Batman v Superman — a superficial idea that betrays both superheroes
Forget the plot holes or the ridiculous story line; Batman v Superman was never meant to be in the first place.
When I was young, I used to watch Adam West play Batman on TV, with the tacky speech bubbles with POW and WHAM coming out on screen to give the kids the familiar feel of a comic book. It was one of those things. Aired in the 90s in India (yes, I am not that old), this 60s’ kitschy version was great fun as a child, whilst being embarrassing in retrospect. But I loved the popcorn rendition of the characteristically dark graphic novels anyway.
As I grew up, like many, my perception of Batman changed over the years. From being a superhero with no superpower but lots of cool gadgets and pretty women (almost an American version of James Bond), to this conflicted and layered man who not only hunts in the dark, but almost grooms darkness within him. I came to respect his constraints, and understand his vulnerabilities. Batman grew on me like adulthood. Almost every superhero we have come across, whether from DC or Marvel, has come out of a consistent sense of loss and sacrifice; they are always struggling to keep up with a sense of grief that threatens to overpower them. Batman, however, does precious little to fight it. In fact, he almost revels in its torment.
He cuts himself out of the society. He embraces his loneliness as the intimidating vastness of the Wayne mansion almost gulps him down in the vortex of memories. He doesn’t look for friends; he looks for assistance at best, but that’s it. Batman revels in sorrow. Whether it’s because of the way he lost his parents, or his experiences after that, somewhere along the way, Bruce Wayne embraced darkness with disconcerting comfort.
And that’s why, for me, Batman and Superman do not mix. Superman has, potentially perhaps, a vaster sense of loss. Most have lost their family, home, may be a town; but Superman lost his entire planet. However, earth, unlike it has to Bruce, has been very kind to Clark. The serene country side home of Kansas, caring foster parents and a high school life, the warm breakfast of pancakes and probably some Sunday baseball lessons. He has re-known love. He has been resurrected in the shine of care and longing. And his superpowers are downright ridiculous when compared to what the earthlings have. When you have everything from a body of steel to an ability to fly, it is very difficult to feign vulnerability in a world that is centuries behind his own state of evolution. Superman is emotional, not cerebral, he is blatantly honest, not questionable doubt. He is the absolute black and white, because he can afford to take an absolute stand on morals and tick on the lists of what is correct. He has the means, both emotional and physical. What he lost stays with him always, but it is tended to by the loving parental care, and later on, the support of someone with whom he fell in love.
Bruce on the other hand, lost his love. In Alfred he finds a guide, but in Alfred he also finds a soul who is strong enough to keep his secret and endure the way he actually is. Anything Bruce touches turns to ashes. His skills do not come from genetic gifts but through struggle and toil, discipline and pain. The motivation of which, also comes from his sorrow. The only moral code of not killing his enemies often come back to haunt him, but it’s as if, that is the only thing he is holding desperately on to, in order to get some sort of a sunlight in his otherwise sepulchral life. Batman, the idea of it, the very sense of it, fights the absolutes that Superman so easily embraces. Unless one humanizes Superman and brings him down to the same psychological world where Batman resides, there would be no believable way to figure out a conflict that would really challenge them to fight for with an equal sense of passion or ferocity.
Every time we see Clark angry, we see him raging across the world flying at break neck speed. We see him brood in the comforting embrace of his loved ones. Whether in rage or sorrow, Clark explodes. Bruce, however, implodes. It is in times of weaknesses where he lets his loneliness truly grasp him. Alcohol, a fireplace, a house coat, and a screaming Alfred against his indifference. He collects his anger for the next time he meets an adversary, but at that point in time, he lets it dominate him as he remains in the comfortable embrace of sorrow.
Bruce is cerebral. He is more of a Sherlock Holmes with the gadgets of Bond only with a more pronounced internal strife. When you pit Batman against Superman, there is no match to begin with in terms of power. Superman doesn’t have it in him to understand Batman’s rage, and Batman can never fathom what it is to be almost invincible. He will be reduced to finding smart ways to trap Superman through kryptonite and nothing else. But Batman is so much more than that. His adversaries, are so much more than that. They plan, they plod, even research and study. They don’t just blast through doors and cities and towns and buildings by virtue of naturally gifted superpowers which would fortuitously have some sort of a weakness to exploit. There is hardly anything ‘fortuitous’ in Batman’s world. Even his success leaves a bitter taste.
The problem with bringing together DC’s two favorite sons, I think, is with the fact that they are so different in their two worlds. Superman can never be beyond what he is. He will always rise above Metropolis. No matter how defiant the enemy is, and how lovable his character, he would always zoom across the sky saving planes from colliding and bombs from dropping as his city would always ‘look up’ to him. In respect, in awe, and maybe even in jealousy.
Batman, on the other hand, is Gotham itself. It is impossible to separate the two. The darkness of Gotham is the darkness inside Bruce’s mind. The cobbles and the pavements, the alleys and the hoods, Gotham stores secrets in every moss inflicted corner of its unforgiving being. It’s jaded villains fight Batman seldom for money, but more to prove to him that he isn’t any different. It’s valiant police force and corrupt ministers are what make Gotham a reflection of its Dark Knight. Almost a muted celebration of imperfection. An imperfection that the righteous world of Superman can seldom relate to.
One revels in the light of genetic superiority, of courage that springs from love and longing, the other unfurls in the throes of darkness, moulded carefully by suppressed rage and a lifelong bond with fierce loneliness.
One is a God, the other, a human.
