It is a movie, at the end of the day. No one was harmed because of a change to give Clark something to consider about who he was.
Spoilers Superman (2025) Grade and Discussion
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It is a movie, at the end of the day. No one was harmed because of a change to give Clark something to consider about who he was.
No one involved with this project needs pity. Far from it. And describing a portrayal as a "caricature" because some detail of backstory has been changed is an abuse of language.
You know what Jor-El's message really is? It's
It's a revelation out of left field that shakes up familiar assumptions and reframes everything in Clark's story.
Frankly, it was a great idea. I've been reading Superman for 60+ years, and I'm glad they did something unexpected and different.
I’ve been debating the Krypton thing with comics fans on another forum as well. I don’t really have the energy to argue on two fronts over what strikes me as basically a non-issue. I guess I just feel that people to whom the portrayal of Krypton is vitally important to Superman’s character have very different perceptions and priorities than I do. My reaction was, “Ooh, nice twist,” and promptly forgetting about it beyond its effect on this movie’s particular narrative. It’s a plot device and it’s fine. Nothing of value was lost.
And as demonstrated previously in this thread, the twist really isn't that much different than other versions of Krypton we've seen.
Good thing this film didn't replace all of the previous iterations of Superman. And his entire comic catalog.
For a long time I felt Krypton is too important to Superman’s adventures. Between Supergirl and Superman and Lois - tv series how many seasons had the big bad be Kryptonian? Oh and Smallville too. As pointed out it could be argued AI Jor-El was its series long Big Bad! Krypton mythology can be a great source of stories. But often is lazy crutch. Originally Brainuac was not from Krypton either. I hope part of this choice is moving away from going to that same well for everything. Learning all Kryptonite is apparently gone from Earth is also sign this is not Smallville. Another John Byrne choice that is was very, very rare.
Everything I know about Brainiac is from Harley Quinn...and in that show, he's not from Krypton. So maybe that's on a case-by-case basis.
I should check that show out. Nice to hear that. Brainiac being created by Jor-El originated on 90s cartoons. Where it worked very well. But it complicated things elsewhere. The overlap in similarities in that version of Brainiac and the Eradicator are too many. The reputation that Superman has a weak Rogues Gallery is not helped by many seeming derivative of others.
Making him an AI from Krypton is a very recent development. He's from Colu as far as I'm concerned.
Brainiac
Brainiac was the planetary supercomputer of Krypton until it left shortly before the planet's destruction and traveled the galaxy in pursuit of knowledge. He destroyed the sources of the knowledge to increase its value and sought to apply this to the entire universe to complete what it perceived...
Smallville's Brainiac was played by James "Spike" Masters... Wooo?
It's super weird, because he has an American accent.
As well as the NBC/CW's Supergirl "recently", where "Brainiac" played by Laura Vandervoort (Supergirl on Smallville) a rogue AI who destroyed Krypton. A copy of "her" program was nestled in teen Supergirl's rocket ship to Earth, to carry on the fight against fleshie filth... But Brainiac 5, no relation, a member of the legendary Legion of Super Heroes from the 31st century was an alien from Colu with a tenth level intellect, temping as tech support at CatCo Media for 3 seasons.
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Thank you, both. I forgot their was an animated Superman cartoon. I watched the Justice League animated series and a few episode of The Batman 90s series, but I don't think I ever saw a full episode of that Superman series.
And I completely forgot Brainiac was a Kryptonian program in Supergirl.
I think he has always been Coluan in the comics.
And I completely forgot Brainiac was a Kryptonian program in Supergirl.
I think he has always been Coluan in the comics.
How dare you have such a reasoned and nuanced opinion!
It was started by the 90s cartoon, but really what they did was combined him and another character called "The Eradicator" together. The Eradicator being a xenophobic murderous AI from Krypton introduced Post-Crisis, which technically caused Krypton's destruction because it altered all Kryptonians' DNA so they'd die if they left Krypton. Jor-El found out about this genetic "self-destruct" and was able to cure it but only had enough time to use it on Kal-El and send him away before the planet blew upMaking him an AI from Krypton is a very recent development. He's from Colu as far as I'm concerned.
'Superman' Secrets Revealed: The James Gunn Spoiler Interview
'Superman' director James Gunn shares the inside story of making the movie and talks 'Supergirl,' 'Peacemaker' Season 2, Wonder Woman and DCU's future
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Biggest takeaway:'Superman' Secrets Revealed: The James Gunn Spoiler Interview
'Superman' director James Gunn shares the inside story of making the movie and talks 'Supergirl,' 'Peacemaker' Season 2, Wonder Woman and DCU's future
Even among people who love the movie, there are some who also have enough of a lingering affection for Krypton and the idea of a benign Jor-El and Lara that they’re hoping that will somehow get retconned or revealed as a double-secret trick or something.
They’re shit out of luck!
The problem is, fundamentally, that would undo the entire emotional arc of the movie, right?
That’s right. That’s the whole point of the movie, that Superman thinks he is doing something because it is his destiny and his Kryptonian parents have set him out to do this thing, and along the way he discovers through the love of the people who are actually his parents that he’s doing these things not because of someone else, but because of himself. It’s like taking accountability in the deepest way possible that his morality is not based on some figure outside of himself, but on his own choices. I think it’s really beautiful in that way, and I’m not gonna change that.
And I don’t really even think of Jor-El and Lara as being totally evil. They just have this mindset that humans are less than what they are. We’re sea turtles to them. They’re just trying to keep the Kryptonian genes alive.
Exactly. What they said in the movie is no worse than we have done through colonialism of our past and the West's refusal to make amends for it in the present.
I had read spoilers before seeing movie I expected his Kryptonian parents to be “EVIL”. But most are just parroting Lex’s framing of it. Also I expect part of it is a complete denial of our own problems and history of colonialism.
In Superman 2 Zod and Ursa compared his saving of humans to taking care of pets. That is very accurate of how Jor-El saw humans in those movies. He would not allow his son to be in love with a human without turning him into one. So much of the humanity of that Superman is Christopher Reeve’s performance and Richard Donner ‘s direction. Not the script.
In Superman 2 Zod and Ursa compared his saving of humans to taking care of pets. That is very accurate of how Jor-El saw humans in those movies. He would not allow his son to be in love with a human without turning him into one. So much of the humanity of that Superman is Christopher Reeve’s performance and Richard Donner ‘s direction. Not the script.
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