Super is a 2010 American black comedy superhero film written and directed by James Gunn and starring Rainn Wilson, Elliot Page,[b] Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, and Nathan Fillion.

It tells the story of Frank Darbo, a short-order cook who becomes a superhero without having any superhuman ability, calling himself the "Crimson Bolt".

Short-order cook Frank Darbo recalls his only two good memories from a disappointing life: marrying his wife, Sarah, and an incident in which he directed a police officer to catch a purse snatcher.

Frank sinks into depression, where he has a vision in which he is touched by the finger of God and meets the Holy Avenger, a superhero from a Christian network television show (based on the actual Christian superhero series, Bibleman[9]), who tells Frank that God has chosen him for a very special purpose.

Armed with a pipe wrench, he begins to fight crime by delivering savage beatings to various rule-breakers, ranging from drug dealers and child molesters to a man who cuts in line at the movies.

Initially, the media view him as a violent psychopath, but he begins to gain public appreciation after the criminal backgrounds of many of his victims come to light.

Libby persuades Frank to let her become the Crimson Bolt's "kid sidekick," christening herself "Boltie" and designing a costume.

Arguing that rules are different when they are in their superhero identities, Libby rapes Frank while the two are in costume (although she claims to have been suffering from sexsomnia).

Armed with guns, pipe bombs, and bulletproof vests, Frank and Libby sneak into Jacques' ranch, killing the first few guards they encounter.

Gunn has said in interviews that he had been working on the script for Super since 2002, but he had a hard time getting it made, as producers felt that the content was too violent and esoteric.

[10] After Slither was made, Gunn had effectively put the project on hold until his ex-wife Jenna Fischer encouraged him to go through with it and recommended Rainn Wilson, her co-star from The Office.

3, the 2021 DC Comics film The Suicide Squad and its 2022 TV series spin-off Peacemaker, and produced the 2019 dark superhero horror film Brightburn, in which Rainn Wilson also briefly reprises his role as Frank Darbo in photographic form indicating that Super and Brightburn are set in the same universe.

The site's critics consensus reads, "Super's intriguing premise and talented cast are drowned in a blood-red sea of graphic violence, jarring tonal shifts, and thinly written characters.

"[16] Al Kratina reporting at the Fantasia Film Festival wrote, "There's a great movie somewhere inside James Gunn's dark comedy.

"[17] Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman wrote, "This trifle about a doofus who becomes a costumed superhero, even though he has no special powers, might have seemed funkier before Kick-Ass.

It's really a one-joke movie, but the joke is a good one: Frank's 'crusade' is just a geek's screw-loose revenge, which Wilson, digging into the character's misery, makes oddly sympathetic.

[6] During an interview actor Rainn Wilson explained his thoughts about the struggling box office performance, saying the risky tonal decision worked against the film in its limited theatrical release: "It is a comedy.

The movie's 17-song soundtrack includes hit songs such as Eric Carmen's "It Hurts Too Much" and Cheap Trick's "If You Want My Love".

What does bum me out [is] people who pretend like Kick-Ass was the first superheroes without powers movie, when that's obviously the classic John Ritter film Hero at Large.