Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a 2016 superhero film set in the DC Extended Universe, directed by Zack Snyder, and the direct sequel to 2013's Man of Steel. It featured Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. The film made nearly a billion dollars at the box office but got mixed reviews. Many loved Affleck's performance as Batman but they didn't like the incoherent plot. The "Ultimate Edition" released on home video reinserted 30 minutes onto the film and gained a better reception. It was followed by Justice League and its director's cut Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Bruce Wayne is orphaned at an young age, his parents killed by a random crook. Deciding no one should endure the same pain he endured, he grows up to become Batman, a vigilante who protects his home city of Gotham of almost every kind of criminal. Decades later, and two years after Man of Steel, the appearance of the alien super-hero known as Superman divides opinions, as his colossal amount of power seeds distrusts on the American government even if he proves again and again that he is completely altruistic.

Wayne is equally distrustful of him for the same reason, specially since he was at Metropolis as Superman and fellow Kryptonian Zod tore the city apart in their battle for the fate of the planet. This makes him an easy prey for Lex Luthor, a billionaire with several hidden criminal enterprises that, to put it simply, wants Superman dead for also seeing him as a threat, but for less than altruistic reasons. Feeding Bruce's distrust on him, Lex hopes that eventually, man (Batman) will kill "god" (Superman).

And if man won't kill God, the Devil will do it.

Tropes used in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice include:

