Superman Merch Confirms Name Of Its Masked Villain, And I’m Really Hoping There’s More To This

Among the things we know James Gunn’s Superman is that it be lacking in adversaries for David Corenswet’s Clark Kent. In addition to Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor leading the charge as the upcoming DC movie’s main antagonist and being aided by María Gabriela de Faría’s Engineer, there are two mysterious masked characters who will cause trouble: the golden-armored Hammer of Boravia (seen in the latest Superman trailer) and someone in all black whose name we don’t know. Or rather, we didn’t know until today, though I’m hoping there’s more to this identity reveal that comes to us from Superman merchandise.

Superman may still be a little under two months away from premiering on the 2025 movies schedule, but merch is trickling its way into store. That, of course, includes toys, and the action figure for the masked character in black (via DCU Updates) identifies them as “DC’s Ultraman.” That would explain the U chest insignia, and including “DC’s” in the label is no doubt a legal distinction given there’s the Japanese character of the same name.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that James Gunn’s Superman reboot would feature a character named Ultraman. Back in April 2024, it was rumored that Corenswet would additionally play Ultraman, who in this continuity will be a clone of the Kryptonian hero created by Lex Luthor. I said it back then and I’ll repeat it now: I’m not a fan of Ultraman being adapted in this way.

To be clear, I don’t have a problem with Superman including a masked character dressed in black who’s powerful enough to give the title hero a run for his money. I just don’t like that they’re called Ultraman. Traditionally in DC lore, Ultraman is an evil doppelgänger of Superman from Earth-3 who leads the Crime Syndicate of America. If you’re turning the character into a generic clone, just call him something else rather than co-opt the Ultraman name.

Apparently it’s a moot point now, but like I said earlier, hopefully there’s more to this than meets the eye. No doubt Ultraman’s mask will be removed at some point during Superman, and when that happens, my fingers are crossed that he’ll end up being a different DC character, and the Ultraman name was just a misdirect. If the first DC Universe movie is indeed going the clone route, then ideally we’ll be getting a take on Bizarro, who’s much more fitting fit a role like this given that Lex Luthor is responsible for his creation in several stories.

I look forward to learning what Ultraman’s deal is one way or another once Superman flies into theaters on July 11. For those of you interested in watching older Superman movies and TV shows ahead of its release, you’ll need a Max subscription.