Why Are the Superheroes Fighting?
On the eve of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked, “Why are they going to fight?” In the weeks following this question is only going to continue to be asked as we have another big superhero showdown in Captain America: Civil War in just over another month. While in the comics, superhero tussles are nothing new, the larger audience of the big screen is likely seeing this for the first time. I have given this more thought than most people probably would bother, but I think I have come up with a few good answers for it.
The Story Calls for It
This first one is pretty straight forward. these are all stories written by the creators or those in charge of continuing the never ending story lines. The usual reasons for infighting fall within the heroes having a confrontation based on their differing ideals and misunderstanding. For example, The conflict in Batman V. Superman appears to be based on characters’ mode of operations when serving out justice. Superman feels he is solving the worlds problems by doing so by day, Batman on the other hand man handles and from the looks of the trailers, basically tortures his enemy’s into submission. Batman also views Superman as too powerful and therefore a threat that must be dealt with. Throw in the fact that Batman has a major beef to settle with Superman after the carnage left behind in the fight with Zod from Man of Steel, and you have a pretty good grudge match on your hands.
In Civil War (we will go off what the movie appears to be doing here) Steve Roger’s Captain America and Tony Stark’s Ironman are at odds primarily over Cap’s best friend and fellow cryogenic time jumper, Bucky Barnes A.K.A. The Winter Soldier. There appears to be a bit of stuff about the Registration Act from the comics, but its not as much in the forefront of the trailers to really dig to far deep, especially with the limited amount of heroes fighting in this film. This causes most of the known (and some new) heroes to take sides and fight over Bucky and who they believe to be right.
Re-establishing the Rules of the World
More on the technical side of storytelling, when you have characters with wide ranges of ability and temperament, it’s important to lay down new rules and reiterate old ones to make sure the world we are peering into makes sense and doesn’t leave the audience scratching their heads afterwords. We see this in the first Avengers film when they all fight over Loki in the woods. This is the first scene Captain America, Ironman and Thor are sharing the scene together and we don’t know how they all measure up. This leads to a fun fight where Thor inadvertently super charges Ironman’s suit with lightning, and show’s that Ironman is capable of going toe to toe with the God of Thunder, which ends with Captain America’s shield withstanding massive hit from Thor’s hammer. We are seeing how the characters interact and handle one another in a natural way that flows with the story.
It’s even more important in Batman V. Superman because Batman has no superpowers at all. We do see that at some point in the film, Batman will wear a heavy armored suit to fight the Man of Steel, but unless he plans on wearing that on all his outing going forward, Dawn of Justice has to explain why a man in bat-suit can stand side by side with God like being like Superman and Wonder Woman among the other members of the league. This is even more necessary because we have already seen a big screen portrayal of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy in recent years, and while Christian Bale’s Batman was capable of taking on many criminals at once, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Man of Steel’s Superman. Ben Affleck’s Batman has to be more, and the audience has to know that he isn’t going to be a pushover to the rest of the team.
We Want to See Them Fight
We as a people love to debate over what and who is better. Even back in elementary school, I remember some kids arguing about who’s dad was stronger or would win in a fight. We would never learn the answer to these question to these arguments but it didn’t stop them from happening. The fact is that we don’t really want to know the answer, we just like to believe we are right. And that is why is basically every big fight between superheroes we never get a definitive answer. They always get interrupted by some bigger threat or problem. Both sides will have their moment of taking the upper-hand and turn the odds in their favor but when it appears we might have an answer, something or someone gets in the way and leaves us once again debate who would have won the fight. And again it doesn’t matter who would actually win, it’s more fun arguing and sharing in the conversation than having true victor.
I’m sure there are other reasons to why the heroes we all know and love get in to scraps now and again, but i think these are the main causes that occur the most. We usually see our heroes as unbeatable and they will always win in the end. This gets turned on it’s head when your hero of choice is then faced with yet another hero to contend with. In the end it all makes for a entertaining show that allows us to not just watch, but also join in on the conversation of who would win and why their hero is best. The best part is that no one has to walk away as the loser and the debate can go on and on.
Now if you excuse me, it’s time for me to get ready for Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Out in theaters March 25.
