Could a Superman/Batman movie actually work?

At the San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, director Zack Snyder revealed that the upcoming sequel to his Superman reboot Man of Steel (reviewed here) will in fact be a Superman/Batman crossover.  Predictably, such a huge announcement immediately triggered a deluge of blogs and articles speculating about the new film’s chances of success, ranging in tone from outright woe to cautious optimism.  Just a few years ago it would have made sense to say that multiple superheroes teaming up in the same film was a concept that would appeal to hardcore fanboys and no-one else, but the phenomenal success of Marvel’s Avengers changed all that.  But while Avengers opened the door it also set a benchmark, and whatever one might think about the film’s shortcomings, it’s hard to deny that director Joss Whedon succeeded elegantly in balancing several major comic book properties in one film without overloading the narrative.  Zack Snyder has yet to display the sort of flair for storytelling which has characterised Whedon’s work since his time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but could he still succeed in bringing two of the world’s most iconic comic book heroes to the screen at the same time?  In short, could he make a Superman/Batman movie that actually works?

It’s hard not to see DC/Warner’s production of a Superman/Batman crossover movie (henceforth referred to as SuBats) as an act of desperation, at least to some degree.  While Marvel’s self-perpetuating cinematic behemoth rolls ever on (another five films are due in the next two years), raking in billions of dollars in ticket revenue and associated merchandising, DC’s only major commercial success remains Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy (while Man of Steel made a tidy profit, its box office performance fell far short of both Marvel’s recent hits and Nolan’s last two Batman movies).  Superhero team-ups have long been a money-spinning tactic in the comic book world, and are a frequent source of debate for aficionados everywhere; I vividly remember being at an event with Scottish writer Mark Millar (Civil War, The Ultimates, Kick-Ass) where he was inundated with audience questions about which comic book characters would triumph in a range of hypothetical face-offs.  Being the world’s two most popular superheroes has meant that Superman and Batman are regular fixtures of such discussions, and their on-page partnership has a long history in the form of the World’s Finest and Justice League of America comics stretching back to the 1940s.  The two heroes have occasionally been rivals as well, most notably in Frank Miller’s gritty masterpiece The Dark Knight Returns.  Snyder has suggested that Miller’s work will be a source of inspiration for the new film, implying that the dark knight and the man of steel will be enemies for at least part of the running time.  This offers some interesting storytelling possibilities for Snyder and (screenwriter) David S. Goyer to exploit, but there are still plenty of ways in which such an intriguing premise could be poorly executed.

Even if SuBats is a project born of desperation, it could still be a decent movie in its own right.  But the potential pitfalls of bringing such a film to the big screen are legion, and there are a great many ways – creatively speaking – in which Snyder and Goyer might fail in the attempt.  So, what obstacles will they have to overcome to make SuBats a successful superhero movie?

1. Batman and Superman are very different characters

And not just in terms of aesthetics.  Superman possesses almost godlike power, whereas Batman has only his martial arts and his intellect.  If they’re meeting as enemies in SuBats, it’ll be a preposterously one-sided battle.  Granted, Batman came out on top in The Dark Knight Returns, but only thanks to some high-tech body armour and a kryptonite arrow.  Batman may be smarter, but for there to be any sort of contest Superman would have to be substantially weakened in some way.

There’s also the question of tone.  While the comics have varied from campy sci-fi action to bleak neo-noir, Batman’s recent cinematic outings have been emphatically dark and (relatively) realistic.  Christopher Nolan’s trilogy is a long way from the neon nightmare of Joel Schumacher, and it’s a shift in tone that feels fitting for a 21st century Batman.  Conversely, Superman doesn’t work so well with such a drained palette and cynical worldview.  One of the problems with Man of Steel was its attempt to drag Superman into a grittier, darker style more akin to Nolan’s Batman; the character only thrives when realised as a mythic, technicolor demigod somewhat removed from humdrum reality (Grant Morrison has written extensively about this very issue in his superb book Supergods).  To do Superman justice in the next film, Snyder and co need to let a little more light and colour into his world, and this will present them with a problem if Batman is along for the ride.  It could thus be quite a tonal balancing act to put both heroes onscreen at the same time, lightening up the man of steel whilst retaining Batman’s darkness.

2.  Do we need another origin story?

At what stage of his crime-fighting career will the Batman of SuBats be?  Although Mark Millar’s Red Son toyed with the interesting idea of Batman’s creation being a reaction to Superman’s presence, we’ve had far too many superhero origin stories on film in recent years.  Everyone now knows how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, just like everyone knows how Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man, thus rendering the first half hour of The Amazing Spider-Man completely redundant.  It would be nice if Batman could already exist as a fully-formed character in the world of SuBats, one who might perceive a super-powered alien in a cape as a possible threat….

3. Don’t pander to the fanboys

They might want to see specific storylines acted out or extended sequences of batarangs vs heat-rays, but the rest of us just want a damn good story that makes sense!

4. Casting the right Batman

Christian Bale’s definitely not up for it, and that’s a good thing, since it’ll maintain the (necessary) division between Nolan’s Batman universe and this new pan-DC movie universe.  That means that Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s out, too, which is no bad thing as far as I’m concerned.  He’s a great actor, but was never meant to be seen as Batman onscreen – that’s the whole point of the ending of The Dark Knight Rises.  Snyder et al are going to need to select their new Batman very carefully, and shouldn’t (in line with point 2 above) go too young.  Henry Cavill has the makings of a good Superman, and they’ll need a similarly suitable actor in the opposite role.  Suggestions in the comments section, please….

Well that’s simple, then.  They only need to figure out how to evenly match two characters of wildly different power-levels, walk a tonal tightrope, avoid fan-pleasing gimmicks and get their casting for Batman spot-on.  In short, it’ll be an uphill struggle if they’re going to pull this off.  The very idea of a Superman/Batman movie seems faintly ludicrous, so Snyder and co will have to tread extremely carefully if they’re to produce a decent film featuring the two characters.  With Christopher Nolan’s steadying hand further removed from SuBats (his role has been reduced from producer to executive producer on the new film), it could be all too easy for Snyder to revert to bad habits, and spend two hours blowing things up in slow motion rather than telling a coherent story.  But let’s not write him off just yet.  There’s always a chance that SuBats could be the new Avengers, even if it’s a slim one.