Superman, Thunderbolts*, & Restoring Hope in our Heroes

why do we need these stories right now?

On the surface, Superman and Thunderbolts* don’t share much in common. Superman is probably the most recognizable comic book character, while Thunderbolts is perhaps the most obscure team Marvel has set to film. While Superman is known for his integrity and kindness, literally viewed as a Christ archetype sent from the heavens as a baby, each member of the reluctant Thunderbolts* team has deep shame and blood on their hands.

Somehow, both movies tell deeply hopeful stories.

I grew up in what I expect will someday be considered a Golden Age for Superhero Movies. The first Iron Man movie premiered when I was six, the Avengers when I was ten. Every year the MCU grew in scope and story, and despite no comic book knowledge, I watched almost every single one in theaters.

When these twenty-one movies culminated in a grand finale, Avengers: Endgame, there was a sense of what could possibly be next? A decade into creating the biggest and baddest villain yet, whose plan to “save the word” included killing half the population. How were they going to top that?

So of course, we had a bit of superhero fatigue. Bad guys try to destroy the world and the good guys have to stop them…but let’s raise the stakes every time. We’re in outer space and the quantum realm and messing with different timelines and…what’s the point?

A story doesn’t have to be revolutionary to be good, and every story is really a retelling of other stories that came before. But when the focus is on telling as many stories as possible in order to make as much money as possible, rather than telling the stories that need to be told, that resonate with us and capture our hearts and imaginations, it’s easy to get cynical.

Both audiences and studios did.

So how did we get to Superman (2025)? A movie that tells us that kindness is the real punk rock, where Superman turns himself in so that his “foster” dog won’t be alone, and he won’t let so much as a squirrel get hurt in an attack. When questioned by Lois Lane about stepping into international conflict without permission, Clark Kent exclaims “People were going to die!”

This is a Superman who is unquestionably good¹.

How did we get Thunderbolts*? An unexpected emotional exploration of overcoming shame and the power of community turning “leftover” characters from previous movies into lovable (anti)heroes that we want to succeed. Who literally step into the darkness together so they don’t have to face it alone.

These characters aren’t perfect, but they’re learning together that they’re never too far gone.

Honestly, these were two of my absolute favorite movies this year!! I don’t think I saw a single trailer for Thunderbolts before watching it, I just saw several Instagram reactions hyping it up. Despite only remembering half of the characters from previous works (even though I have seen just about every Marvel work) the story made me invested in this group, and it made me look inward. As soon as the trailer for Superman dropped, I was hooked. I watched it probably 50 times and forced everyone in my family watch it too. The last time I rewatched a trailer so much was Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. Thankfully both lived up to my personal hype!²

Why are audiences resonating³ with these stories right now? In a digital age known for cynicism and mocking earnestness? What makes this different?

I have a couple of theories.

They handled these stories with love and we can tell!

James Gunn has made it clear that he does not want to green light every single project in the DCU. “We don’t have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year,” Gunn said of DC Studios. “So we’re going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality.”⁴ Without a finished screenplay deemed worthy, they won’t go into production. He’s not making these movies just to make them, he’s telling stories that he believes need to be told. Superman gave audiences hope that he means it. Jake Schreier, the director of Thunderbolts*, insisted on using as many practical effects as possible so it wouldn’t take you out of the movie.⁵ We can sense the care that went into these movies as an audience, even implicitly.

The world feels out of control and we want to feel hope!

You don’t need me to tell you that the world is scary right now. I’m sure we always need reminders of hope, but especially now. Division and wars and politics and corruptions…we want to know that everything will be okay in the end. That good will win and evil will be defeated and there is someone out there that can save us. That we’re not alone.

C.S. Lewis wrote in Of Other Worlds:

“Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. . . Let there be wicked kings and beheadings, battles and dungeons, giants and dragons, and let villains be soundly killed at the end of the book” (39-40).⁶

He is writing about why we should let children read fairy tales when fantasy can be so very scary, but I think it applies to adults as well. Stories shape us, they affect what we believe about the world and ourselves. Sometimes we need reminders that dragons can be slain and hope is never gone, even when it all seems lost. Even when we think darkness has won.

In Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee gives this speech to a hopeless Frodo:

“It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.” ⁷

The best stories, the ones that stick with us and root into our lives, tell us something deeper about us or the world around us. They make us think.

In a world where being kind is punk rock because kindness is a rebellion against the status quo, we need a hero to look towards. In a world where it’s increasingly easy to doomscroll into further depression rather than opening up to a friend, we need a reminder that you are never too far into the darkness, that it’s okay to ask for help, that beating yourself up isn’t the answer.

These movies are very topical today (even moreso than when they were filmed, as is the case with Superman’s international conflict), but I also expect they will stand the test of time. Not just because they are well made pieces of cinema, although they are. But because we always need hope, we always need to be reminded that we’re not alone.

I watched Thunderbolts* in theaters three times⁸ and plan to watch Superman a few more times as well. I’m genuinely excited by the direction these studios have taken here and I hope to see both the DCU and MCU continue to in their upcoming movies. Not in necessarily style or even specifically the message—I don’t expect every single blockbuster movie to have the same warmth behind it as these two movies did, and I’m sure audiences would get as tired of them as any other soulless repetitive message told over and over again.

But I would love for the positive responses toward these movies to show the studios that what we want are good movies. Movies with a clear purpose that have deep thought and care behind them, not just because they need to spit out another sequel. Stories that these filmmakers are longing to tell.

1. I do have a personal bias to admit. When it comes to fictional men, I have a type, and it is the sweet, kind, “basic” characters. I love Peeta and Prince Kit and Will Turner. I love a kind man!! So yes, I love this Superman.

2. While I did read a few Superman comics as a kid and my first exposure to super hero movies was Christopher Reeves, I know I’m not a Superman expert! But I’ve watched enough reviews of people who do know what they’re talking about when it comes to DC history say that this movie captures the earnest heroism of Superman that I will confidentially say: what a great portrayal of Superman!

3. I’m not exploring box office numbers because honestly I don’t understand them. I’ve heard both movies described as doing well and then not and I have no idea. But I’ve seen a lot of support for both on social media and online.

4. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-06-17/james-gunn-movie-industry-dying-disney-killed-marvel-batman-sequel

5. Thunderbolts* Interview:

6. Lewis, C S, and Walter Hooper. Of Other Worlds : Essays and Stories. San Francisco, Harperone, 2018.

7. Lord of the Rings Scene:

8. One time I watched it one and a half times with friends…we walked into the wrong theater extremely confused and then when it ended ran into the next showing. Whoops.