BTS ISSUE: Superman Was Not as Super as it Seemed

DC’s new take on Superman creates a good family-movie but lacks substance

Anika Sanka, Co-Editor-in-Chief

August 8, 2025

Superman title scene in an IMAX theater.

Superman is the good guy. The good samaritan, justice-serving, all-American legend who is there to lead the way and is known as the first true superhero. In other words, he’s old. He hasn’t had his own movie since 2013, and countless different versions of his character have appeared in the media since long before I was born. So sitting down for the 2025 Superman film, I found myself wondering if this version would live up to expectations.

Lately, I’ve been conditioned to superhero movies where there is a more serious overall tone. The main character has to battle through intense trauma and shame and is often burdened by their attempt to balance their duty to the people and their “normal” life. DC’s last representation of Superman [Henry Cavill] in the 2013 Man of Steel portrayed a brooding and introspective Superman as an outsider figuring out his identity in a cynical world. It emphasized realism, with a lot of muted colors and dramatic tension.

This Superman [David Corenswet], to say the least, was cheesy.

It was a hopeful, lighter, and emotionally warm movie with clear influence from the original comic books, bringing in lots of side characters. It ended with Superman embracing his more human side and reaffirming his belief in humanity. James Gunn’s version leans into the classic charm of Superman with more humor, vibrant visuals and a brighter outlook.

So although this might have been a family favorite, personally, this movie did not live up to the hype. Many of the jokes did not seem to land, and the inclusion of many seemingly random side characters felt out of place and forced. Although, Mister Terrific [Edi Gathegi] was one of my favorite characters of the movie I would’ve loved to see at least a part of his backstory, or the backstories of any other of the characters in the “Justice Gang.”

Additionally, I felt like the movie being set three years after Superman had already been established as a hero took away from the plot overall. One of my favorite parts of movies is seeing the romantic subplot develop, but the movie starts with Superman already in a relationship with Lois Lane [Rachel Brosnahan]. On top of that, Lex Luthor [Nicholas Hoult] already hates him and several people already know his true identity. This made the movie lack context and feel rushed.

Lastly, don’t hate me, but the dog was not my favorite. Krypto is Superman’s super-powered (and super-poorly trained) dog who rushes in to not-so successfully save the day on multiple occasions throughout the movie. While he was a cute addition, he felt out of place for this movie and took the focus off Superman.

All in all, if you prefer your superhero movies more cheesy, lighthearted and modern, then Superman is for you. Unfortunately, it just seems to lack the depth and world-building every good superhero movie needs.

Donate to Knight Writers

$400

$1500

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Robinson High School - FL. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributor

Anika Sanka, Content Co-Editor-in-Chief

Anika Sanka is a senior at Robinson High School and is the co-editor-in-chief (EIC) of the Knight Writers. This is her third year on staff. In her freshman year, even though she wanted to be on newspaper, she chose to do an AP elective. The following year, she joined the newspaper after being recommended to it by her cousin, Vikram Sambasivan, a former EIC of the Knight Writers. “I really wanted to do an elective that wasn’t an AP just to boost my GPA, but something I could actually do something in. I also wanted to improve my writing,” Sanka said. Being an EIC this year, Sanka has many goals for the newspaper as a whole. One of them is to earn an All-Florida award from the Florida Scholastic Press Association. “I think we are very capable of it. I’m honestly so happy I am EIC now,” Sanka said. “I now have the position and ability to implement things so we can be a really be a well-structured newspaper and win these awards.” Outside of newspaper, Sanka enjoys spending time playing sports. She is on the varsity track team, but she also likes to find time to play other sports as well. “In middle school, I did rowing for a while; that was fun, but I just wasn’t the best at it. I always found my way back to running. I love track. I love our community, and I love the team. I’ve also been dancing for a while. I like doing sports and activities like this just for fun,” Sanka said. When Sanka isn’t running or working, she enjoys spending free time watching 2000s movies with friends. In addition, Sanka doesn’t have a particular favorite music artist, but her favorite music genres are pop, rock and indie. “[My favorite movie is] ‘She’s the Man.’ It’s a 2000s movie, and it has Amanda Bines in it, and I just love her movies. The 2000s are just so good, and they are comfort movies,” she said. Being a senior, Sanka wants to go to Emory University in Atlanta or the University of Florida. She wants to study law or journalism “It [Emory University] is beautiful, it has nature, and cool extracurriculars. I want to go into law or journalism; something in the English and communications field. They have cool political science programs which I want to go into,” Sanka said. (Profile by Allison Bartlett)