Many DC fans are looking for a summary of Superman Welcome to Metropolis, a prequel novel that comes before the upcoming Superman (2025) film by James Gunn. Written by David Lewman and published by Penguin Random House, the paperback book is already available for sale as it released on June 3, and it reveals a lot of information about how Clark Kent becomes a superhero, gets hired as a reporter for the Daily Planet, and fights villains before the events in the movie. It’s unclear how much of the novel will be canon, since it’s self-described as being “inspired” by the new film, but we suppose that Gunn will be able to overwrite whatever’s written here to his liking. Here’s an overview of what occurs in the 144-page prequel to the Superman 2025 movie.
For a quick summary of Superman Welcome to Metropolis, Clark Kent earns a job at the Daily Planet, stands in the way of Lex Luthor attempting to destroy a toy factory, and has to fight the cyborg Metallo (as Luthor’s creation) several times throughout the novel with some assistance of the “Justice Gang.”
This synopsis is based on various images of a few pages in the novel shared on X as well as a summary by a user on the DCU Reddit. While the book is 144 pages long, it includes eight pages of full-colored inserts with character profiles, all of which are shared on X as well. These profiles provide a short paragraph for all of the major characters in the book, including Superman, Mister Terrific, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Hawkgirl, The Justice Gang, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson, and Lex Luthor. One interesting tidbit that’s revealed in the profiles is that Guy Gardner is responsible for dubbing his team “The Justice Gang” but has been unsuccessful on getting Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl on board with the name.
At the start of the novel, Clark Kent hopes to get hired at The Daily Planet, but only gets the job because he writes an exclusive on himself as Superman. This interview occurs after the superhero stops Lex Luthor from destroying a rival toy factory. An underling named Otis questions Luthor on why he’s going after a toy factory in the first place, but he is quickly put in his place as his boss replies that the toy factory was allegedly hiding contraband inside stuffed animals. Either way, he is irritated enough by Superman’s intervention that he sends his experiment Metallo out to attack City Hall.
Clark, after being introduced to Jimmy and Lois (who is somewhat annoyed with the new hire), is coincidentally at City Hall when it is attacked. The Justice Gang arrives on the scene to assist as Superman traps Metallo with some steel and disposes him in a nearby harbor. While Lois tries to interview Lex Luthor for a follow-up story, Superman speaks with Mister Terrific, who shares that Luthor isn’t as kind or as charitable as he seems on the surface.
At the same time, Luthor finds the remains of Metallo and enhances his creation with a strange new element (which is not yet known as kryptonite). This results in Superman being severely weakened in his next fight against it, but The Justice Gang swoops in and saves him, defeating Metallo together. Seeing that they work together well as a team, Mister Terrific invites Superman to become a part of the group, something which he considers before flying away. Clark then helps Lois get an interview with Superman. However, after gathering the pieces of Metallo, Luthor is able to figure out that this green element could be the hero’s fatal weakness.
While Metallo isn’t in the movie, Lex could potentially decide to reconstruct him in a sequel. The Hammer of Boravia, the armored villain created by James Gunn, is also mentioned in the book, describing him as having equal strength to Superman.
Unfortunately, the timeline seems to be generally unclear as far as how many years the events in the book take place before the upcoming film. It’s also unknown whether the book is canon, and if so, whether it’s canon to the DCU and/or the DC Extended Universe. We’ll have to see whether the events in this prequel are referenced in the 2025 movie.
Here’s a summary of what happens in the book Superman Welcome to Metropolis, which serves a prequel for the 2025 film. Read More