Ultraman, Engineer, and the Hammer of Boravia: The real villains in James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ reboot

With the summer blockbuster season underway, James Gunn’s Superman reboot is generating major buzz—especially after Warner Bros. dropped a fresh trailer teasing more about the plot, action, and, most intriguingly, its villains.

While Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is front and center, he may not be the biggest threat Superman faces. Enter the mysterious Ultraman, the high-tech Hammer of Boravia, and María Gabriela de Faría’s Engineer—a trio poised to challenge Kal-El like never before.

One of the standout new faces is the Hammer of Boravia, a character created specifically for the film. Not based on existing DC Comics lore, this armored juggernaut is Gunn’s original contribution to the DC Universe. A soldier clad in an advanced, weaponized battlesuit reminiscent of anime mechs like Gundam’s Zaku units, the Hammer represents the fictional nation of Boravia, recently engaged in a conflict with neighboring Jarhanpur.

Superman’s intervention in the war sparks major international tensions and puts him on a collision course with the Hammer, whose raw firepower and laser weaponry make him a formidable adversary.

Gunn seems to be blending comic book aesthetics with Japanese kaiju and mecha influences, bringing a fresh stylistic approach to Superman’s world. The Hammer’s origin story unfolds in a politically charged narrative, showing Superman as a global protector whose decisions ripple through international politics. Echoing themes from Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman, Gunn’s take explores the moral consequences of Superman’s actions on the world stage—only this time with less brooding and more high-octane spectacle.

Meanwhile, The Engineer, portrayed by María Gabriela de Faría, gets a much bigger spotlight in the new trailer. Known in the comics as Angela Spica, the Engineer is a nanotech-enhanced hero from The Authority, a morally complex superhero team known for their radical approach. While her comic version fights for good (if aggressively), the film positions her more squarely as an antagonist—perhaps to challenge Superman’s old-school ideals with her futuristic powers and militant mindset.

The Engineer’s nanotechnology allows her to morph her body into deadly mechanical forms, and we see her clashing violently with Superman—at one point, even getting punched by Krypto the Superdog. Her presence signals a thematic clash: Superman’s traditional values versus a new era of hard-edged, no-nonsense metahumans.

And then there’s Ultraman—a shadowy figure with limited screen time so far, but whose presence hints at deeper twists. In DC lore, Ultraman is Superman’s evil doppelgänger from an alternate universe, a possibility that could turn Superman into a multiversal showdown.

James Gunn’s Superman is shaping up to be more than a reboot—it’s a clash of philosophies, national interests, and otherworldly powers. With these layered villains in play, Lex Luthor may just be the tip of the iceberg.