If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
The fractured factions of DC's Superman fandom, from the "civil war" ignited by Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and the forgotten '80s ignition point
There’s nothing Superman fans hate more than other Superman fans
Popverse's top stories
- Critical Role's Matt Mercer teases Campaign 4's new setting of Aramán - and how it differs from Exandria
- What to Watch October 2025: Halloween is just around the corner, and Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Prime Video's Hazbin Hotel, and HBO's IT: Welcome to Derry are just a few ways to stream and scream
- Marvel Comics and Magic: The Gathering reveal their second collab: and its all Avengers (and more)
Superman battles Lex Luthor. Superman’s fans battle one another.
One has to look no further than social media, whether it’s X, Facebook, Reddit, or any other platform. Conversations about Superman quickly turn into arguments about the preferred version of the character. Some are embracing David Corenswet’s Superman and looking forward to his future in James Gunn’s DC Universe. Others are mourning the loss of Henry Cavill’s Superman, campaigning for Zack Snyder to return and finish his DCEU saga.
And that’s just two of the factions.
There’s also fans of the numerous television and comic interpretations who argue over which version of the character was best, and how another version betrays everything the Man of Steel stands for.
The conversation has grown so loud that even some of the actors have noticed. Michael Cudlitz, who played Lex Luthor on Superman & Lois, was surprised to find how much in-fighting there was in the Superman fandom.
“Superman fans are an interesting fanbase as a collective,” Cudlitz says at Terrifcon 2025. “As a group, you all are nuts. You hate each other. It’s like they love Superman and the characters, but within the thing it’s like, ‘Ah James Gunn, screw him. Snyder, screw him. Donner, screw him.’”
“Everybody has their Superman that they grew up with and their universe, or their Elseworlds, or whatever Superman it was. Either the graphic novels, or the original TV show, the subsequent movies, and some people only know it through the animated stuff. ‘Clancy Brown is Luthor. Screw this new guy.’ It’s very tribal. Ultimately, it’s been a wonderful experience, because the fans have responded very positively to it.”
Cudlitz previously played Abraham Ford on The Walking Dead, so he’s no stranger to passionate fandoms. In a way that gives his Superman comments more weight, since he has been in the trenches for another popular comic book franchise and has a frame of reference for how passionate fans can get.
Michael Bailey is a Superman expert who has hosted and contributed to various Superman podcasts for decades. Bailey has called the fandom infighting following Man of Steel’s 2013 premiere a “civil war,” but says the roots of the conflict go back further.
“The biggest thing to remember when it comes to the division in the Superman ranks is that it’s not a new phenomenon,” Bailey tells Popverse. “While I am sure there were rumbles over Christopher Reeve vs George Reeves I can say with certainty that John Byrne’s revamp of the character caused a definite rift within the fanbase. Going forward every new iteration of the character brought in a new fanbase and caused a rift within the existing one. Smallville fans vs Superman Return fans. Smallville fans vs Man of Steel fans. Old school Superman fans vs Snyder Superman fans.”
Bailey goes on to say that social media didn’t create the conflict, it just gave it a microphone.
“Now we have Snyder fans vs Gunn fans. If you boil everyone’s arguments down to their essences the arguments are the same. ‘I don’t like this new version. I like the old one,’ and vice versa. The reason it seems like such a large problem now is the immediacy of social media. Back when Byrne took over Superman the arguments were in comic shops, fanzine letters pages, and bulletin boards on the early version of the Internet. Then message boards became a thing in the late 90s and through the 2000’s, so you had more arguments but you still had to find those places to have them.”
“You had to create a log in and a password. Now you have social media, which is omnipresent. Anyone can argue at any time and tribes form quickly. So, it is more of a ‘problem’ because it’s so easy to argue with people that disagree with you but the overall idea of Superman fandom not getting along is an old one.”
To be clear, this isn’t representative of the entire fandom. There are Zack Snyder fans who loved James Gunn’s Superman, and Silver Age Superman readers who loved John Byrne’s reboot. So, things are not as bad as they might seem if you’re always online.
Does this mean the fandom wars might calm down ahead of the 2027 film Man of Tomorrow? I wouldn’t bet on it. It would take a real Superman to end that conflict, and even then, some people might claim he’s the wrong one.
Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.