Tag: superman

Batman v Superman had nothing but terrible reviews, but Zack Snyder and co. have made it very clear that it wasn’t made for the critics, but for the fans.

Max, WhatCulture (”100 Easter Eggs in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”)

If you’ve ever wondered what it would have been like if the Waynes found the rocket carrying a baby from Krypton instead, this is the Elseworlds book for you.

Spoilers under the cut:

The story is told in Lois Lane’s point of view. Bruce is an alien found and raised by Thomas and Martha Wayne in Gotham. The couple are shot and killed by Joe Chill after a night at the movies (yep, “The Mask of Zorro”). Joe, annoyed by Bruce’s crying, shoots the child. But, lo and behold, Bruce incinerates his face using heat vision and the mugger dies. 

Bruce is then left to Alfred’s care. He becomes so consumed by his guilt at what he did that he becomes a reclusive billionaire. At 21 years old, he realizes that he can no longer deny the existence of his powers (including super hearing) and Alfred reveals the truth about his presence on earth. He decides to become a crime-fighter, inspired by visions of bats, which he refers to as his “brothers”. He terrorizes criminals, and even resorts to killing.   

He meets Lois at the Gotham Gazette, which is owned by Bruce’s company, and they fall in love. She comes to admire him for using his resources to do good for the city, not knowing his alter ego, whose actions she is repulsed by. 

A bulky Lex Luthor tries to take over Bruce’s company, but Bruce threatens to expose his past deeds in Metropolis and his tragic accident at a chemical factory. Enraged, Lex reveals himself to be the Joker and kidnaps Lois. Batman retaliates, almost killing him, but Lois’ presence snaps him out of it and he sends the criminal to jail instead.

In the final act, Lois figures out that Bruce and Batman are one in the same and their love affair continues. 

[SuperBat Panels] The New 52: Futures End – Batman/Superman One-Shot

I love Bruce and Clark’s friendship. I don’t “ship” them, but I adore their dynamic. While they have very different personalities, they complement each other quite well. They’re best buddies united by a shared tragedy (both orphans), a common goal (to protect the world), and a mutual respect. They keep each other grounded and call each other out when necessary.   

The New 52 Futures End: Batman/Superman One-Shot takes place 35 years into the future. It’s not explained why, but in the wake of the war, the world is in disorder, Clark is missing, and Bruce has a broken spine. The latter, ever the resilient man, still insists on fighting crime even in his state. 

It’s lovely because the entire narration is Bruce’s internal monologue. He knows that Clark is not dead (even if the rest of the world thinks he is) and feels that his friend simply abandoned the earth because, for some reason, the two of them are not on good terms. Again, the reason is left to the audience’s imagination, but it’s implied that Bruce made a difficult decision that Clark wouldn’t have made himself, causing some enmity between the two.

But, in spite of all this, Bruce tries to reach out to Clark, saying that the world still needs Superman. In the meantime, he deals with Clark’s rogues.

Some spoilers ahead.

This flashback takes place six months before the story’s onset:

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“And one of us was always going to reach those limits first.”

After an intense battle with Metallo, Bruce is left with broken spine (again, but this time, permanently). Alfred finds his journal containing a letter he was writing to Clark, then suggests that he simply “call” on his best friend. 

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I liked this one-shot. It’s not particularly groundbreaking story-wise, but it does give a lot of insight into the depth of Bruce and Clark’s relationship. Even when they’re not “friends”, they’re friends, if you know what I mean. That’s why their fights are so personal. 

It figures. It took them over 75 years to build their friendship.