James Gunn's Superman Makes A Big Change To The Man Of Steel's Usual Story (But It Could Be For The Best)

By Nicolas Ayala

Published May 18, 2025

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Image via Warner Bros.

James Gunn's DCU characters essential to the Man of Steel's story. Superman's trailers and marketing have offered new information about James Gunn's DCU movie, though most of its plot remains a mystery. A few minor parts of Superman's story could be deduced from the trailers if a few details are read as hints.

With so many heroes and villains in every live-action Superman adaptation so far, their narrative relevance has often varied. James Gunn's Superman and the rest of the DCU may guarantee that Superman's closest allies will remain an important part of the franchise longer than usual.

Ma & Pa Kent Will Likely Survive The Events Of James Gunn’s Superman

Jonathan And Martha Kent Seem To Be Present Late In Superman's Plot

Ma and Pa Kent caress an injured Clark Kent in James Gunn' Superman

The new official trailer for James Gunn's Superman includes a brief shot where Jonathan and Martha Kent tend to Superman's wounds in what seems to be their farm. Superman is unconscious on his bed, sporting the dirty and damaged costume he's wearing in the scene where he reunites with the Justice Gang and and the scene where he hugs Lois Lane while Guy Gardner fights the mysterious orb in the sky. The shot where Superman recovers at the Kents' house may take place late in the movie, probably after Superman's fight with the kaiju and possibly after his arrest and his battles with the Hammer of Boravia and Ultraman.

The DCU Can Give Ma & Pa Kent Much More To Do Than Previous Movies

Jonathan And Martha Kent Can Go Way Beyond Superman's Origin

Jonathan and Martha Kent usually play a central role in Clark Kent's upbringing, but they're often relegated to dead mentor figures or minor characters. For instance, Richard Donner's Superman and Smallville kill off Pa Kent to teach Clark Kent he can't always save everyone. The 1950s Adventures of Superman series establishes that Pa Kent died before the show begins, and both Supergirl and Superman & Lois suggest Earth-38's Jonathan and Martha Kent are already dead. In Man of Steel, Jonathan Kent refuses Clark’s help in order to protect his secret and dies in a tornado.

After Superman, Jonathan and Martha Kent could continue to be Superman's primary source of encouragement and their farm could continue to be his ultimate safe place

The official trailer for James Gunn's Superman suggests Ma and Pa Kent will be alive all throughout the movie. A tragic, sentimental, or unexpected death isn't the only way for Clark Kent's ing parents to leave a mark on Superman. As the Superman trailer suggests, Clark's parents will likely provide him with and advice. After Superman, Jonathan and Martha Kent could continue to be Superman's primary source of encouragement and their farm could continue to be his ultimate safe place.

Jonathan & Martha Kent Are Key To Superman’s Story

Ma & Pa Kent Are A Big Part Of The Reason Why Superman Is DC's Biggest Hero

The Kents take in Superman as their child and shape his values and sense of responsibility as a regular human kid, turning the extraterrestrial Kal El into the irrevocably human Clark Kent. Thanks to Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark learns the importance of humility, selflessness, and generosity. Clark Kent is much more of a Kansas boy than a Kryptonian superhero. After his larger-than-life fights, Clark takes off the costume and cape, heads back home, and returns to his roots as the Kents' beloved child.

Superman looking annoyed in the Superman trailer

I’m Glad Superman’s New Trailer Doubles Down On The Most Controversial Part Of The First One

The new Superman trailer emphasising a divisive element of the original trailer helps to reinforce the point behind a decision made with the DCU hero.

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James Gunn's Superman promises to be a movie all about hope. While Jonathan and Martha Kent can instill hope in Superman at the time of their death, the DCU adaptations of these characters have the potential to go beyond a traditional "dead mentor" role and carry Superman's main theme in other ways. The Kents could be recurring characters who pop up in future Superman sequels and other DCU projects, where they could provide the Man of Steel and other characters with valuable advice and a breath of relief in between their battles.