Look Up: How James Gunn’s Superman Declares That Being Good Is the New Punk Rock

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In an era where edge is often mistaken for depth and darkness for complexity, James Gunn’s Superman doesn’t just fly — it soars above the noise. In a genre worn thin by multiversal chaos, angsty antiheroes, and moral relativism, Gunn’s reimagining of the Man of Steel is a cinematic act of rebellion, a heartfelt challenge to everything we thought we needed from superhero storytelling. Forget cynicism. Forget trauma-driven identity spirals. Gunn’s Superman proclaims something so radically uncool that it’s punk again: being good.

This isn’t just a superhero movie. It’s a cultural pivot. A vibe shift. A warm, red-caped slap in the face of postmodern irony. And in its closing credits, it tells you exactly what it’s about — to the beat of Teddybears’ “Punkrocker” featuring Iggy Pop.

Punk Rock Isn’t Dead. It Just Grew Up.

There’s a running joke in Superman that feels less like comic relief and more like a manifesto. Lois Lane (played with rapid-fire wit and grit by Rachel Brosnahan) insists she’s the punk one in the relationship. Why? Because she distrusts everyone, questions everything. Clark Kent (played with golden retriever sincerity by David Corenswet) disagrees — gently, earnestly. “Maybe trusting people is the real punk rock,” he tells her.

Corny? Maybe. But in a world that’s been marinating in irony, sarcasm, and disillusionment for over a decade, the statement lands like a thunderclap. It captures the film’s soul: the quiet subversion of pessimism through optimism. In a cinematic landscape oversaturated with meta-commentary and deconstruction, Superman offers something rarer — construction.

This isn’t naivety. It’s defiance. It’s an intentional swing toward sincerity in an age desperate for it.

The Return of Silly — And Why We Need It

James Gunn’s Superman is a direct rejection of the grim, grayscale aesthetic that defined the Snyderverse. Where Snyder’s Kal-El was a brooding demigod haunted by burden, Gunn’s is a boy from Kansas who just wants to do the right thing. He wears his red trunks with pride. He says “golly” without irony. He saves cats, kids, and entire cities — and looks like he’s genuinely glad to do it.

Even the science-fiction gobbledygook — “monkeybots,” “pocket universes,” “dimensional rifts” — is presented with a wink, not an apology. Gunn leans into the absurd, not to mock it, but to celebrate it. The weirdness of comic books is what makes them wonderful, and Superman finally remembers that.

Where recent superhero films — looking at you, multiverse fatigue — got lost in exposition dumps and brooding motivations, Superman has the nerve to be clear, colorful, and emotionally legible. It’s like a Saturday morning cartoon drawn with a master's hand: stylish, slick, but beating with a heart as big as Metropolis.

Corenswet’s Clark: The Hero We Forgot We Needed

Corenswet’s Superman doesn’t need to shock you to be memorable. He doesn’t need to snap necks, grow a beard, or walk away from explosions in slow motion. He cries when he’s hurt. He smiles when he’s in love. He apologizes when he’s wrong. He saves lives like it’s the most normal thing in the world. That’s the point.

He’s a “normie.” And in a culture obsessed with the exceptional, the transgressive, and the morally ambiguous, being normal — being decent — is nothing short of revolutionary.

That’s why he feels fresh. He’s not the antihero with a haunted past. He’s the man who wakes up, walks his dog Krypto, and shows up when people scream for help. His power doesn’t make him arrogant. It humbles him. He’s strong enough to punch through steel — and gentle enough to cradle a baby.

Action Over Anguish: A Cultural Shift

Gunn’s script dodges the pitfall of endlessly justifying every character’s behavior with backstory. We don’t need to see a traumatized Lex Luthor to understand his villainy. We don’t need a three-hour deep dive into Superman’s childhood to know he’s good. The question isn’t who hurt you — it’s what will you do now?

This is radical in today’s pop culture ecosystem. It dethrones the cult of “origin trauma” and resurrects the value of choice, of responsibility. In doing so, Superman asks something audacious of its audience: believe in virtue again.

And that’s where the gospel echoes ring. Even if the film sidesteps overt religious symbolism, its DNA is soaked in biblical truth. We’re not bound by what came before. Redemption is possible. Identity isn’t fixed in pain. We are what we do with the power we’ve been given.

“Look Up”: An Anthem for Our Time

When Superman takes to the sky, battered but unbroken, shielding the helpless from a fiery death, it’s not just spectacle. It’s symbolism. The message is simple, stirring, and countercultural: stop looking inward. Stop staring at the broken pieces. Look up.

It’s not a call to ignore reality. It’s a call to rise above despair. To do good not because it’s easy or flashy — but because it’s right.

Even as the public turns on Superman — manipulated by Lex Luthor’s smear campaign — he doesn’t spiral into self-doubt or self-pity. He just keeps saving people. When asked why he’s here, his answer isn’t dramatic. It’s devastatingly simple: “To be a good man.”

No tortured ambiguity. No existential crisis. Just a man — with unimaginable power — choosing to serve rather than dominate.

The Hero We’ve Been Waiting For

In a world that often mocks decency as dull, kindness as naive, and heroism as outdated, Superman reminds us that the most radical thing we can be is… good.

And maybe, just maybe, that is punk rock.

So go ahead. Roll your eyes at the bright colors and the corny catchphrases. But when that final shot lingers — Superman hovering above the chaos, cape rippling in the wind, a bloodied but steady fist raised toward the heavens — ask yourself what you’re feeling.

Is it nostalgia? Hope? A spark of something you didn’t know you missed?

That’s the power of this film. It doesn’t beg for your approval. It dares you to believe again. In heroes. In decency. In the idea that looking up — instead of looking down or in — might be the bravest thing we can do in 2025.

Because sometimes, the most punk rock thing in the world… is to care.

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