Ultimately Off-Topic

@ jer - J.K Rowling released Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and Quidditch Through The Ages for charity some time after releasing book 4. The film will have practically nothing to do with the book.

I showed my mom the Flash trailer. It took her three tries before guessing who it was. First three guesses? Superman, Batman, Flash Gordon.

Looks epic. I'm trying to remember if you can unlock that in Amazing Spider-Man 2.

annnddd just unlocked it. WOO!

I'm not going to work this morning.

Why I don't think a Batman vs Superman movie can work.

1. It's Batman vs Superman. It doesn't take a genius to work out who would win in a fight between these two guys. Superman is so fast, he could throw Batman into space without Batman ever knowing why he's suddenly hurtling into towards the sun faster than the speed of sound. Just one of Superman's punches would shatter Batman's kevlar mask and his entire skull instantly. Whereas one of Batman's punches wouldn't be able to hurt Superman even slightly. I know Loeb wrote The Long Halloween which completely ignores all these fundamental differences between Man and Kryptonian, but that's just Loeb being Loeb.

2. Ben Afleck is a very unconvincing actor at times. If he was such a terrible Daredevil, what makes fans think he can pull off the Dark Knight? Just like most of the Batman actors who have come before him, Ben Afleck will NEVER be badass enough to be seen as the Batman we all know and love.

3. Jennifer Garner (Ben Afleck's beloved wife) said the film was delayed from 2015 to 2016 due to currently going through "production turmoil". Hardly surprising. This is a story about Batman vs Superman. How do you write a fight scene like that without the fight lasting more than five seconds? It's Batman vs Superman. Are the writers going to give Batman superpowers to withstand the crushing might of Superman's almost incalculable strength? Is Batman going to be wearing a cheesy, glowing green Kryptonite suit? The Dark Knight becomes the Bright Knight? No wonder the writers are struggling. If written accurately, Batman wouldn't stand a chance against Superman. And the plot's premise is - at this moment in time - wafer thin. How can a story like this work?

4. Why would they be fighting each other? They're heroes. It doesn't make a lot of sense. Simply put, this is just a big executive marketing strategy used to attract fans who will inevitably be enticed by the film's title. And what about when these two heroes come together to fight a common threat? I expect it's going to look pretty foolish seeing Ben Afleck and whoever is going to be playing Superman putting aside their differences, even though they shouldn't really have any. The story sounds like it's mostly going to be about two very arrogant individuals who don't get along, and when they eventually do, man oh man, can you imagine how silly Ben Afleck is going to look putting aside his character's dislike for Superman.

5. How can this battle between the two heroes depict Batman as triumphantly as the fans expect him to be when if written accurately, is going to get completely trumped by Superman? Audiences won’t be lining up to see where Snyder takes Superman next, but will be foaming at the mouth with anticipation to see a returning Batman complete with hype surrounding him in the form of a new actor. Only for Superman to take down the powerless human with one hand tied behind his back. It's also not going to be very easy bringing these two franchises together. The differences between Snyder's Man of Steel and Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy are very abstract and will prove difficult to bring together. The action sequences themselves differ from their respective franchises. Man of Steel is balls to the wall chaos that made Michael Bay have an orgasm somewhere, while Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy leaned towards reality and stealth. There were some destructive sequences in TDK trilogy but they're rather incomparable to Man of Steel's. And fans won't take too kindly to seeing Batman get jobbed. And how will the creators fit it all in? This new DC universe still needs to develop it's characters individually, especially Superman's relationship with Lois Lane at the Daily Bugle. But the fans are mostly just going to want to see more of Batman being badass, which will prove difficult to pull off with an incredibly powerful super-being like Superman overshadowing his awesomeness. So Superman will more than likely not receive the character development he currently needs, in favour of more Batman screen time. Is the film going to focus more on Batman, which the general audience wants the most, or is it going to focus more on Superman which the franchise needs the most? Then there's the mutual villain to consider. The way I see it, the first act of the film will be about Batman and Superman disliking each other for some ill-explained reason and then Batman will get his ass handed to him by Superman. The second act would then establish the villain/threat for both of them to fight with the third and final act having Superman destroy the enemy, inevitably outshining Batman in the process. Sure, Batman has the intellect to come up with a plan to defeat the enemy, but the fans are going to want to see him kick some ass just as much as Superman, and how can that work effectively if they don't make Batman a superpowered individual?

Affleck's writers might be fantastic, but according to Affleck's wife as well as other insiders, those writers are also struggling. And I don't blame them either, given the nature of the concept. There are so many things to address regarding the merging of these two franchises. Will Batman be continually jobbed by a character limitlessly more powerful than him? Will the cast of Man of Steel lack the significant development they need in favour of the Batman presence fans will be wanting to see the most? You just know the inclusion of Batman will steal time away from expanding on Snyder’s other characters. I don't believe Snyder’s superhero universe will follow through with a cheesy subplot where Lois is oblivious to the fact that Clark is actually the man of steel, but some broad relationship expansion between the two characters would be necessary for what a lot of fans consider to be a Man of Steel sequel. Snyder’s characters still need developing before clashing universes. The difference with Marvel is that they didn't rush into a cohesive universe, but took time to develop the Avengers and their supporting casts in separate solo-movies first. This also raises my concern for the unrevealed villain. He can't just turn up willy-nilly. These things take time, especially with the amount of development so many of the other characters are going to need. Loki was given substantial characterisation in Thor which elevated his dastardly presence in The Avengers.

