WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for Superman (2025)! The DC Universe is not taking it easy on genre newcomers. The franchise’s first movie kicks off in a world already full of superpowered people and fantastical phenomena, including 21 new characters that are significant in DC Comics. Some may not have the same legacies as others, and there may be a few missing from this list that you could argue are important, but for most people, this is plenty to get started with anyway. Superman walks a fine line by trying to be an enjoyable movie in its own right and a worthy start to a broader franchise. It proves that even the Man of Steel can’t carry a story alone.
Many fans and critics are comparing Superman to the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man, released in 2008. While that movie started in a world roughly analogous to our own, the DCU begins in a much different reality, with more lore already established. On top of that, Superman is not technically the first DCU title. That honor goes to the animated series Creature Commandos, which premiered back in December. There’s only one character in both titles, but it’s still a leg up in some respects.
While Superman isn’t an origin story, it’s still an easy entry point for all fans, whether they love comics or not. Read on for all the characters ripped from DC Comics, and catch Superman in theaters round the U.S. now.
1. Superman
Of course, this is our first glimpse of the titular hero, Superman, a.k.a. Clark Kent, a.k.a. Kal-El, played by David Corenswet. At the time of this movie, he is around 25 years old, and has been on the scene as a superhero for about three yeras. So far, fans and critics seem to be loving Corenswet’s portrayal of the character, who is earnest without being too serious, making him fun to watch and easy to root for. This movie is all about Clark reconciling his adopted identity, and deciding for himself what to keep from his Kryptonian legacy.
2. Lex Luthor
Superhero movies often get flack for lacking in the villain department, but thankfully that’s not the case here. Nicholas Hoult plays Superman’s nemesis, the genius tech CEO Lex Luthor. This is a very faithful depiction of Luthor, and the movie takes the time to flesh out his motives — Luthor’s need to be recognized as the smartest, most powerful man on earth is exacerbated by the presence of Superman, as it makes him feel like the goalpost has been moved. His egomania is expressed in some creative ways throughout this movie, including his employees acting like cult members coming at his beck and call. Hopefully he’ll be back as the villain in more DCU stories down the line.
3. Lois Lane
Superman’s love interest Lois Lane is a staple of all his best stories, particularly on the big screen. Here, she’s played by Rachel Brosnahan, and just as the movie doesn’t bother with Superman’s origin story, it doesn’t bother with the familiar “will they, won’t they” dynamic between these two. The result is that Lois can put her investigative skills to real use in the story, and she’s already in a position to counsel Superman when he needs it.
4. Mr. Terrific
Actor Edi Gathegi absolutely steals the show as Michael Holt, a.k.a. Mr. Terrific. We don’t learn much about the character’s backstory in the movie, but his costume and his superhero gadgets are ripped straight from the pages of comic books. Mr. Terrific is a member of the Justice Gang, working alongside the next two heroes on this list out of their headquarters, the Hall of Justice. They are on friendly terms with Superman, though they don’t really count him as a teammate at this point. However, Mr. Terrific seems the closest to sharing Superman’s moral compass.
5. Hawkgirl
There have been many iterations of Hawkgirl over the years, but the DCU is going with the version of the character known as Kendra Saunders — played by isabela Merced. We don’t get much of her backstory in this movie, but we do know that in the DCU, she’s the human incarnation of an alien warrior, with all her memories and trauma from that life intact. She can fly using her wings, and she wields an energy mace, but we’ll need more characterization to go deeper with Kendra.
6. Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
Nathan Fillion plays the swaggering Green Lantern Guy Gardner, a former cop endowed with the power of a Green Lantern ring and the responsibility to keep the peace. He’s a comic relief character in this movie, but we may learn more about him next year — Fillion will reprise his role in Lanterns, a live-action series about the Green Lantern Corps coming to HBO Max in 2026. He’ll share the screen with two other human Green Lanterns, so perhaps he won’t be so cocky at that point.
