James Gunn is ringing in the holiday season with some new DCU art featuring Superman's most terrifying villain. The 2025 DC Studios movie featured plenty of formidable foes for David Corenswet's Man of Steel to square off against, including Lex Luthor, Ultraman, and even a hulking kaiju. However, none were quite as spin-chilling as the mysterious Mr. Handsome.
The deformed monstrosity of a man was featured as a part of Lex's inter-dimensional prison in the film, serving as something of an otherworldly warden for the quantum physics-breaking complex. Since Superman's release, Gunn has continually revealed more about the Mr. Handsome character. The DC Studios head appears to have a particular propensity for the off-putting big bad that shows no sign of slowing down.
Gunn has shared a new piece of holiday-specific art featuring Mr. Handsome at its center. The Superman filmmaker shared the image on his personal X account, showing the character doing his best Santa impression, helming his prison transport vehicle from the movie with a massive present on the back of it.
"Mr. Handsome holiday card to the Man of Tomorrow crew from our art department," Gunn wrote in the attached caption, citing the movie's art director, Sam Avila, and wishing fans a happy holiday season:
"Mr. Handsome holiday card to the Man of Tomorrow crew from our art department. Art by Sam Avila, Art Director. Happy Holidays (and Hanlidays!)"
Mr. Handsome has not been confirmed to appear in any further DCU projects, but given his appearance on the Man of Tomorrow team's Christmas card, it would not be entirely shocking to see the character return in some form in the new movie.
Superman, which soared into theaters last summer, is now available to stream on HBO Max (along with the rest of the DC Studios catalog). As for Man of Tomorrow, it is still in pre-production, with a script written and filming set to start sometime in spring 2026. Gunn will once again write and direct the Superman sequel, with a release confirmed for July 9, 2027.
Will Mr. Handsome Ever Return in the DCU?
Mr. Handsome's future in the DCU remains relatively unclear. The character, who initially seemed fairly innocuous, has taken on a life of its own since the movie's release.
After Lex Luthor's prisoners were freed of their otherworldly binds at the end of Superman, Mr. Handsome was nowhere to be seen. Some have speculated that he was freed and is now working with the LuthorCorp team. Meanwhile, others have suggested that he may have been decommissioned after Superman escaped from Lex's pocket dimension.
In the comics, Mr. Handsome bears no resemblance to the character as portrayed in the movie. He is a fairly generic crime boss operating in Gotham City with ties to Catwoman.
His DCU interpretation is instead a botched clone of Superman created by Lex Luthor before Ultraman. Perhaps Mr. Handsome will go on to become the criminal mastermind from the comics, but for right now, he does not quite seem ready for that.
If fans see Superman's most terrifying villain again, it will likely be alongside Lex again in whatever evil pursuits the bald-headed supergenius may be cooking up.
