Why Zack Snyder's Wrong About Batman

3. Batman V Superman's Bruce Wayne Was Inauthentic

Although Snyder's take on Batman might seem somewhat anomalous - hence the backlash to his comments overnight - they aren't. There are many Batman fans who grew up on the character's films who genuinely believe that the Dark Knight is a pointy-eared Punisher, because they saw him kill Joker in Batman 89, explode a Penguin thug in Batman Returns, and murder Two-Face to death with a barrage of quarters in Batman Forever. Nolan's Batman managed to continue this trend too, 'not saving' Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, killing Harvey Dent (again) in The Dark Knight, and shooting Bane's henchman with 'The Bat' in The Dark Knight Rises.

The difference between those films and Batman V Superman, however, is that none really revelled in Batman killing. Neither of those earlier productions boast a bodycount that goes into double digits, but in Snyder's film, the Caped Crusader murders indiscriminately. Dozens are killed in a barrage of gunfire and explosions - not to mention those murdered in prison after being branded by a white-hot Batarang - and that's without even mentioning this version's affinity for firearms.

Those who see Batman V Superman as a semi-literate interpretation of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns will no doubt mention that the Batman in that comic wielded guns too - and he did. He resorts to using firearms just as he comes out of retirement, but he abandons their use as the novel progresses. In a very matter of fact way, Bruce lectures his new army while breaking a shotgun in half, remarking that guns are "the weapon of the enemy. We do not need it. We do not use it." All this after he goes to town on the mutants while using rubber bullets specifically.

Miller's magnum opus is often heralded as the greatest Batman story of all time, but it only options one interpretation of the character, one broken by his war on crime who's let Gotham go to waste in his absence. The Batman of Snyder's film, however, doesn't carry that same baggage. We're led to believe that a Robin has died, but there's nothing that says he was changed by that event; for all intents and purposes, this Batman has always been a psychotic mass-murderer, and it's about as far away as you can get from the character's most definitive incarnations.