KTJL Proves the Evil Superman Trope Needs to Face the Reaper

Highlights

Evil versions of Superman have become popular in recent years, appearing in various films, shows, and games, including Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
The industry seems more interested in evil Superman than a traditional heroic version. Thankfully, a good and pure Superman story is on the way via Superman: Legacy.
While the evil Superman archetype has provided intriguing twists, it’s time for the character to return to his light-hearted and heroic roots to allow for more traditional Superman stories to thrive.

In Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, players must take on a brainwashed version of the Justice League controlled by Brainiac. Because of that, they get to see these heroes at their worst. Batman kills people from the shadows, Green Lantern watches as citizens are dragged out into the streets, the Flash strikes down his enemies without care, and Superman reigns supreme over the skies. While that all makes for some fun spins on the characters, one evil archetype in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League needs to die out.

For the past couple of years, studios have taken the concept of Superman and turned him evil. As DC struggles to get a Superman project off the ground, other films and shows have turned him into a terrifying force that should not be reckoned with. Even DC has played around with the concept a bit recently through games and film. A powerful being like him may make for a great villain, yet a Superman-like character who is on the good side again is long overdue.

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Evil Superman Has Been Very Popular Recently

It seems like people have become fascinated with the concept of an evil Superman recently. There is just something compelling, and terrifying, about an unstoppable force actively causing harm. The Boys has that in Homelander, Brightburn showed a younger version of that idea, Omni-Man has caused devastation across the world in Invincible, and even Marvel has played around with the concept via Ikaris in The Eternals. Everywhere people look, there seems to be an evil version of the character, and this idea is not reserved for just non-DC projects either.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is only the most recent DC project to paint Superman as a villain. Superman was a major villain in the Injustice series, there have been multiple villainous versions in comic books like Superman: Red Son, and the DCEU even played around with the idea in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and for a brief moment in Justice League. At the same time, fans of the character have only been treated to one recent good version of him in live-action through Superman & Lois as the studio has struggled to get a film version off the ground.

It Is Time for Superman to Return to the Light Side

Right now, it seems like the industry is more interested in an evil Superman than a good and pure one. Luckily, James Gunn is hard at work on a more standard Superman movie with the DCU’s Superman: Legacy. That film will hopefully end up being a hit not only because it will kickstart a brand-new cinematic universe, but also because a ‘good’ Superman story is long overdue.

If Superman: Legacy succeeds, then fans are likely in for years of live-action Superman adventures. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s take on the Kryptonian was interesting for the short amount of time he’s there, and yet it should mark the end of the evil Superman archetype for now.

Time will tell just what the future of Superman looks like. But no matter what happens with Superman: Legacy, there are hopefully plenty more heroic Superman stories in film and video games on the way. Unless a project has something profoundly different and unique to say with that version of the character, it should be put on the back burner to allow his traditional heroic iteration to thrive.