Ever since Man of Steel arrived in theaters, its level of destruction has been responsible for much discussion among fans and has not ceased even to this day. I personally felt it to be the result of a much more realistic depiction of how two superpowered beings fighting in a densely populated area would go down. Evidently, the highly divisive topic has not been lost on the cast and crew of the film’s follow-up, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Entertainment Weekly recently caught up with Superman himself, Henry Cavill, to discuss some of the threads connecting the two films. Here’s what he had to say when asked if he thought Superman experienced survivor’s guilt after a sizeable chunk of Metropolis’ population perished:
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a survivor’s guilt. I mean, that’s a different kind of thing because he’s above the threat. I think the most difficult thing for him at this stage of the story is that he has just come to terms with the fact that he is really, really quite powerful and he hasn’t found any major vulnerabilities yet, and despite this, despite the enormous power that he has, he still cannot do everything, and he really struggles with that. It’s not just a quick, “Okay, I get it. I can’t save everyone.” That takes a long time to work out.
It has become quite obvious that BvS has some kind of meta-textual commentary on those very events, as some of the public, as well as the US government, place blame on Superman. Cavill attributes it to the hero’s inexperience:
I think that may have been part of the master plan all along. When it comes to the major story stuff I can’t really speak on that, because that was above my paygrade. What I can speak of is the idea of Superman, especially when the finger is pointed at collateral damage in the first movie. I mean, we’re talking about a greenhorn.
According to actor, The Man of Tomorrow has learned from the unfortunate experience:
Let’s say now, [if] Superman has the same threat again, that’s a different story. He would, of course, bring collateral damage to an absolute minimum, but in that, he’s just trying to survive because if he doesn’t, the planet’s gone. That’s the excuse I make for Superman. He’s fresh and he’s new, and it’s very easy to point out the faults in someone after they’ve done it, but put yourself in their shoes and see what happens.
We will have to judge for ourselves when Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives in theaters on March 25.
