How To Write A Lovable Asshole

When announcements were made that James Gunn was directing a new Superman movie, the one consensus online was worry towards too many characters. Especially when news outlets seemed to be promoting new characters every week. But that wasn’t my reaction. James Gunn had previously done The Suicide Squad with DC a couple years prior and that movie had two Suicide Squad teams plus the rest of the cast. The guy thrives on balancing characters. No, my reaction toward that news was, “I’m worried about their take on Guy Gardner.”

There are two characters I always worry about when it comes to comics, and I believe it showcases how good a writer is if you get these characters right. One of them is Damian Wayne. The other, Guy Gardner. Ironically, James Gun is tackling both.

Both I worry for similar reasons. These legacy characters when introduced in their respective comics were meant to come off as abrasive compared to their previous monikers. As a result there was a lot of push back and, while trying to be different, these characters could have been labeled simply an asshole instead of years of stories delving into their depths while still keeping their abrasive attitude. That was my worry here leading up to Superman.

Thankfully, there was nothing to worry about.

Nathan Fillion, whom I admit thought was too old to play the Green Lantern but now stand corrected, played Guy beautifully. You could really feel like he took Guy’s personality off the page and fit it to screen. His introduction brought a smile to my face as I recognized his smug look.

The Kaiju battle is a perfect set piece that showcases how Superman wants to handle situations versus other heroes like the Justice Gang, but it also showcases the personalities of these characters too. Mr. Terrific, one of the smartest guys in the DC Universe, balks at Superman’s emotional reaction to the situation. Hawkgirl comes swinging like a flying gladiator. But Guy, oh boy, his two ideas are played for laughs but are 100% Guy Gardner reactions. The way he rationalizes safety by putting giant oven mitts on the Kaiju, but then his reaction swings in the opposite direction by trying to poke its eye out, is a wonderful display of his abrasiveness grinding against his intention to do good.

However, the scene that really won me over to this character happened right after. Superman learns a devastating truth that rocks his world. He walks away from the increasingly frenzied crowd and into a building to collect himself. Shortly, the Justice Gang arrive to confront him about this terrible news.

And this is where I knew James Gunn did it. Where he proved how good of a writer he is by having Guy shield the frenzied crowd so that Superman could deal without the public. As much as Guy can be a self-centered asshole, and in this movie concerned about his public image, it’s these small gestures that really shine with his character. Before confronting Superman, he made sure the area was secure and that he could have a one-on-one with his friend. He’s not afraid to fight his friend while focusing on a singular word from that terrible news, but he gives him the curtesy of privacy and a chance to speak when I felt lesser writers would have had Guy either come in swinging or quickly escalate the situation.

Doubling down on Guy’s humanity, later in the film he admits that he doesn’t believe the news about Superman. Which calls back to the scene I described where he’s giving his friend empathy — while getting in his face.

I loved Superman. It really felt like James Gunn evolved as a writer compared to his previous output. While the movie still had signature Gunn-style I felt it was the most subdued Gunnisms of his movies, and because of that he was really able to put love and care into these characters to make what we love about them from the comics shine on screen. And I’m really happy that included Guy Gardner, the Green Lantern that mooned Batman, fought Sinestro naked, and takes pride in the work he does even though he sees the universe is far bigger than him.

Currently Reading: Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson. This book is a fun environmental thriller that James Patterson completed upon Crichton’s notes before he passed. It’s a fast read and the volcano stuff was scratching my itch. All the characters being (not lovable) assholes really held it back for me, and being set on Hawaii it did veer into white savior territory more than I’d like.

What I’ve been Watching: M3gan 2.0! I really enjoyed this venture into expanding the M3gan movie. It took what I liked previously and did more of that. I love the Megan character and she’s constantly a scene stealer. There are a few gripes here and there but I thought it was an improvement over its hit debut. Although, I’m the only one defending it at work 😭