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A character with a long history like Superman is bound to have plenty of design changes. We’re not even just talking about the way his suit continues to evolve in comics and in films – Superman’s hair has been the source of plenty of controversy over the years. With the benefit of hindsight, we can all agree that giving Superman that mullet in the '90s was a mistake, something that director and head of DC Studios James Gunn agrees with.

For those of you who didn’t live through Superman’s mullet era yourselves, here is a brief history lesson. In the 90s, DC decided to kill off Superman in a brutal fight against Doomsday only to bring him back to life six months later during the Reign of the Supermen storyline. When he re-emerged, Superman was edgier and darker, as you might expect from someone who had just died and come back to life. He also had a mullet, because DC wanted to make sure you knew at a glance that this was a new Superman.

This approach to making Superman cool wasn’t just cringy by today’s standards; it undermined exactly what was so central to the character. “I think that oftentimes people can see Superman as Pollyanna,” James Gunn explained in a recent interview. We'll save you a Google; Pollyanna refers to a 1960 film about an overwhelmingly cheerful orphan who uplifts a small town through the power of smiles. The term 'Pollyanna' has come to refer to someone with irrepressible optimism, often to the point of annoyance.

“They [say] ‘How can we make Superman cool?’ So if it’s the 90s, they give him a mullet. But the thing is that he’s not cool. He’s kind. He loves little kids. He wants little kids to like him. I think it’s about owning that and being okay with that. It’s not trying to hippify him, you know?”

Superman’s kindness and warmth have always been part of what makes him such an iconic character, so we’re glad to see the mullet relegated to the past. Superman doesn’t need to be edgy to be cool; just being himself is cool enough for us.

James Gunn's Superman movie is out now - and we have a lot to say about it. You can also read about Superman's S-Shield through the ages, how Superman and Clark Kent keep their secret identity secret, our recs for best Superman comics, and how to watch all his TV series and movies in order.