This article contains spoilers for “Superman.”
Superman’s archenemy is, without a doubt, Lex Luthor. But the problem the movies have always run into is that Luthor is a normal guy; one punch from Superman and he’s dust. So how do you make Lex stand toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel? Traditionally, there have been two options: Either put Lex in a suit of armor, or give him a superpowered enforcer.
Superman movies have always gone with the latter, and James Gunn’s new “Superman” is no different. Lex’s (Nicholas Hoult) muscle is Ultraman. Yes, the rumors were true, Ultraman does appear in “Superman” as a key villain. However, he’s a bit different than the comic book version.
During “Superman,” Ultraman stays silent and wears a full body black suit, with a goggled mask resembling Doomsday’s.
Warner Bros./DC Comics
But the hints to his true self aren’t subtle. He has the same powers as Superman (David Corenswet); flight, strength, heat vision, etc. He also wears a “U” insignia on his chest, mirroring the “S” adorning Superman’s costume. Lex is also somehow able to get into the Fortress of Solitude with Ultraman, even though it only opens for Superman’s DNA signature. In the third act, Ultraman and Superman crash into the ground together. Ultraman tears off his ruined mask, revealing Superman’s own face staring back at the hero.
See, Lex managed to get his hands on a strand of Superman’s hair from a battle scene. He used it to make a (much less intelligent) clone of the hero. Not to worry, though, because by the end of the film, Ultraman is thrown into a black hole; hard to picture even someone as strong as him coming back from that.
There is precedent for an evil Superman called Ultraman in DC Comics. However, in the comics, Ultraman is the Clark Kent from a parallel universe (“Earth-3”) where the Justice League are villains called the Crime Syndicate. That Ultraman has appeared in some other DC movies and TV, such as the 2010 animated film “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” where he was voiced by Brian Bloom and characterized as a mob boss with superpowers. (“Superman via Tony Soprano,” the movie’s script says.)
This Ultraman is instead part of a long trend of evil mirrors to Superman in “Superman” movies.