So we all know that MOS2 will kickoff what looks to be a Justice League Universe. It’s what we’ve all been waiting for and it’s awesome! What two guys better to start off with than Bats and Supes? Sounds easy right? Wrong! It might be the most difficult comic book movie attempt yet. That’s because it needs embrace a vastly different batman than anything the majority of moviegoers have seen. It needs to embrace a Justice League Batman.
I don’t know about any of you, but there is no relationship I find more interesting than The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel. Their relationship is one of utmost mutual respect sprinkled with undertones of fear of what the other is capable of. In the cinematic DC Universe that’ll be easy to convey from Batman’s perspective, but how will Superman come to revere the Dark Knight in the same way as in the comics?
I’m not someone who feels that comic book stories always, or even mostly, work verbatim on the big screen. The main thing is to capture the essence of what each character is about and what the story is supposed to convey. With regards to Batman, what that means is that they need to use a Justice League Batman. You might be asking what does that mean. Clearly, Batman in the Justice League is the same Batman in any of the other comics. While literally true, the more important truth is that the Justice League Batman is a lot more badass than the one that shows up in any other stories.
When Batman isn’t in the context of the Justice league (Detective Comics, Batman, Batman and Robin etc.) he routinely struggles with predicaments that involve no worse than a handful of armed henchman. Batman in the Justice League context can go toe to toe with the most powerful beings in the DC Universe. Batman really is a character whose abilities greatly change based on the context of the story. In the comic books, writers don’t have to overtly establish any real difference between Gotham Batman and Justice League Batman. That’s because, in the comics, it’s not a stretch to think that a guy in tights can take a punch from Darkseid or Superman. On the big screen that won’t be acceptable. Batman can’t be that vulnerable all the time.
What this means is that this Batman will have to be much more fantastical than any movie incarnation we’ve seen. Now when I say fantastical, I don’t mean supernatural. I just mean that they will have to take the essence of what makes him formidable and turn it to 11.
For Batman, that means being so well equipped, prepared and intelligent that it seems godlike. He must always be 3 steps ahead. This incarnation should give us moments where it seems like Batman’s been beaten, only to reveal that everyone else was playing into his hand. He must also be the master of preparation. He must come off as always having prepared the right gadget or psychological leverage to overcome any situation. Finally, his equipment should be beyond state of the art, in the same way Iron Man’s is in the MCU.
Now I’m absolutely not advocating that Batman should be walking around all the time in an Iron Man suit with bat ears. That would be lame and not true to the character. The biggest difference between Batman and Iron Man is that Iron Man’s suit is often overkill. That’s not Batman’s style. Batman always has exactly the right tech for the circumstance and never anything more than what he needs. Often times that might mean an Iron Man like suit, but often times it should mean something else. Ultra tech batarangs, mass EMP bursts, kryptonite weapons, supernatural chemicals, nanotechnology, bat vehicles etc. The point is that Batman’s tech should be as effective as an Iron Man’s is portrayed. What should be different about it is that his should be subtler, more tailored to the situation, more varied and never overkill.
I’m curious to know what the rest of you think. How do you think this Batman should be different/similar to what we’ve already seen? Do you think his tech should be on the same level as say an iron man, but stylistically different? Do you think he should be way smarter than everyone and always more prepared?