10 Worst Defences Directors Had For Bad Movie Moments

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was rendered an online laughing stock when the clash between its two titular superheroes ended with Batman (Ben Affleck) realising that he and Superman's (Henry Cavill) mothers both had the same first name, Martha.

Clearly the intent on director Zack Snyder's part was to have this be a turning point where Bruce Wayne realises that Superman isn't merely an alien "other," but a person with a mother and people who love him.

Yet the execution was wildly off the mark, largely because it made no sense whatsoever for Superman to call his mother "Martha" rather than, well, "my mother." It was a convoluted and unconvincing way to give Bruce an unearned revelation, and fell totally flat as a result.

Snyder has continually defended the scene over the years, though, and in 2021 unpersuasively insisted that the "Martha!" moment is the fulcrum upon which the rest of the movie balances:

"Clearly I am a fan of, and am very interested in how 'Martha,' that concept is central to the film. I mean, it's 100% the lynchpin that holds the entire movie together. I think it's indicative of the way that Batman v Superman was received that its central tenet was sort of belittled and made fun of... I personally think it is like this beautiful and incredibly symmetrical idea that it completely finishes it as a concept. It all is 100% with intent and intention to be all the images that you see, as far as their inspiration and stuff like that."

That's... a very verbose way of saying that he and the film's writers couldn't think of a better way to end the fight and unite the two heroes against a common enemy, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg).