“Kindness, maybe that’s the real punk rock,” says James Gunn’s Superman, which hit theaters this past weekend. It’s a message that seems to have resonated deeply with Gen Z. One X user said: “I haven’t felt depressed even once” since watching it.
The film brought in $125 million at the U.S. box office and is earning praise across TikTok and Reddit for returning the superhero to his “hopecore” roots, The Daily Dot reported. Hopecore—a trend that emerged on TikTok—serves as an antidote to an internet overwhelmed by ragebait, manosphere content, and AI slop.
At a time when nihilism dominates, incel culture and toxic masculinity are on the rise, anti-immigrant sentiment is shaping policy, and political divides are deepening, “be kind” feels like a radical, even revolutionary message—one Gen Z seems ready to embrace.
“The superman movie I just watched really said no one is an alien, everyone is a human, billionaires are evil, war is created, journalism is important, superheroes are hope, empathy is a superpower, and being soft hearted is punk rock,” one TikTok user posted.
@ericadanlle
#superman made me cry #dc
♬ Punkrocker (feat. Iggy Pop) – Teddybears
“The masculine urge to help others in need,” another TikTok post reads. “This movie is going to do for the boys what Barbie did for the girls and I support it,” one user commented.
On Reddit, one post summed it up best: “We finally made it out of the ‘But WHAT IF Superman was a big asshole/ ackshually superheroes would be dicks IRL’ zeitgeist that swept the late 2010s of comic book media.”
They continued: “We have genuine hope and wholesome superman again and it’s refreshing. In a world where we are increasingly socialised and incentivised to act purely out of self interest, Superman 2025 dares to tackle the rebellious act of being kind.” As one X user added: “I’ll take “Hopecore” Superman over a dozen “dark”, “edgy” or “evil” Superman any day.”
I’ll take “Hopecore” Superman over a dozen “dark”, “edgy” or “evil” Superman any day. https://t.co/b9EiKD3HnN
— BBally 🇪🇬 🇬🇧 ☪️ (@BBally81) July 15, 2025
This is exactly the response Gunn was hoping for. “This Superman does seem to come at a particular time when people are feeling a loss of hope in other people’s goodness,” Gunn said in an interview with The Times of London. “I’m telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now because there is a meanness that has emerged due to cultural figures being mean online.”
Or, as one X user posted: “‘I asked grok’ ‘I asked chatgpt’ well I asked Superman and he said kindness is the new punk rock.”
