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Superman has a stacked cast, but one obscure villain has suddenly jumped into the spotlight after the actor’s latest comments. The DCU is putting everything on the line with Superman as their premiere theatrical debut, and within this tent pole release, there are dozens of characters adding color to the population of the new shared universe. However, Superman is absolutely the main event, and the hero fans want to see take to the skies in this new branch of stories.
And yet, the supporting cast are getting a lot of attention. With Nathan Fillion stepping up to the plate as Guy Gardner, aka Green Lantern, Nicholas Hoult tackling the role of Lex Luthor, and many others playing a variety of heroes and villains, this movie already feels like it’s part of a bigger story. And further proving that point, the actor behind a supposedly smaller part has plenty to say about who their character is and what their connections to the others may be.
The DC Universe’s Superman Movie Has A Fair Few Villains To Juggle
Superman Has A Lot To Overcome In The DCU
As mentioned above, Superman will introduce the world to Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, the iconic rival to the Man of Steel. However, in contrast to previous stories featuring Lex, this iteration appears to be a part of a much larger network of individuals working against Superman. From a giant Kaiju monster, to the mysterious Ultraman, and the nefarious billionaire Maxwell Lord, Metropolis appears to have a real supervillain problem. But fortunately, with the arrival of Superman, the tides are turning.
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Regardless, the fact that the movie is playing with so many villains who want to see Superman fall, it’s even more important for these characters to have solid representation, and room for their stories to breathe. And while not every villain’s background will be a subject that Superman can dig into, there appears to be a fair amount of speculation on the characters from the actors themselves. Or at least, the actor behind the Engineer appears to have a lot to add to her character’s story.
The Engineer Could Have A Bright Future In The DCU
María Gabriela de Faría, the actor who will be playing Angela Spica, aka the Engineer, recently sat down to be interviewed for DC Studios Official Podcast, where she offered up her own backstory for the character. And of course, because the DCU is expanding at a rapid pace, with several projects still in the pipeline, more of this background could still appear in future projects.
“Okay, Angie really believes in this better world, and probably, she had some trauma when she was a kid that she felt the need to be part of that change, you know, whatever that means and whatever she had to do to make it happen. So, she is a good person at heart that’s extremely broken and is willing to team up with Lex to get rid of what he believes are evil aliens, Superman.”
I thoroughly believe that all the best villains have some sort of “good” motivation. As a character, they believe that, in some way, they are the hero. And according to the above comments, the Engineer falls into this category. While Superman is meant to be an emblem of peace and hope, it’s clear that, for many, he is seen as a threat, whose very presence could threaten humankind. With this in mind, the Engineer could have a much more intriguing narrative than simply appearing as a background villain.
The DCU’s Teases About The Engineer’s Future In The Franchise Make Her Superman Story All The More Notable
The Authority Will Add A Lot More Variety To The DCU Lineup
Shortly after James Gunn was announced as a new creative head for DC, Gunn shared a slate of projects that would be included in the DCU’s first chapter, Chapter One: Gods & Monsters. Within this announcement, it was a shock that Gunn included a relatively lesser-known superhero team from a small offshoot of DC Comics, called The Authority. These characters appear in a series of comics from WildStorm, which was initially owned by Image, but later transferred to DC.
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But intriguingly, Angela Spica is not a character from the usual DC Comics, she is actually one of the heroes in The Authority whose genius-level intellect serves the team well in any situation. Assuming the character is being introduced in Superman for a reason, it’s safe to assume that more details on Angela Spica and her past in the DCU will be unveiled as the character appears in more projects, such as the upcoming The Authority film, but Superman has first dibs.
Superman
Release Date
July 11, 2025
Director
Writers
James Gunn, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
Producers
Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran
Franchise(s)
Superman: This film follows Clark Kent, a cub reporter in Metropolis, as he navigates the complexities of his dual identity, struggling to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing while embracing his role as Superman.
“}]] The DCU is rapidly expanding. Read More