James Gunn & The Superman Cast Answer The 50 Most Googled Superman Questions

WIRED

Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), David Corenswet (Superman/Clark Kenr), and Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) are joined by Director James Gunn to answer the internet's 50 most searched for questions about the Man of Steel.  Director: Jackie Phillips Director of Photography: Grant Bell Editor: Louis Lalire Talent: Rachel Brosnahan; David Corenswet; James Gunn; Nicholas Hoult Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas Production Manager: Peter Brunette Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark Talent Booker: Lauren Mendoza Camera Operator: Shay Eberle-Gunst Sound Mixer: Kari Barber Production Assistant: Lauren Boucher; Brock Spitaels Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Additional Editor: JC Scruggs Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Rachel.

00:01I'm Nick.

00:02I'm David.

00:03And I'm James.

00:04And together, we are Superman-Makers people.

00:08We're going to answer the most Googled questions about Superman.

00:17All right, you do the first one.

00:18Are Superman and Supergirl cousins?

00:21Yes.

00:23Good.

00:23Next one.

00:24Can Superman breathe in space?

00:26Of course he can't breathe in space.

00:27No?

00:28No, there's no air in space.

00:29That's easy.

00:30But he can't breathe.

00:31No, don't bring up the more specifics.

00:34Does Luther know Superman's identity?

00:36As in Clark Kent?

00:38No.

00:39Obviously, yes.

00:41Well, he knows who Superman is, but he doesn't know his own character.

00:43No, he doesn't know that he's Clark Kent.

00:44No, he doesn't know that.

00:45Sometimes?

00:46Well, you know, DC Comics has a rich history of alternate stories and, you know, Elseworld

00:52tales.

00:53And so there have been times when he's known who he is, but usually not, or find out, or

00:57he finds out and gets a mind ray that makes him forget.

01:00How does Superman fly?

01:02He thinks about it really, really hard.

01:04Next question.

01:05It definitely takes effort.

01:07That's for sure.

01:08It's like treading water, but he's just really good at it.

01:10But how does it happen?

01:11He just thinks about it?

01:12Don't...

01:13What is considered the best Superman comic?

01:16Uh, Luther Man of Steel.

01:19I think it would...

01:20Lois Lane's Superman's girlfriend.

01:22Generally, there are two series that would be considered the greatest Superman comics.

01:28Jeff Loeb and Tim Sayles' Superman for all seasons, and it is Grant Morrison and Frank

01:33Quietly's all-star Superman.

01:35But Alan Moore's Superman story is one of the best, whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow

01:40and a lot of other different versions, too, that are really great.

01:43So...

01:44How did Superman get his powers?

01:46Born with them, right?

01:47He just has them because he's on Earth.

01:48Well, he's born with the potential for them, but they come out because he grows up on a planet

01:54with a yellow sun.

01:55Yep.

01:56That's what I...

01:57That's what I get them.

01:58Who is the new Superman?

01:59Me.

02:04What is Superman's real name?

02:07Well, there's two.

02:08I mean...

02:09Superman.

02:10That is his real name.

02:12Superman.

02:13Superman's real name is Superman.

02:15Come on.

02:16His legal name is Clark Kent, given to him by his adopted parents.

02:20His original name is Kal-El.

02:22Wait, can I add a question?

02:23Does Clark Kent have a social security number?

02:26Yes.

02:27I just thought about that.

02:28That's what his parents apply for.

02:29It's so obvious.

02:30They went through a whole rigamarole of faking his adoption and all that stuff.

02:33Did you just make that up?

02:34No, that's true.

02:36Will Superman 2025 be good?

02:38No, it will be great!

02:40Uh-oh!

02:42Oh, that's a good one.

02:44What is so special about Lois Lane?

02:46That's what I said all the time.

02:47Why are people Googling this?

02:49She's a brilliant journalist.

02:51She's courageous, and she will do just about anything in pursuit of truth and justice.

02:56And she's one of only a handful of humans, maybe only two, who can really match Superman and call him on his shit.

03:03Yeah, both here.

03:04Tough table.

03:05Why is Lex Luthor bald?

03:07Well, because he has no hair.

03:11No, there's different reasons, actually, in different media.

03:14What's your reason?

03:15Somewhere it's Superman's fault.

03:17There's somewhere he was caught in a fire because of it.

