Superman, Strangely… Weak?

One of the most surprising choices was how often Superman got his ass kicked. At no point did we get the iconic, overwhelming Superman moment—that scene where he reminds everyone he’s on another level. Instead, he was treated like just another member of the team. Equal footing with his superhero counterparts, which just isn’t accurate to who Superman is. The whole film feels like it was building toward that one moment—and it never came. Big letdown.

Forced Cleverness Over Emotional Payoff

There were several moments where the movie could’ve delivered something emotionally satisfying—but chose to swerve away at the last second, like it was trying to be clever. A perfect example is when the kids raise the flag for Superman. Yeah, it was predictable. But that’s what we wanted. That’s what Superman stories thrive on: inspiring hope through classic, earned moments. Instead, James Gunn seemed to say, “You’re expecting this… but here’s something else!”—as if subverting the moment would elevate it. It didn’t. It felt cheap.

Sometimes, superhero templates shouldn’t be messed with. The audience wants that sense of awe. We were robbed of it.

Rushed World-Building

The film introduced a flood of characters—Hawk Girl, Mr. Terrific, and others—with zero backstory. They were just dropped in, and we were expected to already know and care. This has become a pattern for DC: shortcutting the emotional groundwork and hoping visual spectacle makes up for it.

Compare that to the MCU, where Marvel knew nobody really knew Iron Man or the Avengers back in 2008. So they built it slowly, one character at a time, earning our trust and loyalty.

Too Polished, Too Safe, Too Childish

The tone was overly polished and positive—an over-correction to DC’s previous “too dark” tone. Instead of finding a middle ground, it swung the other direction into something that felt hollow, even childish at times. It reminded me of recent MCU missteps like Thor: Love and Thunder or Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness: focused more on quirky characters and “moments” than building deep, connective storytelling.

Final Word

Superman himself had potential. The movie had a few solid bones. But it was rushed. It was timid. It never gave us the moment—and that’s what makes a Superman movie memorable.

There will never be another Infinity Saga unless someone is willing to take the time, money, and creative patience to build something again from the ground up. Until then, we’ll keep getting clever instead of classic. And we wanted classic.