This one goes out to the hardcore DC fans! It looks like the Anti-Life Equation is present in “Batman vs Superman”. In fact, it might be responsible for lots of aspects in it, including a totally violent Batman.
Created by Jack Kirby and mentioned for the first time in the first edition of The New Gods magazine, in February 1971, the Anti-Life Equation is a formula that deprives creatures of their free will and makes life lose all its sense. Those who come to know it have the power to subdue the souls of anyone in the universe. It is the reason why Darkseid owns Apokolips.
Anti-Life’s formula consists of:
Loneliness + Alienation + Fear + Despair + Self esteem ÷ Bullying ÷ Condemnation ÷ Misunderstood x Blame x Flaws x Judgement
n=y, where ‘y’ = Hope, ’n’ = Madness, Love = Lies, Life = Death, Being = Darkseid
It may be passed on through sound, images and digital data - this last one has been used by Darkseid himself to spread the equation throughout the world over the internet, which allows him to control billions of slaves. As we had seen in Final Crisis (2008).
With the newly released extra video from the Blue Ray edition of Batman v Superman , we may see that, with Kryptonian technology, Lex gets in touch with a sinister entity that has some mother boxes. Regardless of what that may be, Lex has been in touch with something quite sinister and we don’t know exactly for how long he has been exposed to that. Maybe he has even been exposed to the Anti-Life Equation. And that would explain his most complete CONTEMPT for Human kind.
So. Bruce Wayne steals his computer data to find out who is the “White Portuguese”. Lex already has control of the Kryptonian ship at this point of the film. In the exact moment when Bruce starts to break the encrypted code of Lex Luthor’s data, the decode screen starts to show the evolution of the process. A sound starts to come out of the computer, leaving Bruce apprehensive and then he falls into a trance. That’s when Batman’s nightmare begins - in theory, an effect generated by the Anti-Life Equation, or at least, a fraction of it.
There, Bruce sees a reality where the world has become Apokolips, with Parademons and Soldiers, all loyal to a bad Man of Steel. This pushes the already developed hatred of Bruce towards the alien. That’s why the Flash comes to the scene in a crucial moment: right when Bruce gets in touch with the Equation.
After that, we can see a considerably more violent and unforgiving Batman. The events in Gotham have only made him an easy victim for the Equation. Bruce now shows no regard to his enemies’ lives. His blind fury and confusion moment is only softened by an emotional trigger, when the Superman yells Martha Kent’s name (which reminded Bruce of Martha Wayne), bringing to his mind the love he felt towards his mother and of the sufferance caused by her loss.
If this is the intention, we must congratulate Snyder: this would work as an introduction to Darkside’s approach to take control of the world, as well as an emergency door to the “killer bat” matter. If confirmed, this would go far beyond a simple easter egg and pass on to a complete plot specially made for the most radical fans.
It´s crazy, right? So, recently Zack Snyder hints the equation in this article. He basically said: "Maybe he (the strange figure with lex) is looking for something. Something that is against life?"
So, what do you think? Would you like the Anti-Life Equation inserted in the DC universe? How would that change your perception of the movie? Please leave a comment bellow.