What would you have done Dr. cosmic?
I don't even know Champ. Here's what I came up with this morning for kguillou's challenge. It's long though.
Damn, you guys are brutal.
Let me ask you guys something, say you took the BvS film as it was (and by that I mean Snyders original 3 hour cut, the theatrical version doesn't exist to me) and you kept pretty much everything the same in terms of plot, pacing, overall tone, set pieces etc, but slightly tweaked the behavior of Batman and Superman. Say you got rid of Batman killing, made Clark/ Superman a little warmer, added more charm and levity to his scenes, but everything else remained the same, in your honest opinion would that have made a world of a difference to you? And I ask this genuinely and sincerely, not in a mocking way.
Not a little bit, because the plot, as it was, was so much of a mish mash, little tweaks wouldn't have saved it... BUT if they had gone to the extreme, and had Superman be full on Hope Incarnate, with a blind faith in humanity, exemplified by his unending dedication to his mission to uplift them, to engage with them, and to say really nice things and answer really hard questions with the wisdom of a Kansas Grandpa and justified by his negative allusion to the type of hero he was during Man of Steel. Then you put Batman on the opposite end, more contrast for better conflict, a sort of Knight Templar, exceptionally jaded and cynical as a result of his longstanding mission, driven to complete his mission at all costs, they cold have sold the whole movie, with Superman, instead of sulking, he'd be pleading with people, and personally hurt that they would come for him and his reputation in the way they did. He'd talk to Lois about his problems - giving her a real role, instead of sulking silently in a corner. His whole angle on taking on the Batman as Clark Kent would be exposing the truth for what it is, becausae that's what he believes in, and he thinks Batman should be in the light instead of an urban legend.
Superman would be portrayed as the *most* emotionally vulnerable, constantly offended by every accusation which bleeds through in word choice and tone, which is why seeing him actually rage and cut loose on Batman would have been truly terrifying and felt expected and natural. The Bathtub scene, I would have reversed, with Superman being the one naked and vulnerable, pulling the work-weary Lois into a soapy wet embrace. The terrorist scene would have been about him showing his power non lethally, super breathing guys against the wall and heat visioning their guns in a way that was darkly comedic, but clearly not murderous (not unlike the drone scene from the end of MoS), and generally shaming them for terrorism and turning them over to the authorities much as a schoolteacher might scold children for making a mess and then put them in time out, because he's SUPERMAN, he can do that. The rescue scenes would be him being a bright light in a very dark place, behaving the way a trained first responder would to people in crisis, because his focus is the people. This amount of power is obviously not okay with Batman, because he knows that power corrupts, as he's seen time and time again in Gotham. He also knows that the kind of idealism Superman displays cannot be genuine, because no one is like that deep down (see the parallel with the audience? That's a setup). He knows Superman is a farce, and his hypocricy about trying to expose Batman while keeping his own secret is unacceptable. This also sets up the long term storyline where Superman actually *is* corrupted by his power.
With these changes in place, the whole Batman fight scene could have worked much better, since Superman would have been trying to reason with Batman the whole time, but Batman would have been legitimately, and predictably beyond reason, no matter how much sense or how genuine Clark was. They could have had a legitimate argument instead of just staring at each other between volleys. For Bruce, it doesn't matter if Lex is playing them, Batman would have been established as someone who believes he'll take down Superman, then Lex, and we know he can do it, which is what is scary. The "Martha" moment then could have been replaced with something more organic where Superman believes in Batman and is, essentially, pleading with him for his soul. Superman knows what it is to kill someone, what it does for you, and he wants to save Batman from that. Batman doesn't believe there's another way, Superman, resolving his Hope incarnate storyline, calling back to his 'mistake' in MoS proclaims there has to be. He's not a naive idealist, he's running from that moment at the end of MoS, and making sure he stays as far from that as possible.
As a Knight Templar type, a trope where a lawman takes things to extremes, which is what Batman naturally flows into, Batman could be dispalyed as the kind of hypercompetent person who is not just reliant on gadgets, but his wits allow him to find and exploit enemies weaknesses. Doomsday is easily distracted. Superman is over confident. Wonder Woman has a strong code. I'd also lay it on thick about dead Robin and how that transformed him from a vaguely silver age notion to a vaguely Dark Knight Returns notion. This cements him as an even more profound underdog who can't win with money, but has to use his mind as well just to stay alive. We would have shown, for instance, him taking cover from Doomsday's attack in a way that was cool (probably involving a concrete barrier and some Bat-coating of some sort).
In this context, Lex Luthor as Social Media Mogul turned mad scientist works as a very helpful foil. Without tweaking him really, his confrontation as Superman makes him less a profound philosopher and more of a damaged ego unable to accept that there's someone who really is trying to do maximum good with the power they've got. A Superman who can talk, and cares about people vocally, can ask Lex the same question: with all his power, why has Lex not solved the world's problems, or Bruce Wayne saved Gotham with his money. They can do much more good for humanity than he can by punching things. This would then allude to his goal of recruiting Bruce to his way of thinking.
This all goes down to the idea that, in a superhero vs superhero battle, one person should win the fight, and another win the argument. Batman has to win the fight because he is the physical underdog, but superman should win the arguement because he is the idealogical underdog. Superman's approach, his entire motif, isn't popular, so having him make more sense than Batman is actually surprising and intresting, in the same way that Batman's victory of Superman is the most interesting outcome.
From there, Wonder Woman, who is, in a way, the apotheosis for both of them arrives to solidify their bond and quest for justice as Doomsday is unleashed, and they give us a hint of what the league is capable of with Batman coordinating, Superman hitting hard and Wonder Woman making surgical passes. In a twist, Doomsday spaces the Kryptonite and Superman and Doomsday finish each other by punching (built up to by Doomsday's cracking skull and Superman's increasingly bloodied body) as Batman and Wonder Woman, defeated, look on. We phase out on Lois holding Superman's ragged form, and Wonder Woman taking Doomsday's head, just in case. We do not indicate that Superman will return, we definitely fade away on a calm cemetery scene and a Superman statue being erected. That's our Superman, a symbol for all humanity about sacrifice, about how to lose like a champ.
