How Superman Stayed True To The Comics In Zack Snyders Batman v Superman
How Superman Stayed True To The Comics In Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice remains a highly polarizing and debated superhero movie, but the essence of Superman is right at its core.
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The Superman Zack Snyder presented in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is true to the Man of Tomorrow’s comic book history. Beginning with his debut in 2013’s Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s take on Superman, portrayed by Henry Cavill, has been the subject of a very split audience reception, with the movie’s level of destruction and Superman being forced to kill General Zod being among the aspects of the film still debated to this day. However, Batman v Superman would prove even more polarizing.
Detractors of the film and Snyder’s overall portrayal of the character have taken the movie to task for its dark tone and perceived lack of the hopeful spirit the Last Son of Krypton is well-known for in the comics. Additionally, Superman’s death in the battle against Doomsday in Batman v Superman, only the second big-screen appearance of this version of Kal-El, has been the subject of an equally intense back-and-forth. That’s without even getting into the bottomless pit that is the total revamping of Justice League and the campaign for the Snyder Cut that rose out of it, with Snyder’s ongoing teases popping up again as his parting words on his recent live-stream commentary for Batman v Superman.
The seemingly sharp pivot Snyder’s Superman takes from past versions of the Man of Steel is the true paradox of the debate about Batman v Superman. For all the talk about how Snyder either succeeded or failed in his presentation of Superman, the nuts and bolts of the story he constructed often isn’t given as thorough of an examination as it warrants. Nevertheless, a deep look into what’s going in Batman v Superman demonstrates the true essence of Superman is right at the center of the movie’s story.
He’s Concerned With Helping The Everyman
Superman’s dedication to help the world around him is highlighted during Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent’s first meeting at a Gotham City charity function, specifically the point at which Clark leaves the party after seeing a news report of a building on fire during a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico City. Superman’s concern for the people clearly in danger in the moment overrides everything else, with Clark unfastening his necktie and preparing to fly off the rescue without a second thought. This is a theme seen consistently throughout the movie, with the “Must There Be A Superman?” montage particularly driving the point home amid the existential battle Clark faces.
At the same time, the impetus of Superman’s entire conflict with Batman arrives after Clark interviews people living in Gotham City’s projects and first begins hearing the legend of The Dark Knight. His concerns are further heightened after learning of prison inmates bearing the Bat-brand being killed behind bars. Superman’s determination to put a stop to Batman is ultimately born out of what he sees as an out-of-control force of violence within Gotham, but he also doesn’t view himself as an unchallengeable authority, either. As Snyder explained in the commentary, the world has begun to deify Superman, in both positive and negative ways, while he simply views himself as “Just a kid from Kansas trying to do the right thing, and we look at him like this. We ask a lot of him.”
Superman Stands For Truth
One of the cornerstones of Superman has always been his ethos of Truth and Justice in inviolable absolutes, while Snyder commented on both sides of the Clark Kent-Superman dichotomy, saying “He has, on one hand, his ability to change things physically, he can do anything. But then he has this other take where, like a reporter who won’t accept a lie, he has to go get to the bottom of it.” Batman v Superman shows him adhering to both. Superman had earlier surrendered himself to the U.S. military following General Zod’s ultimatum in Man of Steel, and this is carried over in the hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Batman v Superman.
Having already seen countless newscasts about his interventions around the world, Superman is well aware of the target on his back following the North Africa incident earlier in the movie, for which the U.S. government holds him responsible. However, with a mob of protesters behind him and a courtroom filled with uncertain eyes ahead of him, he nevertheless shows no reluctance in answering Senator Finch’s call for him to appear in the Capitol hearing, Snyder even explicitly stated Superman goes to the capital “because he believes in truth” during his live commentary.
Superman’s dedication to truth is also exemplified in his work as a journalist, with Clark pressuring Perry White to turn the Daily Planet’s lens onto Batman’s increasingly violent actions in Gotham City, to no avail. Clark ends up taking it upon himself to investigate Batman over the sports beat he’s been assigned to, much to Perry’s chagrin. Perry’s line “It’s not 1938 anymore” is both an obvious meta-reference to the year of Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1 and the harsher climate of contemporary times, but when stacked up against Superman’s actions in the film, the contrast emerges from the changing times rather than the Man of Steel himself being changed. Just as much as in his first appearance, Clark Kent’s dedication to truth remains unshakable in Batman v Superman.
Superman Believes In Justice
The other side of Superman’s moral compass is just as integral to Batman v Superman as truth, something seen right away in the movie’s Dawn of Justice subtitle. Furthermore, the way the movie employs Superman’s view on justice also shows he views it as the necessary next step when truth has failed, coming after Clark’s failure to get the Daily Planet to properly investigate whether Batman has gone too far. The final straw comes when Clark is told “A man like that, words don’t stop him. You know what stops him? A fist.”
