Ultraman In Superman Movie Explained: Will He Return In The Future?

As much as Lex insists on how his brains dominate over Superman’s brawn, he still needs metahuman stooges to take on the Man of Steel, and that’s where Engineer and Ultraman come in. While Engineer’s presence is intended to set up the Authority movie later on, it’s the dark costume-clad Ultraman who has become the talk of town ever since Superman got released. How the character is introduced to the narrative and the revelation of his identity, coupled with the future possibilities, leaves much scope for discussion and speculation.

Spoilers Ahead

Ultraman’s Introduction Is a Nod to “The Boys”

Garth Ennis’ The Boys, the edgiest deconstruction of the superhero genre, has gained huge popularity thanks to Amazon Prime’s TV series adaptation of the comic series. In a time where people fanboy over characters like Homelander, the psychotic murderous rip-off of Superman, it was certainly a stroke of genius for James Gunn to use tropes introduced in The Boys to criticize the edgy tropes that have become popular nowadays. Gunn did this by introducing corporate-controlled superheroes like the Justice Gang, showing Lex’s effort to use his Planetwatch to replace the country’s military might. The deep cut, however, turns out to be likening Ultraman to Black Noir’s arc in The Boys comics series. In the comics, Black Noir was actually a mindless clone of Homelander, and it was Noir who committed all the atrocities Homelander was accused of, a revelation that is made in the final issue of the series. In the movie, Ultraman’s costume looked extremely similar to Black Noir’s attire, and the connection becomes more apparent than ever when Ultraman is revealed to be a dumb clone of Superman, whom Lex had created. It’s thanks to their DNA match that Lex was able to use Ultraman to enter the Fortress of Solitude, which was keyed in to the DNA of the Last Son of Krypton. Even though Ultraman’s identity was kept a secret, I am sure fans had already figured out his identity as Superman’s clone long ago. 

Will Ultraman Return As Bizarro?

Following his climactic battle with Superman, Ultraman was thrown into the black hole created inside Lex’s pocket dimension through the widening dimensional rift, which Lex himself activated in Metropolis. Ultraman is probably going to survive falling inside the singularity, as after all Superman took liberties with its comic-book origin to a large extent. There are multiple ways his future can shape up and influence DCU’s lore, the first of which involves his return as Bizarro. In comics, and most recently in Superman and Lois, the ‘Reverse Superman’ Bizarro has his origin, or future, tied with Lex’s manipulations. Even though Ultraman can’t be strictly called Bizarro just yet, given his powers aren’t the identical opposite of that of Superman’s, his trip inside the singularity can change that in the future. If Ultraman returns to the prime DCU universe as Bizarro, it will be interesting to see how Lex tries to use him against Superman. In the comics, depending upon the writer, Lex has remained either negligent about his creation or has valued him as a companion, as seen in the Forever Evil storyline. Although the Bizarro angle will become a repetitive plot point this time around, which makes me speculate about alternate reality theory. 

Will Ultraman Truly Justify His Name?

There is another possibility that can be utilized in Ultraman’s arc in the future of the DCU, and it involves him getting shifted to an alternate reality altogether. The pocket dimension is located in the rifts created in the fabric of reality, which makes it very likely that a singularity created inside the pocket dimension might transport the villain to a different dimension or universe. 

In DC comics, Ultraman refers to the Earth-3 version of the evil counterpart of Superman, who rules over that universe with an iron fist and has the Crime Syndicate—the evil version of the Justice League—to assist him. Through the years, Ultraman has featured in a number of DC’s animated ventures like Crisis on Two Earths and Crisis on Infinite Earths, highlighting his importance in multiverse storytelling. As hinted through Ultraman’s final fate, he might end up in a world where Superman doesn’t exist and can rule over that world as the comics’ version of Ultraman. I mean, sure, this Ultraman lacks even the basic speech pattern and intellect, but surely writers can work around that issue. 

If Ultraman indeed becomes a ruler of a different earth, chances are there it might act as a build-up to a DC Elseworlds movie, or even better yet, a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie in the future. Even though the whole clone doppelganger thing has been a cliché trope in multiverse stories for a long while now, Superman and Lois and Everything Everywhere All At Once have proven that with adept writing, there is still much scope to surprise viewers with this plot device. I just hope that James Gunn and co. don’t let a potential storytelling opportunity go to waste and bring back Ultraman in some capacity. I am sure that even a redemption arc will satisfy viewers. 

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