James Gunn’s Superman will feature plenty of other DC characters, from Metamorpho to Green Lantern Guy Gardner. But one somewhat obscure DC character is set to appear, and we even see him in the most recent trailer: Ultraman. No, not the Japanese superhero. DC Comics’ Ultraman is a villain. And although the version we see in the Superman trailer looks different, he does boast Ultraman’s “U” emblem on his chest. James Gunn recently shared an image on social media of the character with his mask in tatters, with the words “Ultraman.”
But can it be the same Ultraman from the comics? Because the image Gunn shared actually looks a lot like Doomsday, the creature who killed Superman. In the comics, there have been three different villains by the name Ultraman, but we can’t rule out a Doomsday appearance either. There’s even one additional bizarre option Gunn could take. So, who is Ultraman? Let’s dive into all the options.
DC Comics’ First Ultraman, an Evil Superman from Earth-3
The first DC Comics Ultraman was a member of the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3, first appearing in 1964’s Justice League of America #29. This was early during the emergence of DC’s Multiverse, just a few years after DC introduced the concept of Earth-2 as the home of the World War II era Justice Society. Earth-3 was home to evil counterparts to the Justice League, led by a villainous Superman named Ultraman. This caped despot was the polar opposite of Superman, although he had all of Superman’s powers, but used them to commit criminal acts.
All we knew about this Ultraman was that he came to Earth from a Krypton that didn’t explode, and unlike Superman, he gains more power from Kryptonite instead of it slowly killing him. Why there’s even Kryptonite when Krypton didn’t explode, we’re not sure. He worked with his cohorts, the Crime Syndicate, to invade Earth-1 with the help of Lex Luthor. Ultraman and the Syndicate continued to plague the heroes of Earth-1 for decades, before finding a conscience and stepping up as heroes when Earth-3 was under threat during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Ultraman died in the Crisis, as a hero, trying to save his world.
The Second Ultraman, from the Anti-Matter Earth
In the post-Crisis DC Universe, writer Grant Morrison reimagined Ultraman and the Crime Syndicate as citizens of the Anti-Matter Universe. Morrison and artist Frank Quitely introduced this Ultraman in the graphic novel JLA: Earth-2. There, everything is the opposite of the main DC Earth, or “Earth-0”. This Ultraman was a regular Earth human named Clark Kent, an astronaut who gained powers in space when encountering aliens who rewired his DNA using Kryptonite. They then returned him to Earth with Kryptonian-like powers and a desire to conquer the world.
In 2013, DC introduced yet another Ultraman, this time from a new version of Earth-3.
Ultraman from the Reimagined Earth-3
In the most recent DC Comics, Ultraman was once again the Kryptonian doppelgänger of Superman. Instead of Kal-El, son of Jor-El, he was Kal-Il, son of Jor-Il, sent by his father to conquer Earth, not save it. He forced the human Kents to provide him cover as their adopted son, Clark. But he was unrepentantly evil. By the age of 7, he killed his adoptive parents. Like previous iterations of Ultraman, he gained more power from Kryptonite exposure, and also led the Crime Syndicate. He seemingly died in battle with the son of Superman, Jonathan Kent.
Could Ultraman Actually Be Doomsday?
Of course, the image of the tattered mask that James Gunn shared actually looks a lot like Doomsday, the monster that famously killed Superman in 1992’s The Death of Superman. At least, it looks like the clothing Doomsday wore before DC revealed what he really looked like underneath. You can definitely see the similarities when you put the images together.
However, we think this is a misdirect from Gunn. Doomsday was used already in the controversial Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and we don’t think DC Studios wants to return to that well anytime soon. But clearly, the look of Ultraman is meant to evoke that early Doomsday from ’90s Superman comics.
Is Ultraman from James Gunn’s Superman Really Bizarro?
So let’s say Ultraman is not Doomsday. Will he be one of the comic versions mentioned above? A Multiversal variant? We don’t know for sure, but we have a strong feeling he won’t be. If we were to guess, he’ll be a mix of two Superman doppelgängers: Ultraman and Bizarro. In the comics, Bizarro was a clone of Kal-El’s that came out wrong. His DNA degraded to the point where he became a simple-minded creature with pasty white skin. We think Ultraman will be a clone of Superman, wearing a mask to protect his true identity from Kal-El. He will be Luthor’s chief weapon against Superman. But we don’t think he’ll hail from the Multiverse. And we wouldn’t be shocked if before the movie ends, he becomes Bizarro. Especially as Bizarro is a major Superman villain who has yet to appear in a movie. If he appears, that would make for a cool final twist.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11.
Originally published on May 19, 2025.