James Gunn’s Superman launches a new era for DC Studios more than eighty years after the Man of Steel made his first appearance in the pages of Action Comics #1. The 2025 film is meant to kick off a new franchise, the DC Cinematic Universe, that will expand to include all kinds of other iconic characters from the comics. Like Marvel’s Iron Man in 2008, Superman is the beginning of something novel and exciting for comic book movie fans everywhere.
Superman may be the beginning of a new era, but it is built on decades of history. Without Christopher Reeve’s iconic Superman movies, Gunn’s film would never exist. The DCU’s Superman seems to be acutely aware of this fact, including numerous references to the original 1978 movie. One clever easter egg may have gone over fans’ heads, harkening back to one of the most hilarious bits from Superman: The Movie.
This Superman Character’s Name Is a Clever Nod to the 1978 Film
Otis and Eve look at a newspaper in Superman (1978)Image via DC Studios/Warner Bros.
One of Superman’s best easter eggs is easy to miss, especially for viewers who weren’t paying attention to the credits. The film introduces Lex Luthor’s league of lackeys at LexCorp, who work around the clock to help him finally defeat the Man of Steel. Leading the team and acting as Luthor’s right-hand man is Otis, played by Terence Rosemore. His surname is revealed in the credits, and savvy fans will immediately recognize it as a callback to the original Superman movie.
The credits list Rosemore’s character as “Otis Berg.” This, of course, is a fun nod back to Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise, particularly one iconic scene in the 1978 film, where the character made his live-action debut. When Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor crafts a plot to form a new continent named Luthorville, he is frustrated to discover that his henchman, Otis, has added his own name to the newly reshaped land, scrawling “Otisberg,” on a section of the map.
This hilarious moment is Otis’s most memorable scene in the original Superman franchise, as the dim-witted henchman does his best to get a share of the glory. Naturally, the villainous Lex Luthor wants nothing to do with “Otisberg” and quickly shuts down his minion’s plans. Nevertheless, this is the moment in which audiences fell in love with Otis. Now, the iconic scene goes one step further as the DCU officially renames the character “Otis Berg.”
Otis Berg Will Play a Bigger Role in the DCU Moving Forward
Otis Berg looks ahead in Superman (2025)Image via DC Studios
After making a memorable debut in James Gunn’s Superman movie, it seems that Otis Berg will play a bigger role in the DC Cinematic Universe than anyone expected. While he is still first and foremost a lackey to a more capable supervillain, Otis has far more agency in the DCU than in any of his previous appearances. This version of the character is in charge of keeping everyone at LexCorp in line, taking care of the menial issues that Luthor can’t be bothered with as the head of the company. He also seems to be more aware of his boss’s villainous machinations than the others, as Luthor trusts him to personally enact certain phases of his plan, including the release of a kaiju in Metropolis.
Otis has already made a second appearance in the DCU since Superman, showing up alongside several other LexCorp employees in the second season of Peacemaker. In the HBO Max series, Lex Luthor and his team are approached by A.R.G.U.S. director Rick Flag Sr. to help him explore an interdimensional gateway confiscated from Christopher Smith/Peacemaker. While Luthor does his calculations from a prison cell, Otis and his team work onsite, eventually helping A.R.G.U.S. establish Sanctuary, a metahuman prison in a seemingly barren alternate dimension.
Otis and his team are expected to return in 2027’s Man of Tomorrow, which will pick up where Peacemaker Season 2 left off. After making a deal with Rick Flag, Lex Luthor and his team will return in the upcoming film with a higher status than at the end of Superman. No longer prisoners, the LexCorp team is now working as consultants for A.R.G.U.S., which gives them the power they need to strike back at Superman and the other metahumans whenever Luthor sees fit. While they may initially pass themselves off as allies to Superman and his friends when a greater threat arrives, audiences can rest assured that Luthor, Otis, and their team are only biding their time until they see an opportunity for revenge.
It seems that Otis Berg is already becoming a much more significant character than any previous version of the character. With two appearances under his belt in the DCU and more on the way, Otis is already one of the most recognizable villains in James Gunn’s new franchise. While Otis may never graduate to a primary antagonist like his boss, Lex Luthor, it is still terrific to see the DCU pay attention to one of the most iconic characters from Superman’s cinematic history.
James Gunn’s Superman Includes Several References to the Original Film
Superman (Christopher Reeve) prepares to take offCredit: Warner Bros. / Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Otis Berg isn’t the only clever reference to the original Christopher Reeve Superman movie. James Gunn’s film, more than any other recent Superman iteration, includes numerous homages to the 1978 cinematic masterpiece that started it all. The most recognizable of these is Superman’s score, a rearrangement of John Williams’s theme from the original film. While the music has been altered enough to feel unique and modern, it still rings true to the iconic tunes of the original. This pays necessary tribute to what remains the most recognizable superhero theme of all time.
David Corenswet’s Superman is also more closely associated with Christopher Reeve’s iteration of the character than more recent versions. Over the last decade, many iterations of Superman, including Henry Cavill’s DCEU character, were portrayed as darker characters, straying from the original source material to appeal to a more modern audience. However, Corenswet’s version of the character leans into Superman’s campy and colorful personality, reviving the original vision for the hero.
Superrman (2025) also includes a cameo from ABC news reporter Will Reeve, Christopher Reeve’s son. The younger Reeve plays a Metropolis news reporter who can be seen briefly at several points throughout the film, including the epic kaiju battle in the second act. Reeve has spoken positively about the film and his experience on set, even going so far as to give Corenswet his approval to continue the legacy that his father began nearly fifty years earlier.
Superman is filled with fun references to previous films in the franchise, specifically paying homage to the 1978 movie that started it all. Now that the movie is streaming on HBO Max, audiences can go back to catch all the little easter eggs they may have missed the first time around.
Superman is available to stream on HBO Max.
Release Date
July 11, 2025
Runtime
130 minutes
Director
James Gunn
Rachel Brosnahan
Lois Lane