James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film is one of the most hotly-anticipated movie releases of 2025, and fans are chomping at the bit to see the first major look at a brand-new live-action DC Universe. Gunn’s universe is looking more and more promising every day, and news of upcoming projects in the wake of Superman like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Lanterns, and Peacemaker season two have audiences more hopeful for the future of DC than ever before
Though many DC fans are fervent defenders of the past iteration of Superman, Zack Snyder’s controversial interpretation, utilizing the talents of actor Henry Cavill, there’s no denying that not everything worked about that version of the iconic hero. While Snyder certainly got many things right about Superman, one of the biggest blunders in his 2013 film, Man of Steel, seems to be getting fixed with James Gunn’s new iteration of Superman.
Man of Steel Failed to Capture Superman’s Connection to His Adoptive Parents
Jonathan and Martha Kent Are Integral to Superman
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Superman has existed in some form or another since 1938. He’s one of the oldest, most iconic superheroes in all of fiction, and he has remained a beloved icon of pop culture since his inception. However, because of the long-running nature of his stories and interpretations, there is no truly definitive iteration of the character. Superman has been rebooted, reimagined, and otherwise reinterpreted in a myriad of ways over the years. However, one major aspect that has stuck around for the vast majority of the character’s contemporary history is the importance of his adopted human parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent.
Two humble farmers from the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, Jonathan and Martha happen to be the ones to stumble upon the crashed wreckage of Kal-El’s spacecraft after he was jettisoned away from his dying homeworld of Krypton. Only an infant when he arrives in the couple’s lives, the baby Kal-El is given a new name, Clark Kent, and raised as a human boy.
Almost every modern interpretation of Superman follows this trajectory and origin story, but there are a few major changes that are hotly debated among fans regarding the importance of Superman’s adopted parents as he grows older. Though most fans agree that having his parents alive for the majority of his adolescence is important to Clark in general, there are those who believe both Ma and Pa Kent should be killed off definitively by the time Clark becomes Superman.
Contrasting many other superheroes, Superman’s parents being alive makes him unique, and it gives him more of a grounded connection to his adopted world. While there is definitely something to be said for the tragedy and dramatic irony associated with Superman potentially losing both his birth parents and his adopted parents, a character like Martha Kent is simply too good as a supporting player in many Superman stories to be killed off for good. Jonathan Kent, however, is a different story.
A loving father and a terrific role model for Clark Kent growing up, Jonathan Kent is a character that, in the comics, perhaps serves best as a reminder of what Superman cannot do. Pa Kent is a wonderful, kind, wise man, and his advising and nurturing of Clark are the reasons that readers and audiences are able to believe that he would become something as wonderful and noble as Superman.
Pa Kent is also a character who serves Superman and his growth well by dying. Providing Clark with a problem he cannot solve with his incredible superpowers, Pa Kent’s death is often a natural incident, most often a heart attack. One of the major failures of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel is the usage of Pa Kent, and it seems that James Gunn has the perfect opportunity to fix that with his upcoming film.
Jonathan Kent’s Characterization in Man of Steel is Baffling and Bizarre
Pa Kent Is Warped to Serve a Grittier, More Grounded Story
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Zack Snyder’s DC movies got some major things right from the comics, and the director’s interpretation of the classic comic book world even improved on a few things from the source material, but his adaptation of Jonathan Kent was not one of those improvements. Kevin Costner’s portrayal of the adoptive father of Superman in Man of Steel, while well acted, is utterly destructive and a complete betrayal of what the character represents in the comic book source material. The loving, caring father from the original stories is replaced by a strangely distant, pragmatic father. Granted, the angle that Snyder takes is an interesting one, but that doesn’t make it good or all that effective.
Costner’s Jonathan Kent is surprisingly harsh, gruff, and unyielding to his wife and son in Man of Steel. The crux of his character is the fear that the people of Earth will not accept his son for what he is, and that Clark should hide his true nature for as long as he possibly can. On paper, that isn’t inherently a bad stance to take with the character, but the way that Snyder expands on that idea and tells the story of the Kents is where everything falls apart.
In the name of gritty realism and moral ambiguity, Man of Steel positions a young Clark Kent at the center of a near-fatal school bus accident, where the young hero is forced to utilize his incredible powers to save his fellow schoolmates from drowning. After hearing about his son’s heroic deed, Jonathan Kent’s reaction is not pride, but scolding and disappointment. His entire motivation rests on the idea that Clark should not reveal himself under any circumstances, and that apparently includes when the lives of dozens of children are at stake.
Snyder’s interpretation of Jonathan Kent doesn’t get any better after this bizarre interaction between father and son, either. In fact, perhaps the worst part of Jonathan Kent in Man of Steel is the manner in which he finally dies. In the comic books, as well as in the beloved 1978 Richard Donner Superman film, Pa Kent dies of a heart attack, leaving Clark utterly helpless to rescue his father from his fate. It’s a sobering, intense event that contextualizes Superman and all of his incredible powers through the lens of what he cannot do.
In Man of Steel, however, Pa Kent’s death comes about through one of the most overly complicated and convoluted series of events ever depicted in a superhero movie. During a major tornado, Jonathan, Martha, and Clark find themselves taking shelter alongside many other residents of Smallville. When they see that their loyal dog Hank is trapped in a car, Jonathan chooses to brave the storm and rescue the animal.
Though he succeeds, this leads to the terrifying tornado moving in to overcome Pa Kent, an event that Clark could easily stop with his powers. Because of his arbitrary scolding about keeping his powers secret, Pa Kent refuses Clark’s help and instead allows himself to be sucked up by the tornado and killed. It’s a bizarre, stupid interpretation of Pa’s death, and it is one of the worst parts of Man of Steel.
James Gunn’s Superman Trailer Showcases What the Kent Family Should Be
The DCU’s Superman Seems to Get Jonathan and Martha Kent More Than Man of Steel Did
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With the latest trailer for the upcoming Superman having recently been released, fans are buzzing with speculation and anticipation. So many aspects of the trailer have led to fans theorizing about characters, plotlines, and action set pieces, but one of the most notable aspects of the Superman trailer is the relationship between Clark Kent and his adoptive parents. Since Superman has been confirmed to depict a version of the Man of Steel that’s been around for at least a little while, Clark Kent has clearly been living the superhero lifestyle for some time, and his parents both remain a part of his life.
Jonathan and Martha both appear in the film’s latest trailer, and they are shown to be supportive and loving towards his persona as Superman. Though they are bound to have their own shortcomings and misgivings regarding the danger their son puts himself in each day, this version of the Kents already seems to be fixing what came before in the world of Man of Steel. Where Zack Snyder’s Jonathan Kent was utilized to establish a new, baffling angle to explore the morality of a character like Superman and his place in the “real world”, James Gunn seems more interested in adapting the character faithfully from the comic books themselves.
Gunn has proven himself in the past to be a huge fan of the comic book source material that he adapts, and projects like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Peacemaker showcase his interest in father-son dynamics. Whatever happens with the new DCU’s iteration of Jonathan Kent, it seems fair to say that it will be a better, more faithful adaptation than Zack Snyder’s interpretation over a decade ago.
If this iteration of Pa Kent does end up eventually dying, it seems that, hopefully, James Gunn will be smart enough to bring that death about in a way that Superman is powerless to stop. It’s such an important aspect of the character and his growth as a hero, and the version of Superman where his father was swept up by a tornado because he didn’t want to be saved is utterly ridiculous. One way or another, fans will know soon enough how James Gunn has adapted Clark Kent and his relationship to his parents when Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
Superman
Created byJerry Siegel, Joe ShusterFirst FilmSupermanLatest FilmMan of SteelFirst TV ShowSupermanLatest TV ShowSuperman & LoisTV Show(s)Superman, Smallville, Superman & Lois, Superman: The Animated Series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman