BvS Team Bats or Team Supes / Team Clark or Team Bruce

[Slade W]

I am a big fan of both, but I prefer Batman.

 

[sf2]

just fr the trailers, BvS batman performance has already surpassed that of any other batmans I know, including nolanverse

 

[matt47]

"I look upon my powers as a gift. Not mine alone but for anyone who needs them." -Superman

That is such a cool image. That shield

 

[elgaz]

My 2yr old thought long and hard about it, but in the end he made the wise choice and sided with his wise old Dad. Solidarity! Team Superman!

 

[flickchick85]

Smart (and adorable) kid, elgaz. That one's going places.

 

[Unbreakable Lex]

The poll results restore my faith in humanity.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

^ I prefer Batman as a character, but am happy to see Superman represented as the king of all the superheroes

 

[Unbreakable Lex]

 

[blumatic]

I love what the Superman character stands for.

Batman just has better stories. Batman always had an interpersonal struggle. Always reexamining his purpose.

Superman never really went there. One of the reasons why I adore MOS is because they really put the purpose of his existence in doubt. It been a while since Ive been excited to see what the future holds for Supes.

 

[Zordan]

I will buy my nephew Bats

 

[CapedCrusader14]

I may have selected Batman, but it's great to see Superman getting all that love.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

I love what the Superman character stands for.

Batman just has better stories. Batman always had an interpersonal struggle. Always reexamining his purpose.

Superman never really went there. One of the reasons why I adore MOS is because they really put the purpose of his existence in doubt. It been a while since Ive been excited to see what the future holds for Supes.

Superman tends to question his purpose in life too, though. John Byrne and Superman for All Seasons come to mind.

 

[elgaz]

Team Superman for me.

Batman is an amazing character, one I've followed all my life. Him and Superman represent two very different approaches to a similar concept; both have lost their parents, both want to do good in the world and both are champions of the oppressed and the weak. Their suits look similar in style if not colour, with their flowing capes, boots and belts, and in their Clark/Bruce guises they are also very similar in size and appearance.

However, Batman's motivation is driven by an intense rage at what was taken from him in front of his own eyes as a young child. He channels that anger, rage and desire for vengeance into skills and determination that put him - as a 'mere' human - at the zenith of what man can physically do; a world-class warrior, detective and also a genius.

Superman doesn't carry the same rage. His parents were lost in a different way and in virtually all incarnations of the character, he was too young to see it happen. And he was then raised by another family, the ever wise and ever loving Kents. Superman's desire to help those who need it stems from a natural inclination that he has to do good in the world, and improve it for everyone else.

So, whilst I love both characters, I feel that Superman ultimately represents the one we should strive to be. Batman may come across as more cool at times, as most bad-ass Clint Eastwood silent types do, but any psychologist on Earth would tell you that a man driven all his life by that amount of anger is damaged and needs professional help. His methods are more brutal, his actions more extreme, and his life does not seem a happy one. It makes for compelling viewing/reading, but he's not really someone we should aspire to be.

Superman by comparison does good simply because he wants to, and every effort is for the betterment of mankind. That to me is what we should all be aiming for, and maybe someday when man has tired of war, greed and abuse of his fellow man, there'll be a chance for humanity to shine like that.

Smart (and adorable) kid, elgaz. That one's going places.

At the moment, those places seem to be the stairs, climbing the sofa and occasionally mauling his ever-suffering Dad t:

 

[rogbngp]

Team Superman for me.

Batman is an amazing character, one I've followed all my life. Him and Superman represent two very different approaches to a similar concept; both have lost their parents, both want to do good in the world and both are champions of the oppressed and the weak. Their suits look similar in style if not colour, with their flowing capes, boots and belts, and in their Clark/Bruce guises they are also very similar in size and appearance.

However, Batman's motivation is driven by an intense rage at what was taken from him in front of his own eyes as a young child. He channels that anger, rage and desire for vengeance into skills and determination that put him - as a 'mere' human - at the zenith of what man can physically do; a world-class warrior, detective and also a genius.

Superman doesn't carry the same rage. His parents were lost in a different way and in virtually all incarnations of the character, he was too young to see it happen. And he was then raised by another family, the ever wise and ever loving Kents. Superman's desire to help those who need it stems from a natural inclination that he has to do good in the world, and improve it for everyone else.

So, whilst I love both characters, I feel that Superman ultimately represents the one we should strive to be. Batman may come across as more cool at times, as most bad-ass Clint Eastwood silent types do, but any psychologist on Earth would tell you that a man driven all his life by that amount of anger is damaged and needs professional help. His methods are more brutal, his actions more extreme, and his life does not seem a happy one. It makes for compelling viewing/reading, but he's not really someone we should aspire to be.

