The Bizarre Blue Robot Is Going to Make Us Cry in ‘Superman’ and James Gunn Has Already Ensured That in the Trailer

Superman has always brought an ensemble of side characters along with him since his comic book days who have become as memorable as him. Now, James Gunn is bringing these familiar faces together with the Man of Steel in his upcoming DCU installment.

The teaser trailer for Superman has just been dropped, and it has introduced Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and many other characters. However, one particular robot shown for a brief moment might be holding much bigger significance than what appears now.

Who is the blue robot in the Superman trailer?

As James Gunn mentioned, Superman won’t be a typical origin story. The movie will explore Clark Kent’s journey and how he tries to figure out a balance between his superhuman heritage and adversities and his human upbringing and ambitions.

The recent teaser trailer establishes that Superman is going to face some significant challenges in the movie as he is shown bleeding, beaten up, and also facing hostile behavior from people. However, one brief scene shows him holding a damaged blue robot at what appears to be the Fortress of Solitude.

Superman is also shown getting emotional for the robot. Now, it is highly likely that the robot is none other than Kelex, who has deep ties to the Man of Steel’s Kryptonian roots and heritage.

Kelex first appeared in The Man of Steel #1 in 1986. Initially, it was a helping robot for Jor-El on Krypton, among others. However, Kelex was more notable as it had served him more than others and was also present during Kal-El’s infancy, which makes it one of Superman’s last links to his family and his home world.

In the comics, Kelex was believed to be destroyed along with Krypton until it reemerged when the Eradicator built the Fortress of Solitude. Judging by the trailer, it can be assumed that Superman has already begun exploring his alien heritage with Kelex’s help. As Gunn told The Wrap, “We just start in the middle of the action. Superman’s already existing.”

Moreover, Gunn is an expert at building an emotional connection with such characters. Rocket Raccoon and Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise are a few examples, and as the trailer potentially hints at Kelex’s demise, it is going to be a heart-wrenching moment for the audience.

James Gunn is embracing Superman’s mythology

James Gunn has said during a Q&A session (via Variety) that David Corenswet‘s Superman already “lives in a world with superheroes,” and it is well established by now as the trailer shows some of those superheroes as well.

Along with Corenswet’s Clark Kent/Superman, the cast of the movie includes Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan’s Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, and María Gabriela de Faría’s The Engineer, among others.

This shows Gunn’s world-building approach for a more interconnected DCU. He elaborated on this approach in his Q&A session by saying,

We’re embracing all of the Superman mythology. He has friends who are other superheroes. He has people he doesn’t get along as well with who are other superheroes. He has a lot of the things that we love from the Superman comics that we haven’t been able to see as much of in filmed media and definitely haven’t been able to see in a grounded way, which is what I hope we’ve created.

The movie also features Krypto the Superdog, who has been a companion of Superman since his childhood days. With Gunn’s expertise on such side characters and his holistic approach, it seems like fans will be getting the full spectrum of DC Comics on screen.

Superman will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.