They’re Saying Superman Is Punk Now

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Superman.

James Gunn's new Superman movie hit theaters on Friday, achieving the third-biggest box office opening weekend this year with $125 million. The end credits feature Iggy Pop's 2006 Teddybears collaboration "Punkrocker," and now that song's having a moment. The Godfather of Punk is happy about it.

“I always thought the track had soul,” Pop told The Hollywood Reporter. “Superman is the best friend you could have.”

The song doesn't come out of nowhere in the film; Lois Lane (played by Rachel Brosnahan) has a punk background, Clark Kent (David Corenswet) likes pop-punk, and they discuss the difference. "I like the Strangle Fellows, the P.O.D.s, and the Mighty Crabjoys," Clark says, arguing he's punk. Lois retorts: "Those are pop radio bands, they’re not punk rock. The Mighty Crabjoys suck."

The Mighty Crabjoys are a fake pop-punk band that has been referenced in a few DC movies. “The Mighty Crabjoys Theme” on the soundtrack was written by James Gunn, Eric Nally, and Devin Williams, and recorded by Foxy Shazam and Lou Lou Safran. Foxy Shazam's Eric Nally even makes a cameo in the film. People online seem to think "the P.O.D.s" is a reference to the real Christian nu-metal band P.O.D., but it's actually an inside joke — it's the name of one of James Gunn's old bands.

James Gunn also made playlists for the characters, and Lois's has Against Me!, Jeff Rosenstock, PUP, and similar acts. ("Well, punk rock's my thing," Gunn said in recent interview before calling Rosentsock's 'Pash Rash' his "go to punk rock song.") Brosnahan also said Lois likes Bikini Kill. And the actress told Collider, “Lois talks a little bit about being punk rock for a period of her life, and I tend to find that people who end up having a punk rock phase arrive there with purpose — speaking as somebody who had a little bit of one myself." Meanwhile, David Corenswet doesn't seem to know any popular music.