Superman Trailer Breakdown: Justice League Cameo, Villains & DCU Easter Eggs Explained

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the new Superman trailer! On Wednesday, DC Studios debuted the first full-length trailer for James Gunn’s Superman, and it packs over a dozen Easter eggs, comic book references, nods — and even a hidden cameo by a major Justice League superhero — into its three-minute run time. With the newly-imagined DC Universe officially getting up, up and away when Superman soars into theaters on July 11, Gunn has included details connecting the film to everything from the HBO Max series Creature Commandos and Peacemaker to The Authority, one of the first films announced for the new DCU.

The new footage establishes that The Daily Planet reporters Clark Kent (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) are an item, and she’s already aware of his alter-ego by the time the Man of Steel sits down for an exclusive interview. The citizens of Metropolis have mostly embraced Superman — something that makes the other Man of Tomorrow, egomaniacal sociopath and LexCorp CEO Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), seek to destroy the costume-clad alien for becoming “the focal point of the entire world’s conversation.”

Here, ComicBook breaks down over a dozen of the Superman trailer Easter eggs and references spotted in the trailer.

LordTech and the Justice Gang

LordTech is a Metropolis-based technology company bankrolled by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), who will first appear in Superman ahead of his role in Peacemaker season 2.

The tech mogul sponsors the “Justice Gang,” as revealed by the LordTech symbol on the uniforms worn by corporate superheroes Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and the Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion). Lois uses a LordTech brand voice recorder in her sitdown with Superman, and the LordTech building is the skyscraper that Superman soars over in his battle with the Hammer of Boravia (more on that below).

Lord’s counterpart in the comics was a wealthy entrepreneur who first announced himself as the official press liaison of the newly-reformed Justice League of America, and starting with Justice League International #7, retrofitted the team into a United Nations-sanctioned international peace-keeping force. Guy Gardner was an original member of the JLI, which included the likes of Batman, Martian Manhunter, and the Ted Kord Blue Beetle.

Stagg Industries

Another major company in the DC Universe, Stagg Industries (sometimes called Stagg Enterprises or Stagg International in the comics) is the company of tycoon Simon Stagg.

Stagg is the archvillain of Rex Mason, a.k.a. Metamorpho the Element Man, and the father of his longtime love interest, Sapphire Stagg. In the comics, Stagg is responsible for the turn of events that exposed soldier of fortune Rex to the radioactive meteor that turned him into Metamorpho, a metahuman with the ability to rearrange his molecules into any combination of chemical elements and shape them into any form he can conceive.

Rick Flag Sr.

The trailer seems to suggest that Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) has been promoted to the Secretary of Defense. Grillo’s General Flag first appeared in the Gunn-penned animated series Creature Commandos as the leader of A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) replacement for Task Force X, a team of monsters from Belle Reve’s Non-Human Internment Division. Flag’s son, Colonel Rick Flag (played by Joel Kinnaman in 2016’s Suicide Squad and Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad), was killed during a mission to Corto Maltese.

Gunn has confirmed that the events of The Suicide Squad are semi-canon to the new DCU. Grillo’s Flag Sr. will next return in Peacemaker season 2 (also set in the DCU), and will presumably confront the man responsible for his son’s death: Christopher Smith, AKA Peacemaker (John Cena). But first, Flag Sr. is apparently tasked with arresting Superman, as shown in the trailer.

The Engineer and Ultraman

Captured by the Army, Superman is flanked by Flag Sr. and two super-powered people in black. The first is Angela Spica (María Gabriela de Faría), a member of the super-team The Authority. As the Engineer, Spica can interface with any machine and the Nanomachines in her body give her the ability to shapeshift into liquid metal, making her able to create any object she can imagine (like the whirring hand blades she’s seen wielding in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude).

The masked mystery man might Ultraman, as suggested by the U-shaped emblem resembling that of his comic counterpart. Basically the evil Superman, most versions of Ultraman hail from Earth-3 as a member of the Crime Syndicate (an evil Justice League). Whereas Superman is weakened by Kryptonite, Ultraman is empowered by it; Superman’s powers are fueled by the sun, which can harm Ultraman (possibly explaining the full-body costume).

Kryptonite

It seems that Ultraman and the Engineer hand over the captured Superman to Lex, who then imprisons the alien alongside metahumans like Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). He can be seen using his transmutation abilities to turn his right hand into green Kryptonite, which causes Superman to become vulnerable to assault from Lex’s armored guards (as identified by the “LC,” or LuthorCorp, logo on their uniforms).

Black Orchid

Next to Superman’s cell is a woman wearing a distinctive black and pink dress. This could be Susan Linden, a lesser-known character with ties to Lex Luthor in the comics who first appeared in 1973’s Adventure Comics #428. The woman known as Black Orchid grew up in the suburbs of Metropolis and married Carl Thorne, a career criminal and arms trafficker for the industrialist Lex Luthor.

When Thorne double-crossed Luthor and stole a shipment of terrorist weapons, he killed his wife for turning him in to the police. When botanist Philip Sylvian used Susan’s genetic material as part of his experiments to create a race of hybrid human-plant people, she was reborn as Black Orchid, a costumed crusader who frequently opposed Luthor.

Superman Creators

Metropolis is littered with nods to DC Comics creators. Superman is arrested on Waid St., a reference to comic book creator Mark Waid, writer of The Flash run starring Wally West and 1993’s Metamorpho comic run. Most famously, Waid wrote Kingdom Come, the 1996 storyline that inspired Superman’s symbol in the new movie, and Superman: Birthright, an update of Superman’s origin story.

