prev nextĭomestic Terror & International Scandal (russian ops)Īs we said, Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor carries a lot shades of former president Donald Trump in his characterization - and the events that happen in and around Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman echo what happened around Trump in recent years.
That's a pretty undeniable (if not glorious) endorsement that Snyder and Terrio were looking in a crystal ball when re-designing Lex Luthor for the modern DC movie universe. The same goes for listening to snippets of Eisenberg's backstory about his abusive and unloving father, who used the family name as a business prop.ĭonald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg have been held to account by many as major contributors to America's current culture war. It's hard to watch Eisenberg's Lex coercing senators, stoking fear and rage in the populace, and greenlighting the assassination of foreign generals and not think of all that occurred in the Trump Administration. Years later, it's now apparent that Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is a spot-on composite of both Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump. A lot of comparisons were made to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg - who Eisenberg portrayed in the biopic The Social Network. Eisenberg's weasely industrialist was a digital-era wiz-kid with some Asbergers ticks. Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor was one of the more controversial castings and character depictions that Zack Snyder went with. In the tradition of pivotal "expansion" chapters in big franchise universes (see also: Iron Man 2, Avengers 2, Amazing Spider-Man 2), Batman v Superman does it best. Finally, all of the story threads about Kryptonian ships and technology left behind after Zod and Doomsday's defeat will culminate perfectly in Zack Snyder's Justice League as a foundation for how Steppenwolf and Apokolips are alerted to Earth's presence - and how Lex is able to warn Batman invasion is coming. Gal Gadot's introduction as Wonder Woman and her chemistry with Batman feels so much more important after the Wonder Woman standalone films. Seeing the climatic battle of Man of Steel from Bruce Wayne/Batman's perspective is a seamless POV reversal Man of Steel used a few shots of Wayne/Luthor properties being destroyed to provide ample reason for both Bruce and Lex to have a grudge against Superman. Looking back now at the film, with everything we know about Zack Snyder's Justice League and the larger franchise it spawned, Batman v Superman serves a pivotal introduction to a much bigger DC Movie Universe. Marvel gets all the credit for how it's built-out an entire franchise universe - but Snyder get slammed for his universe-building in Dawn of Justice. Man of Steel Connections (Photo: Warner Bros.)Īside from all the heady socio-political metaphor, Batman v Superman: Ultimate Edition is also great as both a franchise follow-up to Man of Steel's strong start and a perfect tee-up of Zack Snyder's Justice League. Ultimately, Batman v Superman's story of its two titan heroes clashing and then uniting serves as both stark warning and hopeful fantasy of how American culture can come back together. But again, Snyder and Terrio could never have predicted just how closely moments like Superman confronting Batman and telling him to "Bury the Bat, it's dead," would serve as perfect echo of "Cancel Culture." Superman literally tries to cancel Batman. The same is true for the Superman side of the story: the hero's noble All-American idealism gets much more shades of left-wing social politics in Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition, as Clark Kent investigates Batman's effect on Gotham City and the violent branding of criminal Cesar Santos (Sebastian Sozzi). Not even Snyder and Terrio could've known how Batman's violent vigilantism and complete distrust of people and the system would mirror the frightening rise of insurrectionist groups in the years following Batman v Superman's 2016 release. But that was back in 2017 - in 2021, Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio's script is a stark (but ultimately accurate) prediction of America's divisive culture war.īen Affleck's Batman is now a clear embodiment of right-wing outrage, xenophobia, and authoritarianism. We've already done a deep-dive into why Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition is a much smarter film than people give it credit for. Batman v Superman: Culture War (Photo: Warner Bros.)