The Caped Crusader has a new lease on life. And not a moment too soon.
Back when Ben Affleck’s Batman was first introduced to the world via Zack Snyder’s Dawn of Justice, the brooding vigilante funneled his hate and fiery anger toward Superman, who he believed to be a foreign invader capable of tearing the world asunder without so much as breaking a sweat. And as Jeremy Irons’ Alfred warns, “that’s how it starts. The fever, the rage…the feeling of powerlessness. It turns good men cruel.”
For Justice League, though, it appears Gotham’s Dark Knight will have already exorcized most, if not all of his anger issues, thereby opening up the field for a “more traditional [and] heroic” Batman. Per Entertainment Weekly, Affleck touched base on his character’s mindset going into Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon’s forthcoming tentpole, and why Bruce Wayne’s lax attitude – at least in comparison to the rage that bubbled to the fore in Batman V Superman – will ultimately allow Bats to be more of a team player when the chips are down.
And that’s a good thing, too, given Bruce Wayne will need to unite the League to fend off the true enemy, Ciaran Hinds’ Steppenwolf. Having declared war on Earth in the name of those three Mother Boxes, Steppenwolf and his army of winged Parademons will no doubt put the Justice League through their paces, and at least based on the film’s SDCC trailer, the idyllic isle of Themyscira will factor into the story.
It’s a story that is currently undergoing some creative changes, too, as Joss Whedon (Batgirl) and his team adjust the tone (and ending?) of JL so that it’s more in line with Wonder Woman than the super-serious Dawn of Justice.
Here’s that quote from Ben Affleck about Bats adopting a new approach come November:
Batman started out with all this rage directed at Superman, because of his coworkers who had died in the fight Superman had with Zod. He was holding on to a lot of anger, in a little bit of an irrational way. Whereas this is a much more traditional Batman. He’s heroic. He does things in his own way, but he wants to save people, help people.
With Diana Prince by his side, who is seemingly poised for a major role in Justice League following the blistering success (critical and commercial) of Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader will gather DC’s finest roster of heroes in time for November 17th.