7. Metamorpho
Rex Mason, a.k.a. Metamorpho, has the ability to transmute his body into any element, changing his form in the process. He’s on a pretty dire situation for most of this movie, but he still proves himself to be a heroic ally in the end. He’s played by Anthony Carrigan, and his backstory also goes unexplained within the movie itself. Maybe a later DCU title will reveal Metamorpho’s origin as an archaeologist who tampered with powers beyond his comprehension.
8 & 9. Jonathan and Martha Kent
Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell plays Superman’s adoptive parents on earth, Kansas farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent. They definitely have a major influence on Clark in this movie, even if their screentime is understated. Of course, these two can be extremely significant to a good Superman story in any medium, as we’ve seen in comics, games, TV, and movies before. Here, they’re just as heartfelt as ever, though perhaps with more authentic Kansas accents than previous portrayals.
10 & 11. Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van
By contrast, Superman’s biological parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan) do not come off as benevolent in this movie as they have in other stories before. These scientists sent their infant son away from Krypton before the planet’s destruction, intentionally targeting a planet with a yellow sun that would supercharge his physiology in every way. Clark cherishes the one message they sent along with him, but he must choose which parts of his legacy to disregard.
12. The Engineer (Angela Spica)
María Gabriela de Faría plays Angela Spica, a.k.a. The Engineer, a scientist who worked with Luthor to develop nanotechnology and integrate it into her own body. She shares Lex’s fear of Superman’s power, and she puts her own life on the line to try and neutralize it. If the DCU goes as planned, we’ll learn more about it in a later movie, The Authority, but at this point, it has struggled to get past the development stage. Angela is the second character in the comics to bear the name “The Engineer,” but there’s no telling if the DCU will ever touch on her predecessor, Archie Trundle.
13. Ultraman
The DCU has an interesting take on Ultraman, and it’s clear now why it was mired in secrecy before the movie came out. Comics and other media has often portrayed Ultraman as an evil version of Clark Kent from other realities, but here he is simply a clone created by LuthorCorp. He puts up a compelling fight, and it seems like a safe bet that we’ll see him again in a later DCU production.
14-18. The Daily Planet Staff
Not all comic book characters have superpowers, and the DCU doesn’t skimp on the civilians. In addition to Clark and Lois, Superman introduced us to The Daily Planet‘s editor-in-chief Perry White (Wendell Pierce), photographer and reporter Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), columnist Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover), reporter Ron Troupe (Christopher mcDonald), and sports reporter Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett). The paper plays a surprisingly big role in the narrative, and these characters all prove themselves to be pretty competent in a crisis — with the hilarious exception of Lombard. There’s no telling how much screentime the DCU will be able to dedicate to terrestrial matters like newspapers in the years to come, but this group definitely deserves more time to shine.
19. Eve Teschmacher
Sara Sampaio plays Lex Luthor’s girlfriend, Eve Teschmacher — a character who actually first appeared in Superman: The Movie in 1978, and was then adopted into comics later. She is another show-stealer here, with one of the funniest roles in this movie and a lot of potential for future hijinks in the DCU.
20. Supergirl
As expected, Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) makes a brief cameo appearance in this movie that doesn’t have much to do with the story, and is mostly there to set up her own movie, Supergirl, which hits theaters on June 26, 2026. Still, it’s funny enough to be justified and it definitely has fans looking forward to next summer already. Although she doesn’t get much screentime, Supergirl is characterized indirectly by the actions of her misbehaved dog, Krypto.
21. Maxwell Lord
Finally, we get a brief appearance by another nefarious CEO in the DCU, Maxwell Lord, played by Sean Gunn. In this movie, we just see him for a moment in a TV interview, but he could become a major player in later stories. Lord is often an antagonist for Wonder Woman, who has her own DCU movie in development now. For all we know, Lord is already cooking up some kind of plot for Diana to foil.
The DCU is now underway, with Creature Commandos streaming now on HBO Max and Peacemaker Season 2 premiering there on August 21st. Superman is playing in theaters around the U.S. now.
The post Superman’s Cast Brings 21 DC Comics Characters To The NEW DCU appeared first on ComicBook.com.
