Summary
DC fans take to social media to discussSuperman’s new mysteriousDCUcharacter, and it seems like a few powerful comic book villains are the most likely candidates. Fan theories aboutSuperman’s plot detailshave soared now that James Gunn’s DCU movie is filming in outdoor locations. John Cena’s Peacemaker and Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr., two DCU characters getting their own projects in the form ofPeacemakerseason 2 andCreature Commandosappear to make a crossover in James Gunn’sSuperman, and a third unidentified character also seems to make his debut in the Man of Steel’s first DCU movie.
What makes it difficult to identifySuperman’s new antagonist is the fact that, unlikethe rest ofSuperman’s heroes and villains, this character isn’t wearing a comic-accurate costume that links him to a specific comic book villain.Superman’smystery villain wears a completely black uniform and mask, black goggles, and a U-shaped logo on his chest.However, fans have shared their theories onX:
UserShintonewonders if James Gunn’sSupermanis fusing together Ultraman and Doomsday. In the comics, Ultraman is an evil Superman doppelgänger from Earth-3 whose abilities are enhanced by Kryptonite. The mystery character on theSupermanset is wearing a similar U-shaped logo to Ultraman’s crest, but he’s also wearing a dark full-body uniform and goggles similar to Doomsday’s containment suit. Such an unexpected mix of characters would be a departure from James Gunn’s focus on comic accuracy inSuperman, and it would be oddly similar toBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’s Doomsday, who was born from General Zod’s corpse.
UserUltron Redtheorizes that James Gunn’sSupermanis blending Ultraman and Bizarro instead.ZaxtonRegulus6484agrees, saying that this fusion could be inspired by Earth-2’s version of Bizarro. In DC’s Earth-2 during the New 52 era, Darkseid created a Superman clone and used him as a herald for his impending invasion of Earth. In this continuity, the Superman clone is called Brutaal instead of Bizarro, and he doesn’t have any connections to Lex Luthor.
OtherXusers joke that James Gunn’sSupermanis having a crossover withThe Boys, as the mysterious villain’s costume looks quite similar to Black Noir’s. UserPatpoints out how Black Noir is revealed to be a Homelander clone in the original comics, but Amazon’s live-action adaptation ignored this aspect of the character. IfSuperman’s mystery character is actually a Superman clone like Ultraman or Bizarro, then he would be more similar to the comics' Black Noir than Amazon’s version of the hero.
The Boys' Black Noir is inspired by DC’s Batman.
UserKal-El Atreidessays,“SooooooI’m pretty sure that’s not Ultraman walking behind Superman, it’s Midnighter. Some version of him at least.“It would be logical for Midnighter, a main member of The Authority, to help Ana María de Faría’s the Engineer capture Superman to prosecute him for interfering with The Authority’s government-approved activities. In the source material, Midnighter wears an all-black suit with a black mask, and his gray chest logo sometimes sports a hole in the middle, which could form an “U” shape if extended upwards.
DC Fans Think They Know Who That New Superman Villain Is
Superman’s New Villain Might Not Be A Clone, But He Might Still Be A Very Similar Metahuman
After some speculation,fans on social media have found a DC Comics character who’s more likely to beSuperman’s mystery antagonist than any other DC villain: Ulysses. In the New 52 continuity, Superman helps Ulysses reunite with his parents on Earth years after they sent him to the Fourth Dimension with the goal of saving him from a supposedly imminent catastrophe. After Ulysses transports millions of humans to the Fourth Dimension, Superman realizes that Ulysses intends to use them as fuel for his realm. Superman defeats Ulysses and imprisons him, awakening a deep hatred for the Man of Steel in him.
James Gunn’s Superman Villain Reveal Shows The DCU Is Already Avoiding A Long-Running MCU Problem
James Gunn recently revealed who the main villain of Superman will be, and it shows the DCU is avoiding one of the MCU’s biggest complaints.
Ulysses wears a dark suit with gray bandages on his arms and legs, and he sports a U-shaped logo on his chest. He also wars a mask at one point, though it looks quite different from the one seen on theSupermanset. Ulysses is the kind of semi-obscure character that James Gunn is particularly fond of, and he could fit the “dark Superman” archetype of villains like Ultraman without the need to acknowledge the concept of the multiverse. OnX, some fans have joked that Henry Cavill could be playing Ulysses in the DCU.
Ulysses possesses very similar abilities to Superman: super strength, super speed, flight, and energy absorption he can use as heat vision.
Who Else The DC Villain Could Be
James Gunn’sSupermancould play with any of these characters in countless ways, possibly blending elements of each character into one single “dark Superman” figure.Other candidates forSuperman’s mystery villain are Cyborg Superman and Eradicator, two other dark mirrors to the Man of Steel who have posed as his successors or replacements before revealing their evil intentions at certain points in the comics. Otherwise, anti-heroes like Deathstroke and Manchester Black could make their DCU debut wearing a very different costume before switching to more comic-accurate outfits.
Source:X, various
