The movie that was meant to kick off the DCEU was Man of Steel, but the movie made some major missteps when Clark Kent was first introduced. The character of Superman is absolutely iconic, but Man of Steel showed viewers a darker, grittier Superman than they had ever seen before.
Not only did the man seem immensely out of character, but this characterization seems to have stuck. Throughout the DCEU, Clark Kent has been continuously misrepresented, misinterpreted, and just plain misunderstood. While fans hope that Superman will soon be saved, his DCEU history thus far does not inspire much optimism.
10 Superman Is Not Batman
When Christopher Nolan made his Batman trilogy, he was inspired by darker, grittier takes on the Batman character in the comics. While this makes sense for the framing of his specific films, this tone, unfortunately, continued to exist in the DCEU. Despite the fact that the DCEU’s first movie is Man of Steel, the tone of the film is dark and gloomy like a Nolan Batman movie. Superman is dramatically different than Batman, and framing him as a gloomy character with a dark tone just doesn’t suit the character. He’s not a cynical guy, and moments of darkness for him are few and far between.
9 Clark Kent Is A Happy, Positive Guy
In Man of Steel and throughout the DCEU, Superman doesn’t seem happy ever. The only time he even seems to enjoy himself in Man of Steel is when he briefly laughs and smiles while discovering his power of flight.
Besides that moment, the DCEU’s Superman is a grim guy who doesn’t want to have fun with anybody. He broods like Batman, rather than having the actual sunny, positive outlook that Clark Kent is supposed to have. The two of them are two sides of a coin, and that doesn’t work if Clark isn’t bringing the light and optimism to counter the darkness.
8 Superman Should Be A Superhero, A Celebrity, And An Icon
Almost instantly after Superman is introduced to the DCEU, the culture within the movies starts to tear the man down. As opposed to the MCU, where the public actually engages with its heroes in a reasonable sense, the DCEU uses people as a conflict for the superheroes. Society turns on Superman with shocking speed for a character that is meant to be a symbol of hope, no matter what. If he fails, in the comics, he works to rebuild that image, but the DCEU has never successfully given him that image in the first place. They have made attempts, and hopefully, this will improve in the future — but as it stands now, Superman being an enemy of the people is not a welcome facet for fans.
7 Superman Instantly Became A Murderer
One of the sadder storylines for Superman in the comics is that he once had to kill Zod, one of the only Kryptonians left — if not the only other Kryptonian left, as far as Clark knows. Clark killed Zod again in Superman II, and as soon as Clark was introduced to the DCEU in Man of Steel, he killed Zod yet again.
The film introduces Superman and has him become a murderer in the same film. While Superman has killed, he actively tries not to and has a strong moral compass. The fact that he killed Zod — even though he felt forced to — felt out of place. If this was ever going to happen, it certainly happened far too soon.
6 Holding Henry Cavill Back
The problem with forcing Clark Kent to act a certain stilted, conserved way is that Henry Cavill is not given enough space to truly perform as the character. As viewers have seen in Henry’s other projects, like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Witcher, he is an extremely talented actor with an impressive range. However, the DCEU has not once truly given Henry Cavill space and freedom to explore the character as he actually sees fit. It’s clear that he understands the character he portrays, but as long as the DCEU continues to distrust him and hold him back, he will never be allowed the space he truly deserves as Clark.
5 Lex Luthor And Superman Haven’t Clicked Yet
According to their audiences, the MCU and the DCEU both struggle from villain problems. The DCEU has a bad habit of fleetingly introducing villains and not giving them any significant grounding. Jared Leto’s Joker immediately comes to mind, as does Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. Lex is Superman’s primary villain, as well as one of the primary villains of the Justice League, but he just feels off the rails and inconsistent in the DCEU. There’s nothing concrete or grounded about the character, and his conflict with Superman just seems contrived. The two of them basically just fight because they have to, rather than having any real problems.
4 Too Much Uncertainty Around Superman’s Future
While the MCU tries to lock down its actors for an extended period of time over a certain amount of films, so they can plan around the actors’ duration in the franchise, the DCEU does no such thing. They sign actors for one-offs and have a hard time getting actors to return to the franchise.
As Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson swap the role of Batman, fans are nervous that Henry Cavill may not return to the DCEU. Though it was reported back in 2018 that Henry Cavill would be leaving Warner Brothers, this has since been disputed, and Henry Cavill said he wants to come back. With no official statement, either way, it’s impossible for the longevity and the big picture plot of the character to be planned in the DCEU.
3 Superman Is Not A God
Superman is not a God, he is not a Christ figure, and he is not a sacrificial messiah. What Superman is, is an immigrant, an alien, and a lonely soul. He is not a human, but he lives among humans; he is a Kryptonian, but Krypton no longer exists. Above all else, Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to be a refugee. All Superman wants is to be a child of both worlds, both honoring his home of Krypton while protecting his new home on Earth. In fact, Superman is famously referred to as the Last Son of Krypton. Portraying Superman as some god-like being is a fundamental misunderstanding of who he truly is.
2 Clark Kent Is More Than His Superpowers (And He Has Way More Superpowers)
If a Superman fan only watched his appearances in the DCEU, they would have no idea how many superpowers the character truly has. Some of his most iconic abilities — including his genius-level intellect — have not been depicted in the franchise just yet. While viewers remain optimistic that more of Clark’s superpowers will soon be revealed, all they have really seen so far are strength, flight, heat vision, super senses, and inconsistent invulnerability. Clark Kent uses more than just brute strength to be Superman in the comics, proving he is more than just these abilities, but he has no such opportunity in the movies.
1 Superman Is A Beacon Of Hope And The Man Of Tomorrow
Above all else, Superman is a beacon of hope. Commonly referred to as not only the Man of Steel but the Man of Tomorrow, Superman symbolizes hope for the future and for a better tomorrow that people themselves can create. The character of Superman inspires hope amongst humanity in the comics and in real life. When fans saw Superman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice say, “Nothing stays good in this world,” they knew that this was not really Superman. The Superman they know knows there is always good in this world, and that’s why he fights: to restore good, protect people, deliver justice, and maintain peace, always.