Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jul 13, 2025 | 11 comments

SUPERMAN WEEK EPILOGUE: A SPOILER-FREE guide to give your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, or pal who doesn’t know all those characters!

One of the most read columns I’ve ever published here at 13th Dimension is called THE MARVEL MOVIES: WHAT TO WATCH — AND WHAT TO SKIP, a primer on how best to prepare for Marvel’s The Avengers: Infinity War and The Avengers: Endgame.

As I watched the new James Gunn and David Corenswet Superman movie on Tuesday, it hit me that there are so many characters in the film that Super-beginners or lapsed fans might need a scorecard. The reason is the movie spends virtually no time telling you who they are and why they’re there.

That’s actually, believe it or not, to the movie’s benefit. This is simply a world that exists as it is and you can just roll with the story. That said, I do think it would be helpful for non-diehards to have a basic knowledge of who all these people are so they can better understand context and characterization.

So here is a WHO’S WHO IN THE NEW SUPERMAN MOVIE. It’s SPOILER-FREE so that you can freely share it without worry. It’s just a guide to help.

Also: While I will give you some context just to let you know how long a character has been around — to illustrate that Gunn picked ideas for this blockbuster from 87 years’ worth of DC superhero mythology — I will not be getting into the nitty gritty of where these folks first appeared, who created them, or how many times they’ve been rebooted or retconned since Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938. (I swear that’s the only specific issue reference I’ll make.) That’s not to meant to be a slight, it’s just to make this more straightforward and readable for new and casual fans.

Oh, and is it any good? Check out 13 QUICK THOUGHTS on James Gunn and David Corenswet’s SUPERMAN, which I posted the other day. It’s also SPOILER-FREE.

OK:  Look Up! And Look Here:

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SUPERMAN/CLARK KENT (David Corenswet). This is not an origin story because why bother? Everyone watching knows about Krypton, Kansas, Metropolis, etc. Superman has been around for three years when the movie opens.

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KRYPTO. Superman’s canine companion. From Krypton. Lives in the Fortress of Solitude. Krypto has been around since the 1950s.

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THE DAILY PLANET

LOIS LANE (Rachel Brosnahan). You already know who she is. Has been around since Superman’s very first story.

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JIMMY OLSEN (Skyler Gisondo). You already know who he is. In this iteration, he’s a young reporter (not a cub reporter or, apparently, a photographer) who is more capable and confident than how you probably think of him. Has been around as a named character since the 1940s.

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PERRY WHITE (Wendell Pierce). You probably already know who he is. The editor-in-chief — but don’t call him “Chief”! Has been around since the ’40s.

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STEVE LOMBARD (Beck Bennett). Insufferable blowhard sports editor. Created in the ’70s.

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CAT GRANT (Mikaela Hoover). Flashy gossip columnist. First popped up in the ’80s.

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RON TROUPE (Christopher McDonald). Reporter at the Planet. Dates to the ’90s.

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THE JUSTICE GANG

A proto-version of the Justice League. As far as we know, the only members are Mr. Terrific, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. They are bankrolled by a wealthy businessman named Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn in a cameo). Members of the team wear similar outfits because, branding, y’know?

MR. TERRIFIC  (Edi Gathegi). Tech-genius. The phrase “FAIR PLAY” is written on his jacket. It’s his credo. Don’t worry about it. It’s never explained in the movie and it’s unimportant to the plot. He has floaty weapons called T-Spheres and a flying T-Craft vehicle. Real name is Michael Holt. Originally from the ’40s, this version of the character has been around since the ’90s.

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GREEN LANTERN (Nathan Fillion). There are many, many Green Lanterns. This one’s real name is Guy Gardner. He’s a jerk with a really bad haircut. The jackass version of the character has been around since the ’80s. His green ring does all sorts of neat tricks. Very powerful.

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HAWKGIRL (Isabela Merced). Flies with wings. There have been a gajillion versions of this character over the years. This one’s real name is Kendra Saunders. That’s unimportant to this story. What matters is she’s a badass. Versions of Hawkgirl go back to the 1940s. This one is of a more recent vintage.

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THE FAMILY

Superman, whose Kryptonian name is Kal-El, was sent to Earth by his parents Jor-El (played by a fun cameo) and Lara (Angela Sarafyan). He was raised in Kansas by Jonathan and Martha Kent, played by Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell respectively.

It doesn’t appear that Clark ever had a career as Superboy. It’s never referred to and it seems unlikely. Side note: We already know DC Studios is making a movie about Supergirl, his Kryptonian cousin. She will be played by Milly Alcock.

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THE VILLAINS

LEX LUTHOR (Nicholas Hoult). You know who he is. The Big Bad. A sociopath. Corrupt. A scientific genius. A billionaire. Luthor has been around since the 1940s, but has been depicted a number of ways. The idea of him being a wealthy megalomaniac who likes to put his name on everything he owns goes back about 40 years, to the 1980s.

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EVE TESCHMACHER (Sara Sampaio). Lex’s girlfriend, based on the character created for the 1978 Superman movie, in which she was played by the incomparable Valerie Perrine. This version is less sassy and sarcastic and more a vapid influencer type.

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ULTRAMAN. Lex’s masked enforcer. Appears to be as strong as Superman, if not more so. There have been at least two characters named Ultraman in DC Comics history, including one who is an evil Superman from a parallel Earth (created in the 1960s). A big parlor game for Superman fans going into this movie has been speculating who this Ultraman is.

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THE ENGINEER (María Gabriela de Faría). Lethal operative working for Luthor. Able to freely manipulate the nanotechnology infused in her body in all sorts of dastardly ways. This version was created in the ’90s.

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ALSO… 

THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE. The Fortress is managed by a group of polite robots who share some of Superman’s iconography. The notion of Superman having robots dates back to the ’40s, but was popularized in the ’50s.

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METAMORPHO (Anthony Carrigan). AKA the Element Man, Rex Mason has the ability to transmute into any, well, element, whether solid, gas, liquid, etc. He’s been around since the 1960s, though the comics version is much more of a wisecracking tough guy.

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THE MUSIC. Let’s make something clear. This is not a sequel, a prequel, or an anything-else-quel. It’s a cinematic reboot. So why do you keep hearing John Williams’ old Superman theme in John Murphy and David Fleming’s score? Well, for one thing, it’s the best one, by far. Second, the movie takes its tone from those original Richard Donner/Reeve films. In my mind, that theme should be part of every Superman movie or show, regardless of version or actor. Like the James Bond theme.

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That pretty much covers it. There are cameos and Easter eggs aplenty but to discuss them here would take away the fun of them. One worth noting, though, is Will Reeve, who is a real-life ABC News reporter — and son of Christopher Reeve.

Looks just like him!

Oh, and if you’re wondering whether this movie is “woke”? Don’t believe the anti-hype. An extremely dumb “controversy.”

Superman was created during the Great Depression by two Jewish teens whose parents were immigrants. He was conceived from the jump as a champion of the oppressed and his earliest adversaries included unscrupulous businessmen, corrupt politicians, slumlords and wife-beaters. He hated Nazis and Stalin. He’s always been a believer in equality and selflessness.

He’s no more “woke” than Bill and Ted were when they said, “Be excellent to each other.”

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MORE

— The Complete SUPERMAN WEEK INDEX of Columns and Features. Click here.

— 13 QUICK THOUGHTS on James Gunn and David Corenswet’s SUPERMAN. Click here.