Let’s Break Down The ‘Batman V Superman’ Trailer

Batman V Superman has debuted its final trailer, which will likely be running ahead of Deadpool this weekend, and it’s full of fun stuff and new footage. So, let’s break it down, shall we?

Don’t Mess With Batman

The opening of this trailer is more or less an announcement that Batman is, unsurprisingly, not to be messed with. As our own Nathan Birch pointed out to us, though, this might be the first time we see Batman in a straight-up, fully lit fight in his suit. To this point, the actors have been in bulky rubber suits, so it’s been all about skulking in the shadows or well-timed backfists. Now?

Ouch. No wonder Superman’s calling Batman out to his face. And this is before Batman straps on the power armor! If you pay close attention, this sequence is scattered throughout the trailer, and we see a lot of Bruce at work, from bursting through the floor to picking people off with batarangs from the rafters. If you pay close attention, there are little touches that explain how an older Batman operates, like the fact that his suit is knifeproof and Alfred is playing backup by remotely controlling the Batwing.

Alfred Is Not Playing Nice

One ongoing theme in this trailer is Jeremy Irons continuing the rich Batman tradition of Alfred busting Master Wayne’s chops. Whether it’s his deadpan remark that he won’t toss Bruce right into the midst of a bunch of guys with guns, he’s not giving much quarter. It’s a nice touch not least because it appears Alfred is the voice of sanity; when Bruce decides to go after Superman, he justifies himself to Alfred. Speaking of which…

Batman And Superman Are More Evenly Matched Than We Thought

Really, we can sum up all the Batman-on-Superman fight action with one GIF:

This is due in part to, what else, Kryptonite, but it does appear that Kryptonite is less of an instant death for Superman and more of a field-leveling tool. Notice Batman still needs a giant robot suit to even dream of getting in Superman’s face, and the trailer indicates that Batman’s in for a hard fight, and Superman is better hand-to-hand than we’ve generally seen him.

There’s A Surprising Amount Of Romance

Probably the most surprising aspect, at least from a “catering to fans” perspective, is the romance we see in this trailer. Wonder Woman keeps turning up and seems to have more of a role here than we thought, but her biggest moment in this trailer is flirting with Batman. Interestingly, Bruce appears to run into her more than once; if you look closely, in some shots Diana is wearing a red gown and in others a white beaded number. Unless she’s a pop singer in this movie, she probably doesn’t do mid-scene costume changes.

Similarly, Clark gets frisky with Lois, jumping in the bath with her, and the Lois/Clark relationship appears to be fairly central to the movie: Clark has a lot of deep emotional connections to people, and Batman, well, he has all those wonderful toys. These are popular fan pairings that aren’t canon anymore, much to the disappointment of many DC readers, so it’s curious that they turn up here.

Also of interest, we’ll be seeing the death of Batman’s parents again, although we knew about that thanks to casting leaks. Apparently punching Superman will provide a little bit of therapy for Bruce Wayne.

Luthor Might Be The Puppet Master

Luthor has a few key moments in this trailer, including his condescending speech to Lois that we’ve seen before and a gleeful “come to daddy” look on his face as Zod’s corpse is being rolled up to his lab. But perhaps the most telling moment is one line he has:

“You know the oldest lie in America? That power can be innocent.”

Interestingly, it’s taken out of context here, but we know where he says it: At Superman’s Senate hearing. But, of course, that cuts two ways, especially as here it’s immediately followed by Batman stopping a Super-punch.

This is the final trailer, but thankfully we won’t have to wait long to see who wins: Batman V Superman premieres March 25.

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