Superman by comparison does good simply because he wants to, and every effort is for the betterment of mankind. That to me is what we should all be aiming for, and maybe someday when man has tired of war, greed and abuse of his fellow man, there'll be a chance for humanity to shine like that.



At the moment, those places seem to be the stairs, climbing the sofa and occasionally mauling his ever-suffering Dad t:

Great post. You summed it up really well, man.

Batman is like the Jungian Shadow of the superhero ideal, it's dark side. Jung believes we have to own and accept the Shadow and integrate it into the whole self. But that conscious ego ideal of what what is best in us, and makes us virtuous, etc., is what I feel the most affinity with too.

 

[BlueLanternKal]

#supermaaaaaaannnnnnugh!!

 

[elgaz]

Great post. You summed it up really well, man.

Batman is like the Jungian Shadow of the superhero ideal, it's dark side. Jung believes we have to own and accept the Shadow and integrate it into the whole self. But that conscious ego ideal of what what is best in us, and makes us virtuous, etc., is what I feel the most affinity with too.

Very true.

There's also the concept of having to break a few eggs to make an omelette - perhaps we have to experience the wars, the anger, the paranoia and so on before we can really realise what peace and happiness is worth to us. So perhaps Batman represents the path we have to go through to reach the place Superman is at. It makes sense thematically, and also literally given that Batman is a human and Superman an advanced alien being.

 

[rogbngp]

Very true.

There's also the concept of having to break a few eggs to make an omelette - perhaps we have to experience the wars, the anger, the paranoia and so on before we can really realise what peace and happiness is worth to us. So perhaps Batman represents the path we have to go through to reach the place Superman is at. It makes sense thematically, and also literally given that Batman is a human and Superman an advanced alien being.

Yep! I love that. The fact that we have to endure negative experiences to find positives.

Snyder is very much into Joseph Cambell, and Terrio related in that recent interview that he did a ton of research related to the mythos that the DCEU is building--even outright identifying Superman as akin to Apollo and Batman to Hades!

I think what this film will do is show that those two sides of the superhero coin, while at odds, actually need each other. And, that it will make a commentary on 'what it means to be a hero' in the real world, probably, as well. Or at least the film will invite us to think about that.

I also suspect that Wonder Woman will represent the force of balance, moderation, and integration that unites the Yin and the Yang (that Bats and Supes represent) into a whole. That's why we're getting the trinity in this film. Can't wait to see where they take this sort of 'mythic meaning' subtext (if it's actually there, lol) in the JL films and the standalone superhero films.

 

[elgaz]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Terrio has done with the story/script. I read that interview where he talked about the mythology and Apollo/Hades.

I'm not knocking the old Superman films as they were brilliant for their time, but there was very little of that kind of depth when it came to what the characters represented in terms of the different facets of humanity, our history and so on. Superman vs Nuclear Man was, for example ..................... just Superman vs Nuclear Man. A straight on fistfight. It sounds like Terrio has wrapped up the Superman/Batman encounters in many different layers of meaning and it's going to be fun unwrapping those through repeat viewings. Makes it all the more iconic IMO.

 

[rogbngp]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Terrio has done with the story/script. I read that interview where he talked about the mythology and Apollo/Hades.

I'm not knocking the old Superman films as they were brilliant for their time, but there was very little of that kind of depth when it came to what the characters represented in terms of the different facets of humanity, our history and so on. Superman vs Nuclear Man was, for example ..................... just Superman vs Nuclear Man. A straight on fistfight. It sounds like Terrio has wrapped up the Superman/Batman encounters in many different layers of meaning and it's going to be fun unwrapping those through repeat viewings. Makes it all the more iconic IMO.

Yeah, I think Snyder desperately needs talent like Terrio's to make it all work seamlessly. Because I have read or watched enough interviews with Snyder by now to know that he has a strong and well defined mythology based vision of superheroes and how he wants to explore their myths as relevant to our real world. But he just has needed someone with a more deft touch at working with human emotion and connection (and relatable dialogue), and how a story works at that level as well as the more grand symbolic mythic themes.

But anyway, I would not give short shrift to Snyder either. For the sake of argument, let's say that BvS is masterful, and arguably the greatest CBM to date. That will not all be Terrio's doing, I don't think. I think Terrio will have successfully translated and honed Snyder's vision. But the vision Snyder has had still deserves credit. Mainly, what I think Snyder is doing is taking the myths and archetypes of the DC superheroes and bringing them into a fictional space that more closely resembles the real world that we occupy today--and as a kind of film experiment is letting a sort of synergy take place from that.

 

[the5timechamp]

Love Batman but in this I root for Superman, I hope he gets fair treatment in the film.. I respect what he represents

 

[SirThomasSharpe]

I'm on team Luthor.

 

[Andreth]

Team SUPERMAN !!! Always and forever

 

[The Shape]

I'm on Team Rich As **** aka Team Batman.