The first trailer for James Gunn's Superman introduces DC's bold new universe, and with it a large number of his power players. The meat and mead of the film might be the classic characters from the Superman mythos, such as the Man of Steel himself (David Korenswet), Lois Lane (Rachel Broshahan), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) — and let's not forget the cutest DC character out there, Krypto Superdog. However, the trailer also introduces several heroes whose main connection to Superman is the Justice League.

In Gunn's DCU, this powerful superhero team does not yet exist, to the point that Superman is the only member of the team from the DC Extended Universe era who is currently an active DCU player. However, many of the supporting superhero characters in the trailer have a long history with the Justice League, and may end up joining Superman as members during Gunn's tenure in the DCU. Let's take a look at who, exactly, these heroes are.

The man with the unfortunate blonde bowl hairdo who approaches the decomposing Superman in the lobby of the building is none other than Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion). That energy blast ring in his right middle finger? It's exactly what you think. Gardner is one of the many members of the Green Lantern Corps and uses the organization's signature ring which allows him to create various powerful energy constructs using nothing but his own will.

Apart from its considerable powers, Gardner is famously DC's angriest superhero. In the comics, his temper and ego are such that Batman once knocked him out with one punch—while the Dark Knight was overseeing the Justice League, and Gardner was a member, no less.

Before Justice League, Gardner's DCU path will take him to the DCU show Lanterns, which is set to premiere in 2026. There, the character will reunite with two more famous Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).

The disturbing-looking woman with the wings and spiked mace, Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), has been around for a long time—longer, in fact, than the vast majority of other DC heroes. In the comics, she has a form of immortality that allows her to be reborn as new versions of herself ad infinitum. As such, she effectively represents herself and both and a long lineage of winged warrior women. This has allowed her to join a whole bunch of different super-teams over the years, and of course the Justice League is one of them. Aside from her ability to fly, she is much stronger than a normal human and has a healing factor to deal with the damage she takes in battle. However, her most dangerous attribute is undoubtedly her sheer combat prowess and the vast experience that her unusual power set gives her.

What's more, Hawkgirl is rarely a lone threat because her partner, Hawkman, shares exactly the same attributes. Don't expect to see that guy in Superman, though. With no surprises, it looks like Hawkman will take down this particular film, possibly because Aldis Hodge's version of the character plays such a prominent role in the DCEU film Black Adam (which just came out in late 2022).

Mr. Terrific (Eddie Gategui) appears in the trailer with some impressive technology and his T-shaped face mask. His real name is Michael Holt, and his "superpower" is simply that he is extremely intelligent and strives to understand and solve every problem he encounters. His sheer ambition has helped him become an Olympic gold medalist and certified genius who is also incredibly rich. It may not be able to crush passenger jets or shoot beams from its eyes, but it more than makes up for it with its vast array of equipment - one so advanced that even ordinary high-tech often looks like sticks and stones in comparison.

The character's signature crime-fighting tool is the T-Sphere. This group of advanced ball-shaped robotic drones are capable of many different attack and support feats, and can be seen in the trailer forming a force field around Mister Terrific.

As teamwork goes, it's worth noting that the character is best known for his work with the Justice Society of America. However, his status as a charismatic, wealthy and super-intelligent tech tycoon hero could very well make him the DCU equivalent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony "Iron Man" Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).

Rex Mason, who is better known as the superhero Metamorpho (Anthony Kerrigan), is only briefly glimpsed in the trailer. However, a close-up shot of his face reveals a very comic-accurate view of the character (one whose powers may still prove to be the most visually striking in the DCU).

Metamorpho, known as the Elemental Man, is a somewhat outcast character who gained the power to transform his body into different elements when he was working as a mercenary and came across an ancient artifact known as the Grail of Ra. However, it also turned him into an inhuman, pale figure, which Mason is not happy about. Eventually, he discovers that his new form actually belongs to a mystical class of beings known as the Metamorphs and meets others of his own kind.

Metamorpho's history with the Justice League is pretty tight in the comics, but he's been known to hover on their fringes and even joined some versions of the group over the years. As such, the mighty hero is a pretty likely candidate for a team member card in the DCU.

Superman flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.