Polygon.com / 11.07.25

What Superman's promise of 300 years of metahumans really means for the new DCU

James Gunns Superman avoids rehashing the Man of Steels origin story, instead opening with a simple round of on-screen exposition explaining that Kal-El arrived on Earth 30 years ago, and has been known as the most powerful superhero on the planet for the past three years. But the films intro also contains another detail that will shape the rebooted DC Universe in film and on TV: People in this setting have been aware of metahumans for 300 years. Metahumans in DC Comics are normal humans with a special gene that can give them superpowers. Unlike Marvels mutants, who typically manifest their abilities during puberty, DC metahumans typically have to be exposed to some sort of extreme circumstance, like intense stress or dark matter. Gunn is using a broader definition of the term by making it apply to Superman, whose powers come from being a Kryptonian, and to pretty much anyone else with superpowers. In Gunns DCU, metahumans are no longer a terrifying new phenomenon, and have become more...
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