Batman vs. Superman from the Eyes of a DC Comics Novice

Batman vs. Superman is excitement from start to finish.
Image courtesy of theverge.com

I’ll be the first to admit that my D.C. Comics knowledge is pretty basic. I can identify the mainstream characters, and I remember the origin stories of a few of them. Other than that, I’m pretty fresh when it comes to D.C. I’ve never watched a Batman movie, or Man of Steel, and I hadn’t even heard of the Justice League until a couple of years ago. I’m pretty strictly a Marvel girl. Still, I think that gives me a unique perspective on D.C.’s newest creation, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. As always, if you haven’t seen it yet, be aware that this review may contain spoilers. 

    The basic premise of the movie is in the title. Two of the biggest heroes in the D.C. universe finally come together for what is supposed to be a knockdown drag-out fight for supremacy. Superman’s status as an almost deity-like entity is under scrutiny when his body count of innocents is finally considered (which is great, because that is a factor that typically gets ignored in superhero movies) and Batman sets out to take down the world’s favorite alien. 

    At the same time, Clark Kent, who is (spoiler alert) Superman in disguise, is trying to take the focus off of himself by ousting the vigilante Batman as a menace to society. Essentially, the plot of the whole movie seems to be “Yea, I accidentally killed some people, but at least I’m not THAT guy.” 

    From the beginning, the movie sets off into a violence-filled superhuman extravaganza, filled with just the right amount of witty banter and a lukewarm romance to ensure all parts of the box office equation are satisfied. 

    Overall, I thought the movie was fun. There are lots of explosions, chase scenes, not-so-subtle threats from the sort of undercover Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, and gratuitous amounts of testosterone. Fun for the whole family. Sure, there are some plot lines that are shaky at best, and some weird out-of-left-field concepts that are mentioned just enough to pique the interest and then never mentioned again, but what do we really expect from comic-based superhero movies anymore? The movie was already three hours long, I don’t imagine too many people would be willing to sit through three more hours of movie just to answer some questions that really weren’t all that relevant to the task at hand. 

    Social media has been abuzz with criticisms for the movie from what I am assuming are D.C. fans. I’ve seen that it was “a hot mess” and “not in a good way.” That may be true. I don’t have enough knowledge of the universe to really make a fair assumption, so I’m just going to keep my focus on the punching and shooting than on the canonical soundness of the movie. 

    Other comic conspiracy theorists are curious about the timing of the release. It could be argued that Marvel is the comic brand that is dominant right now, with two Avengers movies already out and more installments on the way, and any comic fan is keenly aware that Captain America: Civil War will be releasing stateside on May 6. Anyone with any knowledge of the Marvel universe (or that owns a television and has seen the trailer) can see that the movie is essentially going to be Captain America vs. Iron Man, two different definitions of “good” fighting it out in an epic battle for the ages. Sound familiar? 

    I’m no expert on the subject. I just like to watch people in latex hit each other while eating overpriced popcorn and candy. However, it does beg the question as to whether D.C. strategically timed the release of this movie to coincide with the hype of Marvel’s next sure-to-be box office hit. It’s possible, I suppose, but if you asked me, most people are going to just watch both of them so they have adequate ammunition for all the D.C. vs. Marvel flame wars on the internet. Maybe they should make a movie about that too. 

    Anyway, if you’re looking for something better to do than watch Chopped reruns on a Friday night, I would recommend trekking to the theatre to watch Superman and Batman duke it out. Just don’t go to the late night showing, or those monsters in the cinema industry are going to charge you double price for tickets. Speaking from experience, here. 

    If you have seen it already, what’d you think? I’d love to hear your feedback, so drop me a line at Concordian.concord.edu.