The new Superman trailer is as action-packed as it is star-studded, so it’s easy to miss an Easter egg or two — or a dozen. DC Studios dropped the official first trailer for the James Gunn-helmed reboot on Wednesday, bringing with it new looks at David Corenswet’s Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan’s intrepid Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult’s archvillain Lex Luthor.
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Over its three-minute run time, the new trailer also offers glimpses of the Justice Gang — a trio of corporate-sponsored superheroes, which includes Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hakwgirl (Isabela Merced), and the Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) — as well as the mysterious Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). But there’s another secretive cameo that is easily missed.
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As Clark Kent pals around with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) at The Daily Planet offices, a computer monitor shows what appears to be a photo of none other than J’onn J’onnz, the Martian Manhunter. Like the Last Son of Krypton, the Green Martian from Mars made the Earth his home after a plague wiped out the Martian race, including his wife and daughter.
Initially introduced as John Jones, “Manhunter from Mars,” in the pages of the Batman-fronted Detective Comics #225 in 1955, the alien was teleported to Earth by Prof. Mark Erdel, and used his chameleon-like powers to shapeshift into human form. Stranded on Earth, J’onn J’onnz disguised himself as an Earthman, took the name “John Jones,” and became a crime-fighting detective.
In 1960’s The Brave and the Bold #28, which formed the Justice League, J’onn J’onnz became a founding member alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash (Barry Allen), and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). The Big Seven, as they would come to be known, first banded together to battle the starfish-like alien Starro (the would-be conqueror and villain from Gunn’s The Suicide Squad).
More modern versions of the Martian Manhunter made J’onn J’onnz a member of the Maxwell Lord-backed Justice League International alongside the Guy Gardner Green Lantern, and during the New 52 relaunch in 2011, J’onn J’onnz was a member of the secret police force Stormwatch with Angela Spica, a.k.a. the Engineer — yet another character that can be seen in Superman, played by María Gabriela de Faría.
Gunn seemingly hinted at the Martian Manhunter last year when he shared a photo of Chocos cookies, the Oreo-like sandwich cookie that is famously J’onn J’onnz’s favorite snack in the comics. Not only can Chocos advertisements be spotted in Superman, but the Chocos office is the level of the LordTech building that comes under attack from the Hammer of Boravia. (The trailer shows the armored terrorist attacking LordTech, one of Metropolis’ major companies alongside Stagg Industries and LuthorCorp.)
DC Studios’ Superman — starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, and Frank Grillo — opens only in theaters on July 11.
