Superman: Legacy - The Anti-Joker of the DC Universe

Superman: Legacy vs. Joker: A Tale of Two Universes

The upcoming Superman: Legacy film in the DCU will make the new Man of Steel the complete opposite of 2019's Joker. When James Gunn's DC movie slate was announced, Superman: Legacy was billed as the true beginning of the rebooted DC Universe across film, TV, and video games.

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker makeup speaks at a talk show in Joker

Alongside it was Joker: Folie \/ Deux, the sequel to 2019's Joker and an Elseworlds project, essentially meaning the story exists in another continuity to James Gunn's Superman: Legacy. Despite existing in different universes, both movies fall under the banner of the DCU.

David Corenswet as Superman in costume in Superman Legacy

While Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga will continue the story of Joker, Superman: Legacy's cast of characters will usher in a new age of live-action DC stories. Intriguingly, everything that has been revealed about Superman: Legacy thus far proves that the film is connected to Joker in an interesting albeit loose way. While not linked by character, plot, or even universe, Superman: Legacy's connection to Joker is that the former will be an almost intentional polar opposite of the latter.

The Contrast: Joker vs. Superman: Legacy

The core plot of Joker was centered around a man being consistently beaten down by society. From the failure pinned on Arthur Fleck on a governmental level due to a lack of mental health care and treatment to the personal attacks Arthur faced from everyone in his life, the film's story depicted how these failures saw Arthur become a vengeful anarchist. This made Joker an incredibly compelling albeit difficult-to-watch film, as it made the character somewhat sympathetic before driving him to deplorable extremes by the failures of the society in which he lived.

Conversely, Superman: Legacy is shaping up to be the complete opposite of this. The only similarity Superman and Joker share as characters is that they are treated poorly by society around them. Clark is the last living Kryptonian in most iterations of the character, an orphan who is belittled by those around him as he grows up human. That said, the polarization between Superman: Legacy and Joker will be found in that the former will depict Clark taking the good he has seen in humanity and imprinting that on the world.

The Man Of Steel: Defying Expectations

One of the most important things to get correct in order to make a perfect Superman film is that Clark is not simply kind for the sake of having a hero. Rather than making Superman the boring, boy scout do-gooder that public perception often attributes towards the character, a perfect Superman film highlights why Clark Kent is a good person in spite of societal flaws.

Despite the issues Clark has faced through Krypton's destruction and Earth's rejection of him, the character takes the good aspects of his life and pays it back to the people of Earth. These elements include the love of his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, the welcoming community of Smallville, and the close, caring connections he finds with characters like Perry White, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen. Superman becomes one of DC's most compelling heroes because he recognizes these good aspects of humanity and fights for them. Given that James Gunn evidently understands this, Superman: Legacy is expected to exemplify these aspects of the character and make the DCU's Man of Steel the polar opposite of 2019's Joker.