Outrage Watch: Just-revealed 'Batman v Superman' shocker has fans screaming bloody murder

Welcome to Outrage Watch, HitFix's semi-regular rundown of entertainment-related kerfuffles. Not feeling anxious enough already? Get your fix of righteous indignation below, and stay posted for outrage updates throughout the week.

WARNING: MAJOR BATMAN V SUPERMAN SPOILERS BELOW.

Critics haven't been kind to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with the superhero event film currently standing at a rancid 30% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Many of these reviewers have specifically taken aim at director Zack Snyder's alleged mishandling of the material, with Consequence of Sound reviewer Michael Roffman perhaps summing it up most succinctly: “Somebody stop Zack Snyder. Somebody save the world.” Joe Gross over at the Austin American-Statesman, meanwhile, voiced his displeasure this way: “I'm not sure what Snyder has against these characters, why he is so determined to make them as distasteful as possible.”

That second quote feels especially appropriate in light of a story published today on EW, which, like the rest of this piece, you should not read if you haven't seen the movie. I'll give you the time and space you need to click out before I continue…

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Now then. If you've made it this far down the page, I can only assume you've a) already seen Batman v Superman or b) don't care about having the movie spoiled for you. If either of those sound right, by all means, continue on.

Okay, here goes, the big SPOILER: Jimmy Olsen — Daily Planet photojournalist and Clark Kent bestie — dies in an early scene of Batman v Superman…without ever being named. That's right: a relatively major character from the Superman universe is quickly killed off in a Superman movie without fans ever being told who he is when he bites the dust. Making matters worse for Snyder's reputation with die-hard fans, the director exhibits a casual disregard for the famed character (whom Snyder originally wanted Jesse “Lex Luthor” Eisenberg to play, to give the audience a sort of Drew Barrymore-in-Scream-type shock) in the EW interview. The snippet highlighted below begins with a description of the scene:

It”s not a blink-and-you”ll-miss-it part, but … the appearance might cause viewers flinch. That”s because Olsen is the photographer who accompanies Amy Adams” Lois Lane on a dangerous mission to interview a warlord in Africa, and soon outed as a CIA plant. Olsen”s punishment? He gets shot in the head and dies in front of a horrified Lane.

Director Zack Snyder explained his decision to sacrifice the character in an interview with EW:

“We just did it as this little aside because we had been tracking where we thought the movies were gonna go, and we don”t have room for Jimmy Olsen in our big pantheon of characters, but we can have fun with him, right?”

It”s meant to be a shock to the audience, but Snyder ended up softening the blow by not identifying the character at the start. On the R-rated “Ultimate Edition” of the film, which will be released this summer, Olsen reveals himself up front. “He comes up to her and he goes, ‘Lois Lane, I”m Jimmy Olsen, photographer, obviously … You know, I”ve been assigned to you for this mission.” But it turns out that Jimmy Olsen is a spook for the CIA.”

Is your head exploding yet? If the answer is “yes,” even though you can't talk right now because you're so g-d furious and turning purple and can hardly even breathe, then you've come to the right place. Here's a sampling of other passionate online denizens who feel just about the way you do right now:

Jimmy Olsen: War Crime Victim. The definition of “fun at the movies.” https://t.co/QTgoRPVKmD

– Sam Flynn (@Samflynn1992) March 26, 2016

Outrage Watch: Just-revealed ‘Batman v Superman’ shocker has fans screaming bloody murder