DC is going all out in 2016, showcased by another terrific Batman v Superman teaser.
A second trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has hit the web and naturally it gives me a lot to speculate and get excited about. One of the biggest complaints people have concerning Man of Steel was the destruction of Metropolis caused by Superman fighting General Zod whereby buildings were toppling over and thousands of innocents were being crushed by the falling debris. People hated how that seemed to have no repercussions for Superman during the film's conclusion. Now those fears can be put to rest as it seems the whole Batman vs. Superman conflict is mainly because of that event. This film seems like it flows so naturally from Man of Steel, and gives us both sides of the argument, the key ingredient necessary when it comes to creating tension between characters in movies.
We learn that both Gotham and Metropolis are geographically within close proximity of each other, and that Gotham was also impacted by the destruction caused by Superman and Zod. We learn that when that fight was going on, Bruce Wayne was there. We see a previously shown event from the perspective of someone on the ground. Ben Affleck's Batman has been described as a veteran, a tired, withered and seasoned soul who has years and years of crime fighting experience. What I am speculating is that during the events of Man of Steel, Bruce had given up being the Batman. However, this event was the trigger cause which has seen him come back into the field.
This trailer really dives into the psyche of Batman and the failure he must feel. He was there during the destruction of Metropolis and failed to save the innocents that died. This is shown to us by a newspaper headline smeared in red writing "YOU LET YOUR FAMILY DIE". We also get a glimpse and what I think is Jason Todd's Robin suit with "HAHAH JOKES ON YOU BATMAN" written on it as well, something Batman keeps as a reminder of his failure to save the former Robin from the Joker. The first piece of writing I think was written by Jason Todd himself (Red Hood) and the second by Jared Leto's Joker. There have been rumours that Ben Affleck will co-write and direct a solo Batman movie which many believe will take inspiration from Under the Red Hood. It is also speculated heavily that in this universe, the Joker has already killed Jason Todd. These small Easter eggs act not only as seeds for future films, but as other factors which torment and torture Batman's conscience, and push him over the edge.
For Bruce Wayne, Superman is simply the singular target for his rage. But in this trailer, we see more of the side of Team Superman. For example, we see that Clark Kent (Superman's alter ego), much like Bruce Wayne, hates the superhero persona of the other. We know Bruce sees Superman as an alien who has caused the death and destruction to things he holds close. We also know that Clark sees Batman has having a "one man reign of terror" over Gotham; he doesn't agree with the vigilante way of combatting evil. We also get to see via narrations by Diane Lane and Amy Adams what Superman means to people around the world, a symbol of hope. Who else will save them during natural disasters? Superman is all some people have in the world. It is showing us that there is division between how people view Superman but finally shows us how he positively impacts people's lives.
Lex Luthor also appears prominently in the trailer. I am still not on board with Jesse Eisenberg playing the character as for what I've seen so far, this isn't the Lex I wanted to see. I understand what they're going for but for me I'd rather see them take the character in another direction. I would've cast Mark Strong personally. We can't change that now though. What we can do is read into how Lex factors in to everything. Lex is very much in the anti-Superman camp, he hates him for what he stands for. We see him coercing with the Senator (played by Holly Hunter) and also in a scene with Superman whereby Kal El is kneeling before him for some reason. I loved the presence of Kryptonite in this trailer. We see it as a glowing green rock which Lex Luthor has in his possession.
The thing I didn't expect to see was General Zod's body being unzipped from a body bag. The theory going round the Internet is that Lex Luthor creates Doomsday using General Zod's body. My own prediction is he doesn't create Doomsday. However, I believe that Lex will fashion Kryptonite from Zod's body and use that against Superman. Maybe Bruce Wayne and Lex work together? Maybe Batman breaks into Lexcorp and retrieves it for himself? It is all speculation at this point.
I was happy with Wonder Woman's presence in the trailer though. Granted, she had no lines of dialogue given, but she still kicked ass. That one scene where she uses her bracelets to create that huge explosion was undeniably cool. When I saw her in costume, I bought into Gal Gadot has Wonder Woman, I saw it and liked what I saw. I just hope her acting is good enough for the character, but I am a little more optimistic than I was before.
I can't not talk about Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Despite having perfection (Michael Caine) to live up to, I must say this take on Alfred looks incredibly different to anything I thought I would ever see. He looks like he could kick some ass himself. But for me what stood out was Alfred's role in the trailer as Bruce Wayne's conscience. We know that Bruce is blinded by rage due to his own past failures and the recklessness of Superman while fighting Zod, and we see Alfred act as his guardian angel. He repeats his speech about how "rage can turn good men cruel", but also straight up says to Bruce "He is not our enemy", referring to Superman.
Any scene where Batman and Superman are squaring off with each other is brilliant and it looks like it could have genuinely transitioned from the pages of a comic book. Although the money shot of this trailer is by far my favourite part of all. We see Superman slowly walking towards a wrecked Batmobile, we see him rip off the top and stare down angrily at the Dark Knight. The Batman rises slowly from his seat and returns the stare. Anyone else would be cowering in their own faeces if Superman was that pissed off with them... not Batman. He simply gives him the "you son of a bitch" look before the trailer ends.
Obviously I'm beyond excited to see Batman and Superman go head to head, but also to see how it ties into the Suicide Squad, a solo Batman flick as well as the first part of the Justice League. Speaking of the Suicide Squad, expect another trailer review for that coming shortly.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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