In 2006, rock legend Iggy Pop collaborated with Teddybears on the song “Punkrocker.” While it’s a solid track, it was quickly eclipsed by his other hits, until James Gunn dug it back up for “Superman.” The tune is prominently featured in Gunn’s the new DC Studios film, and has led to it going viral on TikTok.
At Portland, Oregon’s Project Pabst Festival, Pop capitalized on the song’s new found popularity, and played it live for the first time ever.
“Punkrocker” is used as a callback in the end credits to a conversation between Superman (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) earlier in the film. During which the Man of Steel claims that kindness is “the real punk rock.” A line that writer and director Gunn says is “the point of the movie.”
I’m a Punkrocker, Yes I am
In the same interview, Gunn says that he found “Punkrocker” when it popped up on his Spotify algorithm. After that the infectious song just kind of stuck with him. “And so when I wrote that line, I think I thought back to that song and knew that would really work well,” Gunn told Rolling Stone. “And I just liked how the ending juggled all these different pieces of the movie in a way where we showed that the real punk rock was him, his dad, all the way to the shot of the dad making the baby fly. He flies because of his parents.”
“Punkrocker” plays during the end credits after the song “The Mighty Crabjoys Theme” from the fictitious pop-punk band The Mighty Crabjoys. That song was written by Gunn and Foxy Shazam’s Eric Nally. It’s also a call back to the aforementioned conversion between Superman and Lois. The couple debate if the band is punk or not with Lois claiming that they aren’t and they suck. Later in the film we see a The Mighty Crabjoys poster in Kal-el’s childhood bedroom (pictured above).
You can catch “Superman” in theaters nationwide. And be sure to check out a video of Pop singing “Punkrocker” below:
