Fans Are Pointing out that Superman Is in the "Yamcha Pose" in the First Trailer for James Gunn's Movie

The Superman trailer led to all sorts of varied reactions across the internet. Many people were excited to see Krypto the Superdog pop up or were thrilled by all the colors that seemed to vibrate out from the screen. There was also a small contingent of people, though, who noticed that the trailer started with Superman in what has been described as the "Yamcha pose."

If you're one of the people who saw that and had no idea what they were talking about, you're not alone. Plenty of people saw that descriptor and were totally confused. Here's what we know.

The "Yamcha pose" is a reference to Dragonball Z, and specifically to a character named Yamcha who is blown to the Earth and creates a small crater as he lies on the ground, utterly defeated. The image has come to represent total failure in some corners of the internet.

The pose came up recently because the Superman trailer opens with a shot that looks basically identical, save for the fact that Superman is in an arctic environment.

The meme itself is hilarious and has a number of use cases, it also seems to stand in for the fact that the trailer opens with Superman at a real low moment. This may be an important indication of the kind of Superman story we're going to get.

Superman is one of the most powerful superheroes ever created, so getting to see him at a moment of devastation and loss speaks to the arc his character might experience.

Although its comparison to Superman is useful, the "Yamcha pose" has been a meme for years, and it is typically used in connection with a devastating defeat or loss.

It's unclear whether Superman director James Gunn was aware of the meme, although he does spend plenty of time on the internet, so it does seem highly likely that it could be an intentional homage to one of the internet's very favorite memes.

Whether it was intentional or not, though, the pose was just one reason that people were excited by the Superman trailer. This movie, which is set to be released in July of 2025, is the first chapter in what is supposed to be James Gunn's version of the DC universe. It will also be the debut of David Corenswet's version of the character, and based on the trailer, it also marks the debut of a bunch of other DC heroes.

Fans of the DC universe seem to be largely optimistic about the trajectory of the universe, although there are plenty of Zack Snyder fans who are bitter about the way the Snyderverse came to an end. Regardless of how you feel, though, we can all appreciate that the trailer, at the very least, features a possibly intentional homage to the "Yamcha pose."