Positive & Negative Aspects of Batman/Superman Movie

Ever since the big announcement of Batman’s inclusion in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel, rumors have been swarming this way and that regarding what we should expect from the blockbuster sequel. Of course, we won’t know for sure whether this will prove to be the culmination of all comic book fans have ever wanted to see in a movie or a very desperate move on DC’s part in setting up their Justice League movie, but it will be interesting to look at the inherent positives and negatives for the filmmakers in this almost herculean undertaking.

This is all based on conjecture of what is rumored, what I would like to see and what I fear may be the general reasons behind this move.

THE POSITIVE

Making the sequel to Man of Steel a Batman/Superman crossover movie is smart in the sense that we don’t have to witness another origin tale for the Batman character. The Batman we see in this film will have no relation to one played by Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, which ended just last year with The Dark Knight Rises. By taking the origin story out of the equation, we can have a Batman who is relegated to the shadows once again, shrouded in mystery to the rest of the characters in the movie. A Batman’s whose motivations are left unclear could be a fascinating road to take. Based on how the announcement was made at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, it seems they are trying to go with a Dark Knight Returns style Batman. For those who don’t know, Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 graphic novel series The Dark Knight Returns centers on Batman coming out of retirement to don the cowl once he finds that things are rotten in the state of Gotham City. The story ends in a confrontation between Batman in a technologically advanced combat suit and Superman. The filmmakers state that the movie won’t be a direct adaptation of this story, and that wouldn’t be the right way to go about it anyhow if they are making a Man of Steel sequel. This means, however, that the Batman we see in this movie may be older and has already been at the crime fighting game for some time. This could create a veritable reason as to why a character like Batman would not trust someone like Superman after the events of Man of Steel, and vice-versa. Batman could be the microcosm for humanity’s doubt in this god-like figure and perhaps lead him to place his allegiance to those who may not have humanity’s best interests at heart (this is an allusion to Lex Luthor, if the rumors of his involvement in this movie’s story are true). Whatever route they go, I think it is an interesting move given where we are from a story perspective after Man of Steel.

THE NEGATIVE

Of course, there is a lot of skepticism that goes along with this announcement. DC banked a lot of hope with Man of Steel paving the way towards their own answer to the Avengers cash cow that Marvel currently has going for them. Unlike Marvel, DC comics has failed up through this point to deliver a critical and commercial success in film outside their marquee franchises (although, if it means anything, the rights to several Marvel characters have been owned by several different movie studios whereas DC characters have had a home at Warner Bros. since Superman was released in 1978). Green Lantern was an attempt to change this in 2011 but failed in about every way a film adaptation of a comic book can fail. So, once Nolan’s Batman films ended we got our kick-starter to the DC cinematic universe with Man of Steel. The film has had a polarizing reaction since its release. I really enjoyed the movie but found it lacking in certain respects as a Superman movie. Plus, from a purely financial and popularity perspective, the movie failed to reach the same blockbuster heights achieved by 2008’s Iron Man; the Marvel equivalent of an introduction to a comic-book cinematic universe that only seems to get stronger as a brand with each movie released. Iron Man grossed 312 million dollars unadjusted for inflation, selling roughly 44 million tickets, while Man of Steel has grossed 285 million dollars, selling roughly 34 million tickets. These numbers must be disconcerting considering the vastly more prevalent ubiquity of Superman as opposed to the Iron Man character when that movie came out. Not to say that Man of Steel isn’t a success, it’s just those are not the numbers that inspire a lot of confidence in any executive’s head. How do you alleviate this? By including quite possibly the biggest box-office draw of all time as far as comic book characters are concerned: Batman. It shows a lack of confidence in the strength of other characters, many of which in have been left untapped in the DC universe, and could ultimately lead to a weak Justice League movie if the other characters that need to be set up for that movie to work are not given time to develop.

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