Superman will officially kickstart the rebooted DC Universe on the big screen and director James Gunn has chosen some unconventional characters to grace the screen of the franchise’s first tentpole release. Alongside David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, the film will also feature lesser-known (in the eyes of non-comic book readers) heroes and villains like Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, Maxwell Lord, Metamorpho, and The Engineer. The latter is one of the movie’s most niche characters, even within the comic book fandom. But, James Gunn is putting the spotlight on the underappreciated anti-hero in his latest social media promo for Superman.
Taking to X, James Gunn celebrated the anniversary of the creation of The Engineer by sharing a behind-the-scenes photo from Superman’s production. “Happy Anniversary to the Engineer, created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch,” the post began. In Superman, Angela Spica, a.k.a. The Engineer will be played by Maria Gabriela de Faria (The Exorcism of God). The Engineer was created by Ellis and Hitch, first appearing in The Authority #1 in 1999. Spica has had two major appearances in DC Comics lore; first in the original The Authority run and, more recently, in The Wild Storm, which ran between 2017 and 2019. Across her 26-year history, Spica has been both a hero and a villain, but Superman will apparently see the character lean far more heavily towards the latter.

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The photo shared by Gunn shows The Engineer flattened into the ground inside a football stadium. We’ve seen very little of The Engineer in Superman’s promos so far. In fact, her debut in Superman’s first trailer took two days for fans to spot as it was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it wide shot. In the photo, Faria is wearing a black suit similar to the other heroes in the film, which is a far cry from The Engineer’s overpowered adaptable tech suit or nanotech body (depending on which version James Gunn goes with). Gunn continued:

“You can see [The Engineer] played to sinister perfection by puppy in human form Gaby de Faria in #Superman this July!”

Who Is The Engineer in ‘Superman?’

In DC Comics lore, Angela Spica isn’t an outright villain. She actually started out as a hero and was obsessed with superheroes since childhood. However, when she developed her powers after her body was fused with nanotech, her morality slowly began to decline. Her goals are morally upstanding, as Spica joined The Authority to help create a better world. However, she is also a “the ends justify the means” type of character as her methods can often be more dubious than aspiring.
Superman releases in theaters on July 11. The first trailer was released at the end of 2024 and James Gunn has slowly been drip-feeding promos and teasers for the movie. The director has confirmed that the next trailer for the film is already in the works, and will likely be released in the coming month.
Source: @JamesGunn on X

Superman

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Director

James Gunn

Producers

Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran