James Gunn’s Superman (2025) has been showing off just enough to keep fans buzzing but not enough to give away the whole plot. We’ve seen glimpses—Lex Luthor, Metamorpho, and a fire-breathing kaiju —but one mysterious figure has mostly lurked in the shadows. Until now. Thanks to a children’s activity book—yes, really—we finally have a full-body look at Ultraman, one of the film’s main villains. Forget blurry set pics and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it trailer shots. This Amazon listing dropped a full head-to-toe look: purple suit, big metallic “U” on his chest, and bug-eyed goggles.
In the comics, Ultraman is basically Superman’s evil twin from another reality. Same powers, less moral compass. He crushes cities instead of saving kittens from trees. So far, in Gunn’s version, we’ve only seen him in quick trailer cuts—getting manhandled by David Corenswet’s Superman or loitering next to Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor like a henchman.
Is he a clone cooked up by Lex? An interdimensional invader? A resurrected Zack Snyder timeline with Henry Cavill in disguise? That last one has fans arguing in Reddit threads. Cavill truthers are clinging to hope that the former DCEU Man of Steel is secretly back in black spandex. Feels unlikely, but hey, stranger things have happened—like Jared Leto’s Joker coming back. Twice.
But let’s not forget, this whole “Lex clones Superman” idea has baggage. Heavy baggage. As in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace baggage. Remember Lex’s Nuclear Man creation? The mullet, the sun-based powers, the cinematic disgrace? Some fans worry Gunn might be remixing that plot. Risky? Sure. But if anyone can turn a turkey into a cult classic, it’s the guy who made a talking raccoon a household name, right?
The real question is: can Ultraman be more than just evil Superman? If Gunn gives him depth—or at least more lines than “RAWR”—he might actually steal the show. Until then, all we’ve got is an activity book and some very suspicious purple spandex.
Would you want to see Cavill return as a villain? Or is it time we let that cape go?
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