Let's settle the debate. Which are you picking?

As someone who actually likes Man of Steel and thinks the Zod-killing Superman was a fun Elseworlds take on the character, 2025's is still miles ahead. It's the best adaptation of the classic character; it isn't afraid of being colorful and fun (which to me are essential superhero comic book traits); and I very much prefer the feeling of a lived-in world. DC and Marvel's greatest assets are their universes, and solo movies that ignore the bigger world are not as good to me.

Is there an option for neither?

I have to go with Superman (2025). I couldn't even finish Man of Steel the first time I tried to watch it, but Superman (2025) left me feeling joy.

My big takeaway from Man of Steel was that giant dubstep machine that tried to dubstep Earth to death.

Man of Steel was decent. But wow, needed an editor... bad.

It's close ... the spectacle of Man of Steel is indeed dazzling ... like an old school graphic novel, but the storytelling of Superman (2025) is like that rare comic book issue --- nothing fancy but you can read it over and over again and never get tired of it.

James Gunn's Superman is hopeful and inspiring, with a Superman who is innately good, which is what Superman should be. Gunn's Superman says that the half-translated message from Jor-El and Lara is "why I do what I do." When he finds out his true purpose — to rule over Earth as the Last Son of Krypton — he tells Lois, "I believed I knew how it ended. That my parents had sent me here to serve the people of Earth and to be a good man." He's despondent over learning his biological parents didn't send him to Earth to serve its people, but to rule them. It takes Pa Kent telling him, "I’d say what you wanted that message to mean says a whole lot more about you than what anyone meant for it to mean." He drives the point home, telling Clark, "Your choices, Clark. Your actions. That’s what makes you who you are."

Superman is a good man because he chooses to be, and his actions are those of a good man who wants to help because it's the right thing to do. After Lex Luthor accosts him as an "alien," Superman responds, "I’m as human as anyone. I love. I get scared. I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other, and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time. But that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength."

Superman (2025) is the best cinematic iteration of the character since 1978's Superman: The Movie, and I appreciated how Gunn was able to distill the essence of the character — his hopefulness, his humanity, his kindness, his choosing to use his great power for good — into a shining beacon of what a hero should be at a time when the world needs it the most.

That's the real punk rock.

On 8/21/2025 at 8:18 PM, Ben Kendrick said:

Let's settle the debate. Which are you picking?

I have to go with Superman 2025. It was more "fun" in a sense and the kids enjoyed it. Man of Steel has it's place too, but if I were going to rewatch one it would be the new one.