Is Israel the real villain in Gunn's 'Superman'?

James Gunn's Superman may have opened to a heroic USD220 million at the global box office, but much of the conversation surrounding the film has been less about capes and more about geopolitics.

The film's depiction of a fictional war between two nations — Bovaria and Jarhanpur — has triggered a firestorm of commentary online, with political influencers accusing the film of being a veiled allegory for the Israel's genocide in Palestine.

In the film, Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor sparks a violent confrontation between the two nations. Superman intervenes as Bovaria, portrayed as the aggressor, attempts to invade its defenceless neighbour. Since its release, commentators across the ideological divide have taken to social media and YouTube to dissect what they see — or don't see — as an unmistakable parallel.

Twitch streamer and left-wing political influencer Hasan Piker described the film as "two hours and like 10 minutes of f—k Israel the entire time," calling any denial of allegory "a lie." His viral video has since gained traction among pro-Palestinian voices online, many of whom hail the film as a bold and timely critique of Israel's recent military operations in Gaza.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, conservative pundit Ben Shapiro dismissed the entire debate. "Only those with a left-wing brain would try to read this as a Gaza allegory," he said in a rebuttal, adding that the film "does not match up to the facts" of Israeli military actions and accusing viewers of "inventing a political agenda."

As per Variety, the film's perceived message has fractured audiences, with headlines asking, "Is the new Superman movie anti-Israel?" and "Is the new Superman movie about the Israel-Hamas war?" proliferating across digital platforms.

Gunn himself addressed the speculation in an interview with The Times of London prior to the film's release. "When I wrote this the Middle Eastern conflict wasn't happening," he said, referring to his completed script in May 2023 — several months before the current escalation in Gaza.

"It's an invasion by a much more powerful country run by a despot into a country — [that] has totally no defence against the other country. It really is fictional," he explained.

That disclaimer, however, has done little to contain the swirl of online discourse. The controversy arrives on the heels of earlier right-wing backlash, after Gunn referred to Superman as "an immigrant" — prompting accusations of "SuperWoke" politics from outlets like Fox News. Even the White House waded in with a tongue-in-cheek jab, photoshopping Donald Trump onto Superman's body in a mock poster touting "the American Way."

At the LA premiere, Gunn's brother and actor Sean Gunn defended the filmmaker. "Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this country are immigrants," he said. "If you don't like that, you're not American."

Superman is now playing in cinemas worldwide.