Last night, the official trailer was released for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” If you were looking forward to this sequel to “Man of Steel” the new footage cemented your love. If you weren”t looking forward to this sequel? It did nothing to change your mind. It”s been no secret where I fall on this spectrum.
Movies are not comics. Allowances must be made. So I can overlook that Doomsday is created by Lex Luthor from the carcass of Zod instead of an unstoppable ancient killing machine that”s been rampaging across the galaxy for years. I can hope once Doomsday is defeated that Darkseid will appear to make him stronger, faster, better. I can wipe away a single tear that Booster Gold doesn”t get to bestow Doomsday with his moniker. But there”s one shot in the last moments of the trailer that shatters any expectation of adherence to these characters” personalities.
Batman has a gun. A. Gun.
At first, Batman used guns. But as of Detective Comics #33 – circa 1939 – which introduced Bruce Wayne”s tragic backstory, guns have been off Batman”s radar. He loathes them and does not use them. It is one of Batman”s defining characteristics. One the movies have stomped all over since their inception. From “Batman” in 1989 to “The Dark Knight” trilogy, movie Batman has played it fast and loose with his disdain of fire arms, usually skirting the rule by mounting guns to the Batmobile.
Maybe it”s not a GUN gun. Maybe it fires some kind of energy beam. Maybe Doomsday is the stand-in for Darkseid in which Batman will break his own rules and shoot a villain but not kill him. Or maybe a world where Superman will snap the neck of one of his own people on his first day of superheroing is one where Batman thinks he”s John Wayne.
There”s only one explanation. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is set in the darkest timeline. None of this is real. Remember, this entire film is based on Frank Miller”s miniseries, “The Dark Knight Returns” which is decidedly non-canon and a pocket universe all its own. So when you see Lex Luthor looking like an eccentric hero who just wants to save the Earth from power hungry vigilantes and destructive aliens, when you see Batman show up to a Doomsday fight with a gun? Just remember somewhere out there, the live-action version of this is happening.
Just not here.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” arrives in theaters on March 25, 2016.