New Superman Villain’s Secret Identity Accidentally Spoiled Ahead of the Movie

Whether it’s horn-rimmed glasses worn by George Reeves’ Clark Kent in The Adventures of Superman or the bumbling, mild-mannered disguise adopted by Christopher Reeve in Superman: The Movie, the Man of Steel knows what it takes to protect a secret identity. But in James Gunn’s Superman movie starring David Corenswet in the title role, there’s another character with a well-guarded mystery identity: the Hammer of Boravia, one of several villains making their way into the DC Universe.

The gold-armored avenger of Boravia has been identified as such in everything from the film’s toyline to a Daily Planet newspaper photographed on the set, but curiously, there’s no word on who’s portraying the hi-tech terrorist seen trading blows with Superman in the trailers. The same goes for Ultraman, yet another masked mystery man clad in an identity-concealing costume who appears to be in league with General Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) and Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

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And like the Hammer of Boravia, the identity of the actor playing Ultraman is being kept under wraps. But a Funko figure appears to reveal a SPOILER: the Hammer of Boravia and Ultraman are one and the same.

A new look at the second wave of Superman Funko POP! figure series — exclusively revealed by ComicBook — shows the Hammer of Boravia and a limited-edition chase variant Ultraman displaying the number 583, suggesting that the two figures are the same character, just in different suits. (Meanwhile, Mr. Terrific is 584, and the Guy Gardner Green Lantern is 585.)

The latest Superman trailer hinted that the Hammer of Boravia is a precursor to Ultraman: he can be seen unleashing what Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent described as an “ocular laser strike” on the LordTech building, which resembles Superman’s heat vision. In the comics, Ultraman is, essentially, an evil Superman with similar powers, including his red-eyed heat vision. Ultraman can also be seen accompanying Luthor and another powered meta-human, Angela Spica/the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), as they invade Kal-El’s Fortress of Solitude in the arctic, implying that Luthor is also behind the so-called Hammer of Boravia.

No surprise there: Gunn has already confirmed that Superman’s archoe is the movie’s main villain. “The primary protagonist of Superman is, shockingly, Superman. The main villain of Superman is, shockingly, Lex Luthor,” the writer-director shared on Threads in response to rumors that Ultraman is Superman’s evil clone.

Superman — starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, with Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Neva Howell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Frank Grillo — is only in theaters July 11.