A DC Universe plot hole that emerged with the release of James Gunn‘s Superman has finally been cleared up by the filmmaker and DC Studios co-head.
The DCU is an interesting beast, as it’s both a fresh start and a soft-reboot of the previous DC Extended Universe, which began with Man of Steel (2013) and ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). While Gunn opted to wipe the DCEU histories of some heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman, he also kept some largely intact.
For instance, the DCU version of John Cena’s Peacemaker is extremely similar to the one from the DCEU, with both having experienced the events of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1. Therein lies the plot hole, as in The Suicide Squad, it is stated that Bloodsport shot Superman with a Kryptonite bullet and put him in the ICU; however, in Gunn’s Superman, the opening crawl reveals that the Man of Steel just lost his first fight.
Superman didn’t lose a fight to Bloodsport in the DCU
Ever since Superman’s release, fans have debated online whether Bloodsport’s shooting of Superman was still canon in the DCU. Gunn has now cleared the air, revealing that he does not consider Superman being shot from afar with a kryptonite bullet to be the equivalent of losing a fight.
“A lot of people are saying this. But is being shot by someone at long distance while you’re not looking ‘losing a fight’? I don’t see Abraham Lincoln having ‘lost a fight’ with John Wilkes Booth,” Gunn wrote on Threads, referencing the 16th president of the United States, who was assassinated by Booth in 1865.
As for why fans needed to even have this discussion in the first place, Gunn also revealed why the DCU wasn’t a hard reset, and Peacemaker is yet again to blame.
“Peacemaker Season 2 deals were all in place when I became head of DC. It was either break everyone’s contracts and pay out all that money and take away HBO Max’s biggest show at the time or find a way to make it work. I chose the latter,” explained Gunn as to why he chose to continue certain DCEU storylines in the DCU.
Once the DCU gets fleshed out more with its new takes on Supergirl, the Green Lanterns, Wonder Woman, and Batman, the few lingering storylines from the DCEU will likely be wrapped up or dropped to focus on this new overarching story Gunn plans to tell over the course of a decade.
Superman is available to stream on HBO Max.
