Superman “Icon” TV Spot Shows Superman Flying
James Gunn’s Superman finally takes flight in a new TV spot. Normally, a 30-second commercial for a movie that’ll probably get a big trailer in about two weeks wouldn’t be a big deal, but this one is getting people talking. Titled Superman “Icon,” the new TV spot is mostly made up of clips we saw in the teaser, but it showcases some new footage from the film as well. One clip is of Lex Luthor in Arctic gear, which is totally not there so they can make an action figure variant, but the big one at the end is of Superman flying, which is getting… mixed reviews on social media. Written and directed by James Gunn, Superman stars David Corenswet as the title character, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and a ton of people as a ton of other DC Comics superheroes. Superman opens on July 11, 2025, and you can see the 30-second TV spot, Superman “Icon,” below:
Aside from that variant figure (I wasn’t completely joking about that; this sucker was expensive and needs to generate a lot of money for Warner Bros.), I assume that shot of Luthor in ski goggles and a fur-lined coat means that he’s in the Arctic looking for the Fortress of Solitude. From this and some other shots in the trailer and spot, we can extrapolate a few things. We’ve seen Superman in action, fighting robots, giant fire-breathing lizard monsters, and whatever that guy on the baseball field is. We see Superman lying bloody and broken in the snow before he calls Krypto and tells his furry friend to take him home, which Krypto dutifully does. And now, we see Lex Luthor touch down in the Arctic, ready for the cold. Could Luthor’s plan – or one of his plans – be to weaken Superman enough to drive him to the Fortress so he can then track him and locate it? He wouldn’t even have to know where or what it is; he could just force Superman off and see where he goes, accessorizing as needed. It seems like a Luthor thing to do; killing Superman could be his main goal, or just a way of ensuring whatever else he’s got up his sleeve succeeds. There appears to be a lot going on in this movie, with all the different threats Superman is facing in these ads; maybe Luthor is taking advantage of them, using them to get to Superman without actually causing them. I’m probably wrong, but we’ll see this summer.
But that’s the small stuff. The real hook of Superman “Icon” is the footage of Superman flying at the end. A lot of people say it looks silly, and I kind of agree. The first bit that’s shot from behind is fine, but when the focus shifts to Superman as he’s flying towards the camera, it looks a little off, like it’s very obvious CGI of David Corenswet’s face. And the weird thing is that it might not be; it could just be the way it’s filmed, with that ultra-clean look a lot of movies have now, especially big blockbusters like this. I’m not one of these grain-obsessed people who hate every 4K release, but sometimes, these new movies just don’t look right. This is an example. Look at the still image above this paragraph; it looks like his face has been added to the shot in post. I’m still hopeful for this film, and I know we’ve barely seen anything yet, and there are still six months until it hits theaters, but I don’t want Superman to be another one of these action/sci-fi movies that look like video games, even down to the main character in certain shots. Superman needs to be better than that, especially considering all that’s riding on it.
Let us know what you thought of the Superman “Icon” TV spot in the comments!
***
If you want to know what kind of political leanings movies have or just talk about cinema, check out the movie ratings community Criticless.
Get Your Geeks + Gamers merch here!
