On this week’s episode of The Superhero News Show, we discuss new plot details from Suicide Squad revealed in the latest issue of EW. Also, the upcoming Rogue One trailer and Star Wars Celebration panel, Riri Williams as the new Iron Man and much more. Be sure to subscribe to Superhero News on YouTube for the latest videos. To submit a question, do so on Twitter using the hashtag #SuperheroNews.
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People keep comparing “BvS” to “Civil War.” In my view “BvS” is more structurally similar to “Iron Man 2” which, “The Incredible Hulk” notwithstanding, fits into the chronology of the MCU in the same place as “BvS” fits into the DCEU.
— Hero from first movie viewed with suspicion by federal government with hearings held by a wary, antagonistic Senator character (Holly Hunter vs Garry Shandling)
— Other heroes in the cinematic universe introduced by brief, tangential cameos (Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman via the video files in the DCEU vs Captain America (shield in Stark’s lab), Thor (reference to trouble in the southwest corridor and shot of hammer), and Hulk (via video screens in Fury’s office at the end) in the MCU)
— Female super-hero introduced via supporting role as mysterious character who later reveals herself in kick-ass action sequence at the end (Black Widow in the MCU vs Wonder Woman in the DCEU)
— Secondary super-hero introduced as antagonist via fight scene mid-film only to become allies fighting together at the end (Batman in DCEU vs War Machine in MCU)
— Rich, powerful business man as main villain paired with “muscle” villain (Justin Hammer and Whiplash in the MCU vs Lex Luthor and Doomsday in the DCEU)
Structurally, the purposes of both films was to build directly upon the story in the first films in their respective series while at the same time explicitly introducing the idea of an expanded universe. The similarities between “BvS” and “Civil War” on the other hand are only superficial (hero vs hero).
I’m not the only one who’s noticed this. Nice to know.
Wow. Nice comparison, man.
Personally I don’t really care about the “controversy” of Batman killing in these films (he’s a fictional character on the one hand so it doesn’t really matter, while on the other hand this is a new interpretation of the character in a different medium so it shouldn’t be beholden to the source material (see Harry Potter 1 and 2 for movies that were too faithful to their source material to the point of being unwatchable as movies)).
And dramatically I find it so much more interesting to see the character evolve from someone who is at the end of his rope and struggling at the beginning of the film to someone who has seen the error of his ways and begins the process of redemption at the end. The alternative that others seem to call for is someone who is perfect at the beginning of the movie and who is also still perfect at the end of the movie. That, to me, is boring.
But all of that aside, let’s assume that Batman should have the strict no-killing policy that Hector calls for. Let’s look at how many times the Joker (to pick just one character) has escaped from Arkham in the comics (where Batman has sent him) only to go on another killing spree. How often has that happened? Hundreds of times? How many innocent Gothamites have been killed by the Joker with each escape just so Batman can have a “clear” conscience by not killing the Joker and being done with it. It’s the old philosophical argument: A runaway trolley is about to hit five people standing at a trolley stop. If you pull the lever the track switch will activate and the trolley will veer to the right but in doing so will hit one person who happens to be on that side track at the time. Do you save five people or do you save one person? In the comics Batman keeps saving the one person time and time again at the expense of the five people which, to me, is ludicrous. But that’s the argument that Hector keeps making in his purist view of the no-kill rule.
(Just to reiterate: we’re talking about fictional characters. In real life I’m anti death penalty, but in the confines of fiction the rules are different.)