Batman vs. Superman is here, it will make money----just definitely not Marvel money. And there is nobody but Warner Brothers and DC to blame.
The film has been riddled with controversy and problems ever since it was officially announced, and that came after over a decade of trying to get the project off the ground (Since before Christian Bale’s Batman by the way). Whether it’s the choice of Batman, the random inclusion of Wonder Woman (as opposed to getting her own movie first), the release date going up against the Marvel juggernaut Captain America: Civil War (which Warner Brothers would eventually cave in), Batman holding a massive gun in the trailer (do the writers even know Batman?) and even the prospect of this movie happening in the first place. And although it will make its millions in the first weekend only time will tell if it will revolutionize and revitalize the brand like Iron Man, or calmly crash and burn like X-Men: The Last Stand.
Odds are, it will make plenty of money, but won’t last long in the minds of moviegoers and comic book fans. Do recall X-Men Origins: Wolverine still made over $350 million, but it remains a bitter inclusion in the X-Men franchise. Batman vs. Superman might also develop this bitter aftertaste, and it has more to do with the in-house shenanigans as opposed to the competition, which has become a far more organized unit. Side-Note: Disney has been operating this ship extremely well, far better than any of us anticipated back when they first (shockingly) purchased them.
Do remember once upon a time DC was making plenty of progress turning Batman into even more of a household name in the 90s thanks to a good group of movies and a spectacular animated cartoon (Batman: The Animated Series still has the best version of Batman and Robin and the best version of nearly all the Batman villains). Do also recall that Superman had a popular show as well as a cartoon that would ultimately cross with Batman around the same time. Marvel in the meantime had good cartoons, but struggled in making movies and would nearly go completely bankrupt. To say DC has never been good with its IPs is silly. But the truth is: they need some help today. From 1998 on (Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze happened, accept it folks), its been overall tough to watch.
Back to Batman vs. Superman. The reason why it looks more like a cash grab as opposed to an important chapter to a cinematic series is because there is no build up whatsoever, no time for anticipation. Ben Affleck’s Batman doesn’t have his own movie before this installment, and Man of Steel was the only film in Henry Cavill’s catalog. Now we have to look at Civil War: The same Iron Man has been in 5 movies beforehand, while the same Captain America has 4—not including their cameos with Thor and Incredible Hulk. In order for this movie to have a true impact, we needed to see more of this current Batman and Superman, see their personalities fully flesh out, and then have more of an emotional attachment.
Now, the real question is why didn’t Christian Bale’s Batman have the chance to go up against Superman? After The Dark Knight’s spectacular box office performance and appeal, that would have been the perfect next chapter. Why wasn’t Brandon Routh’s Superman given another shot? Believe it or not, Superman Returns made MORE money than Batman Begins (391 to 374 million) so even if the critical reception wasn’t as good, this reboot deserved at least another opportunity, maybe with a different director. You could have done two trilogies between the heroes and then had them go up against each other in the seventh film. That would have worked far, far better. Routh wasn’t bad, he was just given very little to work with. And everyone in this planet knows Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor would have been much better than Jesse Eisenberg’s. Christian Bale’s Batman wasn’t my favorite, but was well-accepted regardless.
DC is a disaster, and Batman vs. Superman is the latest example of the disastrous state of the “Robin” in the cinematic comic book universe. In my lifetime, I have seen 7+ Batmans (counting the animated series), 4+ Supermans (Smallville slightly counts), and 2 live-action iterations of The Flash happening SIMULTANEOUSLY present day! It is absolutely ridiculous that Grant Gustin doesn’t become The Flash in Justice League. Seriously, why not? DC forgets they need character development for us to truly root for the people. Now we have to see this new Flash and try to accept him.
Side-Note #2: I know some of you will bring up the THIRD cinematic Spider-Man in the last 15 years appearing in Civil War. But do remember I pointed out Marvel’s ridiculous decision-making in the 90s, which still affects Disney, Marvel, and some of the IPs to this very day. Trust me, Marvel isn’t perfect, but it’s doing a great job righting some of the wrongs-----with the help of Mickey Mouse.
