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Will Batman vs. Superman Overreach?

Will Batman vs. Superman Overreach?

This could very well be WAY too much of a good thing!

If you’ve followed my work here on CheatCC, you already know what a huge bat-fan I am. While the Kryptonian boy in blue comes in a very close second, I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for Gotham’s psychologically scarred superhero. And since the comic book genre has blown up in recent years at theaters, geeks like us have had no shortage of great new content to feast on. From reboots of Batman, Superman and a myriad of great television, it’s been a virtual utopia for those who simply can’t get enough from Marvel and DC.

But now, we enter a very dangerous time for some of our favorite franchises.

Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy very much set the world on fire over the last decade or so. It introduced a new generation to a gritty vision of Batman that has become the template for those whom may not be familiar with the comics or even the earlier films. The same can be said for Superman. After hitting the reset button on the series (following Bryan Singer’s lack-lusker outing with Returns ) Man of Steel set the stage for the first big-screen crossover of DC’s most beloved characters ever. Batman v. Superman is generating a huge buzz among movie-goers and comic fans alike. People have dreamed of this for so long, the hype may very well be near impossible to live up to. In fact, the film has become so large, it goes way beyond just Batman and Superman at this point. In addition to representing equal parts Gotham and Metropolis, we’ve confirmed the appearances of the Amazonian Wonder Woman as well as evil genius Lex Luthor. Yet, there is another classic face that is long-since rumored, but has yet to be confirmed. Aquaman, whose reception has been lukewarm at best, is not exactly at the top of many lists as a “ go to ” pick.

The director, however, seems to have his back (even if the general public doesn’t). After a couple of hosts at CBS Detroit poked fun at the Ruler of Atlantis recently, Zack Snyder called in to defend the iconic DC character (while neither confirming nor denying his presence). “You guys were disparaging, a little bit, Aquaman…I don’t want to give anything away about the movie or anything like that, but Aquaman has some cool abilities…The cool thing with Aquaman is he has his trident. You have to realize that could cut the flesh of Superman if they came in contact. That’s a thing that’s in the canon. He’s super strong because, of course, he can exist at these super deep depths. So when he comes up here, he’s crazy strong. Anyway, not to say he’s in my movie or anything like that, but he has the potential to be bad ass, that’s all I’m saying.” He told them.

And therein lies the problem I see with Batman v. Superman …it’s just too damn big!

OK, so let’s recap shall well? We have a movie that will finally depict one of the most epic confrontations in all of comic-dom. It’s something we’ve wanted to see since the days of Christopher Reeves and Michael Keaton, if not long before. It could easily occupy the full two hour runtime, if given the chance. But now we’re piling on names such as Lex Luther, Wonder Woman, Aquaman (and a rumored appearance by Cyborg) to the already stacked list. I’m worrying the seams of this film are starting to bulge (and may soon burst). How does the director expect to do any real justice to the tale of comic’s greatest team, while also juggling all this other stuff? With each new element thrown into the pot, things seem to be getting more and more watered down (not to mention distracting from the main event).

Will Batman vs. Superman Overreach?

And speaking of justice, that’s really what all this boils down to. DC is attempting to jump-start their Justice League movie, much as Marvel did with Avengers . Problem is, Marvel took their time in laying the ground work. By rushing all these characters and plot points, not only does DC run the risk of ruining their Man of Steel sequel, they may very well undo some of the goodwill they’ve managed to build around their franchises. The last thing we need is a release that casts our most important mascots in a negative light at the box office. It might be quite some time before we see another if that happens. I hope this film is as great as we anticipate it will be. My fear is that trying to shoe-horn to much Justice League stuff in here will simply result in Batman v. Superman collapsing under its own weight.

Mark my words, you can kiss any future DC spin-offs (like Wonder Woman, Justice League and others) a sweet goodbye if Snyder fails to deliver. A sad fact of Hollywood, but still true.

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