Back in May of 2008, it was very easy to hear a buzz of awe move through the theater during the post-credits scene of the original Iron Man film. For comic book fans seeing it that first weekend, the presence of Samuel L. Jackson was obvious. For other general movie-goers, all they needed to know was that a star as well-known as Jackson appearing in such a short scene likely meant something bigger was coming down the line. In that scene, when Jackson’s Nick Fury told Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark about something called the “Avenger Initiative,” the expansive world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – something beyond the bounds of the original Iron Man film – came to life in the imaginations of audiences for the first time.

Just about eight years later, the ambition of Warner Bros. Pictures is to create a comparable shared universe for their films. The first major foot forward came in the form of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While fans and critics continue to debate the effectiveness of the film, one thing cannot be denied: the DC extended universe, and the iconic superhero team the Justice League, is coming.

With a lot fewer films to draw from in the run-up to the first Justice League film next November, though, there seems to be less time and material from which to draw in order to create a similar level of cohesion that existed when the first Avengers film burst into theaters in May of 2012. How can Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment possibly invest audiences in a similar way before next November?

Where Marvel played the long game in establishing a lesser-known character like Fury, WB is going with a more in-you-face approach. Why? Because all signs point to the DCEU’s “Nick Fury” role being filled by none other than the Dark Knight himself, Batman, as played by Ben Affleck.

The Signs

People generally agree that Ben Affleck’s Batman is a welcome addition to modern superhero cinema, and that he stands as one of the best elements of an otherwise polarizing film. While the story in Dawn of Justice saw Bruce Wayne actively begin to uncover the truth behind what Lex Luthor had referred to as “the metahuman thesis” – and saw solid evidence of at least four other such beings existing on Earth – the end of the film sees him tell Wonder Woman, in no uncertain terms, that they and these other beings need to “stand together” in the very near future.

This invariably leads to the events of this August’s Suicide Squad. The latest trailer for the film released this week sees a few US government officials brainstorm a nightmare scenario that involves someone as powerful as Superman bursting into the White House, with authorities being powerless to stop it. Given what we know of the film and of the characters as they appear in the comics, Dr. Amanda Waller brings the team of metahuman and highly-skilled criminals together to stop some kind of threat, which will likely be personified in at least some form by the Joker.

Through a few different flashes in the trailer as well as recent words from cast and crew, we also know that Batman will appear in the film. Recent rumors from some prominent places have also seemed to indicate that Batman’s role – at first believed to be little more than a cameo – is actually much more substantial than WB may be letting on.



A pretty accurate representation of Batman and Waller's relationship, from Batman #610.

In both the world of the DC Comics Universe as well as the DC Animated Universe from the 1990s – 2000s, Batman has clashed with Amanda Waller on several different occasions. Waller has generally viewed Batman as an unreliable and untrustworthy vigilante, while Batman sees Waller as myopic, merciless, and very, very dangerous. Rumors have pointed over the last few months to the idea that Affleck’s Batman and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller will share an important scene in Suicide Squad. If the meeting between these characters does happen in the film, then it could be anything from Batman warning Waller about assembling the Squad, or Waller discussing the Joker with his greatest enemy. Generally, though, Batman usually likes to leave Waller with one primary message: he’ll be watching her, and what she's doing.

While Dawn of Justice made direct visual reference to Patty Jenkins’ upcoming Wonder Woman film, we don’t know for sure how or why Batman would need to appear in it. It doesn’t seem particularly likely, but you never know. Justice League, on the other hand, will definitely feature Batman, and the idea of the Dark Knight serving in a quasi-Nick Fury role seems to have been given at least partial credence by the film’s director, Zack Snyder.

In an interview with Collider, Snyder talked about Justice League by basically informing us that it’s going to be Batman that actually assembles the team. He explained his reasoning for having Bruce take point on that task by saying,

“I thought it was really important to have Bruce Wayne be the samurai who goes and finds the other samurai, that to me was important. And with Superman around it’s kinda hard, because Superman’s Superman so it’s kinda hard for Bruce to be like, ‘Yeah I wanna put a Justice League together’. It’s like, ‘Okay, but maybe Superman should be doing that. You’re just a guy. You’re a cool guy, don’t get me wrong, but you’re just a guy.’”

Connectivity Through the Shadow of the Bat

This is all, of course, just speculation. If this ends up being the case, though, and Batman is the glue that holds the DCEU together, it’s something of an inspired choice. Where Marvel Studios had to build up who and what Nick Fury was and his significance in the Marvel Universe, audiences are already familiar with Batman and how important a character he is to the overall scheme of anything DC-related. It’s a very efficient approach to making a concerted effort toward a unified shared world for the characters to exist in, and makes a lot of sense concerning the iconography and popularity that Batman has had for a very long time.

While we’ll have to wait until August and the release of Suicide Squad to know for sure if Batman has a bigger role to play in the overall construction of the DC Extended Universe, it’s hard to ignore just how well he would facilitate the role of bringing all of the disparate elements and characters together.

After all: if the boot fits, wear it.

Chris Clow is a geek. He is a gamer, a comic book expert and former retailer, as well as a freelance contributor to The Huffington Post and Batman-On-Film.com, as well as host of the Comics on Consoles podcast. You can find his weekly piece Comics on Film right here at Movies.com. Check out his blog, and follow along on Twitter @ChrisClow.