Batman v Superman 3rd? Trailer

Up until this point, I didn't really care about Batman v Superman.  The way DC has been putting together their films (aside from the phenomenal Christopher Nolan trilogy) has been lackluster.  The Superman films in particular are too dark and don't fit the character all that well.


Now, we're getting trailers with Ma Kent effectively telling Supes to let humanity go fuck itself because he doesn't owe them anything.  That is most definitely not the Ma Kent we grew up with.  Superman is a protector of Earth, his adoptive home.  He is the Captain America of the DC Universe, always striving to achieve the greater good.  He doesn't brood.  That's Batman's department and he has that shit on lock-down.

Aside from that, the interactions between Superman and Batman have felt hollow.  I understand that Batman is supposed to be angry that Superman has wantonly destroyed major metropolitan areas with little regard for human life.  He wants justice for what he deems is a gross negligence on Superman's part.  But I'm not getting that feeling from what we've seen in the trailers.  Ben Affleck comes across as disconnected.  The same can be said for Henry Cavill's Superman.  Once they're in the costumes, both of their performances come off as very robotic.  I'm not seeing the underlying character.

That was until now.  This latest trailer introduces the men under the capes to one another courtesy of Lex Luther.  It is only now that I begin to see the characters themselves.  The way Bruce Wayne smirks at Clark Kent when being questioned about Batman's methods was definitely a highlight.  There's a thinly veiled animosity between the two men and it illustrates their intent much better than the previous trailers had.

However, all of that fell flat when Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor shows up.  There is so much charm and personality oozing off of him that Affleck and Cavill seem outclassed.  It looks like Lex might be my favorite character thus far.  This is extremely high praise when you realize how much I love the character of Batman and how little regard I gave Lex in the comics.  Now, I understand that Eisenberg's Lex is the son of the true Lex Luthor, but let's not split hairs.  He's playing the same character in spirit.

It's clear that Lex is pitting Batman against Superman in a larger scheme to bring the Man of Steel down.  However, the two men probably realize they have more in common and Lex sees this.  Introduce a revived Zod as Doomsday.  Sigh.

Much like Bane has become overplayed in the Batman mythos (Tom Hardy was brilliant), Doomsday has overstayed his welcome with Superman's realm.  The problem is that both villains were the only ones to successfully destroy their heroic counterparts.  As such, they tend to get thrown into stories where they don't necessarily belong and then they're never done justice.  More often than not, especially in Bane's case, they're reduced to an overpowered grunt that pose only a slightly greater threat than the typical henchman.

Both characters were introduced in the 90's and made a significant impact on comics and the world in general.  I remember people who never read comics going bananas at the death of Superman.  Additionally, when Batman was broken and Azrael took over, it sparked a long running series with someone else under the cowl.  Both events introduced a slew of new characters and players.

What we see now is just an easy cash in.  Folks not familiar with the characters get a new villain and the fans of the comics get a nod from the film creators.  Except it's not so much a nod as it is a slap across the face.  Doomsday's conception and story was great.  Having him become a reanimated Zod?  Not so much.

While we're at it, let's throw in Wonder Woman!  Neither Batman nor Superman have any idea who she is.   I understand that Doomsday is a threat, but this seems like a very sloppy way to introduce Wonder Woman.  Is this how they shoehorn Aquaman in as well?  Maybe the actual film will change my opinion, but color me very skeptical right now.  I think she would have worked better in an after credits stinger.  Do like Marvel.  Introduce a new character at the end of your movie, give them their own film, then integrate the characters into a bigger movie like the Avengers did.  Right now it seems like DC is just trying to play catch-up.

So there you have it.  DC has finally produced a trailer that has piqued my interest.  Congrats.