03:19There's somewhere he was just balding.

03:20Yeah.

03:21What other reasons about that?

03:22There's a few...

03:23That he shaves his head.

03:24Yeah.

03:25That he does it on purpose.

03:26So, yeah, it just depends on...

03:27Why are you bald?

03:28Yeah, what's yours?

03:29Because it looks cool.

03:30Yeah.

03:31Yeah, he does look cool.

03:32Yeah.

03:33Yeah.

03:34Yeah.

03:35Where did Superman grow up?

03:37In his house.

03:38That's Smallville.

03:39I wish I knew the zip code, but I don't.

03:42What does the S on Superman's suit mean?

03:45The idea is that it's not actually an S. It just sort of looks like an S to human beings.

03:49But it's the symbol of hope.

03:51It means hope sort of in the house of...

03:53It means S. It's Superman.

03:56Oh, sorry.

03:57Geez.

03:58Isn't that not true, though?

03:59I thought you were onto it.

04:00Again, it's all different...

04:02Sometimes it's the symbol of the house of L.

04:04Sometimes it's the symbol of hope.

04:05Yes.

04:06It often is the symbol of the house of L.

04:07That's one of the things I like about our S is that it sort of doesn't...

04:11It isn't an S.

04:12It doesn't, yeah.

04:13It looks less like an S.

04:14It's a human being.

04:15What does Superman do with his clothes when he changes?

04:17In the comics, he puts them in a slot on his cape.

04:21And in our movie, he eats them.

04:23He eats them and poops them out when he's done.

04:26Why can Superman fly but other Kryptonians can't?

04:29Well, other Kryptonians can fly if they're on Earth.

04:32So, like, when General Zod or, you know, Kara, who's his cousin, Supergirl,

04:36comes to Earth, they can also fly.

04:38Can Superman breathe underwater?

04:41Yeah.

04:42Can you?

04:43I mean, I think...

04:44You can hold your breath a really long time, I bet.

04:46You can't breathe underwater.

04:48You don't think I can breathe in the water and extract the oxygen from the water?

04:51I was gonna say, there's oxygen out there.

04:53I don't think so.

04:54No?

04:55No, I think you're...

04:56His body basically works like a human body, except for the flying stuff.

04:59You can hold your breath a really long time.

05:01And some other things as well.

05:03That Lois enjoys.

05:04Why can no one tell who Superman is?

05:07Because he wears a very tricky pair of glasses.

05:09Glasses.

05:10But we actually get into it in the movie.

05:12So you'll see.

05:13If you go see Superman in theaters July 11th, you'll see.

05:16When was Superman created?

05:181930...

05:191928?

05:201928?

05:2126?

05:2224?

05:2322?

05:2425?

05:25What did you say?

05:2636.

05:2738?

05:28Yeah.

05:2938 was his first appearance.

05:30He was created several years earlier in the basement of the house in Cleveland, Ohio,

05:34by Jerry Siegel.

05:35Yes.

05:36Yes.

05:37It just took him a while to get published.

05:38There was also a different, kind of weirder version.

05:40Yes.

05:41You see those early drawings where Superman was a much different sort of character.

05:44It wasn't like what we would think of as a superhero.

05:46Where was Superman born?

05:47He was born on Krypton.

05:49Krypton.

05:50What is Lois Lane's weakness?

05:52Superman.

05:53The sexiness of Superman.

05:55And his heart.

05:57And a good strong cup of coffee.

05:59She does love a cup of coffee, but it has to have 30 sugars in it.

06:03Yeah.

06:04Who is playing Lex Luthor in the new Superman movie?

06:06Me.

06:07Well, Nick.

06:08I could go that.

06:09That's why it's on the list.

06:10And it's me.

06:12Who's playing Green Lantern in Superman?

06:14I mean, you know him best.

06:15You tell him.

06:16Nathan Fillion.

06:17Where does Superman live?

06:19Metropolis.

06:20Yes.

06:23What kind of a dog is Superdog?

06:26I guess they're saying Crypto the Superdog, but we don't, nobody really calls him Superdog.

06:31Yeah.

06:32What kind of dog is Crypto?

06:33Crypto in our movie is based on my dog, Ozu, who is a total mutt and the world's worst dog.

06:43And that was the inspiration for the whole movie was this terrible, terrible, terrible dog.