Elsewhere, signage is visible for Swan’s Books store, a nod to Curt Swan, famed artist on such titles as Action Comics starring Superman, Adventure Comics starring Superboy, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, and the self-titled Superman and Superboy series. When Superman saves a little girl outside Swan’s Books, it’s on Ross Street — acknowledging Kingdom Come artist Alex Ross.

Swan’s Books is located at 712 N. Reeves Ave., a reference to actor George Reeves, who played the Man of Steel in the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV series.

Big Belly Burger

Superman’s battle with a skyscraper-sized Kaiju takes place above a billboard for Big Belly Burger, the fictional fast food chain that originated in 1988’s Adventures of Superman #441 by John Byrne (The Man of Steel) and Jerry Ordway (Crisis on Infinite Earths). In “The Tiny Terror of Tinseltown,” Superman fought the Big Belly mascot when the giant statue was magically animated by Mr. Mxyzptlk, a mischievous imp from the Fifth Dimension.

In the comics, Big Belly was a subsidiary of LexCorp, the conglomerate based in the New Troy borough of Metropolis. The brand appeared often in The CW Arrowverse series Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl, and has had “cameos” in everything from 2023’s Blue Beetle movie (set in the DC Extended Universe) to the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League video game.

Metropolis Meteors

Superman and Mister Terrific can be seen fighting Ultraman and the Engineer in a baseball stadium that is home to the Metropolis Meteors baseball team, which first appeared in an issue of 1973’s Strange Sports Stories (co-penciled by Curt Swan and Dick Giordano).

Although the team was initially identified as the play-off winners of the Eastern League in Strange Sports Stories #1 (with no mention of Metropolis), the Metropolis-based Meteors have appeared in everything from an episode Superman: The Animated Series and tie-in comic Superman Adventures. Issue #13 paid homage to Strange Sports Stories and had Superman battle an alien in the stadium home to the Metropolis Meteors.

Smallville Giants and The Mighty Crabjoys

When Superman returns to the Kent family farm in Smallville, Kansas, reuniting with his adoptive parents Jonathan (Pruitt Taylor Vince) and Martha Kent (Neva Howell) with Lois and Krypto the Superdog in tow, we can see a pennant for the Smallville Giants. In The Man of Steel comic by John Byrne, Clark Kent was a star football player for the Smallville High School football team: the Smallville Giants. The pennant even has the team’s colors of orange and yellow as seen in 1986’s The Man of Steel #1.

Clark’s childhood bedroom also has a poster for The Mighty Crabjoys, a fictional band that is, apparently, pretty popular in the DCU. Frankenstein, voiced by David Harbour, was shown wearing a Mighty Crabjoys band T-shirt in the Creature Commandos episode “The Tourmaline Necklace,” and a billboard for the band is visible in the Peacemaker season 2 trailer.

Jim Lee’s Superman, Man of Tomorrow

At The Daily Planet offices, we get a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse at a cork bulletin board that is decorated with Superman memorabilia. Posted to the board is a card of artist Jim Lee’s iconic cover for 2004’s Superman (Vol. 2) #204, the first issue of the 12-part Superman: For Tomorrow storyline written by Brian Azzarello and penciled by Lee. The fan-favorite artist also currently serves as Chief Creative Officer and Publisher of DC Comics.

Martian Manhunter

Speaking of “blink and you’ll miss it,” when Clark pals around with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), a glimpse at the boyish Daily Planet photographer’s computer screen shows what appears to be the J’onn J’onnz, the Martian Manhunter. The shape-shifting Green Martian from Mars is one of the original founders of the Justice League, and one of the “Big Seven” members alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman.

The Hammer of Boravia

The trailer highlights a brawl with the mysterious Hammer of Boravia. A Daily Planet article published by none other than mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent reveals the Hammer’s attack is a response to “recent political interventions in Boravia by Superman,” a major plot point in the trailer.

“This vengeful expedition turned into a terrorist assault on American soil, hospitalizing 22 Metropolis citizens,” the article reads. “Boravia has been the source of numerous headlines worldwide in recent weeks as it invaded its neighboring country Jarhanpur, only for the brief war to be swiftly ended by the Superman. The President of Boravia, Vasil Glarkos, maintains the Hammer of Boravia is not a representative of the national government, but rather an independent vigilante.”

The report goes on to reveal that the Hammer of Boravia’s “ocular laser strike” (the laser vision shown leveling a floor of a building) damages the offices of Chocos, makers of the sandwich cookie that is famously a favorite of J’onn J’onnz in the comics. Jarhanpur, by the way, is the neighboring country of Boravia and was first name-dropped in Creature Commandos

The Hammer of Boravia is an original character with no exact counterpart in the comics. However, there is a little-known hammer-themed Super-foe called Jackhammer — real name Jack Hammersmith — who donned a golden battle suit of armor to fight the Man of Steel in 1982’s Action Comics #537.

The Hammer of Boravia bears a striking resemblance to the Lexo-Suit battle armor that John Corben (later the Kryptonite-powered cyborg supervillain Metallo) pilots as the first villain of 1996’s Superman: The Animated Series. In part three of the series premiere, “The Last Son of Krypton,” Superman saves Lois from the stolen Lexo-Skel Suit 5000 when she investigates a war-profiting plot that involves the fictional foreign country Kaznia and none other than Lex Luthor.

DC Studios’ Superman soars into theaters July 11.