I don’t know about you, but I can still tell who you are if you take your glasses off. I’ll still know it’s you if you put them back on, too. The same goes for trying to hide my own identity. I’m pretty sure people can tell it’s still me, with or without glasses.
But when it comes to Superman, we accept that once Clark Kent takes off his glasses, he becomes the Kryptonian superhero, no questions asked. Nobody seems to realize that he looks basically identical to that reporter from the Daily Planet.
After completing whatever mission he might have to save the world, Superman will put his glasses back on after taking off his suit and he becomes unrecognizable. He is now Clark Kent, a clumsy human living his life without really making an impression.
We’ve all come to accept this silly detail in Superman movies and comics for decades, without ever worrying about it being a plot hole. It’s just the way the character works. DC had to figure out a way to have Superman’s face visible at all times without having anyone questioning Clark Kent’s secret identity when he’s not on superhero duty.
It’s not just Superman that does it. MCU superheroes use hats and glasses all the time when they want to blend in with a crowd of civilians, and it always works.
But we no longer have to wonder why the glasses are so effective at hiding one’s identity in DC movies. Ahead of the Superman reboot’s premiere, James Gunn has finally explained the “plot hole,” and it makes perfect sense.
David Corenswet plays Clark Kent/Superman in the movie, opposite Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in the first movie of James Gunn’s DCU. The movie will continue to employ the same “mask.” Corenswet’s Kent uses glasses when he’s blending in with humans and takes them off when he has to put on the Superman uniform (trunks included) to save the day.
James Gunn sat down with ComicBook to discuss the movie ahead of its theatrical debut, revealing that the glasses were something he struggled to accept, just like most Superman fans.
However, he learned from comics writer Tom King that Clark doesn’t use regular glasses. They’re not smart glasses with AI powers like the kind available in stores in the real world, though. They have much better powers: They’re hypno glasses.
It’s not an invention James Gunn came up with on his own — it’s something from the comics. James Gunn explained in the interview:
That’s canon in the comics. It’s kind of been forgotten, but that’s from the comics. I was sitting with Tom King, the comic book writer, and I was like, ‘You know the thing that I just don’t really know how to reconcile in myself is the glasses because the glasses always bothered me as a kid.’ They bothered me because I just don’t have that much suspension of disbelief to believe that.
That’s a brilliant explanation that makes a lot more sense than accepting a regular pair of glasses is enough to make the world ignore the resemblances between Clark Kent and Superman. I will also note that Corenswet’s Kent isn’t a perfect Superman doppelganger. It’s not just the glasses, it’s the hair too, as seen in the trailers above and below.
ComicBook confirms that Superman (Vol. 1) #330 from 1978 is where the superhero uses “Super-Hypnosis” and the glasses to hide his identity.
While I’m more of an MCU fan than a DCU fan, I won’t skip James Gunn’s Superman. I’ll watch the film just like I did with Cavill’s Man of Steel and the DCEU crossovers where his Superman appeared. But this plot detail will definitely come in handy, and it’s something all previous Superman movies and TV shows should have included. Using mass-hypnosis to stay hidden in plain sight is definitely an exciting Superman ability.
Glasses aside, there are plenty of reasons to watch Superman in theaters come June 11. It’s the start of a brand-new DC movie universe, with James Gunn at the helm.
Also, the new Superman movie features lots of action, as seen in the trailers, as well as some exciting cinematic sequences. Add Superman’s adorable-but-powerful dog Krypto, and all the rumored cameos, and Superman becomes a must-watch.