There are other difficulties to tackle. Such as portraying Batman to be just as awesome as Superman without enhancing Batman's abilities. I don't see how a fight between the two characters can work honourably in Batman's favour. And in a team up fight against a common enemy, realistically, Batman's just going to get in Superman's way. One thing's for sure, Batman needs to come across as physically hardened in a believable way. He can't simply be the brains of the team up, he needs to be physically badass too, which will prove difficult with Superman flying around, taking out all of Batman's enemies in mere seconds. The general audience loves Batman way more than they do Superman, so any strong impairment of the two characters will be almost impossible to get right.

The way I see it, it can either be a really good Superman sequel, whilst impairing the human ability of Batman, or it will be a really good Batman film where the much-needed Superman development is put to the wayside. Which is a shame because I really enjoyed Man of Steel and what Snyder did with it, despite it's flaws, and I would really like to see Snyder's Superman franchise develop the way it should. I'd rather Superman got his own trilogy first; expand on his newfound responsibilities of protecting Earth and way of life. Dig deep into the character and aftermath of destroying his own race for the greater good before throwing Batman on screen to hog the spotlight.

I haven't watched The Town or Argo yet. But I've known Affleck to be ok in some films. He was fine in Dogma and I think he did quite well in Pearl Harbor despite the cheesy script. But given the inevitable union of Superman and Batman as they put aside their differences to fight a common enemy, I think it's going to look foolish as they accept how arrogant they've been. I just can't imagine Ben Affleck portraying the arrogance and acceptance of it very honourably.

But Warner Brothers aren't going to shy away from creating a cohesive superhero universe like Marvel Studios did. This isn't an opportunity to tell a good story, but to market a perceivably exciting premise to the audiences. Man of Steel may have split critics but it made money. It admittedly did not put up Batman numbers, but you can bet your ass injecting him into Superman’s universe would inflate the anticipation for a MoS sequel. So I expect the film will be trashed critically, whilst making a LOT of money for WB. I think that is all this movie will achieve, which is fine for the executives at WB. But I just can't see how the concept of this movie can possibly work as a good representation of the two pivotal characters. Honest Trailers are going to have a field day with this movie.

Big Hero 6 teaser on Thursday, new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer on Monday (this is gonna blow people away)

Read Red Son right away. It's one of the best Superman comics I have ever read. Plus you should watch the Superman cartoon episode that was based off of it. It was perfection.

Alright I'm swamped at work it'll be a couple hours till i can go over this stuff haha

It's all good. I'm not trying to compete here or anything. That Public Ememies premise could be a golden opportunity to make this movie awesome. But balancing the narrative is going to be difficult. Not only must Batman be badass, but there's pending development from Man of Steel to utilise as well. I think it could be manageable if it strongly focuses on a plot similar to the Public Enemies storyline, but this is essentially a Batman vs Superman story, and however way I look at it, Batman is going to get pawned if he doesn't have his abilities inaccurately enhanced. The most accurate way to depict a Batman vs Superman plot would be for Batman to be seen as not much more than a regular human in comparison to the incredibly powerful Kryptonian. But I'm not sure how the film will be able to do that in a way in which fans appreciate, because more than anything, they're going to want to see this brand-spanking-new Batman be badass. There needs to be moments where Batman and Superman are both seen as saviours of the people, but it's going to be tricky if Superman outshines him at every turn.

I think it has the potential to be an awesome take on Batman. And I think it has the potential to be a brilliant Man of Steel sequel. But I'm not confident the creators can do both at the same time in a cinematic universe this young. This will be a fresh, new take on Batman, and I'm excited to see it, but the narrative might struggle to balance it's potential with what is also very much a MoS sequel.

The optimist in me is very thankful for the delay though. Hopefully Affleck can push his writers to make the movie as brilliant as it can possibly be. And he's a dedicated and ambitious man by nature, so given enough time, this movie might just be an all-round success.

My biggest concern however, is the possibility of overpowering Batman. I really don't want to see this happen. In his current suit, a naturally fragile human such as himself cannot withstand one of Superman's punches. If he's going to become more armoured for the fight, that's going to have to be some tough armour. Miniature Kryptonite crystals in the suit's cybernetics is a must!

To conclude, you guys have seriously dampened my concerns. They still exist, it's just that now I think the movie could actually work. I still see it's overall critical success as a small possibility, but I no longer believe the movie will inherently fail. There's a chance this movie could be brilliant, but I'm not confident it will be.

It's been good having this debate. I think we've all provided each other with something to think about.

I'm no longer a fan of the continuity but I'm sure I'll enjoy it regardless. I'll always enjoy the Terminator films, and I'm sure this one will be enjoyable too, but my true love for the franchise has been slaughtered (Lol. How dramatic I can be when articulating my words).

The third one was good but it felt like such a forced continuation of the continuity. And the fourth one was such a streaming pile, it destroyed my love for the continuity completely.

I'm expecting the fifth film, Genesis - similarly to the other 21st century sequels - to not be comparable to the first two films. But I'm sure Genesis will still be highly enjoyable for several reasons. Arnold Schwarzenegger (who I can't help but love) is BACK just like he always says he will be. There's going to be some great Terminator action and I'll be looking out for any fan-pleasing continuity references, which will be fun. I regard the first two Terminators as the true franchise and I enjoy them better believing the story ends with Terminator 2, but I'm sure Genesis will be good fun regardless. In my mind, the newer movies are their own alternate continuity, and I enjoy them a lot more with that in mind. I won't be seeing Genesis in the cinema but I'll check it out when I get the chance. Should be fun.


Jurassic World is going to be a sight to behold. It's going to look amazing. Just wait. Our minds will be well and truly blown when the first trailer comes out. Just think, it's been more than fifteen years since the first one came out. And I think this movie is going to try and rival that cinematic leap. Jurassic World. It's going to look insane!