of the movie explains that Superman is the most powerful metahuman on Earth, but the next thing we see is him bloodied, bruised, and barely able to move after losing a fight to the Hammer of Boravia. He nearly loses again to the same opponent later in the movie, and in between, he has several moments of near-failure, both in the pocket universe where Lex Luthor locks him up and while dueling various foes in Metropolis.

Here's the thing: I really don't think this is an issue. Yes, there is a certain subset of the fandom that only really wants to see an invincible Kal-El dismantling bad guys in short order. Superman has rarely read more like Goku than he does in this movie, so it's natural that people want to basically see him go Super Saiyan Blue, right?

Well, maybe not. Let's get into it.

There is a phenomenon in modern superhero movies that I'm going to call the Batman Effect — the popularity of comic book characters like Batman and Wolverine — where heroes have become incredibly skilled hand-to-hand combatants, either through secret ninja training or decades of street brawls and military tours. Because of the success of these characters, or really, just because it makes for fun fight choreography, a lot of the action in any given superhero movie defaults to some form of vague martial arts. When it's Robert Pattinson's Batman decimating an entire hallway full of mob goons, that makes perfect sense. But in other cases? Not so much.

Consider the "Spider-Verse" animated movies. In those, Miles Morales rarely gets a victory because of the number of cool kicks he can do. He uses his powers the way a normal person with no real fight training would use those powers, leaning heavily on creativity and tricks to defeat more veteran opponents.

Superman shouldn't really be viewed any differently just because he's the Man of Steel. If anything, his specific power set explains why he might not be the most deft hand-to-hand fighter in the DCU. He's a farm boy from Kansas, not a billionaire who trained with the League of Shadows. His most advanced moves are "hit thing with both fists," "hit thing with head," and "fly into thing with full force and body weight, sort of like a human wrecking ball, and hope for the best." His strength is in his durability — something he is more than willing to put on the line repeatedly to protect innocent lives. In other words, Superman doesn't get beaten up because he fails in his fights. His whole strategy is essentially to take all the punishment upon himself and look for a win condition.

In addition to Superman's lack of proper combat training, there's also the fact that Gunn's film is set just three years after he revealed himself to the world. Any "Dragon Ball" fan will tell you that it takes a long time, tons of focused training, and a decent amount of squatting and screaming while sparks fly off you to maximize your potential as an alien superperson. Clark is still new to this.

Yes, I am aware that this isn't a perfect analogy because Saiyans actually gain strength by fighting, which separates them from Kryptonians. But even still, the principle applies. Do you know how hard you could actually hit a person? Unless you've had the unfortunate fate of being pulled into a number of brawls in real life, the answer is likely no. In most instances, we don't try to engage our full strength because of potential damage to ourselves, or others, or that bookcase you're struggling to move.

Now apply the same principle to the strongest man on the planet, and add in the fact that preserving life is his number-one priority. Naturally, he's going to pull his punches. And more to the point, he likely doesn't even know what the full extent of his power is. Perhaps in a "Superman" sequel, I'd imagine that we'll see a more confident Clark sitting more fully in his own power. But give the man time, yeah? He's got squirrels to save.