Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice suffered a harsh critical and fan reception when it was initially released in 2016, with many elements of Zack Snyder’s gloomy crossover epic being picked apart. The most famous, though, and the moment from the movie that became the butt of every joke, was the “Martha” scene in which Superman and Batman bond over their mothers having the same name.
Many laughed it off as a ludicrous way for the two heroes, who’d been at each other’s throats moments before, to come together in time to defeat Lex Luthor. However, it seems the crew of the film had total faith in the sequence and the deeper meaning it had for the characters. In particular, stunt coordinator and second unit director Damon Caro doesn’t understand why the scene has become such a joke. He even says he had a discussion with Snyder where they shared their thoughts on how the sequence was perceived.
Here’s Caro’s full thoughts on the matter:
“There was… zero conversation about “oh, people are going to have an issue with this or not understand it or think it’s silly.” It was – and it’s so funny, Zack and I had a conversation about that, I don’t know, a month ago, probably. That came up and I just said “I have never understood-” and I don’t listen to a lot of the haters, but I’ve heard the chatter of it a little bit, but I don’t understand what the disconnect was.
What the problem is with how salient that line is and the connection between having the same mother’s name allows you to connect with someone you wanted to obliterate from the planet because you saw him as a threat to the human race. You saw him as a threat to humanity, then in that one moment, you realized he was an orphan and his mother’s… you saw him as you as you as a kid and you saw him in that light, so that enlightened you, that made you drop and see him now, not as the enemy, but as an ally. A fellow being who is trying to do the right thing, to reach justice. So no, crystal clear and very, like I said, it always made sense to me, so I’m perplexed by that one and I don’t know that I… I don’t have the answer to that one.”
Despite the crew’s faith in the scene, it was mercilessly mocked by fans, and even subsequent comic book movies, too. Deadpool 2 featured a joke at the moment’s expense and even DC’s own Teen Titans GO! mocked it. That last one was something Warner Bros. apparently weren’t too happy about, either, but the animated film’s irreverent spirit won out and the line stayed in the final cut.
At least the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice production team can take solace in the fact that the pic’s been appraised by many over the past two years and is now a firm cult classic, with a sizable number of superhero film fans describing it as wholly underrated and undeserving of its notoriety.
But tell us, where do you stand on the famous “Martha” moment? Have your say in the comments section down below.
