With the BvS Directors Cut movie being released it has gotten many fans curious. Has this made the movie better? What has changed? Does the movie make sense? Will I actually like it now? After a re-watch, just like last April, the same bitterness was on my tongue and the same emptiness was in my stomach. This was not surprising to me, because most of my complaints were not what was missing from the movie but what was in the film. Snyder’s director cut did make the story move a bit faster and added some conviction to Superman but it did not remove anything, especially the thing I hated the most. Batman is still portrayed as a cold blooded murderer with no regard for human life. Even the most basic fan knows that the value of life is the on e beacon that Batman uses as a guide in his journey for justice.

I understand that Snyder has to show a good and bad side of both the title characters, if he didn’t no one would take sides resulting in far from epic, epic film. But in doing so he painted Batman in a very gritty and false light. In other movie’s Batman may have killed, but for the most part it was up for interpretation. Even if you interpret Nolan’s high packed as action sequences as a loss of life, Snyder takes it beyond any other director with crushed skulls and inflamed engine blocks. What bothers me more than him poorly handling a character I love , is the fact that he based this poor decision off of one panel of one comic series that he didn’t even read properly. I know this because if he read the entire 4 book issue of The Dark Knight Returns he would have seen multiple pieces of evidence later that prove he has never killed.

In the end it feels like Zack Snyder took the easy way out by following the Michael Bay approach with Batman. Maybe if he makes the explosions big enough, the action cool enough and the death count high enough then the masses will flock to the theater. Which I guess is easier than a honest but fresh take of one of the most iconic super heroes of all time.

I am not alone in having strong feelings about Batman and his value of human life. The entire staff wanted to weigh in with their thoughts on the matter

The killing in Batman films is never going to sit well with any comic book fan, because it diverges from the character’s deeply ingrained modus operandi. As comic books films – namely the Batmen – have evolved over the past 30 years, there has been a very conscious point made of skewing closer to the source material with each new try. It’s hard to match the films to the comic books due to all manner of pressures and constraints, though, so there will always be growing pains and stumbling blocks in transitioning from page to screen.



B ut that doesn’t mean that, like in Zack Snyder’s case, there’s a reason to take several huge steps back in a depicting a comic book-accurate version of a character on film. For years there have been complaints about all manner of tone-deaf, boneheaded decisions in comic book adaptations, and the franchises have mostly learned and evolved accordingly. For some reason Snyder decided to eschew all of this accrued wisdom when he made Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, showing us a more casually murderous Batman than any other iteration before. Sure, Michael Keaton smiled as he blew up a circus strongman, but the ensuing Nolan films overtly stated their aim at curtailing Batman’s willingness to kill, even if they ended up not quite hitting the mark.



It’d be the same if any other franchise took steps to correct a screw-up, only to suddenly screw up worse than ever before. How well would it go over if Bryan Singer’s cathartic (and antidote to the kill-crazy X-Men: The Last Stand) happy ending of X-Men: Days of Future Past were reversed for another grim death toll? Worse still, how well would it go over if the sins of Singer himself were ignored and the next Superman film suddenly had a whole brood of cute super powered Lois Lane-Clark Kent children flying around quipping and selling action figures? The collective fanboy community would all die of acute acid reflux.

I know that others will point out that Batman has killed in previous movies, but it was never more apparent than it was in Zach Snyder’s Batman vs Superman. The Batman I know is known for his hand-to-hand combat, utility belt, grapples and bat-shaped throwing stars, not for using automatic weapons The use of large machine turrets and grenades makes this Snyder’s batman the most dangerous we have ever seen him. Let me say this, I am a fan of Batfleck even though like many I was a little skeptical at first. Ben Afleck did a great job with this character. What let him down was poor script and a dark, violent vision of Batman that Snyder portrayed. I can only hope that with Afleck directing the next Batman film that he takes a different approach on the Batman we grew up with and loved. With that being said, Batman’s use of weapons and clear scenes of him killing people didn’t make this a bad movie, the script and pacing is what really let this film down in the end.

In the earliest Batman stories, our hero carried a gun…but not since those very earliest stories has Batman been about firepower and taking lives. Batman has been all about saving…saving lives, saving his city, saving Gotham from that “cowardly, superstitious lot” who use mayhem and murder to achieve their evil ends. In fact, quite a few stories have centered on Batman’s aversion to guns, including that bullet meant for Darkseid. For all the fear he generates in criminals, for all the violence he does visit upon the bad guys, Batman doesn’t kill. Batman. Doesn’t. Kill. Yes, the movies have handled things differently, from “I’ll let you die” to “Blam”! But, that misses the core of the character, that little boy who saw a gun take the lives of his parents and whose entire life since then has been about two words…”No more”. I was okay with BvS overall, but this aspect of the story bothered me…and I hope at some point some movie maker will realize that Batman’s strength is in his ability to overcome without killing.

I usually like to give any comic based film a chance, even seeing Fant4stic despite what I had heard from those I had talked to. Those who have seen it know it’s pretty bad, which is why I chose not to see Batman vs Superman earlier this year. One of the biggest critiques is how Snyder mishandled the character of Batman to the point of him killing which goes against one of Batman’s core character traits. As someone who has seen every other Batman film, I can say that Batman killing really doesn’t bother me much because he has killed since the f irst film by Tim Burton. It’s something that the viewing audience is probably used to and not as surprised at, but I can completely understand how big fans of the character completely hate this. That being said, in a world of costumed heroes and villains with varied amounts of powers, training, and abilities I find it hard to believe that more people haven’t died. The reason they don’t is because comics. I can understand someone wanting to translate that into a more grounded film approach, but at the end of the day not killing is a really big part of who Batman is and if someone does die on his watch it should be purely circumstantial and not, “whoops, I’m Batman.”

I saw Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman on opening day in the theatres. I’ve also read plenty of Batman comic books from some of the greatest writers; from Jeph Loeb, Frank Miller, Scott Snyder, Tom King and James Tynion IV. The one thing that has always been up for debate among fans is should Batman kill? Each writer or director has their own take on Batman’s sense of morality. The purists believe that Batman would and should never take a life. It was an oath that Bruce Wayne made years ago. The realists see that with the changing of times, our hero must adapt and change as well. Lots of fans are up in arms about Snyder’s choice of direction in the BVS film and can’t get over the Dark Knights loose morals. As Alfred (Jeremy Irons) says to Bruce Wayne (Ben Afleck) in the movie “the feeling of powerlessness turns good men cruel”. The older more cynical version of Batman that Snyder has embodied in this film is more than capable of taking a human life when necessary. For me personally I can take it or leave it. I love the ideal that Batman has this imaginary line he will never cross; but the reality of it is when push comes to shove even the greatest man is capable of the greatest evil. For me the best example is when Joker has shot Barbara, killed Jason Todd and Batman still can’t kill him. Jason returns later as Red Hood and questions Batman as to why he couldn’t kill even then; even when it was apparent to everyone else that is what needed to be done.

Well there you have it, even among a group of hardcore comic fans who were split with how they felt about Batman vs. Superman, Batman killing did not sit that easy with any of them. Because at the end of all the debates and near fist fights over this movie, we are all fans. Fans who want to see their favorite characters brought to life with stories and personalities that are true to what they have been reading in the comics for over 75 years…minus the dark neck breaking years at the beginning of course.

So please comment below and tell us if you agree.