It’s no secret that Brightburn—the superhero-themed horror movie from producer James Gunn—owes its existence to DC comics’ poster boy, Superman. After all, it’s a dark retelling of the same story that ends with Krypton’s last son becoming an unstoppable villain. Some comic book fans even jokingly referred to the movie as an Elseworlds tale or the Superman horror movie that Zack Snyder wanted to make but failed to do so in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But beyond these, Brightburn has a few more nods and homages to DC’s superhero comics. Here’s a (spoiler-filled) look at five ways that Brightburn ties itself to the DC universe through its own twisted methods.
Reign of the Superman
As seen in its trailers, it was obvious that Brightburn was not only riffing Superman’s well-known legend but specifically Zack Snyder’s polarizing take on the character. In a way, the movie takes Snyder’s ideas in Man of Steel to dark extremes by having Brandon unleash his superhuman might on defenseless people.
Some similarities include the way the movie is visually presented to the modernized reinterpretations of Superman’s arrival and childhood on Earth. Brightburn deliberately draws parallels to Man of Steel’s opening moments and the traditional Superman story before turning everything on their heads to show how deadly a real-life superman would be. In Man of Steel, Smallville and Metropolis are demolished during Superman’s fights against General Zod’s forces. Brightburn follows the same logic, but without a Zod to provoke Brandon, leading to a brutal and unpredictable massacre. At least Superman can claim that the collateral damage was accidental—Brandon knows but doesn’t care.
Beware the Superman
Brightburn isn’t unlike many famous dystopian stories such as Injustice or Red Son that imagine Superman turning evil for a variety of reasons. Usually, Superman abandoning his morals and values is depicted as the result of a personal tragedy that breaks the big blue boy scout. Brandon, however, needs no such motives. Brightburn emphasizes his otherworldly origins more than any Superman comic, showing that alien influence outside of mankind’s control makes Brandon monstrous. In what seems like a demonic reinterpretation of Jor-El teaching Clark Kent about his destiny, Brandon’s alien heritage isn’t taught to him by but rather awakened through what looks like alien possession. If Superman becomes a tyrannical despot with a warped sense of justice and an iron fist, Brandon goes on a destructive rampage with no other goal than to satisfy himself and the voices from the spaceship.
Lex Luthor Was Right
An interesting if poorly developed theme in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was the distrust in super-powered beings from another world that Batman and Lex Luthor shared. While they’re ultimately proven wrong because Superman really is humanity’s greatest champion, Brightburn—aka Brandon Breyer—is the personification of everything the two feared.
Brightburn essentially validates Batman’s fear in the “one percent chance” that Superman may turn evil, while also proving Luthor’s hypothesis that demons don’t come from below, but from above to be true.
A potential sequel to this movie may delve deeper into this concept, with Brandon possibly declaring himself a god among men to rule mankind, or it could double down on his being a destructive force of evil. But no matter direction the next Brightburn chooses to go, it will definitely show how Brandon is the very opposite of everything that Superman represents and is right to be feared.
A League of Their Own
The scariest part of Brightburn is the revelation that Brandon isn’t alone. As the credits roll, a humorous if foreboding online video featuring the conspiracy theorist The Big T plays, where he warns viewers about a deadly “half-man, half sea creature,” and a demonic woman who strangles her victims with a rope. To anyone familiar with the DC universe’s heroes, it’s obvious that these two are evil versions of Aquaman and Wonder Woman, respectively. If their presence hints at a potential team-up among the evil super-powered beings, Brightburn could step up as the group’s leader since he’s this world’s Superman.
Given the movie’s nihilistic depiction of superpowers, it won’t be much of a surprise if other super beings who share similarities to DC’s most famous heroes—and maybe even its villains—emerge to either side with Brandon or challenge him.
Man Versus God
As a hysterical Big T rants to his audience, a collage of super-powered beings is shown beside him, but with one unexpected inclusion; the Crimson Bolt from James Gunn’s superhero satire Super, who has no powers and shuts crime up with a pipe wrench. For those who may not know, the Crimson Bolt—aka Frank Darbo—was a short-order cook who became a superhero to rescue his wife after she left him. He may have no powers, but he’s known for shutting crime up with the use of a pipe wrench.
If Brightburn exists in the same universe as Super, Frank Darbo could be its answer to Batman or Gangbuster; a regular human being in a costume with some fighting skills and an unshakable moral code. His potential allegiances may be unknown, but it should be noted that whenever Superman turns evil, Batman’s always there to oppose him.
The Bionic Woman
Brightburn confirmed the existence of evil supermen while leaving the door open for their heroic rivals. While a foil to Brandon never appears in the final cut, the filmmakers toyed with the idea and may revisit it in a sequel. In an interview, director David Yarovesky revealed that a scrapped ending featured Caitlyn—the girl Brandon stalked—having a robotic arm implanted and looking ready for revenge. The DC comics has its share of heroes with mechanical limbs such as Arsenal and Cyborg, meaning Caitlyn could be this universe’s version of these characters.
But given the setting’s bleak atmosphere, it may make more sense for Caitlyn to seek vengeance against Brandon instead of protecting humanity from his wrath, especially since he murdered her mother Erica. Though the act itself is never shown, what remains of Erica is briefly seen near the movie’s conclusion, and it’s a sight that will inspire the most violent of retributions imaginable.
