The Real Reason Superman Bleeds, According To James Gunn

Director and DC Studios co-president James Gunn has dropped the first, epic teaser trailer for "Superman," and it opens with the Man of Steel slamming into a crater on a snowy field, probably near the Fortress of Solitude. Unfortunately for the Last Son of Krypton, he's not looking too good: he's covered with scratches and blood, with the latter also pouring from his mouth to form a pool in the snow beneath him.

Superman seems badly hurt, which might lead some fans to wonder just how something like that could happen. Everyone knows that Superman is essentially indestructible, save for the occasional bout of Kryptonite poisoning. Other than that, it might take a world of punishment to break his skin, so what makes him so bloody when the teaser opens? 

Fortunately, we won't have to wait until the movie hits theaters next summer to find an answer because Gunn addressed the bloodied Kryptonian soon after the teaser dropped. At a Q&A for the trailer's unveiling, Gunn specifically addressed how Superman could bleed and why he chose to make him do so (via FandomWire): "We do have a battered Superman in the beginning. That is our country."

It's not easy to draw blood from steel, but that's clearly what happens to Superman in the moments leading up to the teaser's opening scene. Few characters are even capable of damaging Superman in any appreciable way, but given his state in the teaser — without the strength to make it home, he calls for his powerful pal, Krypto the Superdog, to drag him there — viewers are left to wonder what happened.

At the same Q&A, James Gunn said that Superman and the film are metaphors for the world we live in today. "I believe in the goodness of human beings," he explained. "I believe that most people in this country, despite their ideological beliefs, their politics, are doing their best to get by and be good people — despite what it may seem like to the other side, no matter what that other side might be. This movie is about that. It's about the basic kindness of human beings, and that it can be seen as uncool and under siege [by] some of the darker voices [that] are some of the louder voices."

It seems, based on Gunn's comment, that Superman is injured because the country isn't running smoothly, with much of the population divided along ideological lines. If Superman can bleed, so too can the nation, and that's how Gunn sees this film. Of course, Superman has bled in the comics, most notably in the "Death of Superman" storyline, but for the most part, that rarely happens — making the arrival of "Superman" on July 11, 2025 all the more enticing.