The throwing off of nobility in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

    I really want to avoid being redundant.

    There are likely thousands of blogs and commentaries about Batman v. Superman… and I would like to make my contribution distinctive and maybe put things into a sobering perspective that most readers would approve. I’ve been a Batman fan since Michael Keaton put on the cowl. The atmosphere, the reigning triumph of a broken man taking to the night set to the rousing operatic music of Danny Elfman kind of changed my life. Between repeated viewings of my VHS copy and sequels, I collected nearly every Batman related comic title, and that went on for nearly a decade. I responded to the character. I didn’t lose my parents to gunfire and all of my aspirations of becoming a superhero thankfully found expression in other outlets. But it’s the brutal crushing, the emotional tragedy in the character's life that I felt kinship with, and how that made him a man needing to bring change. Life can bring about terrible losses. I've faced wickedness that passed for good, betrayal from friends and girlfriends and of course, the never-ending supply of little "men" who bully. That suffering had the potential to raise up an ire to oppose injustice in my walk of life, but by doing good. No matter the temptation to do evil, Batman stayed steady even when his heart was broken. You catch a glimpse of what I’m talking about in the movie, Batman Begins. One of my favorite scenes is when Bruce is being initiated into the League of Shadows. But to become a member he has to demonstrate his allegiance by executing a criminal. Ra’s Al Ghul hands him the sword and Bruce says, “I’m no executioner... (and the fact that he is not, is the reason...) it separates us from them." Please watch the following scene for yourself to see what I mean:

Footage from Batman Begins

Batman image from DC Comics

    This is the nobility of Batman and the core of my deep admiration for the character. In that is woven a dark regality that for me is not demonic, but more like kingship. His cowl is proportioned almost like a crown and a battle helmet, his long cloak accentuates a nobility and when he leaps into battle, the cape expands like avenging wings. The coolness of Batman is built from the momentum of his commitment to doing what is right. Proverbs 19:12 describes a king's rage like a roaring of a lion. Many verses in Proverbs describes a good king as in the hand of God. There’s a dignity in his fighting movement. I recall in one comic book I read years ago how Batman was rising back to his feet with his arm around his torso after taking a massive hit that threw him against the wall. He described pain like fire, but he rose back up to meet this opponent that was huge. Every boy and young man looks to someone to show him how to walk and behave like a man. In Batman, I initially found manhood. I’m not wholly proud of that. But I think guys who read comic books are looking for that because it’s an essential need for all young men. Comic book guys have a definite sense of justice and they yearn for it in real life, even if they don’t usually have the first clue how to wield it. They want to be the guys who save the day. They want to see the underdogs win. It’s the reason why two poor Jewish guys who were fed up with crime and injustice created Superman in 1933. Superheroes are more than just colorful costumed science fiction. Superheroes represent hopes we don't talk about anymore. As time went on, these characters just got better and more personal, set with care by really gifted, brilliant writers and artists. The game got stepped up more and more, and now we’re seeing them appear on the big screen like we imagined when we were kids. We're having a blast! We love Marvel and gosh darn it, we love DC (even though we hate on them sometimes).
 

    But I’m not convinced that Zack Snyder loves these characters. In fact, I think he hates Superman.

Christopher Reeve in 1980's
Superman franchise

    On one hand, Snyder put Superman in new and compelling story possibilities which I’ve always felt that Hollywood was too timid to do. With the direction and atmosphere of the Christopher Reeve movies and Superman TV shows (I couldn’t sit through Smallville), Hollywood seemed more interested in keeping a rigid mystique than putting him through potentially controversial challenges. When they did consider thinking out the box for a Tim Burton directed, Superman Lives, the ideas were for a Superman who wore a black suit, capeless and wielded razor sharp S shield weapons, played by Nicholas Cage.

Nicholas Cage in costume tests to play
the title character in "Superman Lives"

Snyder broke through, but he clearly shows no respect for the character. That’s the problem with Batman v. Superman… I don’t think we should go crazy with comparisons, but it’s important to note that Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios started as a fan and he has a protecting love for those characters. As a fan he fully understands the desire and devotion of Marvel’s readers, and how failing to stay close to the source material has left a string of bad movies. Feige has proven Hollywood wrong... and in a very satisfying way. The failure of Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. to simply care enough is justifiably comic-book-geek-infuriating.

Behind the scenes look at the Superman suit
for "Superman Lives"

    But is it a horrible movie? It’s such a good movie that it causes me to forget long enough that Batman murders people without hesitation. Ben Affleck is so exciting as Bruce Wayne and Batman that I literally forgot that unsettling twinge when I see the Robin suit and instead of it holding Tim Drake’s bowstaff, it holds a vicious weapon that could rend a person’s flesh to bloody shreds. This alone threatens to bring the DC Cinematic Universe caving in on itself and I have to attribute this to Zack Snyder. I liked Watchmen and Man of Steel. I recall in one of the interviews with Snyder, I think as an extra for the latter, he remarked with a kind of sneer about who is to say what is good and what is evil. That made me very uncomfortable obviously as a Christian, and yes as one who respects the integrity of character. This confirms a seeming embarrassment felt for Superman in Hollywood. Is Snyder qualified to direct a Superman movie? In one interview, Snyder responds to the outcry of how he handled the character saying, "... I was trying to grow up their character." Snyder continues to make his disdain known by referring to Superman's upbringing with his comments, "It's sort of the Kansas morality, that black and white, unrealistic morality of fighting crime." Snyder has a real bad attitude about what's important to Superman. 

