Ben Affleck’s best movie of the year winning a Gotham Award as the DCEU burns to ashes in the shadow of his absence is irony at its finest

One of the greatest tragedies of the DCEU is that the franchise is going to draw to a close after 10 years without a solo movie for Ben Affleck‘s Batman, even if it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

The two-time Academy Award winner was of course set to co-write, direct, produce, and star in the initial version of The Batman, before he decided to retire the cape and cowl altogether to work through his personal issues. He was brought back, first by Zack Snyder and then Andy Muschietti, but a decade-long saga based on DC Comics that didn’t feature a standalone blockbuster for the Dark Knight is borderline criminal.

A brief cameo in The Flash marked the final stand for Batfleck, and the actor has made it clear he isn’t interested in taking his directorial talents to James Gunn’s reinvented DCU. In a coincidence that’s nothing short of delicious, Affleck is set to be honored with a Gotham Award of all things just months after he bid farewell to the shared universe for good.

The first-ever Gotham Visionary Icon and Creator Tribute will be handed over to the 30-year veteran of the industry at this year’s ceremony, which was created “to recognize cultural icons and the filmmakers responsible for bringing those icon’s stories to life,” which in this case mean’s Affleck’s acclaimed feature Air that was inspired by the birth of the Air Jordan brand.

Bruce Wayne might be a billionaire playboy, but it’s Affleck set to go home with a shiny new prize enshrined with the Gotham logo.