Superman takes things up a notch, warning Batman directly to stop while telling him to “consider this mercy” that he isn’t taking a more physical approach. Batman paying this no mind, going as far as to ask Superman “Do you bleed?” as a direct response, also shows the movie is equally concerned with Batman’s view of justice, specifically what it has devolved into at this point in his career. This is more evidence Superman’s belief in justice is at the center of Batman v Superman, out of the need to provide a contrast to where’s Batman’s own currently stands.
The Fortress Of Solitude Is In Superman’s Mind
Snyder would also reveal another detail of the movie during the commentary by elaborating on the way he employed the concept of the Fortress of Solitude. This is another hallmark of Superman’s history as much as the Batcave is for Batman, and with Man of Steel, Snyder looked to incorporate it in a more literal manner with the Kryptonian scout ship. As seen in the movie, the scout ship was where Clark first meets his Kryptonian father Jor-El in the form of a sentient hologram, learns of his alien origins, is given his trademark suit with the symbol for the House of El on its chest, and emerges as Superman.
However, Batman v Superman presents the Fortress of Solitude in an “internalized” sense, with Clark at his lowest point after the Capitol bombing and receiving words of encouragement in how to navigate the chaos of the world from the spirit of his human father, Jonathan Kent. Obviously, this is a retooling of how the Fortress of Solitude has traditionally been presented, but it nevertheless carries over the essence of it as being the place where Superman receives guidance from his long-dead father. Batman v Superman trading out which father he’s speaking with also shows Snyder is placing Jonathan on equal footing with Jor-El in the mentoring role they both serve. Of course, with the scout ship still in Heroes Park, and all the Kryptonian technology it houses, the notion of a physical Fortress of Solitude was still a very real possibility for a future installment of Zack Snyder’s planned 5-part DCEU arc.
Superman Isn’t Dark – Batman Just Sees Him That Way
One of the biggest areas where Snyder’s DC movies have proven controversial is in their perceived dark take on the Man of Steel, especially in the case of Batman v Superman. This was another area where Snyder commented during the live-stream, explaining the movie’s seemingly darker presentation of Superman comes from him being viewed from Batman’s perspective. Right from the movie’s opening moments, it’s clear the intent is exactly that with Bruce Wayne’s desperate attempt to rescue the employees of the Wayne Financial building in Metropolis. The intro ends with Bruce consoling a child who lost her mother as he looks into the sky in rage at the Man of Steel. From that point on, as far as Batman is concerned, Superman is not to be trusted, but the movie also establishes this in a less obvious way by having Bruce’s perspective being one of him looking up at Superman in the sky as he battles General Zod.
This happens later in the movie in Batman and Superman’s first meeting, with Superman tearing the opening off of the Batmobile, then again with Batman staring up at Superman hovering in the air just before they finally fight. In every case, Superman is seen through Batman’s eyes as a dark god descending on a helpless world below, which simply fuels his anger and paranoia even more. In the end, The Dark Knight’s perspective on Superman isn’t far off from Lex Luthor’s painting and belief that “Devils don’t come from hell beneath us. No. No, they come from the sky.”
Superman’s Humanity Inspires Batman
Batman’s view of Superman is also where the movie shows just how true it is to the latter’s comic book origins. With Bruce deciding Superman must be pre-emptively slain, the Man of Steel’s sacrifice against Doomsday is what finally pulls Batman back from the point of no return. While this aspect of the movie is generally well understood, Superman’s role in it has received far less commentary, specifically for just how much it captures Superman’s heroism.
With Superman sacrificing his life to stop Doomsday, the world is finally convinced his intentions were always pure, but by inspiring Bruce to return to the man he once was, Superman literally and figuratively saves Batman from himself. Snyder has never made any secret about the movie taking significant inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns, the title itself captures the essence of Batman’s arc in the film as one of him returning to hero he once was. As with the shots earlier in the movie framing Superman as a force of destruction from Batman’s point-of-view, the shot of Batman emerging from under the rubble with a fire burning behind him after Superman’s death (which Snyder himself pointed to during the commentary as his favorite shot of Batman in the movie) encapsulates this in a single image of Batman emerging from the hell he was in back into the light.
The debate about Batman v Superman is sure to continue raging on for years to come without a consensus among the movie’s supporters and critics. However, by placing the Man of Steel into his darkest hour, the movie brings out everything that makes Superman Superman. Batman v Superman changes everything about what it means to be a Superman movie, and arguably what it means to be a superhero movie at all, but Kal-El himself is the same alien refugee just trying to do the right thing that he’s always been.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/batman-v-superman-zack-snyder-true-comics/
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