Cause I’m a Punkrocker, Yes I Am: Punk Rock, Iggy Pop and The Man of Tomorrow
- Ziyad Azaini
- Nov 20, 2025
- 4 min read
What does it mean to be a punk-rocker? Ziyad, our Music writer, takes us back to the beginning of The Clash all the way to that ending scene of James Gunn's Superman.
Punk rock – the anger, the energy, the bands preaching movements by spewing lightning in musical form. The dingy bars of New York, London and Washington DC became the breeding ground for bands like The Ramones, The Clash and Bad Brains to spew their lightning and inspire Generation X and their descendants to carry their attitude forward.
Behind this ethos is a deeper undercurrent of being anti-establishment and providing a voice for the voiceless – for the disenfranchised rebels of the planet, both the loud and proud activists to the quiet yet frustrated ally. Deep down, one can interpret this leaning to care for the common man as a symbol for solidarity and for looking out for each other.
The punk spirit is brought into the 21st century with bands like IDLES and their healthy machismo, Dublin’s own Fontaines D.C., and Black Country, New Road with their melancholic resistance. Closer to home, bands like No Good bring a “kecek Kelate”/Kelantanese flavor to Malaysian social commentary.
All these bands impart their own jagged take onto what “punk” is. Kneecap is one of the most punk artists to come out of Ireland, yet they are a hip-hop group with even less rock in their music than Beastie Boys. All these creators sound totally different from one another, but are united in the themes they sing and rap about. At the end of the day, it shows that punk isn’t necessarily a sound, but an idea unbounded by time and power chords. It’s the idea of liberation, fairness, genuine self-expression and the want for a better tomorrow.
James Gunn’s Superman came out during one of the most cynical periods in recent history. Most people who watched the movie probably resigned to the possibility of a doomed world. If not by man-made calamity such as authoritarianism or genocide, it is by the collapse of empathy driving people to more atomized and prejudiced states. Current socioeconomic, and political pressures shaped a generation that was fed on nihilism, where being authentic is seen as “too much”. On the silver screen, Superman came out and bucked that trend. It showed a young hero who still has the wonder of a farm boy, whose mission was to do the right thing even when everyone hated him. His compatriots, while flawed, try their best to uphold truth and justice. If punk rock is hope and idealism and its authentic pursuit, then Superman is punk rock.
On the version of Punkrocker by Teddybears played in the film’s end credits, Iggy Pop’s iconic crooning baritone carries the weight of a man whose music arguably built the prototype for punk rock. Despite that, it sonically leans more towards electropop (a la Metric and Foster the People) than it does Fugazi, but lyrically it establishes themes of jadedness and acceptance of fate. Alongside it, there comes a sense of liberty, of realizing that maybe things aren’t as bad as they are.
Musicality notwithstanding, the punk messaging of it shone through its lyrics. With some irony, Iggy declares that his aged yet rebellious self is indeed a punk rocker. In the end, punk rock stands for being sincere and hopeful that things will be good as long as you’re sincere, even in the face of the end times. In spite of the song’s (seemingly) cynical resignation of fate, it’s electropop tendency and lyrical delivery makes it a hard song to not feel good listening.
Whilst a large selection of music that trends currently revel in centrist escapism, Punkrocker reemerged as the summer anthem of optimism we needed. The synths and crooning of the song are frequently used as the centerpiece audio for edits of heroes – from Deku to Spider-Man – that aim to instill positivity into society once more. In a volatile time when personal liberties feel under threat and hate is used to sway elections, the counterculture consists of joy as one’s personal act of resistance.
Irony and mild self-deprecation play a large role in the movie’s messaging of Clark being punk rock. Whilst the radio-friendly Mighty Crabjoys who Clark listened to in his youth may not be as authentically "punk rock”.
The power of that line comes from the irony: someone so seemingly naive and trusting claiming qualities rooted in mistrusting authority as “punk rock". The irony doesn’t stop there. Superman may be an alien physically, but spiritually, he is the best of what humanity offers. The message of the film, and its boost to the movement and genre of punk rock, rekindles a hope for a future we can fight for.
"He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned." ---- Peter Safran, Producer
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