Many fans want to know who Ultraman is in the upcoming Superman 2025 movie. Also known as Ultra Man (perhaps to make him distinct from the Japanese superhero Ultraman), the supervillain fully clad in a black suit, black head covering, and black tactical gear has been seen several times in the Superman trailers for the James Gunn-directed film. The mysterious soldier has pushed The Man of Steel into the pavement and locked his arms behind him in what looks like an arrest. In the most recent trailer there’s also a shot of a character, who is apparently Ultraman, firing laser beams that push Superman back in a dark tunnel. But what exactly is Ultraman’s identity in the 2025 film?
What is Ultraman’s identity in the new Superman movie?
Ultraman is described as something close to a “thug” for Lex Luthor, according to James Gunn, and is a pound-for-pound match for Superman as far as his abilities are concerned.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn is asked whether Ultraman is an attempt by Luthor to duplicate the Man of Steel as his own creation. The director responds, “I think that’s close. Ultra Man is sort of Lex’s thug, and is pretty powerful.”
It’s also been confirmed that Ultraman has “laser vision, strength, and flight,” which pretty much verifies that the shadowed figure firing laser beams from his eyes at Superman [image above] is indeed him. In multiple trailers we’ve seen the villain fighting Superman in a baseball field (which is actually Progressive Field for the Cleveland Guardians), tackling him head-on with sustained flight, though the superhero is able to grit his teeth and bodyslam him into the dirt. We also see that Ultraman is a member of Lex’s group that infiltrates the Fortress of Solitude and destroys many of the attendent Superman robots.
The identity of Ultraman is still unclear (as it should be, really), but we do have several hints. First and foremost, Ultraman is a supervillain that already exists in the DC comics and is effectively an evil counterpart of Superman that appears in more than a few alternate universes. In some versions, Ultraman is actually powered and strengthened by green kryptonite instead of being weakened by it. Actor Tom Welling also portrayed Ultraman in the Smallville series.
We also know that in the prequel book for the film called “Superman Welcome to Metropolis” that Lex Luthor is capable of creating cyborgs, specifically Metallo. After Superman defeats Metallo, Luthor enhances his creation with kyptonite, making him far more formidable the next time they clash. Fortunately, The Justice Gang (that’s Green Lantern, Mister Terrific, and Green Lantern) helps Superman defeat Metallo, but at the end of the novel, Luthor gathers the remaining pieces of the cyborg. So it’s possible that Ultraman is actually an upgraded version of Metallo after being given additional abilities.
That said, the unmasked character that fires red laser beams at Superman in the tunnel is seen having long hair, though his face is obscured. This doesn’t necessarily disprove the Metallo theory, but it wouldn’t be far-fetched to believe that Ultraman is actually a clone of Superman controlled by Lex (like the origin story for Superboy). Actor Nicholas Hault who plays Lex Luthor in the film highlighted that Superman’s arrival disrupts his vision of human dominance and control, so it makes sense that he would want to recreate Superman as a clone or cyborg.
It’s also not clear which actor will play Ultraman in the upcoming film or if it’s even a speaking role. There have been some actors who have confirmed their presence in the Superman movie but haven’t said what their character is yet. This includes Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor in Smallville and stated in an interview at Fan Expo Dallas that “James asked me to do something fun, so I have a couple of lines that I voice. It’s funny, in a way…” Either way, we’ll find out the identity of Ultraman whose Superman 2025 releases worldwide in early July.
