Despite being the franchise's most controversial entry, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice actually saved the DCEU after Man of Steel's missteps. The DCEU certainly didn't get the start that it deserved. Though Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was generally well-received, it was criticized for its creative handling of the character of Superman. However, it wasn't until the sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was released that the DCEU's biggest problems became entirely evident.
Batman v Superman introduced Ben Affleck's Batman into the franchise, a character who was initially disliked, although Affleck's performance has since been reappraised and afforded a warmer reception. Batman v Superman unsurprisingly pits two of DC's most iconic heroes against one another, as well as establishing numerous DCEU heroes and villains and continuing the story of 2013's Man of Steel. Threatening to collapse under the sheer weight of the film's many ideas, Batman v Superman received a decidedly mixed reception from both critics and audiences alike.
Despite often being cited as the worst film in the DCEU and blamed for the franchise's many shortcomings, there's actually a lot that Batman v Superman does right. Not only did Ben Affleck's Batman manage to work tonally alongside Henry Cavill's Superman, but the film was able to convincingly introduce a number of ideas that shaped the franchise moving forward. Though Batman v Superman remains controversial, most of its shortcomings were actually issues caused by Man of Steel, and the sequel was landed with the impossible task of bridging Snyder's first Superman film with the ideas of the wider franchise. As Batman v Superman was ultimately able to succeed in this goal, it actually salvaged the DCEU from what could have been a far greater disaster.
Man Of Steel Set A Needlessly Gritty Tone That Hurt The DCEU
With Man of Steel, Zack Snyder sought to approach the character differently from previous iterations. This approach wasn't universally appreciated, dividing the audience between those who preferred a more traditional take on Superman, and those who enjoy Snyder's slightly revised version of his origin story. Though Man of Steel's Superman was different from previous incarnations of the character, this wasn't necessarily a problem. Instead, the biggest issue that Man of Steel caused for future installments into the DCEU was its tone.
Man of Steel's tone was decidedly gritty, and its more brooding, darker hero provided interesting ideas for the film to explore. However, by having Superman and Zod destroy half of Metropolis during their fight and then having the former kill the latter, Man of Steel created a tonal issue that was impossible to move away from without properly addressing. With the DCEU's Superman introduced to the world in such a brutal display of power with so much collateral damage, Man of Steel's needlessly gritty tone forced subsequent DCEU movies to adopt the same. Snyder's story for Cavill's DCEU Superman was clearly intended to act as an examination of the character's powerful nature and how modern society would most likely react to him, but the darker take was something with far-reaching implications that couldn't simply be dropped for the sequel, instead requiring Batman v Superman to resolve its issues.
Batman Made BvS Better Than Man Of Steel
The most obvious addition to the DCEU in Batman v Superman was Affleck's Batman, and his inclusion actually made the sequel a far more interesting film. Man of Steel's Superman is a relatively straightforward character, particularly as Superman is the archetypal hero, but Affleck's Batman is a more complex figure. Having the two heroes finally meet in a live-action movie alone made Batman v Superman interesting, but the way in which the film played Batman against Superman while simultaneously drawing parallels between them was an excellent way of connecting Man of Steel and Justice League's story.
Affleck's Batman added some much-needed human perspective to the DCEU, as the first film focused solely on superpowered characters of alien origin. By introducing a darker incarnation of Batman, Batman v Superman was able to feel tonally consistent with Man of Steel while still establishing exactly how Cavill's Superman could realistically fit into a world with other heroes. Adding a human hero with a similar ethos as Cavill's Superman was a way of legitimizing Man of Steel's narrative choices without undermining its tone, and having Affleck's Batman initially oppose Superman before reconciling to combat a larger threat was exactly what the DCEU needed after Man of Steel.
BvS's Biggest Issues Were Caused By Man Of Steel
The most common criticisms leveled at Batman v Superman cite its tone and pacing as major issues. However, these issues were directly caused by Man of Steel's own tone and narrative shortcomings. With a gritty tone already set for one of its titular heroes, Batman v Superman had the impossible task of introducing the other (often thought to be the grittier of the two, no less). This led to the need to reconcile the tone of Man of Steel against other DC characters while still trying to tell a coherent story, and that's where Batman v Superman began to fall short. With its long run-time an absolute necessity in order to incorporate the appropriate elements and themes to properly address the implications of Man of Steel's ending, Batman v Superman was unable to avoid some of its pitfalls in order to bring elements of the franchise together.
BvS Resolved Man Of Steel's DCEU Problems
The problems that Man of Steel caused for the DCEU might not be immediately obvious, but many of the franchise's biggest issues were caused - both directly and indirectly - by its very first film. Perhaps the largest of these was establishing Superman not just as a supremely powerful being, but one capable of destroying cities and willing to kill his enemies where necessary. Introducing Superman in such bold fashion escalates matters for the DCEU's wider story before it even had the opportunity to start, and Cavill's Superman facing complex societal backlash further complicated the introduction of other heroes into the franchise.
However, Batman v Superman was able to resolve these issues. By having Batman win the fight against Superman, the DCEU showed that human heroes are able to hold their own against metahumans under the right circumstances, reconciling one of Man of Steel's biggest problems in regard to the franchise. Introducing a human aspect to Man of Steel's sequel was absolutely key, and it allowed for the proper exploration of the themes of power and responsibility that needed to be examined before the DCEU could continue. Despite remaining the DCEU's most divisive film, Batman v Superman actually resolves a number of issues caused by Man of Steel that could have utterly ruined the DCEU before it even had a chance to properly begin.
