Superman/Batman Film Announcement: I Am Underwhelmed

I try, I really do, to remain upbeat about the comics I read, the characters I like. There are so many blogs out there that rip into the comics that I wonder why the bloggers bother to read them; if you don't like them, move on and find something you do.

When new films are announced, I try to remain objective if something about it doesn't sound right - I'd rather judge it when it's out and I've seen it, instead of bitching about it before a single frame has been shot.

With the announcement that the Man of Steel sequel will feature Batman, I find myself in an odd situation - I can't criticise the film because it doesn't exist yet. What I can criticise, however, is the why in which it's being teased.

From the linked news item above:

[Zack] Snyder took the stage at the Warner Bros. panel to announce something and brought up actor Harry Lennix to read a special message. 

"I want you to remember, Clark," Lennix said, "in all the years to come. In all your private moments. I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember, the one man who beat you."

Those lines come from The Dark Knight Returns, specifically this page:

So right off the bat, right off the line, the Superman/Batman movie is being pushed as Batman defeating Superman. There's not a sense of two heroes overcoming their differences to defeat a terrible enemy, this is Batman beating Superman and gloating about it.

Later in the article above:

Zack Snyder, who made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con today, breaking the news to audiences there, later said, "I'm so excited to begin working again with Henry Cavill in the world we created, and I can't wait to expand the DC Universe in this next chapter. Let's face it, it's beyond mythological to have Superman and our new Batman facing off, since they are the greatest Super Heroes in the world."

Again, the emphasis is not about them fighting a common enemy, it's about them "facing off" and with the confirmation that it takes place in the same world as Man of Steel, it seems that confrontation is going to be the point of the film.

Obviously, the film's years away and there's no way we can judge what's going to be in it yet, except based on what has been said this weekend. I just think it's sad that on the one hand Zack Snyder refers to them as "the greatest Super Heroes in the world" while on the other having them fight one another rather than do something heroic.

I've said it before (here and here) but right now I prefer heroes who do this rather than fight each other: