While the 2025 new Superman reboot took the classic superhero back to his optimistic roots, one twist in Kal-El’s origin story reshaped the Superman myth forever. While a few comic books in the past — notably John Byrne’s 1986 Man of Steel miniseries — toyed with amoral and colder versions of Superman’s Kryptonian parents, the notion that Jor-El and Lara would instruct their son to rule Earth and actively breed a new super-race was a fairly new, and shocking idea, presented in James Gunn’s new film. But wait. Did Lex Luthor fake the message? Are Superman’s biological parents really that horrible? A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg on Superman, which can now be viewed as a VOD digital purchase, seems to hint that at least somebody in the DC universe is claiming the message was altered.
As Superman hit digital download on August 15, fans of the hit movie, obviously, started poring over every frame. And, as pointed out by the Culture Nerd on Instagram, one news ticker toward the end of the movie outright claims that Lex Luthor modified the Kryptonian message to make Superman’s parents seem more horrible than they really were.
Superman’s parents, redeemed?
As pointed out by the Culture Nerd, but independently verified by Men’s Journal, toward the end of the movie, at 1:52, to be exact, Maxwell Lord comments on Lex Luthor in a news broadcast, which is seen on a smaller screen in Lex Luthor’s base of operations. At the bottom of this screen is a news ticker that reads, in part, “Luthor was behind the false images of Superman’s parents’ message.”
Is this setting up a reversal in a future DC installment? Not so fast.
Related: Who Sings ‘Punkrocker?’ That ‘Superman’ Ending Song, Explained
James Gunn has already weighed in on the controversy
Although several fans have wondered whether or not we’re meant to think Lex Luthor changed the message, director James Gunn has already gone on the record saying the movie is written to make you think that yes, the message was real.
“How can someone not think it’s real?” Gunn said in July, talking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Gunn has gone on to say many times that this was not intended to be fake within the reality of the movie. This is why several characters, including Mister Terrific and Lex’s own followers, confirm that this was the real translation of the message; that Superman’s parents wanted him to rule the Earth without mercy.
So, what does this recently discovered Easter egg mean? The obvious answer is kind of simple: It’s a fun Easter egg, and it proves that someone on Earth, who works for one news organization, has reported that the message was fake. That doesn’t mean that it was fake, simply that somebody in that world said it was.
However, there’s a lot more twists and turns coming in the Superman/DCU universe. The next installment of the DCU is coming very soon with Peacemaker Season 2. Will Luthor’s dirty deeds make more sense in that show? Only time will tell.
Superman is out now for purchase on Fandango at Home and Google Play.
Related: ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Review: The Raunchy Side of the DCU Is Even Better Than ‘Superman’
