James Gunn has finally revealed the first look of David Corenswet’s suit as the titular hero of the upcoming Superman, but it, unfortunately, isn’t of the same calibre as the suit worn by Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel.
James Gunn’s Superman
Gunn’s Superman will be the first proper chapter of the upcoming DCU, following a soft introduction to the new universe with the upcoming animated series Creature Commandos. Gunn’s Superman film and DCU plans come at a time in which the DC fanbase is arguably more divided than ever, which says a lot given the infamous mishandling of DC on film by several previous Warner Bros. regimes.
Much of that fan divide stems from the DCEU effectively being cut off without a proper ending and Henry Cavill’s much-anticipated return as Superman after his comeback cameo in 2022’s Black Adam being cancelled for the forthcoming DCU reboot under Gunn and Peter Safran’s leadership of DC Studios. With so much consternation and scepticism going into the DCU, the reveal of David Corenswet’s Superman suit was always going to need to stick the landing, but it’s fair to say that the reveal has gone over like a lead balloon.
The Kryptonian’s Suit
Corenswet’s Superman suit was first teased shortly after Superman entered principal photography, with an S-shield clearly inspired by Superman’s Kryptonian crest in the Kingdom Come story arc, while the full reveal offers a more comprehensive look at Corenswet’s suit. The image, showing Corenswet’s Kal-El donning his red boots as a laser battle unfolds in Metropolis behind him, has already become a cotton industry for internet memes. However, the old adage of “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” is not ringing true for the suit reveal of Gunn’s upcoming Superman film, and that significantly boils down to one key factor – the suit, in short, pales in comparison to the Superman suit worn by Henry Cavill.
Designed by Michael Wilkinson, Cavill’s Superman suit was tweaked in the progression from Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but each version approached the Last Son of Krypton and the culture of his homeworld with mythological and indeed almost religious reverence. Cavill’s chainmail-like suit truly felt like the regal product of an alien culture with both great intellectual and warrior philosophies.
The Batman v Superman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League versions of the suit also bear the Joseph Campbell quote, “Where we had thought to stand alone, we will be with all the world, written in Kryptonian through the S, exemplifying Superman as the ultimate superhero archetype of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Snyder also had Cavill’s suit digitally re-coloured to the black and silver version that Superman famously wears in the comics upon his return from death, exemplifying Snyder’s well-known appreciation for comic book iconography in his superhero films.
Why Henry Cavill’s Superman Suit Is Better Than David Corenswet’s
The fact that Gunn had David Corenswet’s Superman suit, designed by Judianna Makovsky, patterned on the Kingdom Come suit shows that he has the same love for comic book iconography as Zack Snyder, but the material and overall design just isn’t as captivating and unique as Henry Cavill’s suit. Moreover, while the suit worn by Cavill’s Superman, and for that matter, Snyder’s entire Justice League roster, distinctly transcends the term “costume” with its alien, sci-fi, cultural, and demi-god qualities, Corenswet’s suit looks and feels much more classifiable in that vein.
Cavill’s Superman suit also carries with it a grandeur that Corenswet’s lacks, conveying the idea of Superman as a leader and source of hope and inspiration that Jor-El speaks of Kal-El embodying in Man of Steel. In all, Cavill’s suit consistently communicated that its wearer was indeed a truly superman, a quality that Corenswet’s sadly does not similarly demonstrate in the first full reveal of his suit. That also adds to Warner Bros. and DC’s ongoing problem of the shadow of Henry Cavill’s Superman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League characters and the DC SnyderVerse as a whole still looming over all things DC despite the studio’s efforts to move away from them.
If even the first proper reveal of David Corenswet’s Man of Steel in costume inspires less-than-positive comparisons to Cavill’s, the DCU is going to have a very tough time leaving Cavill’s Superman and Snyder’s DCEU in the past.
Tell us, do you think Henry Cavill’s Superman suit is better than David Corenswet’s?
