[divider]Batman Begins[/divider]
The Batman is back, and he doesn’t have a sore throat!
Not only are we offered a glimpse into the Caped Crusader’s origins again, we’re also treated to a cool easter egg. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who previously worked with director Zack Snyder on Watchmen appears here as Thomas Wayne—a nice twist given that the character he played in Watchmen, the Comedian, was the one who saved the Waynes of that reality from dying, preventing the creation of Batman.
Additionally, the Batman of this universe seems to be a very different man from the ‘no-kill’ enforcer movie-goers and comic fans have become accustomed to in the last few decades. Not only is his sick new Batmobile decked out with guns, we also see a poor Super-lackey having his neck broken by the Bat.
His violence seems to even extend to asserting the mark of the Bat on Gotham’s criminals.
Talk about taking branding seriously.
Not only does Gotham City seem to acknowledge the existence of the Batman, but the crusader’s violent, fear-inspiring ways seems to be public knowledge, making the confrontation between the Dark Knight and the Man of Tomorrow motivated both ways with Batman and Superman’s contrasting ideologies and philosophies clashing as they believe each other’s methods to be the wrong way to enforce what’s right.
More interestingly, unlike comic book canon where Batman and Superman are of similar age, the DCCU’s Caped Crusader is gruffer, older, and brutal. This Batman is clearly inspired by Frank Miller’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns, with the fat bat, the armoured suit and the muscular frame lifted from the book.
And, of course, who better than Zack Snyder to find a way to embody an iconic take on a comic character. More impressively, Snyder seems to be back on form with his unique style that was sorely missed in Man of Steel.
[divider]Enter the Dark Knight[/divider]
The trailer offers us a quick glimpse of the destruction of Metropolis from the eyes of Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne capitalising on what was just an easter egg to introduce a personal vendetta for the Dark Knight against this alien adversary.
A lonely mansion with Victorian influences in architecture could only mean the home of a man who dresses as a bat on his free nights. But its not hard to miss the near dilapidated condition of the building. When paired with the following shot of a newspaper clipping featuring a scarlet scrawl of “You let your family die!” it kinda throws the context of the entire Batman-plot of the movie in question.
Given that the scrawl looks a lot like Gotham’s resident clown may have produced, is it possible that the Joker knows the identity of the World’s Greatest Detective in this universe? After all, I’s pretty sure the Batman doesn’t have a mailing address.
Not only could this be a direct reference to 2012’s Death in the Family arc in the comics, the timeline of the narrative is now thrown into question.
Is this a flashback to a time just after the death of Robin? After all, the second Robin, Jason Todd, was killed by Joker in a warehouse which was then burned down. If the Joker did know of Batman’s identity, the murder of Jason Todd may actually have occurred in the Wayne Manor, followed by it being burnt down, explaining the condition of it as seen in the trailer. The Robin costume, after all, does look pretty burnt up.
However, it should be noted that the costume display is accessorised with a bo staff, which is generally a weapon associated with Tim Drake, the third Robin.
Another possibility would be this scene being part of the end of the movie, tying in to Suicide Squad, where Jared Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn presumably have a run in with the Batman.
[divider]Batman V Superman[/divider]
Plot twist: Batman will, at some point in this movie, fight Superman.
On first look, there seems to be two major battle between the two titular characters—one with Batman in his normal vigilante outfit, and Superman having the upper hand, even using heat vision on Batman; another with Batman in his armoured suit, and him presumably having the upper hand.
However, it’s more likely that this is due to clever editing. Although, the scenes with armoured Batman is clearly a battle between the two heroes, all footage of the Caped Crusader in his normal duds doesn’t actually feature any physical confrontations with Superman. And while we do see him dodging heat vision, it is highly doubtful Superman will use heat vision, a lethal ability on Batman. Especially not after all of that killing Zod fiasco in the first movie.
And as far as comic-inspired subtext goes, Batman in his Red Son/JSA: Liberty Files-styled costume indicates his stand on the potential of Superman becoming a dictator who rules with his powers. Interestingly, Alfred seems to be vehemently on Superman’s side… Maybe he’s gotten tired of Bruce Wayne’s brooding?
And while the scene of Superman and Batman having a stare down standing atop the Batmobile makes for a pretty shot, it’s more likely that they’re already a team at this point and are battling the movie’s yet-to-be-revealed villain… that, or the Batmobile’s doors got jammed again and Bruce had to call Clark in to help him out.
[divider]The Reign of the Supermen Vs. The Death of Superman[/divider]
The Exploding Rocket could be a plant for future plots. Hank Henshaw, a Superman comic character was the sole survivor of a doomed NASA project. He will later go on to become the Cyborg Superman following the events of Superman’s death at the hands of Doomsday and eventually becomes a member of the Sinestro Corps.
Given DC’s attempts to quickly integrate a wide universe, Henshaw would be one of the more obvious options for a shared villains, his combined powers easily making him a plausible villain for the Justice League.
On that note of Doomsday, rumours have it that the Kryptonian war machine may actually make an appearance in Batman V Superman as the villain that forces the duo to unite, even bringing Wonder Woman into the battle. Uniquely, the rumours also carry information that this Doomsday won’t simply be a mindless, hulking grey mass, but either a reanimated Zod or a pseudo-clone… Which isn’t so out there given that Smallville did do something similar.
This would also explain the blast of heat vision that Batman avoids as it could mean that Doomsday now possesses the more traditional Kryptonian abilities.
[divider]Wonder Woman[/divider]
Although Wonder Woman was supposed to have just a small role, it’s looking likely that she actually plays a rather huge part in the events of the film. She appears to be more than just Amazonian warrior, with her penchant for formal outfits and places where people like Bruce Wayne hang out. This could suggest a more political slant in her alter-ego, Diana Prince, and maybe even an ambassador of peace.
Yeah, I don’t envy whatever it is she’s fighting.
[divider]Lex Luthor: Steelbender[/divider]
Oh boy, the little we’ve seen of Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor indicates that he seems to be channeling Gene Hackman’s menacing insanity from the Christopher Reeve Superman movies more than Michael Rosenbaum’s cool, calm collected demeanour as seen in Smallville.
Also, he’s sporting a full head of hair, so he may either be wearing a wig, much like Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey, or he simply hasn’t lost his hair yet. Incidentally, we see him with a big chunk of Kryptonite.
The huge chunk of Kryptonite that he’s admiring could be the reason for his eventual baldness. In the comics, Luthor constantly wore a Kryptonite ring due to his paranoia of Superman. However, he eventually died to a cancerous disease because of the constant radiation
And, it would also explain this:
In The Dark Knight Rises comics, Batman was assisted by Green Arrow in depositing a face full of Kryptonite into Superman’s face before battling him. Could Bruce Wayne’s relationship with Lex Luthor be a replacement solution?
So, what do you think? Will BVS teach Marvel Studios a lesson in competition? Or will it follow the footsteps of Green Lantern, The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel and disappoint?