A Set Photo From James Gunn’s Superman May Have Accidentally Spoiled the Man of Steel’s Most Important Battle

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James Gunn has accrued considerable goodwill from comic book fans, thanks to the surprising success of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Suicide Squad for the DCEU. All of them remain undisputed high points for their respective franchises, and the arrival of Gunn’s Superman in 2025 has raised considerable enthusiasm for his soft reboot of DC’s big-screen universe. Its open love for the comics is on display in the movie’s teaser, and reflects the director’s deep affection for the medium.

That’s been underscored by an extremely blurry photo from the set which recently surfaced online, revealing what appears to be a significant spoiler: Lex Luthor’s purple-and-green battle armor. The suit has been a staple of the comics for decades, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, when the character was expanding into TV and movies. It isn’t the first time it’s made an appearance in an adaptation before, though never in movie theaters. It strongly hints at the finale to Gunn’s hotly anticipated film, which once again makes Luthor the Man of Steel’s primary nemesis. The appearance of the war suit is also a strong signal that the new Superman is going all-in on the comics’ version of DC.

Lex Luthor Was Always a Gadgeteer

The Businessman Villain Wasn’t Afraid to Use His Toys.

Like most comic book characters of his standing, Lex Luthor’s look has evolved a great deal over the years. He first appeared in 1940’s Action Comics #23 (by Jerry Siegel, Joe Schuster and Paul Cassidy), and served as a reflection of the time. He’s presented as a businessman hoping to induce more European countries into the then early Second World War. He possesses a number of amazing technical devices built by his company to confound the Man of Steel, who triumphs nevertheless and prevents the war from spreading.

Lex Luthor’s earlier appearances cement the two key aspects of his character: his status as both a financial and a technical genius, as well as instilling a need to avenge himself upon Superman for foiling his scheme, which soon evolved into a permanent obsession with the Man of Steel. Luthor’s penchant for gadgetry conveniently allowed him to battle Superman directly, which was also established early in his development. The 1950 serial Atom Man vs. Superman featured Luthor as its villain, donning a rather ridiculous helmet to terrorize Metropolis as “Atom Man.”

Luthor in the serial was played by actor Lyle Talbot, whose visage became the template for the comics’ version of the character for many years after that. Despite (or perhaps because of) the Atom Man helmet, Luthor tended to stay away from costumes. His first animated appearances in 1966’s The New Adventures of Superman Saturday morning series from Filmation depicted him in a brown jacket and tie, which he would sometimes discard in favor of shirtsleeves. Luthor’s appearance changed in 1968’s The Superman/Batman Hour, which merged the two titular heroes’ adventures into a single viewing bloc.

The Superman/Batman Hour premiered with “Luthor’s Lethal Laser,” in which the Superman villain uses a weapon on the moon to blackmail the nations of the world. He dons a bright orange spacesuit in order to operate the laser, which doesn’t work as a look, but provides some simple visual distinction for the cartoon. That was the state of the character in 1974 when DC decided to update Luthor’s look. He debuted a new purple-and-green “Battle Array” costume in Superman #282 (by Elliot S. Maggin, Curt Swan, and Kurt Schaffenberger), with all manner of toys and gadgets to help him fight the Man of Steel.

Luthor’s own arsenal included jet boots to fly and “pain-inducing gloves,” which put him on equal footing with his longtime foe. He retained the look when the vaunted Superfriends Saturday morning cartoon added him to their roster in 1978. Challenge of the Superfriends introduced The Legion of Doom, led by Luthor in the Battle Array costume and featuring a who’s who of villains from across the DC Universe. It introduced the larger DC pantheon to a generation of new fans, and his purple-and-green outfit became iconic.

Luthor’s look changed again in 1983, as DC prepared to celebrate Superman’s 45th anniversary. Action Comics #544 (by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Anthony Tollin and Ben Oda) featured a major make-over for both Luthor and Brainiac. The pair is depicted on the cover with their “classic” incarnations stepping back for their new looks. In Luthor’s case, his Battle Array costume gives way to his war suit, built from alien technology to truly challenge Superman in a fight.

The war suit stayed with Luthor through the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and subsequent reboots of the main DC Universe. Its origins have subsequently changed as well, ranging from a purely LexCorp device to a modified Kryptonian gadget to a specific construction of the planet Apokolips. Regardless, it can easily fit any number of weapons or devices the writers can think of — including Kryptonite — which ensures that Luthor isn’t stuck scheming behind his desk when it comes to a throwdown with his archnemesis.

Lex Luthor’s TV Appearances Include His Suit

Movies Have Been Slower to Adapt the Look

The war suit has since shown up in various TV depictions of Luthor. That includes Clancy Brown’s version in the Diniverse cartoons, Michael Cudlitz’s recent outing in the series finale of Superman & Lois, and a bevvy of DC animated movies. In terms of big-screen movies, however, the suit was always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Gene Hackman’s iconic Luthor from the Christopher Reeve movies effectively came and went before it was formally introduced, while Jesse Eisenberg’s turn in the DCEU hinted at a war suit before his presence in the franchise was truncated.

Gunn is an enthusiastic comics fan, and Superman 2025 has already become renowned for embracing many elements that previous live-action adaptations steered away from. The most prominent example is Krypto the Superdog, but it also includes figures like Mister Terrific and Guy Gardner, who are sufficiently offbeat to scare away mainstream filmmakers before now. Gunn’s soft reboot of the DCU clearly isn’t shy about those details, and with the MCU faltering, the approach may be just the thing to give DC a leg up on its perennial competition.

That includes Luthor, whose live-action appearances number close to a dozen, but who has never looked quite so perennially comic book, as Nicholas Hoult does in the movie’s trailer. He appears three times, briefly wearing an all-black business suit, and then in a tuxedo while brandishing a large revolver. It evokes the four-color world of the comics as vividly as Hawkgirl and Guy Gardner do.

Superman 2025’s Lex Luthor Trends Close to the Comics

The Image from the Set Reveals Gunn’s Love of the Source Material

The final shot of Luthor in the trailer is a close-up on his face, sporting cuts and other injuries, which suggests something like the war suit would come into play. Luthor already appears to be Superman’s primary antagonist in the film, and while the pair have tangled on the TV screen before, their theatrical conflicts have been more cerebral than physical. Hoult already knows his way around a good four-color fight scene, with his extended role as Hank McCoy in the X-Men films, as well as action-heavy spectacles like Mad Max: Fury Road. Keeping his Luthor stuck behind a desk would pigeon-hole him alongside previous incarnations of the character, which is precisely what the DCU doesn’t need at this moment.

In light of that, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the war suit would come into play. Not only does it let Luthor properly duke it out with the Man of Steel, but it pays homage to the character’s wilder incarnations, which often get overlooked in favor of the businessman template. The image from the set reveals little about the context, and even less about what Gunn might have in mind for it. Hoult’s Luthor has to take on multiple members of the Justice League as well as Superman himself, however, and the presence of the war suit suggests that the villain is more than up for it.

There’s also a mild dig at the competition somewhere in the move. The MCU was built on Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man, and with the mega-franchise in trouble, they’re turning to Downey’s Doctor Doom (presumably a Stark variant) to bolster its flagging fortunes. Superman might just steal its thunder, with its own genius businessman turned villain. If so, there’s no better way to do it than putting Hoult’s Luthor in his war suit, which just so happens to fit the DCU’s comics-friendly approach like a glove.

Superman 2025 will open in theaters on July 11.

“}]] An image from James Gunn’s Superman movie reveals a key detail from the comics, and may suggest how his blockbuster movie will end.  Read More