Why couldn’t Batman just get the James Bond treatment and treat each film as standalone movies? I don’t need to see The Living Daylights and Live and Let Die to watch Goldeneye; but they each do still carry the same flavor of James Bond and still gives us a sense of familiarity. Batman would have been the perfect franchise to consistently mix comic book fun with adult themes and you know….actual detective work. This modern legion of Batman fans have forgotten that he is first and foremost a really good detective for Gotham. The Dark Knight remains a highly respected film because it’s a grounded cat-and-mouse fugitive hunt involving a man that wants to save a city against a man who wants to destroy it. This is a classic good vs. evil tale that didn’t require viewings of previous films to fully understand and fully get involved. The Dark Knight by itself is an impressive movie.
Superman is the defining example of a moral compass in the universe of superheroes, and could have also benefited from a slew of standalone movies before the crossover with Batman. If you didn’t plan on developing Bruce and Clark through connected films, at least beef up the resumes before the highly-anticipated showdown. The Marvel Cinematic Universe could not have planned Civil War better, any earlier it would have failed. And P.S., they know the power of television and Netflix by connecting nearly everything together. Agents of Shield directly influences Avengers: Age of Ultron, while Jessica Jones does a great job being part of the same environment without directly referencing it.
Then there is one aspect of DC’s recent film history that unexpectedly affected the entire company and warrants some sympathy for its current state of silver medal: Heath Ledger’s death. Heath Ledger’s Joker was an extremely compelling character that not only could have spanned multiple Batman sequels, but could have very well played a role in a Superman movie. The original idea was for Joker to wind up in court over his actions in the third film and cause more mayhem. Unfortunately, Ledger’s death would end any ideas with the character.
Personally, I would have continued the Joker storyline regardless because to “retire” the most popular comic book villain of all-time was a fantasy and we all knew it. Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, maybe even Mark Hamill himself could have carried the mantle. I’m almost positive Heath Ledger would have wanted it that way. Also, notice the minimal setback when the replaced Dumbledore and The Oracle between films in their respective series. I believe we would have accepted a different Joker just like we accepted the new (and improved) Rachel fully knowing the circumstances. Nonetheless, the idea was scrapped and we wound up with a ho-hum third chapter that would take place nearly a decade later and would end a storyline that really didn’t need to finish. Not continuing Joker was the right move, but the wrong move at the same time---and to this day the effects still linger…as does the heinous final act of Dark Knight Rises…
DC has forgotten its comic book roots and mannerisms. You need to build your characters, you need to give us time to get to know and love the iteration of the persona you are presenting on-screen. The Dark Knight trilogy featured 2 films earning a billion dollars because we became invested in Bruce Wayne’s story and wanted to see where it was going. It took two and a half movies before Christian Bale’s Batman was overpowered by Bane, leading to a tough sequence that affected moviegoers everywhere. We felt those punches, we felt his pain (Gonna be a buzzkill; but Christopher Nolan needs to learn how to film a fight sequence. Compare the Bane/Batman fight to the Spider-Man/Green Goblin fight and you’ll understand why).
Batman vs. Superman expects us to develop enough sympathy to feel worry about our (new) caped crusader tackling impossible odds in fighting a God within the time frame of 70 minutes---before the conflict actually takes shape. DC expected us to feel for an ultra-powerful character that didn’t have much of a bridge between the surprisingly violent neck-snapping scene of Man of Steel and his powerhouse showdown in the late second/final act.
In stories of this caliber, you need more time. Would the Batman/Superman fight in Dark Knight Returns back in 1986 have had the same impact if they had met earlier in their publication history? Most likely not, it’s hard to top over five decades of character buildup. Would Civil War have been as big a deal if it had directly followed the original Avengers? Not even close. Four years and three films separate their first minor tiffs and the upcoming battle which may even result in a major death.
Despite Batman being the best superhero and my personal favorite, I won’t watch Batman vs. Superman because I view this as more a pawn to make more money for Warner Brothers and DC as opposed to a film trying to really tell a story and continue the legacy of DC’s most popular assets. My heart just isn't beating heavy enough for this movie. I wanted to be excited, but after witnessing the trailers and seeing Batman rebooted (again) and seeing Wonder Woman just being thrown in for no legitimate reason, I see myself just hanging on to the money and waiting for the other comic book movie in the horizon.
DC, get your act together. Don’t just pit a bunch of your heroes together, allow us to love them again. Because as of right now, I don’t know the superheroes I am watching.
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