10 Ways Warner Bros. Should've Made The DCEU

8. ...And Portray Him Authentically

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Warner Bros.

Although Ben Affleck's adoption of the cape and cowl is considered to be one of the few redeeming features of Batman v Superman, there's no getting away from the fact that Snyder fundamentally misreads the character in that film.

Taking inspiration from Frank Miller's dour depiction of the detective, the DCEU's Batman is a shadow of his former self, having lived through a lifetime of muggings, deaths and sidekick departures. It's very much in the Dark Knight Returns mould, except with the bizarre caveat that this newer, older Batman, is partial to the odd gun or two.

Not only does this Batman willingly use firearms as and when he pleases (already a big no no), he kills indiscriminately too. People he 'brands' are killed in prison (for reasons that are never fully explained), he ploughs through people in the Batmobile, and one particularly unfortunate thug dies in an explosion, courtesy of a machine gun bullet to an explosive tank.

It's just not Batman, and while previous cinematic features did depict the occasional death or two, the body count in BVS was beyond the pale. Those two tenets (not using a gun and not killing anyone), are a fundamental component of the character, so it stands to reason that any Bat-film would've fared far better if they'd been implemented authentically.

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.