The fever pitch of comic book films has never been so prosperous or this high. Since Iron Man first hit screens in 2008, the need to breathe life into the many superheros of both Marvel and DC (but mostly Marvel) has been at an all-time high. While Marvel continues to build and fill up its Marvel Cinematic Universe with the completion of Phase One and bridging of Phase Two, DC struggles to maintain its own ground with something relevant other than Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy or Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. With the Superman vs Batman movie now confirmed, one has to ask the question to DC: what other properties do they need to meet the competition of Marvel? Like Hansel and Gretel following the bread crumbs home, Warner Bros. and DC are trying to find a proper trail for which to build up to their later-on-down-the-road Justice League film, which is their current destination and home field. The pieces couldn't be anymore scattered, for they would need to make solo Wonder Woman, Flash and Aquaman films. Not to mention a desperately needed reboot of Green Lantern in the process. And possibly Martian Manhunter and Cyborg. The trail home for DC and Warner Bros couldn't be any longer. But what about Batman? Obviously a centerpiece for the Justice League and a central component for Superman, Batman is the one piece of the puzzle that is being considered first to apply in this new DC Universe that started with Man of Steel. It was announced at Comic Con 2013 that the Caped Crusader would meet face-to-face with Superman in 2015 in the proposed Superman vs. Batman or Batman vs. Superman film, but I like to think of it as simply Man of Steel 2. Now that is excellent and all, but what approach will DC take with it? What will be their move into the DC Universe with one of their most cherished properties? But the question on everyone's mind is who exactly will be the Dark Knight next in line after Christian Bale? Let's take a look at this from a few angles and find out, hopefully, how DC plans on making what is being looked at as one of the most anticipated team-ups since The Avengers. There are
MAJOR SPOILERS from
Man of Steel later on in this article, so for those who have not witnessed the rebirth of Superman, avert your attention elsewhere.