Over the summer, millions of people flocked to movie theaters to watch Superman (2025). I was part of that group, and while I did enjoy the film, I noticed its strong departure from the typical superhero style that DC used to follow. I was used to DC films trying to be gritty and portray the world as overly pessimistic and dark with ultra-high stakes—so high that I would stop caring after about an hour into the film. I would also usually forget about the basic plot of the films in the next few days. But with Superman, I was captivated not only by the plot of the movie, but also by the characters, the setting, and the tone of the whole project. Even months after its release, I couldn’t stop thinking about Superman, eventually leading me to comparing it to its predecessor, Man of Steel (2013).

Now, both were box-office successes, but Man of Steel doesn’t soar to the same heights that Superman does with the same run-time. Ultimately, it comes down to 3 major points: tone, soundtrack, and how each movie treats humanity.

Man of Steel’s goal as a movie was to be as realistic as possible, to show Superman in a bleak world that doesn’t accept him as an alien. The film is consistently tense and never varies in emotion, with the gray color-grading present through the film serving as a visual reminder. The lack of an emotional journey makes it boring, lowering your emotional investment with the character and bleak setting. In clear contrast, Superman uses humor to break long moments of tension and humanize the characters and setting, making the viewers more invested with the plot. Superman doesn’t shy away from using duller tones in more tense or bleak situations, but the movie also uses pop tones in lighter scenes. The color gradient in the movie is used to strengthen the emotions within the scene.

In terms of the music, two of Superman’s most memorable aspects were the musical stings, the themes that occurred in key scenes, and the handful of songs with lyrics made for the movie. The diversity of the soundtrack moves from a quick tempo with “The Daily Planet” to a slower tempo like “Lois and Clark.” The sound track also includes songs with vocals; these are built into the world to create more context around the setting of Superman. These songs  build on the established context of Superman’s upbringing within the punk rock scene. The soundtrack is full of color and expression, which builds into the overall vibrant setting.  In comparison, Man of Steel’s soundtrack is rather mediocre. It does attempt to communicate the emotions in the scene, but the soundtrack gets rather repetitive with the musical ideas, ultimately never reaching crescendo and lacking any sense of musical theme or motif. The unremarkable soundtrack makes the film even more monotonous.

Superman as a character is very different in tonality in each film. Man of Steel represents Superman as an intimidating figure that rarely smiles or talks to citizens. He is foreboding and unapproachable and while he does act for good, he isn’t relatable. He also was more focused on fighting the bad guy than ensuring the safety of others, as he often shoves enemies into buildings, letting them fall without care.

Within the 2025 movie, Superman has built several relationships with the citizens of Metropolis and actively talks to them throughout the story as both Clark and Superman. Superman here embraces his humanity—this is even the point of his hero speech to Lex. He cries and laughs, and he cares about people openly. Collateral damage is added not simply to dramatize a scene, but to showcase the lengths that Superman will go to save everyone (He even saves a squirrel, for heaven’s sake!). This Superman is not the same gritty untouchable superhero, he cares a lot—and maybe that is the real “punk rock.”

At the heart of Superman, we are introduced to a world of corporate and political corruption, where being “punk rock is to see the beauty in everyone.” Superman has the heart that Man of Steel lacks. It makes you feel inspired, energized, moved, however you describe it, leaving you motivated to be better.