I'll talk about this film like I'm making it so anytime I say "should" or "must" is just purely out of my own opinion and perspective, and I'd love to hear your thoughts down below.
It's Called "Man Of Steel: World's Finest"
Although this movie would sell tickets whether it was called "VS", "Man Of Steel 2", or "The One With Batman"; the title should be an accurate
heading and/ or
preview of the two characters set to unfold for the first time in live action cinema. The title would actually have significant meaning to the story for the obvious reason of Batman and Superman being the finest heroes the world has produced, but also Clark questioning if it's actually Earth or Krypton who should take the credit for being the said "World".
Lex Luthor Is A Manipulator
In my version, Luthor is a young, intelligent business man devoted to rebuilding the parts of Metropolis that were ruined by the Kryptonians, and will stop at nothing to bring his beloved city back to its former glory. Nobody else wants to invest in such a large scale project, so after three years, when the city has slowly been getting mended, the
Metropolis Kickstart project finally takes off with Wayne Enterprises lending a helpful hand, and the Americans admire Luthor's triumph which is why he's the head candidate for the president... The only problem is that Luthor always gets what he wants and always wants what he gets. He'll manipulate, blackmail, and torture someone for whatever purpose and kill his own parents for his inheritance. Growing up with wealthy parents, an unorthodox street gang, and a healthy, fact-filled mind has shaped him into being the ultimate
dick. (If you don't think Jesse Eisenberg can pull it off; watch "The Social Network")
The Fortress Of Solitude
I was genuinely pleased to see a refreshing take on the
Fortress of Solitude with the scout ship from Krypton, but when it was stranded in the destroyed Metropolis during the climax of
MOS, the only realistic direction to be taken is that it's now in military hands with Superman not being given any kind of permission to even lay eyes on it. When looking at the first film, you realise that it was an origin story in every sense of the word(s), so I think it would make the most sense that this fresh, bold new take on the classic characters was given some pay off with familiar elements, and settings in the sequel that prove this is a new Superman for old and new fans alike. Jor-El could also make a brief appearance if Superman got hold of the small "S" key again.
Batman & Superman Swap Their Public Images
At the beginning, Gotham is a city that's slowly vacuuming it's crime with the help of the corrupt police force, but most of all the Batman. Batman is regarded by some as an outlaw and nothing worse than the criminals he's fighting, but the majority of public perception is that he's a vigilante hero for Gotham and is a force for good by using violent and technological forces of bad without actually killing anyone. Superman starts off where about 20% of Metropolis regard the destruction of that city as a mistake and accident, so naturally, the rest of Metropolis' population think of him as a terrorist, devil, and monster to wear the colours of the American flag with only Lois, Martha, Clark himself and a few others of Metropolis and the world believing he's in fact a good person. But by the end of the film, they swap and Batman becomes the outlawed vigilante in the eyes of the public, and Superman becomes the world's true protector.
Supporting Characters
The film is blending two legends with massive backgrounds, rogues galleries, and supporting characters of their own. To make the film at least feel large in scope without having cities blowing up everywhere, you have to make the world you're creating feel populated and lived in. I'm not asking for the Joker to show up and rob a bank, or Bizzaro to make a cameo, but these are the characters I'd include and I'll explain later how they'd be used... Alfred, Jim Gordon, Vicki Vale, Harvey Dent/ Two Face, Jimmy Olsen, Aquaman, and Hal Jordan.
Kryptonite
This well known substance has had a lot of criticism for making Superman seem to be too much of a pushover in combat and has been linked to the life-long accusation that he's "boring". Although I think saying Kryptonite reduces him to a plain, uninteresting character is unfair, it does feel somewhat of a cop-out when this formidable god that has to reflect lasers coming out of his eyes on his chin to shave his beard is being beaten by an inanimate object or objects when close to it. But in this new somewhat realistic world where Superman's powers are harnessed by the sun's radiation, I think it could work if the Kryptonite was a vital ingredient used in weapons of mass destruction on Krypton and once sent to Earth blocks the radiation from the sun getting to Clark when close to him therefore disabling his powers and long term exposure could kill him.
An Awesome Fight
Many praise the first fight between Bane and Batman in
The Dark Knight Rises, but what took me out of it was the obvious fact that all punches being exchanged on screen were clearly not making any sort of connection. I won't deny that the timing and choreography was near flawless, but when the blows are blatantly not having any impact, you realise they're not actually hitting each other which makes you realise all the sound effects were added later in post-production which then makes you view this fight as rough, but certainly not grounded. I hope that the inevitable fight between two of the most popular heroes ever created is nothing short of jaw-dropping. It should only have shakey cam if needed, it shouldn't have any Krypto-gimmicks like a ring or green boxing gloves, but rather Kryptonite laced through Batman's suit adding style as well as practicality.
Brainiac & Metallo
Before you shoot me down saying that three of Superman's greatest foes in the same film containing Batman and Wonder Woman is a recipe for disaster, hear me out. As far as the story goes, Brainiac wouldn't be in any of the marketing for the film and would also be in the shadows for the first two acts having conversations with Lex until the climax where he, Metallo and Luthor go up against the threesome of costumed heroes. Brainiac's abilities include super strength, flying, healing factor, telepathy, and his popular intelligence. Metallo takes orders from Lex and is given his own Superman body suit to dress up in and cause havoc in various parts of the world pointing the blame towards the real Superman and making Lex look even more like the hero not only Metropolis deserves, but the entire globe does.
