Batman V Superman: 9 Things Nobody Predicted

Who would have thought it'd come down to a bloody name?

The Dark Knight against the Man of Steel, the Caped Crusader against Kal-El, the World€™s Greatest Detective against the Last Son of Krypton: Batman v Superman.

After decades of waiting, this cinematic showdown is finally here, and it€™s sadly largely a flawed disappointment of a movie. Regardless of its quality or lack thereof, many thought that they knew exactly what to expect when these two powerhouses did battle on the big screen. Particularly as we'd all been primed to expect something close to The Dark Knight Returns on screen.

And yes, while so much of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel follow-up was what we were expecting in terms of plot twists and story - largely down to the trailer essentially revealing nearly every key moment - there were still some parts of Batman v Superman that still took us all by surprise. For better and for worse.

9. Bat Branding

We all knew that this new take on Batman was going to portray the Caped Crusader as a grizzled, beaten-down, veteran of a superhero; a man who has been through many a war, both on a personal and public level, and who has had more than his share of loss. What nobody fully predicted, though, was one of the more darker traits of Ben Affleck's Dark Knight.

Not content with beating criminals to a pulp or having Gotham's rogues cowering in fear at the sight of the famed Batsignal, this Batman took great pleasure in actually branding those he went up against.

It may have been a little much for some fans to deal with, whilst others took it as just a sign of the mindset and broken nature of Affleck's Bats, but it was certainly something that few of us predicted the extremities of. Sure, we knew he'd be intense and brutal, but burning your own particular logo into the torso of those you go up against? That's certainly something to put the Dark in Dark Knight.

 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.