Superman has always been tough to adapt into interactive form because, well, how do you build a challenging game around a character who is basically invincible? The Man of Steel has super strength, super speed, x-ray vision, heat vision, can fly, and is generally invulnerable. He has one major weakness, kryptonite, the remnants of his homeworld which render him powerless.
Famously so. See: the expression, “Chocolate cake is my kryptonite.”
But how many different ways can you really use a rock? The big confrontation of Superman Returns had Lex Luthor holding up a piece of Kryptonite as Superman attempted to fight him, and it was pretty boring. It’s the reason so much superhero media has latched onto the Evil Superman trope — whether it’s actually Superman (as in Justice League) or faux-Superman (as in Invincible and The Boys). An all-powerful being is easier to conceptualize as a frightening enemy than a compelling hero.
Which is why I’m impressed with the tweaks James Gunn’s new Superman film makes to the character in order to render him more compelling on-screen. Interestingly enough, they would also help Superman soar in video game form.
The following contains spoilers for Superman. If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want to know what happens, turn away now.
It Seems So Simple
That’s because Gunn gives Superman a power level that changes over time. There might be precedent for this in the comics — IDK, I’ve always been more of a Batman guy — but I can’t recall any Superman movie using this conceit in the past.
When we first meet David Corenswet’s Supes, he’s just endured the worst ass-whooping of his life and barely has the strength to whistle for Krypto to come drag him back to the Fortress of Solitude. After his lovably mischievous mutt is done inflicting further pain in superpowered play, Superman gets back to his home and helpful robot assistants, who assess his weakened state and prescribe some mega-tanning, concentrating the yellow light of Earth’s sun and shooting it at Superman, recharging his energy in the process.
When Superman staggers out early to get back to saving Metropolis, his robot assistant chides him that he’s only at 86 percent of his power. This whole opening sequence puts the idea in your head that this Superman isn’t invincible. He feels the beatings he takes and they wear on him. He can’t fight all day; he needs to rest.
When Lex Luthor captures Superman later on in the film, he subjects him — as you would expect — to prolonged exposure to kryptonite far from the light of the sun. When Superman convinces Metamorpho to stop deploying the kryptonite, he doesn’t immediately get back to full health. He’s like a dry sponge that has been removed from the heat of the desert but isn’t any closer to a source of water. Luckily, Metamorpho also manages to form the component parts of a sun, then combine them to recharge Superman’s battery. Even then, once they escape, Supes crashes hard once he gets to the safety of Ma and Pa Kent’s Kansas farm thanks to a dangerous dose of Kryptonite poisoning.
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Superman isn’t just a vision of a better world, it’s an indictment of the one we live in.
This makes Superman weaker, which I could see certain segments of the fanbase getting annoyed about. But it also makes it possible for the movie to have stakes, tension, and a satisfying victory. Seeing a character steamroll their way to a win isn’t fun, and Gunn’s choices make it possible for Superman to struggle and grow.
How Superman’s Tweaks Could Work In Video Game Form
This decision also makes this Superman better-suited than any before for a video game adaptation. The Man of Steel has a checkered history in games. Superman: The New Superman Adventures (which most people know as Superman 64) is considered one of the worst games ever made, and Superman’s two most recent game appearances, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus, both flopped (though in extremely different ways). Still, Superman’s best-received interactive outings have been the ones where he isn’t the sole star. The Injustice games, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, and the Lego Batman/DC games were all fairly well-received. He’s even got multiple Fortnite skins. But to find a solo Superman game with decent reviews, you have to go back to 1994’s The Death and Return of Superman.
Batman has starred in some of the best-loved superhero video games ever made because he has no superpowers. He’s a well-trained fighter and has a bunch of cool gadgets, but he can still be killed. So, he sticks to the shadows, using stealth and fear tactics to gain an advantage on his enemies. Superman hasn’t historically had the same (dis)advantage. He can whoop Batman’s typical enemies without breaking a sweat, which makes it difficult to design a video game around him.
But, if Superman can be weakened, he can be a great video game hero. A game could have a power level displayed on-screen that ticked up or down depending on the conditions of the level. Is Superman underground, separated from the sun’s light? He loses some power. Is there kryptonite nearby? He loses some more. Is his health bar low? He loses some more. With the powers lost, his abilities could decrease, too. Maybe he’s too weak to fly, too weak to run at super speed, too weak to knock enemies out with one punch.
Those all sound like negative things, but the upside is that players would need to think strategically about how they approached missions. They could plan ahead and absorb more sun than they need so they have a surplus of energy for the level (or maybe carry around some SunnyD for Vitamin D on the go). Maybe the player could lure a tough enemy out of the shadows for a fight in direct sunlight. Maybe Superman can bust his way out of underground areas with his super strength, Donkey Kong Bananza-style.
Being creative with complete freedom can be difficult. What do you do with a completely blank page? But Gunn’s subtle reworking of Superman brings just enough limitations to make the Man of Steel leap the obstacles that have plagued his previous games in a single bound.
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