Good afterevenmorn, Readers! And also watchers, this case.

It’s been a bit of a rough time for me of late and so, deciding that staying home and moping was not going to help me at all, I took myself out on a date. I went to the movies to watch the newest Superman. I loved the movie, but I’m not here to provide an in-depth review, rather, I’d like to reflect on the core of the character of James Gunn’s Superman and how it was, surprisingly, precisely what my heart needed in this moment.

Let me go pour myself a whiskey and settle in.

Okay. I’m good. Let’s go.

I have never been a Superman fan. I was not aware of the character as a child, and teen me could not have found more disdain for him than I already had. A character with super strength? Who can stop a bullet with his chest? And is faster than a speeding train? Oh, and he’s a goody-two-shoes to boot? He wins every fight. Is dull as dishwater. Gross. Where is the conflict? Where is the angst?! How could he possibly be even remotely interesting as a character?

Look at me, Mum. I’m so edgy.

Don’t get me wrong, I still absolutely adore dark, gritty stories. I love conflicted characters. I adore when characters struggle against their own base natures. Or those who have to turn to terrible acts in order to do what’s right. Or those who have just seen so much f[redacted]kery in their lives that they’re permanently affected; jilted, jaded, cynical, and aggrieved. Give me the hungry, the conflicted, the scared, the miserable, and the struggling.

Feed it right into my veins. I live off it.

And yet… And yet…

Here I am, days after my date-for-one at the movies, still contemplating Superman, having absolutely adored the film.

The character of Superman had not fundamentally changed from my impression of him I had as a young ’un. He’s still the indescribably good Boy Scout character that irritated me so much before. But it feels different this time.

It’s not just that I’ve changed, that I’ve both softened and developed significant hard angles as I’ve aged (I have), but that the world also has changed. Everywhere now seems so much darker, so much more cynical, crueler and harsher than before. Empathy, truth, compassion, and hope have all seemingly been crushed under rampant selfishness, cruelty and rabid, indifferent individualism. Fascism is on the rise. Kindness has been brutally beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. Life feels overwhelmingly grim.

There’s no need for dystopian fiction. We’re living it.

Perhaps that’s why the inherent goodness, the hopefulness, of Superman in James Gunn’s version was what made this movie so wonderful. The character is a walking, talking avatar of r/wholesome. He uses phrases like “Golly.” He’s kind. He has compassion. And perhaps, more importantly, he acts on that kindness and compassion; unthinkingly, sometimes. And that is where the conflict happens.

It’s not an internal struggle that makes this story interesting. Superman/Clark Kent is just a wholesome, good dude. A bit of a dork. But with super strength. And acting on that, trying to save lives, and being (perhaps naively) ever-hopeful that goodness will prevail, creates all manner of problems for our protagonist.

And still, he’s good. Even throughout all the adversity and hostility he faces, he remains good. He chooses good. That is no easy task.

In a world that rewards cruelty, anger and outrage (every algorithm ever. Thanks for nothing, social media), choosing kindness can be such a struggle. And in a world that rewards the worst human impulses, going the other way almost always delivers punishment. It now takes remarkable strength and courage to be kind, and (more importantly) to act on that kindness.

Kindness, hope, and compassion, it seems, is now counter-culture. Kindness is punk as f—k. If you’ll pardon my language (I was very tempted to throw in another [redacted] joke, but I feel I’ve definitely overplayed that).

And so I find that, much to my younger self’s horror no doubt, this movie delivered the kind of salve my world-weary heart so desperately needed in this moment; a genuinely lovely, deeply good dork prevailing against a small, envious, entitled, soulless billionaire and his tech-bro devotees.

It was a bright, joyful story that I didn’t know I needed until the end credits began their scroll.

This is no shade to Snyder, and certainly not to Henry Cavill, who did an excellent job with what he was given, but I think James Gunn really understood the assignment. He got Superman.

And now, finally, so do I.

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When S.M. Carrière isn’t brutally killing your favorite characters, she spends her time teaching martial arts, live streaming video games, and sometimes painting. In other words, she spends her time teaching others to kill, streaming her digital kills, and sometimes relaxing. Her most recent titles include Daughters of Britain, Skylark and Human. Her next novel The Lioness of Shara Mountain releases early 2026.