Eleven years ago, both the Batman and Superman film franchises were stuck in development hell. Batman Forever plus Batman and Robin were considered critically panned heaps of trash and dialogue, while Superman hadn't been on the silver screen for 15 years.
Before he became the savior of the Star Trek and Star Wars film franchises, J.J. Abrams was enlisted in 2002 to pen a Superman screenplay. Abrams’s dark screenplay introduced an older, retired Bruce Wayne and a divorced Clark Kent to each other in a comic book version of Grumpier Old Men as they attempt to foil a plot by Lex Luthor. Basically, they were the '96 Houston Rockets.
The script was quickly scrapped so that Warner Bros. could focus on individual prospects for the two franchises. Despite the success of Christopher Nolan’s gritty, realistic Dark Knight series, DC Comics was expected to reboot the series to incorporate the Dark Knight into the grander scheme of the DC Comics universe.
Man of Steel left a lot to be desired, but at least it wasn't as hopeless as Bryan Singers' sappy and forgettable Superman Returns project.
I actually expected a villain like Lex Luthor to be the first thing addressed in the development of a sequel. Instead, Warner Bros. made a surprise announcement over the weekend at Comic-Con by announcing that Batman would be fighting crime alongside Superman in a Man of Steel sequel. It’s an intriguing dynamic, but it’s never been attempted on the big screen before.
However, people are askin’ the question. What purpose would Batman’s mortal detective skills and gadgetry have alongside a superhero with a god complex and the invincibility to match?
I'll let Frank Ocean's No Church In The Wild hook break down the difference between Superman and Batman.
What’s a mob to a king?
What’s a king to a god?
What’s a god to a non-believer?
Who don’t believe in anything?
Hand to hand combat is useless against or alongside a superhuman who can move faster than a speeding bullet and decimate skyscrapers. In addition, there’s no official word on whether they’ll be friend or foes in the sequel. Whatever happens, it's Warner Bros. most transparent sign yet that they're xeroxing Marvels' gameplan for the Avengers that began with Iron Man by inching towards a Justice League film. I ain't mad at it, but I still have questions.
