The relationship between Batman and Superman varies in the comics. Sometimes it's somewhat adversarial, as seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and in other instances, the two are nearly as close as brothers.
According to DC Studios co-chair and Superman director James Gunn, the DCU is likely going to have the Man of Steel and Dark Knight have a relationship closer to the latter. Plus, with Superman already having three years of experience under his belt in the film, there's a chance that the World's Finest have already met.
The topic was specifically raised in an interview between Gunn and ExtraTV, where the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy director was asked about how Superman would react to meeting Gotham's protector. Gunn's answer definitely made the interviewer perk up, but there were no further details shared on the matter.
"Well first of all, we don't know if he's already seen a man dressed up as a bat," said Gunn when asked about their initial meeting. He added, "But I think that he'd probably see a kindred spirit in that [here's] another crazy person wearing a crazy costume [albeit] with a very different intent."
In the comics, the first time Batman and Superman appear together is in All-Star Comics #7 (1941); however, canonically they already knew one another as they were both reserve members of the Justice Society of America.
Comic historians generally consider their first meeting to have occurred in Superman #76 (1952), where Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are coincidentally both passengers on a cruise ship. When a crisis emerges, they both end of changing into their costumes in close proximity, revealing to one another their secret identities.
Other retconned versions of their first meeting include Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths (1986): Man of Steel #3, where Superman is a new hero, who decides to go to Gotham and confront a much more veteran Batman, who has been depicted in the media as a crazed outlaw vigilante. With Batman having much more experience, the encounter doesn't go well for Superman.
The New 52 in 2011 also retold their first encounter, this time recentering the event around the formation of the Justice League as various DC heroes investigated the arrival of boom tubes and parademons on Earth. This comic series served as inspiration for Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Superman introduces viewers to a DC Universe where metahumans have been around for generations and Clark Kent already has three years of experience as Earth’s strongest protector. So how should his first meeting with Batman unfold? Share your thoughts in the comments below.