Ask A Genius 1459: James Gunn’s Superman, Immigration Themes, and Comic Book Legacy
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/07/15
Rick Rosner shares his thoughts on James Gunn’s reboot of Superman, praising Gunn’s emotional storytelling and comic book knowledge. He critiques MAGA backlash over immigrant themes, notes the film’s strong reviews, and discusses the inclusion of a kaiju. Rosner highlights Superman’s rich history and Gunn’s nods to longtime fans.
Rick Rosner: We could talk about Superman for half a second.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Sure.
Jacobsen: Didn’t we already talk about Superman?
Rosner: No. So, the new Superman movie—the latest retelling—comes out on Friday. It is written and directed by James Gunn.
I am looking forward to it because I am a fan of Superman, and I enjoy James Gunn’s work. I liked his version of The Suicide Squad—the second one, not the original—the first one kind of stank. The second one was his, and it was excellent. It had much clarity.
It had emotional resonance. It was just a well-executed interpretation of those characters. Then there was a sequel, Peacemaker, a TV series that I mostly liked. He also did Guardians of the Galaxy, which was okay. However, I fall asleep during most superhero movies.
Still, I trust Gunn to make a film with plenty of watchable moments and genuine emotional resonance. He got in trouble with MAGA people because he said that Superman is a story about an immigrant, and that it is about basic human kindness.
Moreover, a ton of MAGA supporters on Twitter said, “Well, now I will not see it because… You know… f*** immigrants.”
However, that is absurd—Superman has always been an immigrant. He is from a whole other solar system. That has been part of the character’s identity since his creation in 1938.
As of now, the movie has an 85% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 96% approval rating from regular viewers.
So, I like that.
First, it means the MAGA crowd probably will not succeed in boycotting it—most of their boycotts are ineffective anyway. Moreover, second, I want to see a good movie.
That is it. He also did something fun—he turned his dog into a CGI character.
He used motion capture of his dog to create Krypto, Superman’s dog. So… an extra couple of points for that.
Jacobsen: Why did they bring a kaiju into Superman?
Rosner: I do not know. That is one of the criticisms I read—that there might be too much action.
A kaiju is like Godzilla—one of those giant Japanese monsters. I do not know… do they all come up from the ocean floor to attack cities? Yes, anyway, it is in the Godzilla vein.
However, there are tons of other superheroes in it, too. This is because it is a reboot of the Superman story, rather than a sequel to the original.
James Gunn, the director, said he did not want to show the baby crashing into Earth in a tiny baby-sized rocket ship again.
We have seen that too many times.
I forget what else he wanted to avoid, but basically, he has to ease the audience into this new version of Superman.
That means introducing not only Superman, but also other superheroes and villains, including Lex Luthor.
Some reviewers are saying there is just too much happening, too much “business” packed into the movie.
However, I do not know—what are you going to do?
Moreover, I do not know why there is a kaiju.
At some point in the comic books, Superman has fought a kaiju-type monster.
I doubt Gunn would invent that entirely from scratch.
However, when working with Superman and trying to stay faithful to the comics, you are dealing with 87 years of history.
Eighty-seven times 12 is over 1,000 issues of Superman comics.
Gunn probably knows a lot of that history himself—he is a big fan of comic books.
Moreover, he probably hired someone who is a total expert to flag things he might have missed.
You do not have to follow every single thing from the comics, of course, but there is a vast trove of material, and some of it may be worth referencing.
Superman and Batman are our oldest ongoing superheroes.
Both were created in 1938.
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