That Ultraman ‘Superman’ twist and the comic book history behind it

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Superman.

Aside from the man of steel himself, the most sought-after secret identity in the DC universe belongs to Ultraman.

Before the release of James Gunn Superman (In the rooms now), speculations made a Spirelée area around which was exactly under the black suit of this mysterious figure. When the first photos of Paparazzi emerged from the whole, some compared it to the black black of BoysAmazon’s satirical superhero drama, based alone on the character’s black uniform.

We knew at least that Ultraman was part of the Luthor team. When asked if he was the product of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) who was trying to recreate Superman (David Corenswet), Gunn, the writer / director of the film and the co-head of DC Studios, said Weekly entertainment“I think it’s close. Ultraman is somehow Lex’s thug and is quite powerful.”

His true nature was preserved for theaters.

Who is ultraman from the DCU?

The events of Superman David Corenswet revealed plays ultraman in a double surprise role. After a previous battle that occurred out of screen in events prior to the main story, Luthor acquired the DNA of the Kryptonian strong man. From a few hair follicles, he created a clone, which the technological billionaire nicknamed Ultraman.

Ultraman is not an identical clone. He is tremendously powerful and maintains the same capacities as Superman. However, Ultraman is simple and exists purely to follow Luthor’s instructions, until the exact attack, his manager shouts in his earpiece during the fights.

Ultraman is also the guy behind the Boravia hammer, who arrived in the history of the film early and was responsible for the very first defeat of Superman, forcing the hero to retire in his fortress of solitude for catering. The hammer claimed to be a hero of Boravia who attacked Metropolis in retaliation for the interference of Superman in the conflict of Boravia-Jarhanpur, but he turned out to be a false personality that Luthor designed to dirty the public image of Supe.

The ultraman of this DCU that Gunn built through several films and television programs is not a strict individual adaptation of the character of the comics. Instead, he feels more like a mixture of different elements.

Who is ultraman from DC Comics?

Created by the writer Gardner Fox and the artist Mike Sekowsky for the years 1964 Justice League of America # 29“Crisis on Earth-Three”, Ultraman was introduced as a superman figure of an alternative reality, called Terre-Three.

In this universe, Krypton’s last son turned to evil. Instead of justice League of Heroes, the Union of Vickness of Crime was formed. Alongside Ultraman, there were also dark Doppelgängers from Batman (now Owlman), Wonder Woman (now Superwoman), The Flash (now Johnny Speed) and Green Lantern (now Power Ring). In addition to being bored to be the undefeated criminals of their world, the union has cast eyes on the reality inhabited by Superman and the justice League.

Do you want more cinematographic news? Register Weekly entertainmentThe free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, etc.

Ultraman and The Crime Syndicate have received several makeover in comics over the years, notably from Grant Morrison (writer) and Frank Qwely (artist) for the 2000s JLA: Terre-2 History arc. The character broke out beyond the comics by putting featured in a 1979 episode of the animated series The biggest super friends in the world. Actor Tom Welling played Ultraman in the form of live action on a 2010 episode of SmallvilleWho introduced the character like Clark Luthor of Earth-Two.

Welling Smallville proved to be influential for Superman Stars Corenswet and Hoult, who both mentioned the CW series as the most important representation of Superman when they were younger.

Other notable appearances of pop culture include animated films Justice League: Crisis on two lands (2010) and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths (2024). But the specific ultraman of Gunn Superman Feels more similar to other DC figures.

A bizarre mixture

In the space of Superman-Cllones-Gone-Wrong, Bizarro is king.

The exact origins of this character have varied in the years since its beginnings in the years 1958 Superboy # 68But most often, Bizarro is represented as either a scientifically modified clone of Superman (in some cases by Luthor himself) or a twisted being of another world (Htrae / Bizarro world). Bizarro is more like a zombie than a passable identical clone, but it presents a similarity with Ultraman of Corenswet Superman In that they both maintain powers comparable to Kal-El, but none of his mental or emotional intelligence.

Another superman clone still comes to mind when you think about the context of Gunn Superman. The race on the big screen of Christopher Reeve as a DC hero was another touch stone for the filmmaker. And one of these films, 1987 Superman IV: the quest for peaceThere is a character of the name of the nuclear man, physically portrayed by Mark Pillow and expressed by the actor of Lex Luthor Gene Hackman.

In this film, Luthor steals a superman hair sample to create a genetic matrix. And with the help of a nuclear missile exploding in the sun, it creates a clone.

Ultraman’s black suit in Gunn Superman is also an interesting element due to the story of Superman in black in the comics. He is generally called his “recovery costume”. The steel man carried him after being killed by the bad doomsday in the classic Superman death COMMICAL ARC from 1992. It is intended to help Kryptonian more easily absorb healing solar energy.

The black suit is in several other stories of comics during the decades, including in 1993 The reign of supermenWho presents in particular a partial superman clone, Superboy. This does not mean that Superboy is as volatile or waste as Gunn’s point of view on Ultraman, but the similarities remain.

The end of the summer film of this month shows Corenswet as a utraman trapped in the universe of pocket outside control of the Hoult universe created before its closure. This gives General Zod and his Krypton friends adapted to the dark rushing to the oblivion in the ghost zone of the Decrease of the Decrease Superman II (1980). Coincidence? Probably not. In the spirit of remixing DC Comics of the Past to present new stories for the future of DC, all this is probably both an ultraman inspiration and no.