History Film / Brightburn

-->"The mainstream media, as usual, tries to sell you all on a load of ''bullshit''! [[spoiler:Just like that [[{{Aquaman}} half-man, half-sea creature]] capsizing fishers in the South China sea! Like what we've come by last week, some kind of [[WonderWoman witch woman chokes people out with ropes and cords]]! They are ''all'' out there. They are ''all''... waiting. And they are ''all'' gonna eat us for ''fucking'' breakfast unless we get our shit together and do something!]]"

-->"The mainstream media, as usual, tries to sell you all on a load of ''bullshit''! [[spoiler:Just like that half-man, half-sea creature capsizing fishers in the South China sea! Like what we've come by last week, some kind of witch woman chokes people out with ropes and cords! They are ''all'' out there. They are ''all''... waiting. And they are ''all'' gonna eat us for ''fucking'' breakfast unless we get our shit together and do something!]]"

* KidsAreCruel: Brandon himself starts to take this trope up to eleven when he [[spoiler:falls to his instincts]]. By the end of the film, [[spoiler:he has flat out reached to EnfantTerrible level.]]

* KidsAreCruel: Brandon himself starts to take this trope up to eleven when he [[spoiler:falls to his instincts]]. By the end of the film, [[spoiler:he has flat out reached to EnfanteTerrible level.]]

* KidsAreCruel: Brandon himself starts to take this trope up to eleven when he [[spoiler:falls to his instincts]].

** Brandon's parents find themselves up against this trope when they discuss getting help for Brandon. Who's going to believe them, and who is qualified to deal with the situation in a world with no ''Avengers'' or MenInBlack-type organisation?

* ImpliedDeathThreat: Brandon points out to his aunt (the school councilor) that it would be best if she didn't give a report to the sheriff tomorrow. While Merilee [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior acknowledges his behavior as inappropriate]], she has no idea of Brandon's powers so doesn't recognise the threat he's making. [[spoiler:He ends up killing her husband, which achieves the same result, as Merilee then has other things to worry about than submitting reports.]]

* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: Mr. and Mrs. Breyer did their best to raise their son right before [[spoiler:Brandon loses himself]], which makes it all the more tear-jerking to hear Mrs. Breyer.
-->'''Mrs. Breyer:''' ''(sounding '''incredibly''' sad)'' Whatever you've done, ''I know there is '''good''' inside you!''
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: In spite of being committed to "showing the world how superior he is" and fantasizing about destroying the planet, Brandon actively avoids letting his parents realize his true nature and keeps up a benign facade around them. [[spoiler:Only when they turn against him does he become hostile to them as well.]]

** Caitlyn uses this word for word when telling her mother that Brandon was outside her window. It's not shown is she believes her daughter at the time, but she certainly does after Brandon crushes Caitlyn's hand.

''[=BrightBurn=]'' is a 2019 SuperheroHorror film produced by Creator/JamesGunn, written by his brother and cousin Brian and Mark Gunn, and directed by not-a-Gunn-but-frequent-collaborator David Yarovesky. The film reunites James Gunn and Creator/ElizabethBanks, who previously worked together on ''Film/{{Slither}}.''

** Brandon Breyer and his family are obvious ones to [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Superman and the Kents]], except this time [[spoiler:Superman's ship [[CorruptedCharacterCopy brainwashes him to become evil]].]] Brandon Breyer himself also merges elements of a wide variety of other horror characters and villains, including [[Film/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]] (albeit [[NeverTrustATrailer mostly in the trailers]]), [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]], and [[Franchise/{{Halloween}} Michael Myers]], among others.

* AssholeVictim: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. All of Brandon's victims are normal, decent people who in no way deserved their fate. It doesn't help that the trailer vastly overplayed how much he was bullied by his peers, and the [[JerkassHasAPoint people hostile to him had good reason to be]]. In fact, the one unrepentant bully shown (a [[FatBastard chunky]] black kid) is ''[[KarmaHoudini never]]'' targeted by Brandon in the film.

** The back-to-back B symbol Brandon draws resembles the Brand of Sacrifice from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}.'' It also evokes [[http://i.imgur.com/UG4a67Z.jpg a symbol]] used in the comic book ''ComicBook/{{Nameless}}''.

** The last time we have seen of Brandon's aunt Merilee was in the hospital with Tori and Kyle [[spoiler:after Brandon kills her husband Noah]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Film/TheOmen1976'', as both plots follow an innocent family whose adopted son gradually turns out to be an evil being with the director of the film, Creator/RichardDonner, being the same director of ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' (which this film portrays the Superman origin story in a terrifying light until that film), however, Brandon being twelve in this film is more in line with the sequel ''Film/DamienOmenII'', where the evil child was also that age. With the way the overall narrative plays out, [[spoiler:and the revelations in TheStinger]], it's also probably the closest to a film adaptation of ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' as we're going to get.