As a long-time DC Comics fan, I have always borne some resentment about Marvel’s cinematic ascendancy. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the rest of the Avengers have dominated the box office the last few years. I enjoy those movies, and I admire Marvel’s integration of multiple film and TV series into one pop-culture universe, but I’ll happily take Batman over all those other heroes. None of the silly Marvel movies even approaches The Dark Knight in cinematic, superhero greatness.
Clearly, the suits at Warner Brothers, the studio that owns DC Comics, have also noticed the success of Marvel Studios. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice opens up a universe centered on these two characters but with several other superheroes besides. The DC super-team that rivals the Avengers is the Justice League, and Dawn of Justice is a harbinger of Justice League movies to come.
Batman v. Superman follows directly from 2013’s Man of Steel, a film I liked more than most – the Kryptonian technology was fascinating, and the film found the human heart in the hero’s superhuman alienation. Now, we learn that one of the buildings destroyed in the epic battle at the end of that film was Wayne Enterprises’ Metropolis headquarters. That destruction planted a seed of distrust in Bruce Wayne, a seed he is well-equipped to cultivate as a rich genius and superhero. The opening flashback to that battle makes an excellent introduction to Wayne and Batman and sets up a compelling reason for these two heroes to oppose each other.
Unfortunately, the resolution of their conflict is not nearly as satisfying. I won’t spoil this crucial plot point, but the foundation for their reconciliation – especially in the midst of a fight to the death – is pretty shaky. And this is only the most obvious of many plot miscues. I came away from Batman v. Superman unconvinced that the story would have turned out as it had according to its own logic.
I am convinced, however, that I want to see more of this Batman. When Ben Affleck was announced for this role, many fans were upset; Affleck is one of those celebrities that people like to dislike. But Batman is the best part of the movie. While most superhero stories emphasize the fresh and young, this Batman has fought crime for decades and has some gray in his hair. He’s a wily veteran. Casting Affleck calls to mind his recent roles as world-weary, cynical, morally-compromised characters. Here, the lover who has betrayed him and been betrayed by him is his own former ideals as a hero.
But, let’s be honest. For superhero movies, the villain is at least as crucial as the hero; The Dark Knight was elevated more by Heath Ledger’s Joker than Christian Bale’s Batman. And this is another place where Batman v. Superman fails Jesse Eisenberg plays Lex Luthor, and his tics and motivations don’t add up to anything compelling. As an entitled, rich man with no particular reason to hate Superman, he inspires no sympathy. I appreciate that in casting Eisenberg and in putting big, philosophical ideas on his lips, the filmmakers swung for the fences with the character. They just missed the pitch.
Those big ideas turn out to be a classic theological question: in light of the evil in the world, can God be all-good and all-powerful? It’s a crucial question in our real world, but Luthor poses it about Superman rather than God. The creators of these movies often treat superheroes as stand-ins for God, and this point provides an excellent example of the difference between Marvel and DC movies. In The Avengers, the god-villain Loki monologues for a few seconds before the Hulk smashes him to set up the laugh line, “Puny god.” In Batman v. Superman, the man-villain Luthor expounds theodicy to set up his trap for his enemy. The Marvel scene is funny, while the DC scene is too serious for its own good. But the serious tone does at least hold the possibility of something more profound. I hope that the future DC films can reach that potential better than this one does.
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