If you’re a superhero fan who loves movies, like I am, you’ve probably been pretty disappointed these past few years. The MCU and DCEU just haven’t been hitting the mark. Sure, there’ve been a few standouts—Deadpool vs. Wolverine comes to mind—but even that relied heavily on nostalgia and fan service. Thunderbolts* showed flickers of the old MCU magic, but let’s be honest, it didn’t exactly set the box office ablaze.
Which is why it brings me great joy—bordering on relief—that not one, but two superhero films released in the past month reminded me why I fell in love with the genre in the first place: they brought back that wondrous, joyful escapism that lets us forget reality for a while.
First out the gate is James Gunn’s bright and buoyant reboot of Superman. Unlike Snyder’s gloomy, brooding, emotionally constipated Superman—who seemed like he needed a hug and a therapist—this version is warm, light and dare I say, hopeful. David Corenswet plays an earnest Clark Kent who wants to do good… simply because it’s the right thing to do. In today’s superhero landscape, where every cape seems to come with an existential crisis, this kind of moral clarity feels weirdly radical. It also makes you realise how far the genre has drifted into the abyss of brooding moral complexity.
Don’t get me wrong—I love Nolan’s Batman saga, Mangold’s Logan, and the Russo brothers’ Avengers finale. But let’s be honest: it’s hard to take seriously a flying man in red underwear who can shoot lasers from his eyes (when they’re not busy doing x-ray vision), leap tall buildings in a single bound, and deep-freeze your soda with a puff of breath—all while looking like he walked out of a Broadway musical.
Yet somehow, Gunn makes it work. This is my favourite Superman movie—yes, even more than the original Christopher Reeve one (which I liked mostly because it was the first and I was too young to know better). Here, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is delightfully unhinged, a perfect villain for a world run on social media outrage, 24-hour news, and geopolitical chaos.
Superman does Superman things. He saves people. He saves a dog. He saves a squirrel. He saves the world. No spoilers, but it’s all delivered with Gunn’s signature irreverent charm that makes the entire cast feel human and incredibly likeable. Rachel Brosnahan nails it as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern steals scenes effortlessly, and Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific lives up to his name.
Meanwhile, on the Marvel side, we’ve got Fantastic Four: First Steps—a much-hyped, much-needed fresh take on Marvel’s “first family.” With the rights finally back home after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Marvel does what Marvel does best: give its characters space (and time) to shine.
Fantastic Four has always been about family. Their powers are cool, sure, but it’s the way they work together that makes them super. This iteration is set in a retro-futuristic 1960s alternate universe, far removed from the main MCU timeline. And it’s glorious. Think Jetsons meets Mad Men, with flying cars, giant cathode ray screens in Times Square, and unapologetically bright fashion. It oozes optimism—a throwback to when the future felt exciting, and not like a tech-driven dystopia.
The world cheers when four astronauts return from space with powers, and instead of spiralling into gritty angst, they become Earth’s quirky defenders. They even have their own skyscraper, rocket launchpad, and yes, a flying car.
Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards with a quiet, anxious intensity, while Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm is all heart and gravitas. Joseph Quinn is pitch-perfect as Johnny Storm—a 60s jock with a firestarter ego—and Ebon Moss-Bachrach brings gravitas and warmth as Ben Grimm, the reluctant Golem with a soul.
Galactus shows up (voiced and motion-captured by Ralph Ineson) with a planetary appetite, and the stakes are suitably high. But the real power here isn’t cosmic—it’s the family’s unwavering love for each other. Even when the fate of Earth hangs in the balance, it’s the family bond that pulls them through.
What makes Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps so refreshing is that they both bring superhero cinema back to its roots. No multiverse migraines, no morally grey antiheroes, no convoluted timelines. Just honest-to-goodness heroism and sincere emotion.
Superman reminds us that it’s okay for heroes to do good just because. Fantastic Four reminds us that family—not flashy powers—is what makes a team special. Both films reject the genre’s recent obsession with deconstruction and instead reconstruct something more precious: hope.
Together, they remind us why we fell in love with superheroes in the first place. These stories don’t need to be embarrassed about their spandex or their optimism. In fact, they’re better when they embrace it.
If these two films signal the beginning of a new era, then maybe—just maybe—the superhero genre isn’t dying. It’s being reborn. And this time, with less angst and more awe.
The key isn’t in reinventing the genre. It’s in rediscovering its soul. Reminding us that even in a world full of chaos, there are still people—sometimes aliens—who choose to do good. They inspire, uplift, and give us just enough wonder to believe, if only for two hours, that we live in a world worth saving.