Let’s talk about the 9/11 imagery in the new ‘Batman v Superman’ trailer
Zack Snyder is at it again.
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The big ol’ trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice released at Comic-Con this weekend is demanding everyone’s attention in all its dark and twisted glory. We now have our first real look at Ben Affleck being that “seasoned crime fighter’’ version of Bruce Wayne that director Zack Snyder promised, looking wise and weathered and all-around distant from previous versions of the Batman. And Henry Cavill, real-life Ken doll, is reprising his role as Superman, with his oversized, unwieldy red cape and all.
Among all the action—superheroes looking awfully pensive for trusted saviors, Holly Hunter’s impressive resting bitch face, and Lex Luthor’s unfortunate hair situation—is Snyder’s undeniable symbolism of 9/11. As it turns out, the Batman v Superman trailer picks up where Snyder’s preceding Superman film, Man of Steel, left off: at the scene of demolition.
Bruce Wayne is shown at the grounds of Metropolis—which is largely based on New York City—watching his own Wayne Enterprises skyscraper crumble to the ground as disaster ensues. Next we see an all-too-familiar shot of plummeting clouds of debris plundering the streets, and knight-and-shining Batman running directly into the sheep.
Critics earlier noted resemblances to 9/11’s terror and overall chaos in Man of Steel, citing shots of planes hitting skyscrapers, Metropolitans being traumatically pulled from rubble, and countless citizens dying offscreen as Superman and Zod throw each other into crumbling buildings. It wasn’t exactly clear if Snyder was being intentionally allusive to America’s greatest national tragedy, or if it was broadly suggestive. A disaster expert ran the numbers for Buzzfeed in 2013, concluding that Superman’s “heroic’’ response to the actions of a villian came at an extraordinarily high cost of $700 billion to Metropolis. Comparatively, 9/11’s physical damage totaled $55 billion.
Regardless, shots of a modern city being reduced to rubble provoked audiences, essentially pegging a “cinematic irresponsibility’’ on Snyder, but, as it turns out, this World Trade Center evocation wasn’t limited to Man of Steel. The trailer leads us to believe the gravity and aftermath of Superman’s fight, a situation of such cataclysm, might be the stimulant for the superhero versus other superhero plot.
Will Superman’s “heroic’’ actions be used against him? Will the superhero tables be eventually turned? Will Ben Affleck or Henry Cavill ever depict an emotion outside of the realms of perplexity and disorientation? We’ll have to wait until March to find out.
Photos: The most “Boston’’ movies:
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