Maybe Catholicism is the Real Punk Rock

As a big fan of superhero movies, the summer of 2025 has been a breath of fresh air after a long period of dark, depressing, or simply uninteresting cinematic and TV fare from both Marvel and DC.

As a father of four young children, this weekend was a breath of fresh air as I went to see a superb superhero movie in a theater not once, but twice! Previous to this weekend, I could probably count on two hands the number of times I’ve been to the movies in the last 9 years.

The first film I watched was Marvel’s new Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is a remarkable return to form for the franchise for the first time since the Infinity Saga. It had wonderful casting, depth of characters and character, suspenseful action, humor, and everything else that made me spend hours upon hours of my life following all the exploits of the Avengers movies throughout the 2010s.

Go see it. It’s wonderful, and there some definite “seeds of the Word” to be mined from its plot, but that’s for another post.

The second movie I watched was James Gunn’s new Superman, the latest take on the Man of Steel from a director whose Marvel work on the Guardians of the Galaxy films I really enjoyed. While not as good as Fantastic Four, this is still the best Superman film that has been produced since the 1978 Christopher Reeve original.

I found myself having some Catholic musings while watching the film, and then I remembered I have a newsletter for that! Sorry it’s been so long. Life, man.

So let’s dive in.

It’s not a spoiler to tell you that the new Superman film is particularly strong because it skips over all the origin stories and plops us in the middle of a Metropolis where Superman is already aware of his powers and using them to protect the Earth, is known and beloved by the general public, and is known and loved by Lois Lane—whom he has been dating for several months with his secret identity revealed to her.

The Clark and Lois couple scenes are very strong in this film, and in one particularly delightful scene, the following dialogue happens during an argument:

Lois — “We’re so different. I was just some punk rock kid from Bakerline and you’re…Superman.”

Clark — “I’m punk rock.”

Lois — [laughing] “You are not punk rock.”

Clark — “I like the Strangle Fellows, the P.O.D.s, and the Mighty Crabjoys.”

Lois — “Those are pop radio bands, they’re not punk rock. The Mighty Crabjoys suck.”

Clark — “Ah, well, a lot of people love ‘em.”

Lois — “My point is I question everything and everyone. You trust everyone and think everyone you ever met is, like…beautiful.”

Clark — “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”

What you can probably glean from this dialogue is that this iteration of Superman—the man—is one of innocence and goodness. Indeed, his first line in the movie is “Golly,” as we see him lying in the snow, bloodied and beaten by his otherworldly opponent.

For all the sarcasm and winking at the camera in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films (which is perfect in that context), he has pulled no punches in making Superman an unabashed “good guy” who is courageous and dutiful in his quest to serve the common good.

This is a rare feature in today’s pop culture landscape, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a movie that embraced such a view. Everyone is always rolling their eyes about something. Everyone is always too cool. Everything is done ironically. Characters can so rarely just be good.

And so this Superman is a refreshing throwback as someone who fights for Truth, Justice, and the American Way without crossing his fingers behind his back. He really believes that those are solid, unwavering ideals with meaning behind them—and that gives more meaning and character to his character.

“Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”

That great line got me thinking a lot about our Catholic faith. Aren’t we all called to live as idealistically as Superman? Shouldn’t we stop scoffing at everything and doubting the inherent goodness of the people and things we encounter every day?

Lois Lane’s critique—that Superman trusts everyone and thinks that everyone he ever met is, like, beautiful—is exactly how God sees us and wants us to see each other.

It’s easy to forget when you’re not practicing Catholicism as hard as you should be that we are called to be the Ramones and not the Eagles.

Maybe Catholicism is the real punk rock, a faith that asks us not to sell out to our fallen culture, but to rise above that broken road and recognize the beauty in the world and the people around us. More than that, we are called to sanctify the world through our actions and add to the beauty of God’s creation just by using the gifts and talents He has blessed us with.

That’s a tough assignment. We’re not Superman. We have wounds. We have insecurities. We get tired. We get petty. We can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Our faith is countercultural and that makes it increasingly difficult for others to comprehend. It’s not easy being Superman or a punk rocker, either. You’ll easily be misunderstood or rejected as dangerous or too idealistic.

But it’s time to take off the glasses to reveal—and revel in—our secret identities in Christ. Catholicism happens to have all the answers for living an undivided, integrated life if we would just make more of an effort and stop giving in to the temptations that provide momentary satisfaction but ultimately lead us nowhere.

Superman can’t do it alone. Let’s get busy saving the planet.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

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