This List Contains Spoilers For Black Adam!
At long last Superman is back in the The Flash, and the restructuring of Warner-Discovery – many fans have lost hope for a new Superman film, especially with Cavill starring.
Thankfully, he’s back, and Henry Cavill even seems to be preparing for this new saga, with the news just dropping that Man of Steel 2 from the villain to the source material on Reddit.
Soft Reboot
Given the troubles permeating throughout the DCEU from the tonal and thematic shifts to the overhauls happening behind the camera, many fans are hoping the franchise can hit the restart button and begin anew. That goes double for Superman, for while the vision of a dark and flawed Superman is very intriguing, they might’ve overplayed their hand. u/Level_Turnover9233 thought “they might continue the arc of the OG Superman films with a soft reboot for the character.”
That specifically would tie Cavill’s Superman with Christopher Reeve’s and could give the character a fresh start. It might play well with some fans, but others would hate to see his established history erased. Perhaps instead Man of Steel 2 could emulate Reeve’s Superman’s levity and pure hopefulness more while maintaining the character’s history with his rebirth in Justice League allowing for a fresh start.
Superman & Supergirl
Sasha Calle is still set to premiere in The Flash as Superman’s cousin Kara Danvers AKA Supergirl. With that in mind, Man of Steel 2 would presumably incorporate her predominantly – especially if the proposed a character deserving of her own film and/or HBO Max show.
u/thats_ashame thought Man of Steel 2 could be about “Superman teaching Supergirl how to be a hero.” u/BIGBMH ed that kind of story, writing, “A Superman story with Supergirl allows him to be written more like a loving, big brother figure…a side of Clark we haven’t seen.”
Son of Krypton
Another Superman character who could be introduced in Man of Steel 2 is his son, Jon Kent, to showcase Clark as a father. u/ADPIECHRIS stated, “THIS is the Man of Steel I want to see on the big screen!” sharing a copy of a heartwarming of Jon and Clark reuniting – Jon had taken up the mantle of Superman while his father was off-planet.
u/SonOfOriginalMan would prefer a film wherein “Clark is enjoying his life as a family man with Lois and their son, Jon.” Having Jon and this father-son relationship – which was incredibly important throughout Man of Steel – would add the desired compelling element many are wanting to see.
Rebirth
When it comes to what arcs they could adapt for Man of Steel 2, the fans are not short on ideas. A popular option is All-Star Superman in which he attempts to bring peace to the world through Herculean heroic tasks. u/Blurry-Lives suggested “a mix of Supes from Rebirth and All-Star runs,” further referencing Superman: Rebirth which also follows Superman as a father following the destruction of his former universe.
u/Comfortable_Pop_5032 also put forth adapting the Rebirth storyline and went into some specifics. They wrote, “The villain would execute intergalactic criminals before they commit any war crimes…The theme of the movie would be ‘the future isn’t set in stone’.”
What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, And The American Way?
Another storyline many fans ed adapting is What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, And The American Way from 2001. It focused on Superman’s moral dilemma in interacting with a new gang of anti-heroes called the Elite, who, while they would confront terrorists and criminals, would often resort to mass violence and killing. u/DoctorBeatMaker said, “Manchester Black would be the perfect villain for a theoretical Man of Steel sequel and the exploration of Superman’s morals.” Manchester Black is the Elite’s leader, a powerful telepath and telekinetic.
u/ghusu123 also suggested this storyline, writing that it would be “the perfect story to continue building Cavill’s Superman up and would address and expand on the consequences of Man of Steel. It’s the perfect follow-up to showcase that Superman adopted a no-kill after he killed Zod.”
Black Adam
The big caveat for What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, And The American Way is that the DCEU already has an established avenue for Superman to go through this journey. Black Adam gives them the perfect villain to explore this dichotomy further as it tried to do it with Black Adam and Hawkman, to some avail.
Black Adam did prove many theories on how Superman would finally return correct, and despite its extremely polarizing response, it could be the perfect building block for Superman’s future. u/TheJoshider10 likes the idea of the two superpowered behemoths going at it in Man of Steel 2, writing, “we’d finally get the clash between Superman and Black Adam.”
Brainiac
Brainiac is one of Superman’s most dangerous and popular adversaries, and as such, fans have come up with some cool theories about how he could be incorporated. u/ak2sup wrote, “it is revealed that Brainiac had a big hand in the destruction of Krypton, and Zod was working for Brainiac.”
Alternatively, some would prefer to save him for a future Justice League film instead.
Metallo
Despite the time gap, some fans theorize the first film could still lead directly to the sequel, which could involve introducing Metallo, a cyborg with a Kryptonite heart. u/Dreyfussy15 theorized he was “a man who got his body broken in Metropolis’ destruction, pumped up by Luthor.”
That could have Luthor as the man behind the curtain as he has been often in the comics, using Metallo to do his evil doing. Parasite is also suggested as an additional option who could also have been created by Luthor to weaken and take down Superman.
Obscure Villains
Many are hoping the DCEU can embrace some of the more obscure or underrated villains and Man of Steel 2 could be a good place for that. u/Immefromthefuture wrote, “I want them to focus on lesser-known villains… Like Toyman and Metallo. Or Cyborg Superman and Parasite or Livewire.”
There are plenty of great candidates including as u/keef21 suggests, Bizarro and Lobo. They wrote, “Bizarro some ends up in the DCEU universe, he thinks he’s being a good guy but ends up hurting and killing on accident…one of the attempts to stop crime pisses off a wealthy criminal who hires Lobo to hunt down and kill him. Lobo confuses the 2 Supermen and goes after the regular one causing a showdown between the 3 of them.”
No True Villain
Some fans want more of a Day in the Life type of movie with no real main antagonist, rather featuring him saving all sorts of people and fighting against more systematic evils. u/JohnArtemus said, “I want to see something like Peace on Earth meets Kingdom Come where Superman is fighting against world hunger or society’s cynicism.”
u/MajesticMtChocula suggested “I don’t think it needs a villain, I think it just needs a story that shows who Superman is (both personally and to the world now).” This type of movie might be what a lot of fans desire, but it could get too close to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace which drastically affected Superman’s role in movies.
