The trailer for James Gunn's Superman, the most highly anticipated movie of the year for most comic fans, has finally dropped, and it seems that the greatest virtue of the film will be the way it captures the essence of comics' greatest superhero, in a way that should lead to a surge in new readers for DC Comics.

DC's official Superman trailer certainly promises a cinematic spectacle, the kind of summer blockbuster superhero movies were born to be, but the way it evokes the comics may very well define its legacy.

In a way, the “point” of any superhero movie should be to inspire such awe in audiences that they need to see more of the hero, particularly in their original comic book incarnation. It seems James Gunn’s Superman is poised to do exactly that, and in fact, creating legions of new DC readers would be as much of a success as major box office numbers.

James Gunn's "Superman" Can Tell An Essential Man Of Steel Story That Draws Fans To The Comics

The Trailer For The Film Suggests This Is Gunn's Goal

For starters, it is worth praising the Superman trailer as a trailer in itself. Movie trailers, especially for massive tentpole superhero films, actually require a great deal of nuance, in order to give a full sense of a movie like Superman's scope and ambition, without giving away too much of the plot. Compare this trailer, for instance, to the ones for Marvel's Captain America: Brave New World, which betrayed much of the film's plot, and over-asserted the role of Red Hulk in the final cut, to the dismay of fans. Superman, by contrast, promises a lot, while spoiling little.

As much action as has been packed into Superman comics over the past century, this is what keeps readers coming back: the draw of watching a character like Superman navigate the ups and downs of heroism.

What the trailer does tell fans is that James Gunn seems to be striving more for style over substance with his take on Superman, which will do more than just showcase the character’s incredible feats of strength and superheroism, but also interrogate the complex questions that come with the Superman character. As much action as has been packed into Superman comics over the past century, this is what keeps readers coming back: the draw of watching a character like Superman navigate the ups and downs of heroism.

In other words, many great Superman stories are defined not by pushing the limits of the Man of Steel's powers, but rather by testing how much he can endure and still remain the stalwart hero he has become synonymous with in popular culture. At the very least, the first trailer for the new Superman movie captures this feeling; if that is reflected in the final product, it will be all-but-guaranteed to be a satisfying cinematic interpretation of the character, one that should direct droves of new fans back to the best Superman comic book stories.

Gunn's "Superman" Has The Potential To Do For The Hero What Christopher Nolam Did For Batman

Giving Mainstream Audiences A Greater Appreciation For The Character

Comic book adaptations have become an art, and a genre, entirely unto themselves over the past twenty-five years, but it should not be forgotten their original purpose: to draw more mainstream attention to superhero characters and stories. Contemporary comics are often looked at, especially by non-readers, first and foremost as potential source material for future films, but in truth, the best superhero films are effectively massive ments for the comics. Perhaps the best example of this is Dark Knight trilogy.

Nolan borrowed plot elements and aesthetic choices from the comics, and generally exhibited a great deal of inspiration from the comics, but his films were inherently about creating their own live-action version of Batman and Gotham. Chief among the successes of these movies was that they left the viewer wanting more, specifically more Batman. It pointed readers in the direction of the vast canon of Batman stories at DC Comics; essentially, Nolan set out to make a case to a wider audience why Batman is cool, and he achieved that goal; now, James Gunn can do the same with Superman.

Making Superman Relatable Is Always One Of The Challenges Of The Character, And James Gun Seemingly Nails It

David Corenswet's Superman Feels Human

The comic book version of Superman, naturally, has had a variety of interpretations over the years of DC lore, yet each take on the Man of Steel is, to some degree or another, an extrapolation of the same core elements that have defined the character for decades. The latest Superman movie seems designed to remind audiences, beat-after-beat, what makes Superman the archetypal hero, while still modernizing him, and the film's ing characters, in ways that viewers, especially younger, newer fans, can still readily relate to, or at least understand.

James Gunn’s Superman, as portrayed by David Corenswet, feels vulnerable, at least from the trailer, which will make it all the more triumphant when he overcomes whatever adversity the film has in store for him.

That raises another important aspect of any Superman story, and especially any Superman adaptation. More than just modernizing the character, contemporary Superman storytelling needs to humanize him. James Gunn’s Superman, as portrayed by David Corenswet, feels vulnerable, at least from the trailer, which will make it all the more triumphant when he overcomes whatever adversity the film has in store for him and proves why he truly deserves his superhero moniker. While the trailer only gives a tease of his dynamic with Lois Lane, as always, she should be expected to play a vital role in keeping Clark Kent grounded.

James Gunn's "Superman" Should Hold Itself Up To The Legacy Of Richard Donner's Version

A Cinematic Adventure That Celebrates Superhero Stories

Superman films were a pioneering effort in the history of transposing comic book superheroes to the silver screen, and without question, part of their success was creating a new generation of Superman fans. It is this legacy that James Gunn's Superman can seek to live up to, by doing the same, and delivering a movie that is about celebrating the character, and instilling a newfound love of the character in audiences. While it is also meant to inaugurate a new era of DC films, this should be its foremost goal.

The best-case scenario for Gunn and DC Comics is that this new movie ushers in a boon era for Superman fandom, leading to greater widespread interest in the character beyond just live-action, but also on the comic book page.

Zack Snyder's Superman films are certainly not without their own ers, but at the root of many of the criticisms aimed at them is perhaps the idea that Snyder's version of the character strayed too far from this project. It can be argued that Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman were too focused on cinematic spectacle, and cinematic worldbuilding, to tell a genuinely impactful Superman story. James Gunn's focus seems to be purely on telling a great Superman story.

In any event, the best-case scenario for Gunn and DC Comics is that this new movie ushers in a boon era for Superman fandom, leading to greater widespread interest in the character beyond just live-action, but also on the comic book page. Superman has been one of the leading figures in comics since his inception, and so the comic industry as a whole should be rooting for this film to succeed, on all levels, in order to bring more fans into the comic book fold.

Source: Superman trailer