Often regarded as the face of DC Comics and the epitome of superhero characters, Superman has had an incredibly strong presence in pop culture for decades. First appearing in Action Comics #1 in June of 1938, Superman is best known for his otherworldly abilities and the hope that he represents with the symbol emblazoned on his chest. 

The love and passion felt for the character and his story recently reignited following the release of director James Gunn’s latest DC movie, Superman. It stars David Corenswet as the titular character Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicolaus Hoult as main antagonist, Lex Luthor. The movie served as a relaunch of DC’s cinematic universe (DCU) after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-CEOs of DC Studios back in 2023. 

The movie is bright, action-packed, and praised for being the comic book adaptation necessary not only to revitalize DC Studios, but the movie that will help put an end to the superhero fatigue felt by viewers. 

Despite the mostly positive reception the movie has received from both general audiences and long-term Superman fans, a new movement against the movie emerged prior to the movie’s release.

‘#Superwoke’ was a movement created on social media built upon the idea that the Superman movie contains overly-progressive, or ‘woke’ themes. 

What started as a hashtag on Instagram quickly grew with many conservative social media users criticizing James Gunn’s ‘woke’ portrayal of Superman, urging people to avoid watching the movie. One of the main arguments made by the movement’s supporters is that Superman isn’t a woke character, and that past Superman content hasn’t contained the themes and ideologies shown in the new movie.  

It even got to the point where the White House and POTUS social media accounts posted an AI-generated poster with President Donald Trump as Superman, painting him as a beacon of hope for the US. 

While everyone is entitled to believing in their own political views, I don’t believe it’s fair to label the Superman movie as woke, when the comics have always contained heavy political messages woven throughout the story. Not only does it diminish the work of those who have worked on Superman by painting them as politically driven, but it belittles the core values of Superman and the superhero genre itself. 

[Beware of possible spoilers for Superman!]

Superheroes Are the Definition of Woke 

 While some may be under the notion that only Superman is heavily political, that’s far from the truth. The fact is, superheroes have always been political. 

Both DC and Marvel, the two largest superhero producing companies, began as comic publishers in the 1930s. Around this time, most people were still healing from the impacts that WWI had on the world, while facism was slowly on the rise in Europe. 

Superheroes not only served as a distraction from the negatives of the world, but they helped build strong role models with good intentions that were meant to inspire readers.

Female heroes like Wonder Woman helped challenge gender stereotypes and empower younger female readers. Captain America fought Nazis and punched Hitler, actively fighting against fascism during WW2. The X-Men serve as an allegory for the Civil Rights movement, with the mutants constantly trying to build a place for themselves in society. Countless of major characters in both Marvel and DC today are part of the LGBTQ+ community, and their identity plays a role in their stories and experiences. 

These are few of the many ways that comics have been progressive, or woke, for their time. If the Superwoke community is worried about the Superman movie being too political, they might want to take a look at the source material.

Superman is an Immigrant 

The main part of the movie deemed ‘woke’ was the decision to allude Superman’s status as an alien on Earth to the experience of an immigrant in the United States. 

Superman Director James Gunn does not shy away from exploring Superman’s life as he tries to balance his Kryptonian heritage with human values. It heavily impacts the plot of the movie and overall affects how Superman acts as both as a person [Clark Kent] and a hero. 

When word spreads to Metropolis of the true reason why Superman was sent to Earth, they immediately turn on him despite all the good he’s done for the city. Superman is rejected from his community, the legacy he built being temporarily tarnished by his alien status because the people have been told he’s actually not a good person. At one point in the movie he’s even told that he doesn’t have rights because of his status. 

Now, take those ideas back to real life. 

Countless immigrants in the US have been impacted by President Trump’s moves to ‘Make America Great Again’ through the deportation of illegal immigrants, whom he’s branded as illegal aliens. 

Families have been separated. People fear everyday activities such as grocery shopping and going to school because of the threat ICE imposes on the immigrant community. Despite all that immigrants have done as hard workers who serve their communities, they suddenly aren’t welcomed in a country historically known for its immigrant population.

The movie does well at showing how quickly the media and government can help turn the public’s opinion against a certain person or group. Superman of course acts as a representative for good in the movie, but also as representation for the immigrant community. 

Despite what Superwoke claims, this isn’t a new topic explored in Superman media. Superman being an immigrant is an integral part of his character that has deeply been rooted in his character in the past. 

Take for example, Smallville. Smallville is an early 2000’s TV series following the adventures and coming of age of Clark Kent while he lives in his hometown, Smallville. 

In Season 6, Ep. 9 of Smallville, Clark meets a boy named Javier and finds out that a farmer has been holding migrant farm workers captive on his farm, including Javier’s mother. When Clark seeks the aid of his mom [Martha] to help him save Javier’s mom, Martha refuses, claiming that it would be against the law considering Javier’s illegal status. 

Clark fights back, dropping this bold claim:

“I’m an illegal immigrant, Mom. You’ve been harboring me for over 17 years.” -Clark Kent

The clip circulated online in retaliation to Superwoke, and serves as one of the many examples where Superman’s immigrant status is emphasized outside of the supposedly ‘woke’ movie. 

Boravia vs Jarhanpur 

The second most highlighted topic of James Gunn’s directive was the dispute between two fictional countries in the DC universe, Boravia and Jarhanpur. 

Although James Gunn has outwardly claimed that the movie in no way was written to mirror the Israel vs Palestine conflict with the script being written before the conflict escalated, many on the internet have continued to emphasize the similarities. 

In the Superman movie, Boravia is a US-backed nation set on invading the bordering country of Jarhanpur, claiming that it’s all for the ‘liberation’ of the people. However, this isn’t the case, with Boravia’s main goal being to expand its borders at the expense of the Jarhanpurian people. 

The conflict between the two fictitious countries heavily resembles the Israel vs. Palestine conflict, with one country (Boravia/Israel) invading the other (Jarhanpur/Palestine), disregarding how it will affect the people of the country being invaded. 

With the Israel-Palestine conflict continuing to escalate, seeing a movie such as Superman show that the repercussions of war ultimately falls on innocent civilians feels necessary, no matter what some might say.

Boravia and Jarhanpur are just one of many storylines where Superman is involved in an issue with social and political roots. 

In multiple comics, Superman has fought the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a notorious white supremacist group.

His main villain, Lex Luthor, is a billionaire who uses his wealth not only for weapons and technology, but to influence the US government. 

Despite what the Superwoke community may believe, deeming the movie woke is essentially calling the entire history of the character woke. Superman always has used the influence of real-life events to bring a sense of reality to the stories.

Kindness is the New Punk Rock 

 One thing that Superwoke fails to address is that the Superman movie’s main goal isn’t to politically sway the audience, it’s to remind people that Superman is a character made to do good.

It’s a movie made to inspire younger viewers, to honor the work of past Superman writers, and to pave the way for a new era of superheroes. 

In a time of such political discourse, Superman serves as a beacon of hope, reminding us to prioritize kindness in a world full of hate. After all, Superman did say that kindness is punk rock…and who doesn’t want to be a bit more like Superman?