Is Superman a Punk? James Gunn Weighs In

Punk music features heavily in James Gunn’s films, going all the way back to Tromeo and Juliet. Bands like MxPx, the Runaways, and Bowie help fill out the intricate soundtracks that often go on to be hits in their own right. Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 1 reigned over the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart for 11 consecutive weeks, sold over four million copies globally, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.  A musician in his own right, Gunn led the Icons in the late ‘80s.

But punk is more than just a genre of music; it’s a cultural revolution and a thriving community that is often misunderstood and misrepresented in popular culture. And above all, it’s the exact opposite of the square boy scout Clark Kent. So how did Gunn combine his love of punk with the most wholesome superhero in the zeitgeist, and does it work on film?  

Gunn’s latest feature launches a new take on the world of DC comics. Starting with Superman, the comic book company’s second most popular superhero, is a bit of a risk. Compared to Batman, arguably the biggest superhero in the world, Superman’s light seems somewhat dim. Sure, both his parents are deceased like Batman, and that’s tragic, but he was delivered to two humans who loved him more than they loved their own lives. And Superman didn’t have to watch the demise of his parents, he didn’t grow up alone, and there’s absolutely no vengeance in his heart.  

Tragedies aside, Batman is human. Deeply fallible and vulnerable. When Batman gets his back broken over Bane’s knee, viewers can imagine immediately what level of pain he’s experiencing. But when Superman takes a bullet to the face, the impact ranges from unknown—how much does this actually cause physical pain—to nerdy debates about whether a bullet can even graze his skin? Clark will live either way. Suspense cannot exist when the only threat is a glowing green rock.

Gunn recognized this, and in fact, it’s what burst open the story for him. If the film begins with Superman coming to terms with his first ass-whooping, then his vulnerability is no longer a mystery. Everyone knows what it feels like to lose. 

So at the start of the movie, David Corenswet’s Superman just lost his first physical fight in the field. Back home Clark Kent also fights with his girlfriend, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). She loves him, but his actions in the cape cause her great concern. A trained journalist, Lois questions Superman’s rogue nature when it comes to managing international conflicts. Clark, on the other hand, believes right and wrong should always be simple. If people are going to die his responsibility is to intervene.

In the middle of one of their fights, Lois laments that she and Clark have nothing in common. She sees herself as punk and Clark as pop. Clark name drops a favored band and Lois scoffs. To Lois, the band can’t be punk because punk is edgy and gritty. Everyone likes that band, just like Clark likes everybody. “Maybe that’s what makes me punk rock,” Clark sulks.

It’s nearly a throwaway line. The audience roars with laughter because Superman is a clean cut, morally superior boy scout. He’s the antithesis of the hard edged fringe community most think of when they hear the word punk. But this line, one of Gunn’s favorites in the film, reads like a loud declarative: being kind is punk. 

“Punk rock is going against the grain,” Gunn tells us when we catch up with the writer-director during the Superman press tour. “We live in an age where everything is so mean and so ugly. Everyone is screaming at one another. Right now the most punk rock thing you can do is be kind, be raw, be open, look out for the person who needs looking out for, be unapologetically earnest. I think those are the things that are most rebellious.” If Batman is loved because he is human, then Gunn’s Superman is loved because he longs to be human. And in Gunn’s mind that is the most punk thing in the world, even when we note that makes Superman a bit of a square.

“Being a goodie, goodie is what’s punk rock about him,” Gunn adds. “He is those things, he is Pollyanna. He is old-fashioned, and aren’t we a little thirsty for people like that [because] there aren’t any anymore? They’ve all become mean.”

Thus every action Superman takes in the new film, right down to his costume, is designed to make him approachable to the public. Some may see this as the opposite of the punk aesthetic where piercings, tattoos, and lots of black tend to make up the uniform. Gunn even previously revealed that he felt torn on the little red shorts that make up Superman’s costume.

That is until star Corenswet fought for the shorts to stay. Maybe the underwear is a little dorky, but maybe that’s the point of them. How scared can a person be of a man wearing underwear over a unitard? It nerfs an all powerful being into an approachable fella. Whether or not moviegoers walk away from Superman thinking about the impact of those shorts, it’s kinda punk to stare weirdness in the face and embrace it. 

Gunn manages to maintain the squeaky clean image of Superman while also infusing elements of antiestablishment thinking, particularly when it comes to the murder of innocents. He will stand against a president or a dictator, and with his full being demands that they preserve human life. Is that not punk rock as hell?!

Rachel Brosnahan, who portrays Lois in the film, seems to think so. She describes Corneswet’s performance as curious.

“He’s an alien,” she considers. “He’s curious about and has this great love for humanity. Watching David be able to stay so honest and at the same time show all these colors—to find the humor but from this most grounded place—it all felt rooted in this core belief system. This third character. He’s created this third character almost [in Superman]… So watching that third character come to life was spectacular.”

Personally, I think the third character is simply the man who loves Lois. For it is only with Lois that the epic hero and the naive farmboy can coexist simultaneously at peace. A rebel and a community leader rolled into one.    

The traits of the punk community can be found in most outsider communities. Ravers, rappers, and even K-Pop stans have been considered fringe, weird, obsessives. To the people living within these disparate fandoms, there exists a community willing to support, uplift, and protect one another at any cost. Gunn recently called Superman an immigrant story. Though no one could have predicted the timing, many long for one good person, willing to confront his shortcomings and grow, a person who leads all of their actions unflinchingly with love. Damnit if it’s not the best use of a nostalgic character. Punk is hope in tiny red shorts.