Superman has set up a major villain for a DCU sequel. DC is filled with tons of great villains who come in all shapes and sizes – from the Joker to Lex Luthor to Darkseid. DC’s villains provide both intellectual and physical challenges to its heroes. Superman has some really great characters in his rogues gallery, with the likes of Brainiac, Doomsday, General Zod, and more. We’ve seen a few of them on the big screen already, but there are still so many waiting to be adapted into a live-action film. It seems pretty likely that we’re going to get that with James Gunn’s Superman franchise, as the director is extremely knowledgeable about comics and also isn’t afraid of bringing niche characters into the fold.
With that said, Superman does a great job of resetting the table. It’s pretty easy to access this new film with only the most basic knowledge of the character. He goes up against his most famous enemy, Lex Luthor, allowing Superman to be challenged mentally while Lex sends his goons to do the heavy lifting. Lex is the primary villain of the film, as everyone else is working for him. Any obstacle Superman has to overcome is orchestrated by Lex, whether that be a war in the Middle East or a kaiju destroying Metropolis. But there’s one surprise Lex springs on Superman that could set up a pivotal DCU villain.
Superman‘s Ultraman Could Become Bizarro
In the third act of Superman, all the theories about Ultraman’s identity are put to rest as it is revealed that he is none other than a clone of Superman himself. Lex found a hair from Superman in the aftermath of one of his battles, and that’s all he needed to make his clone.
That’s how Ultraman is able to do pretty much everything Superman can, and take all of the hits that the Kryptonian throws at him. Lex has been remote-controlling this Superman clone the entire film and dressing him in different costumes. This obviously poses a huge threat to Superman, given the durability of the unnamed clone, but Clark is able to take him down by having Krypto destroy Lex’s cameras that allowed the villain to maintain control.
From there, Superman battles the unmasked Ultraman and eventually throws him into a black hole. But as far as we know, this doesn’t mean that Ultraman is dead. We don’t really know where this black hole leads, or what dangers it may hold, but in theory, the Superman clone’s powers will keep him alive. With that said, it seems likely that this could open the door to bringing this clone back as a massive Superman villain.
Given that the clone possesses all of Superman’s powers, looks like him, and is even claimed to be stupid by Lex, he already checks a lot of the boxes for Bizarro. All he really needs is some grey skin, a slightly different costume, and he’s a perfect match. Given he’s not named Bizarro in the film, we’re reluctant to say it is him currently, but being thrown into a black hole and experiencing god knows what could give him the full transformation we need.
James Gunn has confirmed that the next movie he’s writing is some kind of Superman follow-up, but it may not be Superman 2. It remains to be seen what it is, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s some kind of team-up movie. With that said, it’s not clear-cut where Bizarro would pop up. It would make sense to see him appear again as some sort of henchman or maybe as an opening action scene where he has already returned and is wreaking havoc, not too dissimilar to the one seen in Superman. He’s not really the kind of villain who can carry a whole movie, but it would be shocking if he were never seen again.
Superman is now in theaters and IMAX.
The post Superman Sets Up an Iconic DC Villain for a Sequel appeared first on ComicBook.com.