• Adaptational Jerkass:
  • As many fans noticed, this Batman seems perfectly willing, if not at least uncaring, about killing criminals, a great departure of how Batman has been written since the Silver Age. The only thing stopping him from falling into outright Adaptational Villainy is that he does still fight for the greater good and defends the innocents.
  • Lex Luthor. Most versions of Lex are capable of at least being Faux Affably Evil and pretending to be sane. This Lex is petulant Psychopathic Manchild who cannot resist the opportunity to bully and demean anyone he can.
• Adaptational Wimp: Kryptonite only mildly weakens Superman. A few seconds after inhaling Kryptonite gas, he's back to normal. Though it still weakens him enough to allow someone strong enough to hurt him, in the comics, Superman would be weakened to the point that Batman wouldn't need Powered Armor to beat him up.
• All There in the Manual: Bonus content on Man of Steel‍'‍s DVD release reveals what the AI was talking about with regards to Doomsday. During the "Last War", a scientist named Bertron created the monster. And Word of God is that it's still out there somewhere...
• Age Lift: Rather than a middle-aged man, Lex Luthor is depicted as a twenty-something tech bro.
• Anti-Hero: Batman is already not the delicate kind of hero, but the movie really plays up his sheer brutality from his DCU counterpart.
• Arc Words: "Martha". The last words that Thomas Wayne says as he lays dying. At the climax, Superman yells those words in despair to Batman as he almost kills him, and Lois explaining exactly what that word means to Batman makes him finally realises Clark is as much of a human as he is.
• Armor Is Useless: Completely averted. Batman don't would stand a chance of surviving a blow with Kryptonian lifeforms otherwise.
• As Himself:
  • Jon Stewart mocks Superman for being too patriotic with his red and blue uniform and misunderstands him having an "S" on front as standing for "States".
  • Neil De Grasse Tyson makes an extended cameo reflecting on how Superman answers the question about mankind's loneliness in the universe.
  • CNN's Anderson Cooper appears in one of the newsreels, commenting on Superman.
• Big Bad: Lex Luthor, who pits Batman against Superman constantly. Though Clark needs no incentive to dislike Bruce, since brutal vigilantism is definitely not his style.
• Came Back Wrong: This Doomsday is Zod's resuscitated corpse, only without any reason and looking like a hulking brute. It is implied it is like that by design, and creatures like those were created before.
• The Cameo: The additional Justice League members, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg appear in files found by Bruce Wayne.
• Darker and Edgier: It has the dark tone that Man of Steel was known for.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Jimmy Olsen, here an undercover CIA agent, is executed during his and Lois' trip to Nairomi.
  • Mercy Graves is among the victims of the Senate bombing.
• Decomposite Character: Per Word of God, the creature seen in the climax isn't the true Doomsday. The genuine article is still roaming the stars somewhere...
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Senator Finch is the driving force behind putting a Super Registration Act on Superman but at the same time, she clearly sees that he's benevolent and is trying to keep the process as unbiased as possible, stymying Lex's obvious vendetta against the Kryptonian whenever she can.
  • Even if he won't do it, even Superman has to admit that Lex is such an asshole that he deserves a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
• Evil Is Petty: Lex Luthor as always but he really takes it Up to Eleven. Growing up with an abusive father, Lex became a believer in misotheism, believing that if God Is Good he couldn't do anything or that God could do something to help Lex but didn't want to. He finds the existence of Superman as an all-powerful force for good an affront to his worldview.
• Fusion Dance: Luthor infuses his own DNA, by dripping blood on Zod's corpse, before ordering the Kryptonian ship to create Doomsday, making the resulting abomination his and Zod's fusion, so to speak.
• Gratuitous English: The Japanese title uses the word "Justice" in katakana, instead of Japanese "Seigi". Probably to make a distinction between the concept of "justice" and the Justice League.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Since he's being scapegoated for the Black Zero Event, Superman is hated by a good chunk of America.
• Insufferable Genius: Lex is a genius in several fields simultaneously, and also overly proud of himself and prone to belittle others once the mask comes down as he does to Lois Lane when she calls him psychotic.
• Leitmotif: Wonder Woman's theme plays as Batman realizes how old she is, as he sees a photo of her taken during World War I.
• Loophole Abuse: The AI of Scout Ship 0344 is forbidden from creating Doomsday by order of the Kryptonian High Council. Luthor gets it to go along with his order on the basis that the Council is dead.
• Marked to Die: Though likely not Bruce's intention, Batman branding certain criminals ends up being seen by prisoners as a signal to kill those who are branded.
• Ms. Fanservice: Par of course for Diana, who wears a backless dress with a generous cleavage window in her introduction scene, and goes into battle wearing a miniskirt.
• Mythology Gag: While the Batmobile was getting set up, a Riddler question mark can be seen by a pillar.
• Noodle Incident: The Kryptonian spaceship computer mentions the creation of a previous Doomsday as something that has happened before in Krypton's history.
• Oh Crap:
  • Senator Finch when she realises that Lex has planted a bomb in the Senate because she didn't grant him an import license.
  • Superman and Batman go back and forth on this during their fight whenever one gets the edge.
  • Luthor when Batman reveals that he's used Luthor's insanity plea against him to have the villain shipped to Arkham.
• Only Mostly Dead: Superman at the end.
• POV Sequel: The film opens during Man of Steel‍'‍s Black Zero Event, showing Bruce Wayne's reaction to it from the perspective of an ordinary man on the streets of Metropolis.
• Race Lift: Mercy Graves, caucasian in the DCAU, is now of Japanese descent.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Of all kinds of criminals, it is noted that one of those whom Batman branded was a sex offender.
• Recut: It had an "Ultimate Edition" with thirty minutes of footage re-integrated to the film.
• The Scapegoat: With Zod's forces dead, blame for the Black Zero event has been foisted onto the only Kryptonian left.
• Sequel Hook: By the end, Lex Luthor warns Batman of Steppenwolf's invasion.
• Super Registration Act: The US government wants to put one in place for Superman, though it's implied to be a largely ceremonial thing they're doing to save face.
• Too Dumb to Live: The employees of Wayne Tower in Metropolis didn't think to evacuate during the Black Zero's attack until Bruce Wayne gave them the okay to do so. By that time, the US military had already scrambled fighter jets to try and shoot down the Black Zero and buildings were being crushed under the Gravity Screw.
• Universal Translator: The AI of the Kryptonian spaceship is able to communicate in plain English to Lex Luthor.
• Wham! Line: "Save Martha!"