    If Kevin Feige were the head of the DC slate of films, do you think that Zack Snyder would be directing Superman, much less any of these movies? 

An increasingly decrepit Batman reaping
what he's sown in the graphic novel,
The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Scenes from The Dark Knight Returns

    




    




    Under Snyder's direction, Batman becomes more than a version of The Dark Knight Returns, but he gets to be his own version of Deadpool or the Punisher for the blood thirsty R rating lovers. With the success of Deadpool at the box office, Warner Bros. soon announced an R rated cut for Batman v. Superman seemingly to show they were down with the Deadpool program. Some fans rationalize this brutal and ruthless Batman because of the inspired source material: the graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns. Look. That book is not part of main stream canon, for one, and two, the sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again was a muddled, nasty mess. In it, Bruce Wayne has degenerated into a deformed Batman looking like the curdled result of what he reaped in the previous book. In that particular series, Batman literally walked away from his humanity and is a lumbering monster who dominates his army, has humiliated Superman and kills Dick Grayson without hesitation!  ‘nuff said! But that’s an alternate universe. Just like the stellar series, Batman Beyond is an alternate reality. It is not canon.

    I felt every growl watching Ben Affleck play the role. I breathed it all in when he stood standing next to the shining bat light, watching in the rain. I savored the catastrophic beat-down that he gave to the Russians in the warehouse when he goes to save Martha Kent, which is truly the greatest Batman fight ever orchestrated in cinematic history, hands down! But this Batman gave up his crown by branding criminals like cattle sending them into the prison populations to be murdered like convicted pedophiles. Despite the intoxicating theme, “Beautiful Lie” by Hans Zimmer at the beginning of the movie, it doesn’t undo the loitering disappointment I feel in that this Batman doesn’t care anymore about compassion that separates himself from the bad guys. Now he’s the bully. Ra's Al Ghul would be proud of this Batman. How does Superman befriend a guy like that? He doesn’t. Moreover, how does Superman even overtly consider killing Batman to save his mother’s life? Of course, the sorrow of having his mother kidnapped could push him to entertain the idea, but for him to casually remark, “No one stays good in this world…” is beneath the character. It's something I expect for Deadpool or Punisher to say and their cynical amoral fans to scream in delight about. That kind of awkward, forced dialogue shows up again when Bruce Wayne gets inspirational at the funeral. These are the cynical versions of the World’s Finest according to Zack Snyder. DC needs their own Kevin Feige.

Kevin Feige, President of
Marvel Studios

    I first saw this movie when it had the red carpet premiere at Radio City Music Hall and I admit that something did feel off. But like I said, it’s so well-made that you forget these iconic characters aren’t being treated with respect. Because there is no honesty about the characters, then the story becomes misaligned and the sentiments are insincere. A part of you wants to enjoy the illusion more to avoid the realization that the film makers didn't really get it. But not all is ill-conceived. How hard would it be to present in an eventful way an underwater creature that looks exactly like a normal, blond white guy? While I preferred the classic, Jason Momoa as Aquaman is a stroke of genius and completely unexpected!

Alan Ritchson as the classic Aquaman on Smallville

Jason Momoa as Aquaman in the DC Cinematic Universe

    Comic book fans can be fickle and notoriously rabid when it comes to anything that diminishes their favorite superheroes, but I’ve always been one to pull for the underdog. It could be possible that the DC Cinematic Universe can improve from here. After Iron Man was released, Marvel Studios had a string of modest hits, the least of which was The Incredible Hulk. The difference between the two is clear. Marvel has a handle on the compelling portrayal of their characters within the bounds of the source material. Warner Bros. has taken what are very damaging liberties that will hurt the franchise more later. I’m still hoping that DC will clear their own unique path and take their cinematic properties more seriously, hopefully with an overseeing presence that cares about the characters and potentially remove Snyder from his directing duties. 


May 23rd, 2017 12:38am

    A few hours earlier, I read the news that Zack Snyder had stepped down from directing Justice League because of the tragic suicide of his daughter, Autumn Snyder in March. Apparently, he was doing the best he could to meet his obligation while coping with what I can only imagine is a horrific emotional ordeal. I am genuinely mournful for Mr. Snyder and prayerful for him and his family. He has passed directing duties to Joss Whedon and from what I understood in the article, it will be "... minimal and... adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set."