The new Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Part One Section A Version Three) trailer dropped last week after some a-hole released a shaky-cam sub-HD version of the trailer on social media. It's not as bad as stealing Game of Thrones episodes, but it's still kind of a dick move. Check it out here:
The idea that Superman would be met with both awe and distrust is a continuation of one of the main themes from Man of Steel, the third trailer for which remains one of my all time favorite pieces of film advertising:
"He'll be an outcast. They'll kill him."
"How? He'll be a god to them."
But gods are not always good. And if Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice That Comes Before the Eve of Vengeance Part XII is to succeed, it will be because it examines that tension between admiration and abhorrence. If you were to discover one day that aliens walked among us, that they had literally superhuman powers, and that in the course of using those superhuman powers they not only tried to irrevocably alter our atmosphere but also managed to destroy one of the planet's largest cities, how would you respond? With love and adoration? Or with fear and loathing? Lex Luthor is only an interesting villain if he's able to exploit that split in the public consciousness—and Bruce Wayne can only work as a character here if Batman treats Superman with the disdain and distrust that he does in classic books like The Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come.*
Of course, the usual negative nancies were out in force getting all butthurt about the fact that Superman isn't being treated like a lighthearted super-fun-time character. And, yes, I understand nostalgia for the boring iteration of the character put forth by Christopher Reeve. But let's be real: If an alien showed up on your doorstep and started knocking skyscrapers down—even in an effort to save the planet—how would you react? With joy? Or apprehension?
*When they first announced Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Who Is Blind And Female Like Wonder Woman Who Is Also In This Movie Apparently I told friends that the only way this film works is if Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne are, at least at first, united by their distrust of Superman. It looks like that's the direction they're going, which gives me some hope.