Hans Zimmer &/ Or John Williams
I loved the
Man Of Steel soundtrack and thought it perfectly allowed us to let go of the John Williams theme without it feeling old and forgotten, and I recommend any Zimmer fan check out his soundtrack for the F1 biography of James Hunt and Nicki Lauda,
Rush. Hans was probably on board to score the
MOS sequel until it was announced that Batman would be in the picture. This must have set Zimmer back as he'd just come off doing the
Dark Knight Trilogy and was maybe hesitant to create a different score for a different Batman which is why I point the finger at Williams to either replace or collaborate with Zimmer. Can you imagine if the film was total garbage, but you had the thrill of listening to two of the greatest film composers' work around you. that doesn't happen often... (just like the film).
Clark & Bruce
Even though it makes for good visual story telling, I'm tired of the recluse protagonist having having a beard to show how sad he (maybe she) is. I'm hearing rumors that Clark will have a goatee in the beginning of the movie and I really hope this is incorrect and he's in the Daily Planet spilling coffee over everyone, acting goofy with only Lois, and Martha knowing who he is, but inside he's damaged and feels he owes the people of Metropolis his help. Saving people has become an addiction for him, and he's doing it so fast, he's almost become a myth with only blurred photos and videos to support evidence that he's still alive. Enter Bruce Wayne who pretends to be a cocky, sex pest, billionaire, but at night goes to express his anger against the scum of Gotham and is regarded as a "loose hero". His real average personality is something he only exposes to a few including Alfred, and eventually Clark, Lois, and Diana Prince. Clark and Bruce agree on the protection of citizens but have different ways of achieving their goals which is what makes them go their separate paths at the end and only coming together when the time is right.
- Plot -
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The film opens with a narration from Bruce Wayne while in the Daily Planet where loads of journalists are interviewing him. He has a cut on his nose and him and Clark share a moment of staring. While narrating, Bruce mentions the main theme which is "We all wear masks".
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Bruce has a pure dislike for Luthor and Alfred thinks of Bruce as a "conspiracy theorist" because he believes Lex killed his own parents for his inheritance.
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Clark has a nightmare early on about him killing Zod and it's apparent that Lois and him have discussed and argued about Clark's guilt and whether or not he was responsible for the destruction of Metropolis.
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The first time we see Batman is when he interrupts a drugs trade with Two Face and his thugs before it even starts. It's similar to when Batman first appeared in Batman Begins but is set purely in a warehouse.
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Jim Gordon appears in several scenes, but is definitely a supporting character along with Martha Kent
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Vicki Vale is a news reporter who only appears a few times just to commentate on situations
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Diana was a warrior demigoddess sent down to Earth for freeing a prisoner who she believed was framed. Luthor captured and manipulated her keeping her as his "pet". When investigating, Batman comes across her and takes her home after a grand car chase where he avoids the police and encounters Superman.
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Luthor knows Bruce is Batman and forces him to fight Superman. Batman comes up with a secret plan and once finished with the battle, drops Clark into the river and it's revealed near the end that Aquaman looked after Clark until he woke up and was told what was going on.
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Luthor becomes president and takes control of the Daily Planet. Early on, he seduces a woman who discovered lots of Kryptonite and beats her before injecting her with a truth serum making her sign contracts to hand over all the Kryptonite over to him.
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There is a batmobile, batjet, and batbike in this and the Batcave is much more similar to the Arkham games than the Nolan films.
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Lex speaks to Brainiac a few times throughout the film as his head is wired up like the image above and forms his grand plan with the help of Brainiac as he attempts to get hold of the Kryptonite, become president knowing that the entire world sympathises with him and Metropolis, use Batman to get Superman off the scene so he can use Metallo to make out like Superman is doing all these chaotic things, and then use sublimation to turn the Kryptonite into gas across the entire planet and make sure Superman is never to be seen or heard from again.
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Perry isn't happy with Clark and is considering firing him because of the low standards in his work. Clark isn't very upset about this and after Bruce and Lex visit the Daily Planet, he goes to work on the construction site.
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Bruce knows as soon as he walks in the Daily Planet that Clark is Superman. They form a good friendship where on the construction site they chat to each other about their morals, backgrounds, etc. Bruce comes to like Clark and tries to think of any solution to not kill or get rid of him once Luthor demands it.
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Luthor has his big mechanical suit with Kryptonite as the chest piece.
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Clark and Diana fly together in space. There's no romance between the two. Lois is the one for him.
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Clark comes to terms with killing Zod and even has a weird dream sequence when exposed to Kryptonite that Jor-El is asking him to save the world and Jonathan Kent is pleading for him to stay hidden. Clark chooses Jor-El, but tells his human father he'll never be forgotten.
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Lois starts to question her relationship with Clark as she finds out he's been helping people 24/7 after he bumps into Batman, but from then on he's straight with her and takes her to the Fortress of Solitude
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Hal Jordan makes a cameo as he's being reckless in a jet and Superman spoils his fun in a montage showing how Batman and Superman deal with crime.
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Batman shows off his detective skills as he takes a sample of the truth serum and traces who could've supplied it to Lex.
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There are many cameos and easter eggs pointing to the Justice League but it is by no means a trailer and has its own story to deal with.
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Bruce says to Clark that there's no way Lex can be stopped or exposed with his public reputation and all the citizens of Metropolis depending on him, so he insists that he's misjudged Clark and he'll kill him with Batman being condemned as an outlaw. After the big showdown between the three heroes and villains, Batman's about to do it, then Superman stops him and says that he'll imprison him in the Fortress Of Solitude, and they'll say Lex has has gone missing. Batman agress but again insists that they say Lex was killed by him making his reputation go down and Superman's go up.
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If you want to get an idea of how the ending scene would be, watch the ending of the film Rush and imagine Clark doing a narration making a total of three narrations in the film. First Bruce, then Lois when she's flying with Supeman to the Fortress, and ending with Clark as he delves into the characters and bookending the film with "We all wear masks"
So there are my thoughts. Leave a comment...