06:49You love him.

06:51You made a character of him in Superman.

06:54You love him.

06:55As an adversary.

06:56You know I love him.

06:57I love my dog.

06:58He's the best.

06:59He's a sweetheart.

07:00He loves to be loved.

07:01James Gunn hates his dog.

07:02But he didn't like me at first.

07:03He really did not like me.

07:04I have one of those too.

07:05My dog didn't like anyone.

07:06Now he loves me now.

07:07He's not going to be happy when he sees this.

07:10Does Superman change in a telephone booth?

07:12Not since people don't make calls in telephone booths.

07:15Does he change inside a cell phone now?

07:17Yes, he does.

07:18Like an iPhone.

07:19What is Superman's famous line?

07:24Am I missing something obvious?

07:25The thing that comes to mind is, well I guess it's a, I stand for truth, justice, and the American way.

07:32The line that always comes to mind for me is when he says a friend to Lois.

07:36Oh, I like that.

07:37Yeah.

07:38Does he have, he doesn't really have a like.

07:39He doesn't, I mean like if I guess, you know.

07:41Up, up, and away.

07:42Like Batman you'd, up, up, and away is, yeah I guess.

07:45But you never really see him say it.

07:47That's how he flies.

07:49That's how he flies.

07:50Yeah, yeah, he says the magic words.

07:52Up, up, and away.

07:53I think he has a lot of famous phrases that are around him, but he doesn't have a, you know like Batman says,

07:59I'm Batman.

08:00Right.

08:01And so people always say that.

08:02It was just from the Michael Keaton version of the character, but.

08:04I guess we say it's a bird, it's a plane.

08:07Oh, this one you're going to like.

08:09Does that mean I'm going to hate it?

08:11You're going to like it?

08:12No, you're going to like it for real.

08:13Does Lois Lane ever get powers?

08:16Yes, she does.

08:18Boy, does she.

08:19She becomes Superwoman for a day on her birthday.

08:23In All-Star Superman.

08:24In All-Star Superman.

08:25And there's other where she gets powers.

08:27Like right now in the comics you can go see her, she has super powers in the comics as we speak.

08:32James, are you feeling inspired?

08:34Yeah, maybe.

08:35I think about it every time I see her with powers.

08:37I'm like, I know it.

08:39I've been saying this in the movie.

08:40I know it's Rachel's.

08:41She was so happy to be cast as Lois Lane and another part of her was like,

08:45I want to be able to fly.

08:48Tell James you want a sequel where Lois Lane flies.

08:51Oh my God.

08:52That's all I'm going to hear on threads.

08:55You know?

08:56What happens to Superman when he touches Kryptonite?

08:59He gets weak.

09:00Yeah.

09:01It doesn't even need to touch it.

09:02It would burn him very badly.

09:03It would screw him up.

09:05He gets radiation poisoning.

09:07Yeah.

09:08Being around Kryptonite kills him eventually.

09:10Spoiler alert.

09:11Why does Lex hate Superman?

09:12Because he's everything he wants to be.

09:14Aww.

09:15That's so nice.

09:16That's pretty sad.

09:18How rich is Lex Luthor?

09:20Billions.

09:21Billionaire.

09:22Many times over.

09:23Yeah.

09:24Oh yeah.

09:25Super rich.

09:26Maxwell Lord, Simon Stagg, and Lex Luthor.

09:28They're kind of this billionaire's club and they're all different levels of malicious or mischievous.

09:34And Max was probably the best of them because he, you know, has funded the group in the movie.

09:43Secret stuff.

09:44Don't talk about it.

09:46What is Superman's middle name?

09:49Danger.

09:50Justin.

09:51Justin.

09:53W.

09:54Is it?

09:56You know, I gave that one to you because I didn't want to have to answer it.

10:00Does Clark Kent have a middle name?

10:02I'm embarrassed that I don't know.

10:03He does?

10:04He does?

10:05What is it?

10:06What's his middle name?

10:07Joseph.

10:08I was so close.

10:09Joseph.

10:10His middle name.

10:11Clark Kent.

10:12Oh, you just asked that.

10:13Clark Joseph Kent is his middle name.

10:14Are you just trying to take the win for the edit?

10:16Yeah.

10:17Who is the bad guy in Superman 2025?

