Why Do We Need a Woke Superman?: Conservative Appropriation and Progressive Reinterpretation of the Superman Myth

In 2025, a new cinematic iteration of Superman, directed by James Gunn, was released amid profound global and national upheaval. Set against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza, the proliferation of AI-driven disinformation, and the consolidation of ultra-capitalism, the film offers a markedly humanitarian portrayal that implicitly critiques the populist right in the United States. Gunn’s characterisation of Superman as an immigrant figure emblematic of the American Dream prompted immediate backlash from conservative commentators, while Donald Trump circulated an AI-generated image replacing actor David Corenswet’s face with his own, exemplifying a symbolic appropriation of the character. This proposal combines textual analysis of the film with an examination of its media reception to argue that such reactions stem not from aesthetic disagreement but from a broader ideological struggle over the ownership of national symbols and myths. Situating the film within the political climate associated with Donald Trump’s second era, the study traces the historical appropriation of Superman throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century, particularly in relation to major US conflicts. By contrasting Gunn’s portrayal with authoritarian distortions of the archetype—such as Homelander and Ultraman—the proposal concludes that the film restores, rather than revises, Superman’s foundational ethos of empathy and moral responsibility.