Under normal circumstances, it might seem somewhat ridiculous to suggest that we need a reality check regarding a fictional character. But, these are not normal circumstances, as a vitriolic outrage swept DC fans in the wake of Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Of course, the film had many, many controversial moments which split fans right down the middle, but the one that probably drew the most discussion was the fact that the Dark Knight killed in the movie.
Now, I’m probably not the first to tell you that Batman does, in fact, kill – repeatedly and brutally. Whether you like it or not, the fact remains that the guy’s responsible for a whole lot of death. In Dawn of Justice, though, there was a pretty strong divide between those who loved Affleck and Snyder’s take on the iconic hero and those who thought the characterization was way off, mostly because he killed.
Folks in the latter camp would argue that this contradicts the thing that’s widely believed to be the defining characteristic of Batman – which is that killing is unacceptable. But according to Snyder, that’s simply not the case. When the director was asked about the issue during a recent Q&A, he told people that they need to wake the f**k up when it comes to Bats being a killer.
“Someone says to me: [Ben Affleck’s] Batman killed a guy. I’m like, ‘[frick], really? Wake the [frick] up.'”
“I guess that’s what I’m saying,” he continued, elaborating on why he took the Dark Knight down a, well, darker path. “Once you’ve lost your virginity to this [frick]ing movie and then you come and say to me something about like ‘my superhero wouldn’t do that.’ I’m like ‘Are you serious?’ I’m like down the [frick]ing road on that.”
“It’s a cool point of view to be like ‘my heroes are still innocent. My heroes didn’t [frick]ing lie to America. My heroes didn’t embezzle money from their corporations. My heroes didn’t commit any atrocities.’ That’s cool. But you’re living in a [frick]ing dream world.”
While it’s easy to see both sides of the argument, it’s pretty clear that the DCEU is moving further and further away from the tone and approach Snyder took in his films. Still, this divisive chapter in DC history continues to hold a certain fascination for fans, not just for the movies it brought us, but also for the movies we never got to see – like the fabled Snyder cut of Justice League.
But circling back to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it’s nice to see that even several years after its release it’s still inspiring debate and discussion and remaining on the minds of many. It’s just a shame that we’ll now never get to watch Snyder complete the story arcs he’d planned for the Dark Knight and his fellow League members.