Can Superman be Afrofuturist?

Think with me for a second.

In this moment with a Superman movie that reminds us of the character immigrant Alien origin, I think we are compelled to rethink what the Man of Steel represents within the landscape of speculative practice, especially in light of Afrofuturism. As I’ve explored across my research and at Afrofantastic.com, Afrofuturism exists at the intersection of Black experience, liberation, and speculative imagination. My question is: Can Superman—so often cast as the archetype of Eurocentric heroism—be reimagined as an Afrofuturist object?

Afrofuturism is more than an aesthetic; it’s a methodology that locates Blackness in futuristic landscapes and insists on the agency of Black bodies in envisioning narratives of liberation and technological prowess. When we view Superman through this framework, several critical opportunities emerge that worth discussing.

First, Superman allows us to reclaim otherness. Superman’s origins as an alien connect powerfully to the historic experiences of displacement and diaspora within Black communities. Superman offers us a chance to call forth futures where those seen as the “Other” wield their difference as strength.

Second, this is an opportunity to embrace the power of speculative transformation. Afrofuturism foregrounds the creative imagining of alternative futures. If Superman’s powers are rendered in ways that speak to Black resilience, survival, and the ongoing project of liberation, he becomes more than a godlike outsider—he is a symbol of speculative agency.

Third, narrative and re-narration as liberation are very real in this film. At its core, Afrofuturism liberates Black narratives from the reductive cycle of trauma, offering stories not only of suffering but also of boundless capability and technological mastery. By reframing Superman and infusing his mythologies with striving for liberation and a celebration of community, he can be an agent of hope rooted in Afrofuturist vision for less harm and more care.

In this new cinematic era, it may well be the real promise of a new Superman is to see him not as the outsider yearning for assimilation, but as a figure whose very otherness is a resource for liberation—a bridge between worlds, a carrier of dreams, and, ultimately, an speculative project heralding inclusive, transformative futures.