10:20You're looking at him.

10:22I thought you were going to say Superman.

10:25Superman.

10:26Yes, Superman.

10:28You decide.

10:29You decide.

10:30Jury's out.

10:32Why doesn't Superman kill?

10:34I think the main reason is that he sees the good in just about everybody, maybe to a fault.

10:40And so he even sees the good in those trying to do him harm.

10:44Yeah, I believe he believes in a basic right to life.

10:48I mean, I think that he's not, that's just not in him.

10:51But I also don't, I'm not a purist in that respect.

10:54I think that if, for instance, he had to kill to protect somebody's life, he would probably do that, even though that would be hard for him.

11:02Who is Clark Kent's biological mother?

11:04Lara.

11:05Lara, yeah.

11:06Lara?

11:07Yeah.

11:08Why does bizarro Superman look the way he does?

11:11Well, because he's bizarre and he's from bizarro planet and he looks like a crazy man.

11:17I think he looks better.

11:18Than Superman?

11:19Yeah.

11:20I bet you do.

11:21Why is Superman weak to kryptonite?

11:24Because...

11:25Oh, what's the mechanism?

11:26Planet?

11:27Yeah, explain the science via kryptonite to him.

11:30I probably understand the science behind it.

11:31Well, we understand it.

11:32The three of us understand it very well, so why don't you explain it to us?

11:35This is like a quiz.

11:36Well, when you're on Krypton with kryptonite, very rare rock, you have to...

11:43I don't know.

11:44What's the reason?

11:45Because it's really bad for you.

11:46Who is Superman's best friend?

11:49Lois Lane.

11:50Superman's best...

11:51No.

11:52Superman's best pal, Jimmy Olsen.

11:53Jimmy.

11:54Oh.

11:55They love each other, too.

11:56You see in the movie, they love each other.

11:57Yeah, it's really sweet.

11:58Ah, Skyler.

11:59What a great guy.

12:00Yeah.

12:01Are all Kryptonians as strong as Superman?

12:03Well, relatively, but, you know, he's...

12:06They would be the same as if...

12:08So, like, if he was to fight Kara, who's his cousin and smaller than him, it would be...

12:14He's bigger.

12:15So, yeah, but basically they all have superpowers if they come to the planet.

12:19I also like to think that his upbringing on Earth has given him certain grit and oof...

12:23I think that's true.

12:24...that would help him, you know, just outlast an equal Kryptonian opponent.

12:28Yeah, maybe.

12:29Maybe.

12:30He's pretty good at fighting.

12:31Yeah.

12:32A little extra...

12:33Some of these have gone far.

12:34Yeah.

12:35You're gonna have to pick all these up when we're done.

12:36What is Superman's suit made of?

12:39I'm done helping you.

12:40Lex's tears.

12:41What do you make it out of?

12:42Well, there's different things in different stories.

12:44Oftentimes, it is the blankets that he was swaddled in that his mother turned into his suit when he came to Earth.

12:51In our movie, we don't answer that yet.

12:53What version of Green Lantern is in the new Superman movie?

12:56That's a good question.

12:57GG.

12:58Guy Gardner.

12:59Guy Gardner.

13:00Can Superman fly without his suit?

13:02Yes, but you don't get that in this movie.

13:04Can Superman go back in time like The Flash only in the Richard Donner 1979 version of Superman the movie?

13:12Turns back time to save lives.

13:14Yeah, but I think that if that happened in our movie, the world would go backwards, and that means everyone would just be crushed and die.

13:22And Superman would land on the crushed Earth and be like, oh no, what did I do?

13:27A little sheepish.

13:28I didn't make time go backwards.

13:30I just killed everyone on the planet because I wanted to save my girlfriend.

13:36Thanks, Katie.

13:37That's a lot of Googling of Superman.

13:39Welcome to Superman.

13:40I'll be right back.

13:41I'm so happy.

13:42You're welcome.

13:43I'm so happy.

13:44Check that out.

13:45I'll be right back.

13:46Well, I'll be right back.

13:48You're welcome.

13:49I'm so happy.

13:50I'm not for sure.

13:51I have so happy.

13:52I'm almost as happy as the other half of the world's world can be.

13:56You won't be right back.

13:57You're welcome.

13:58And I will be right back.

14:00You're welcome.

14:01I will be right back.

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