In the golden age of cinema, we could stroll into a theater, leave our worldly baggage at the door, and lose ourselves in a fantastical escape where real-life woes simply didn't exist. But in 2025, those innocent days are a distant memory. Every major cultural blockbuster—like James Gunn's new Superman film—becomes a political tug-of-war, with both sides scrambling to claim it as their own, much like a jump ball in basketball or a face-off in hockey.
The buzz around Superman ignited well before its release, fueled by Gunn's own comments as writer and director. He described the movie as inherently political, portraying the Man of Steel as an immigrant who champions human kindness. This set off alarms on the Right, where many are quick to sniff out Hollywood's latest attempt to push a progressive agenda. But I held off on judging until I caught an early screening courtesy of Amazon Prime on an IMAX screen, just days before the wide release.
And let me tell you: from where I sit, this Superman is anything but woke. Whatever Gunn's intentions might have been, an honest look at the film's content reveals a story that unapologetically celebrates truth, justice, and the American Way.
James Gunn Says 'Superman' Is About an 'Immigrant That Came From Other Places' and How We've 'Lost' the Value of 'Basic Human Kindness': 'Yes, it’s About Politics' https://t.co/X3fCHq2yGc
— Variety (@Variety) July 6, 2025
Spoiler Alert: If you haven't seen the film yet and want to go in fresh, stop reading now and come back after you've watched it. Major plot points ahead.
Superman: Refugee, American, and the Embodiment of Meekness
Yes, Superman—Kal-El—is an immigrant, and more precisely, a refugee. Sent from the doomed planet Krypton to Earth, he arrives not just to survive but to carry forward his home world's culture. But here's where the story takes a quintessentially American turn: Adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, humble farmers from Kansas, he's raised as one of us. Their virtuous guidance instills in him a deep sense of responsibility and, crucially, meekness.
Meekness isn't weakness or timidity—far from it. In its truest sense, especially biblically, it's strength under control. Think of a soldier who could unleash lethal force but reserves it for righteous moments, or a police officer who wields authority only to protect. Superman, the mightiest being on Earth, could crush humanity in an instant. Instead, he protects us, never dominating. That's meekness, a core trait that's defined the character since Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created him in 1938.
In those early comics, Superman was a populist hero battling exploiters of the weak, but he was also deeply patriotic, fighting for truth, justice, and the American Way. What does that mean? Freedom, liberty, the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—defending those who can't defend themselves.
Pushing Back on the Left's Narrative
Despite this legacy, the Left has tried to co-opt this new Superman as a banner for their causes. Beyond Gunn's immigrant angle, online commentators highlight Superman clashing with billionaire Lex Luthor and halting a war some liken to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
But context matters, and these takes ignore it entirely.
First, on billionaires: Luthor isn't the only one in this universe. There's Maxwell Lord (played by Sean Gunn, the director's brother), who bankrolls the Justice Gang—a proto-Justice League including Guy Gardner (Green Lantern), Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific—to safeguard Earth from threats. And lurking in the shadows is another billionaire: Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. If wealth alone equaled villainy, this world would be a mess of contradictions.
Wealth can be earned legitimately or illegitimately; not all rich folks are cut from the same cloth. Politicizing Luthor? Fine—let's do it. He embodies envy, hating Superman for his inherent goodness and obsessing over his destruction because he can't tolerate virtue's existence. Sound familiar? That's the Left's playbook: no "live and let live," just an insatiable drive to dismantle values they despise.
Then there's the fictional war between aggressive Boravia and the outmatched Jarhanpur. Some rush to equate Boravia with Israel, but that's a stretch too far. The film paints Boravia's president, Vasil Ghurkos, as a naked aggressor bent on conquest, allying with Luthor for cut-rate arms to profit from domination and lure Superman into a trap.
Nothing like that describes Israel, which has always acted in self-defense amid terrorist attacks and rocket barrages targeting civilians. If Israel wanted to overrun Gaza and wipe it out, they could—but they don't, because they're guided by moral principles aimed at survival, not annihilation.
Flip it around: Jarhanpur isn't Gaza, either. It's not waging ethnic cleansing, ruled by a genocidal theocracy, or sending terrorists to rape, murder in Boravian streets while lobbing rockets at innocents. The eagerness to draw these parallels exposes a dangerously skewed worldview, where Israel is the cartoonish villain and jihadists are hapless victims. Reality begs to differ.
Immigration, the "Great Replacement," and Choosing America
The Left's biggest hook is Superman as an "illegal immigrant," tying it to today's debates. Sure, Kal-El crash-landed in Kansas without papers—but his extraterrestrial origins make any earthly analogy absurd. U.S. laws don't cover alien babies from dying planets. Where would we even deport him? This is speculative fantasy, not policy commentary.
But the film goes further, torpedoing leftist appropriations with a bombshell twist.
Major Spoiler Ahead: Kal-El's parents didn't send him for refuge or benevolence. They chose Earth because its sun would grant him overwhelming power—to conquer, reseed with Kryptonian DNA, and dominate humanity. It's essentially a "Great Replacement" mission.
This shatters Clark, who'd long believed his purpose was protection and good deeds based on an incomplete message from his parents. Now facing the full truth, he grapples with nature vs. nurture: Is he bound by his biological heritage and Kryptonian culture, or free to forge his own path?
He rejects domination, choosing to be a moral agent committed to his adopted world—truth, justice, and the American Way. Influenced by his rural white parents, he affirms that character stems from choices, not origins.
This narrative shreds the modern Left's immigration stance. They portray migrants as victims owed restitution through displacement and cultural overhaul, echoing Jor-El and Lara's conquest ethos. But Superman repudiates it, embracing America's inclusive promise: Become one of us by upholding merit, virtue, and rights—regardless of heritage.
America is unique: not blood or soil, but an idea rooted in reason and Christian-Western principles. Like Paul's mission to the Gentiles, we welcome converts from all walks, races, and even planets. Your starting point doesn't matter; it's your embrace of our ideals that counts.
Superman Soars Again
Whatever Gunn set out to make, this Superman echoes Christopher Reeve's iconic portrayal, championing the American Way in a fresh, powerful light. It's back, inspiring us to look skyward and cheer. In a polarized age, that's a win for truth and justice.
