If the fan reactions to the Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps trailers tell us anything, it’s that we’re a world divided – not just by politics, but also freaking superheroes. The outrage mob and social media grifters have had a field day with these two properties, pointing out everything supposedly wrong with them. Neither film has been released (bar a few minutes of footage), but there’s already a plethora of Cheetos-powered opinions forming from armchair experts about the aesthetics.
Here’s the thing, though: Whether you like it or not, both films look entirely comic book accurate. Anyone who argues otherwise is likely allergic to comic books or never picked one up before. It does raise an interesting question: Do comic book movie fans even like comic books to begin with?
James Gunn’s Superman looks like Superman and DC Comics
The whole dialogue around James Gunn’s Superman is exhausting at this point. Who knew that red underpants could cause such consternation among the fanbase? All of sudden, because David Corenswet’s Man of Steel wears red bottoms and isn’t in a muscle suit that makes him look like a He-Man figurine, he’s been dubbed Diaperman.
Flip through any Superman comic since 1938 and you’ll find variations of the classic costume worn by Corenswet. Yes, Superman has worn the red underpants for the most part. In fact, it was such a big deal when he removed it from his attire for DC’s New 52 relaunch in 2011 that fans made a stink about it. Eventually, DC decided to bring it back for the character and he wears them now in the comics once again.
It’s fine if you think Henry Cavill’s Supes looks better without the red underwear, but to say Corenswet’s version isn’t Superman based on his look is ingenuine. In fact, Corenswet’s costume even features elements of the New 52 design with the addition of the collar. It’s almost as if Gunn tried to pay tribute to different eras of the character here – what a fiendish thing to do!
Then, there’s also the discourse about Guy Gardner’s haircut in the trailer. Sigh. Again, pick up the Justice League series from the late ’80s to see how the on-screen Guy looks like his comic book counterpart. The same people complaining about how stupid he looks probably cheer Wolverine’s horned hair in the movies because that’s totally a hairstyle that the average person rocks in 2025.
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Fantastic Four: First Steps is like a comic book fan’s dream come to life
Fact: The greatest era of Fantastic Four remains the ’60s and ’70s. Marvel’s First Family feels like it belongs in that time period, as most of their best stories originated in between those two decades. The decision to set Fantastic Four: First Steps in the same period is genius, as it allows the film to tell a proper origin story – complete with the beloved H.E.R.B.I.E. and all the nuances of the period.
Yet, here we are after the first trailer’s release, arguing about the costumes (again, not unlike the versions the characters wore in the comics once upon a time) and the look of the Thing. It’s difficult to determine what logic is being used to debate this beyond the “I don’t like this” attitude, because there’s nothing here that’s overly offensive or outside of comic book accuracy. Maybe there’s an argument to be made about why Pedro Pascal didn’t shave his mustache to play Reed Richards, but then again the character has sported all kinds of facial hair in the comics.
After 2015’s Fantastic Four, which was nothing short of shambolic, fans should be cheering how there’s finally a Fantastic Four movie that looks like it doesn’t try to run away from its roots. Instead, it’s the same-old bickering in the comments section where the so-called experts want to argue about, well, nothing.
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It’s clearer than ever that people don’t read comic books
What the fan reactions to the Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps trailers demonstrate is how comic book movie fans don’t actually care about comic books. They form attachments to what they think to be accurate representations of characters. Whether it be Michael Keaton’s Batman, the Fantastic Four cartoon, or Henry Cavill’s Superman, they accept these versions as the truth and reject everything else. Yet, they don’t see the hypocrisy in this type of thinking, since these are all adaptations too – not the originals.
Of course, it’s okay to love your preferred version of a character and cherish it, but to dismiss the efforts of people trying to pay the ultimate respect to the source material and pretend like you’re right is a new low of clownish behavior. (And don’t even bring the restore the SnyderVerse argument into this anymore as some kind of altruistic reason. Move on. Seriously, it’s not healthy to hold onto the past and be this obsessed over cape sh*t.)
The people who deserve our sympathy are the poor filmmakers, who need to deal with all this nonsense and be mind readers about what the audience wants. They respect the source material and “fans” complain. They do their own thing and “fans” complain. It’s a lose-lose situation because of an immature fandom that’s making Star Wars fans look good by comparison. Maybe it’s time that comic book movies go away for a long while to teach the audience to stop taking them for granted. Because right now, it doesn’t look like it’s a case of invested fans being vocal about what they like and don’t like; instead, it’s just a bunch of clueless crybabies whining because they can.
Let us know your thoughts on the Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps trailers in the comments section below.
IMHO, the people complaining are younger “fans”. I could be wrong, but boomers and GenX that grew up on comics more than movies loved Christopher Reeve and Adam West, not to mention Superfriends, and don’t like Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman as much, so therefore are hoping James Gunn will bring Superman back to his lofted and cherished position as Earth’s greatest hero. I think this is more of a broad generational argument. Younger generations grew up watching the movies more than reading the comic books.