James Gunn’s Superman Sequel Just Showed How Marvel’s Failed Iron Man For Years

The official first look at Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor warsuit for Man of Tomorrow has generated all kinds of excitement for the upcoming Superman sequel. Not only is it the first time a live-action Luthor has suited up in a comic-accurate armored battlesuit on the big screen, but it’s also a great reminder of just how great practical effects and costumes can be.

One of the biggest draws in the early days of the MCU was how tangible and grounded everything felt, with Marvel’s biggest heroes operating in a world “just outside your window.” This was in large part due to the practical effects in use, the first and one of the best examples being full suits of real armor featured in Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man movies.

However, the progression of the MCU saw some of that practicality diminishing in favor of digital CGI elements as Iron Man’s armors became more complex and high-tech. As cool as Tony Stark’s nanotech is, there’s a decent portion of the MCU fandom that believes something was lost along the way, making Lex Luthor’s new armor in the DCU incredibly exciting (while also setting the bar pretty high for RDJ’s imminent MCU return).

Man of Tomorrow’s Lex Luthor Suit Is Fully Practical (A Reminder Of Iron Man’s Early Years)

Thanks to an official image shared by James Gunn and new set videos from Man of Tomorrow’s ongoing production, it’s been confirmed that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor warsuit is a fully practical costume in all of its green-and-purple glory. Looking as though it’s been ripped straight from the original comics, Luthor’s new armor makes him look more imposing and more than prepared for a major showdown than ever before.

Likewise, the new warsuit reveal serves as a solid reminder of what made the MCU’s earliest Iron Man suits so effective. Created by Stan Winston Studios, the MCU’s first phase of films all had fully practical suits of armor for Iron Man’s various appearances. CGI was naturally used when necessary for the suit’s various functions, but there was still an actual suit of armor to be worn at the end of the day. As such, there was some genuine weight that gradually diminished following 2012’s Avengers heading into the second phase of MCU films.

As Stark’s suits got more complex with new bleeding-edge tech, his suits were only partially practical, culminating in Avengers: Infinity War with the introduction of Iron Man’s nanotech suits, resulting in fully CGI armor that would materialize when Tony Stark needed it.

As impressive as those visual effects often were, it’s been argued that they ultimately lacked some of the tangible charm that made earlier Iron Man appearances in the MCU so special. As such, Hoult’s Lex Luthor armor feels like a most-welcome throwback thanks to James Gunn.

Will Robert Downey Jr. Have Practical Armor Again With Doctor Doom?

Looking to the MCU’s future, one has to wonder about RDJ’s imminent debut as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and whether or not Marvel Studios has also embraced practical armor once more. While it does have high-tech capabilites that will no doubt require some CGI elements (just like Luthor’s no doubt will), Victor von Doom’s armor has always had a medieval aesthetic that would be great to see fully realized practically.

At any rate, Lex Luthor’s new DCU armor has already demonstrated how exciting physical comic-book costumes and armor can be, and it’s certainly thrown down the gauntlet for the MCU’s brand-new supervillain.

Man of Tomorrow releases July 9th, 2027 from DC Studios. Avengers: Doomsday releases December 18th from Marvel Studios.

Source link