Superman: Solar

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About

Superman: Solar is a fan-made film based on the Superman DC Comics series and film franchise. The project is directed by ex-Army veteran Andrew List and stars ex-Army veteran Glenn Kiil as Clark Kent and Superman. The movie takes inspiration from themes explored in the All-Star Superman comics and the Superman: Grounded comics. Andrew List crowdfunded the production budget for the film on IndieGoGo, raising over $21,000 out of a $25,000 goal. In August 2023, the film was linked to the infamous Spiderman: Lotus fan movie, whose creator and lead actor found themselves mired in a racism controversy in the months leading up to the film's release. This caused some internet commentators to call both films the "Racist Cinematic Universe," a play on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

History

On June 10th, 2022, the YouTube^[1] channel AListProductions, run by ex-Army veteran Andrew List, posted a video announcing the fan film Superman: Solar. The video was also embedded into an IndieGoGo^[2] fundraiser that aimed to raise over $25,000 to finance the movie (seen below).

The IndieGoGo campaign contained a description of the project, a list of cast members and a proposed budget breakdown for how the funds would be used. Andrew List also mentions his longtime affection for the Superman character and his military background. In an interview with ComicBookMovie.com, List expanded on his vision for Superman (seen below).^[3]

There’s a point where he tells Lois Lane that he’s here to do what’s right, to which she asks, "Who decides what’s right?" He says, ‘Well, I do, Ms. Lane,' which leads her to ask him if that means he’s going to be a tyrant. He replies, ‘No, but I want my decisions to be my own. If I make the wrong ones, I’m the one that’s going to be responsible for that. I don’t want someone telling me what to do and I don’t want somebody else making those decisions for me.’ Obviously, I’m paraphrasing, but the idea is that everybody’s entitled to their opinion, but they’re not entitled to violence. Not everybody will love Superman because that’s the reality of this day and age, but that doesn’t ever sway Superman himself.

Release and Reception

On July 25th, 2023, the nearly 30-minute-long film was posted to AListProduction's YouTube^[4] channel, gathering over 68,000 views and generally favorable reviews in the comments (seen below).

Online Presence

Following the controversies and renewed interest in the Spiderman: Lotus fan film following its release in August 2023, various internet users began to scrutinize Superman: Solar as well. On August 9th, 2023, X^[5] user @SupermanEnjoyer posted a thread showing various scenes from the film, gathering over 2,000 likes on the initial tweet captioned, "Found out today that Superman Solar actually released."

On August 9th, X^[6] user @RedLReviews quote tweeted a scene from the aforementioned thread, saying, "I’ve never seen the 180 degree rule be broken so many times so quickly my god." The tweet gathered over 30,000 likes in two days (seen below).

On August 10th, X^[7] user @_hospitalsoul_ posted screenshots purportedly sourced from Andrew List's Letterboxd account that show a five-star rating of Sound of Freedom and a glowing review, but only one and two stars to Jordan Peele's Get Out and Us. The post gathered over 14,000 likes in less than 24 hours (seen below).

On August 10th, X^[8] user @LeCinephiles made a post saying that Spiderman: Lotus and Superman: Solar were both in the same universe, called the "RCU," which was implied to stand for "Racist Cinematic Universe." The post gathered over 30,000 likes in a day (seen below, left).

Also on August 10th, X^[9] user @mofromyt posted a meme that showed Superman saying "Relax Victor, it's just a word. Your people say it all the time" to Cyborg. The post gathered over 36,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).