In an interview with
Forbes, Snyder discussed his motivation behind the moment and why he considered it a payoff for the screentime devoted to the relationship between Clark and his mother.
Said Snyder,
You know, theyre both born and live in a world where someone can care about them and mourn them, and they can love their mother. And thats the cool thing, you know we spend so much time with the Martha-Clark relationship that I think it kind of pays off there. You realize, oh, we needed that as viewers, so we could get to a moment with Batman where that moment with Martha resonates. Because weve lived on with Clarks relationship with his mother, so that moment is like, Wow, thats ringing for me and I feel it.
Im not quite sold on this explanation, if only for the fact that Batman v Superman spends very little time on Clark and Marthas relationship in the face of the broad-scale look at Supermans presence in the world (and a massive amount of setup for future films). Perhaps he was referring to their moments together in Man of Steel, but given the fact that Batman v Superman wasnt even in the works at that point, theres pretty much no way he was already setting up that moment.
Likewise, that Martha moment also factored in his decision to feature the well-trod territory of Martha and Thomas Waynes murder. While fans have questioned the necessity of such a scene given how frequently Batmans backstory has beene expounded on in previous adaptations. Its like the death of Spider-Mans Uncle Ben, we get it. Its been done. But according to Snyder, witnessing the death of the Waynes was a fundamental set up for the payoff in Batmans mid-battle change of heart.
When we were shooting the title sequence, that whole idea about, Do we really need to see the death of the Waynes again, is a big thing to take a shot at again. But you realize you need it, because it actually pays off. And I really wanted to do it all the way.
Ultimately, its easy to understand why suddenly being confronted with a direct reflection of his own personal tragedy would give Bruce pause, but it plays out too suddenly in the film and seemingly only because Snyder wanted it to play that way. Why wouldnt Superman immediately try to reason with Batman by saying something like, Lex Luthor is manipulating both of us and will kill my mother if we dont work together instead of an ambiguous We need to work together. The answer is because the story needed him to, and thats never a satisfactory justification.
