The Batman fans are reacting to a hilarious advertisement that takes a controversial approach to promoting the incoming movie. With the rise of the MCU and the dominance of superhero movies in general, the old Marvel/DC competition has ramped up to obscene levels in recent years, with fans on both sides fiercely loyal to their teams. This ad for Matt Reeves’ Batman reboot plays up to that rivalry in a big way.
As first shared by Reddit user u/knivesxonly, these images appear to show a custom-made promo for The Batman on the outer wall of a theater building. With its on-brand black background and shot of Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight, it seems like your run-of-the-mill ad at first glance. However, a closer look at what it has to say reveals otherwise.
“The worlds [sic] #1 smartest, multi-billionaire superhero orphan who fights crime without superpowers,” it reads, “… is Tony Stark. Watch the second place runner up in cinemas March 3.”
As you’d imagine, fans are reacting in various ways to the shots fired by this ad. For starters, some are seeing the funny side…
On the other hand, DC loyalists aren’t buying that Iron Man beats Batman.
Oof, low blow.
“A couple pebbles.”
Iron Man has his fans too, though.
Good spot!
As the tweet above points out, a closer inspection of the ad reveals some telltale signs that this isn’t the real deal. For instance, notice the OP’s username that’s tagged at the bottom of the poster. Still, whoever came up with the gag, it’s undeniably hilarious and has definitely achieved its aim of getting Marvel and DC fans talking about it.
It still raises a good point, however. Will Pattinson’s Caped Crusader be able to replace Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in audiences’ affections? We’ll find out when The Batman swoops into theaters in just over one month’s time.
