Henry Cavill’s Mustachegate has nothing to do with what Bruce Timm did to give us the DCAU’s first morally questionable Superman

Justice League: Gods and Monsters had a very original version of DC’s iconic Trinity: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. These characters were seen in a very different light in the 24th DCAMU feature film, in which Superman was the son of General Zod, Wonder Woman was a new God, and Batman was an actual vampire.

Bruce Timm participated in the making of the film, as was the case with most DC properties that were part of the animated universe and the animated film universe. Timm had a very specific vision for the character of Hernan Guerra, the reality superman of gods and monsters, and the son of General Zod.

Bruce Timm wanted to give the character a mustache to show him as less morally upstanding than Kal-El.

In an interview with Comic Vine, Bruce Timm revealed his ideas for the world’s version of Superman, given how different he was in terms of lineage and character compared to the main universe’s Superman. When asked if the character’s facial hair was an indication that he was evil, Timm replied:

I had to stop myself from giving him a mustache. I was aware of it when I gave him the goatee. When we did another story, Crisis on Two Earths, Alex Ross did a lot of those early designs for me and I specifically designed the Marvel family and he said, “Okay. I’m going to give all the members a goatee.” from the Marvel family…even Mary! »

I was aware of this cliché, but it really came from Terrence Stamp. When I first started thinking about Superman being Zod’s son, I was thinking of Terrence Stamp’s face in my head, so that’s where the goatee came from. In the end, he looked nothing like Terrence Stamp, but that’s where it came from and it stuck.

Gods and monsters was a radical take on DC’s flagship Trinity that gave a kind of story that wouldn’t have been possible with DC’s Trinity in the main timeline.

The characters in Gods and monsters are fundamentally different people, not just recasts of Diana, Clark, and Bruce, which allows the storytellers to go to certain places in the narrative that just isn’t possible with Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman from the main universe.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters was Bruce Timm’s reinvention of DC’s Trinity core

Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have been endlessly reinterpreted in the DC multiverse. Some have been alternate versions of Diana, Bruce and Clark, while others have simply taken over the roles of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Timm decided he wanted to work with the latter, but have a completely new and disconnected take on the character, one that didn’t echo or rip off DC’s flagship trio.

While Superman Gods and monsters isn’t Kal El, Wonder Woman isn’t an Amazon, and Batman is a vampire, these characters still prove worthy of the titles they hold in very different and interesting ways, without being outright evil in their intentions, or even in their actions.