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YMMV / Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

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    A-K 
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Batman killing criminals. The tie-in books and comics clearly say he may be brutal but he never kills them, but the movie itself as well as Word of God explicitly contradicts this. The jury is out if Snyder's defense of Batman as "manslaughter" rather than "murder" is either hair-splitting or a more nuanced take on Batman's "no-kill" policy.
    • Likewise there are those who feel that Batman's motivations are explicable since he is only shown killing somebody in a moment of desperation, such as when he's trying to acquire kryptonite or rescuing Martha. It doesn't hurt/help that this Batman has already lost his Robin, if not more members of the Bat family to injury and death. Others argue that the whole point of Batman's "no-kill" rule is that he precisely doesn't let desperation, grief or righteous anger break it, and killing out of desperation or "one-bad-day" is something his villains use to justify their actions and not him.
    • Batman's intentions to kill Superman, invoking Not Even Human as a justification, has made some fans see him as a fantastic racist who is only marginally better than Luthor. Some even wonder what his real motivations are. The trauma of seeing his employees killed by Zod and Superman's fight, losing Robin to The Joker, and Luthor's manipulations, turning him into an angry, bitter mess? The film seems to be going for the latter, but the theatrical cut doesn't show that Batman's actions in the film are out-of-character in-universe. Likewise scenes where Batman likens his attack on Superman by citing his ancestors using the grounds as a game reserve disturbingly suggest that his motivations are that of an Egomaniac Hunter Hunting the Most Dangerous Game just so he can prove he's a badass.
    • Luthor's motivations in the movie fluctuate between those who argue that he's insane but sincere in his Beware the Superman spiel and that he's a real misotheist, while others, citing the ending and the deleted scene released by WB, propose that he was in fact a puppet for Darkseid and a traitor to the human race. Some argue that Luthor was driven insane by his contact with the Kryptonian ship, while others feel he was Evil All Along. Also, is Luthor just hyper, his mind working far faster and better than other people's, and his odd behavior is a result of this? Or does he really, really need to be on medication? Or perhaps him being a puppet for Darkseid drove him mad. Since the extended cut shows that Lex is going for the insanity defense, has he just been acting crazy to support the defense as a backup in case his plan fails?
    • When Knyazev has the Batmobile in the sights of his RPG, he doesn't fire when one of his mook's cars gets in between him and his shot. Was this Pragmatic Villainy on the part of him not wanting to risk anything but a direct hit on the Batmobile, or was it an Even Evil Has Standards moment?
    • Similarly, Superman's problems with Batman. For the most part Superman is only shown saving people rather than fighting bad guys, while Batman is shown mostly attacking and brutalizing criminals. Is Superman justified in his views of Batman being a violent brute or is he playing Holier Than Thou to one who does more good than harm?
    • This review takes the position that both this movie and Man of Steel make a lot more sense if one assumes that Jonathan Kent was clinically depressed.
    • Is Superman's Heroic Sacrifice at the end a moment of Decon-Recon Switch for his status as The Cape and renewed faith in humanity? Or is it an act of pure selfishness to only save Lois and his mother? In his speech, the way he associates the "world" with her lends credence to the idea that his feelings towards humanity haven't changed, and that Lois' (and Martha's) mere existence is Earth's only saving grace.
    • Despite being his mother, Martha Kent seems infinitely more adjusted about Clark’s death compared to Lois. Is she just better at compartmentalization, or has she been mentally preparing for this to happen all this time?
  • Americans Hate Tingle: Apparently, China really hated the film, with a decrease in 82 percent in box office during the second weekend (compare to 69 in domestic box office) and harsh criticism from Chinese websites, something that is generally unheard of in China for superhero movies ever since X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
  • Angst Aversion: By far one of the most common criticisms of the film was that its Darker and Edgier depiction of Superman, Batman and the world they live in is so absurdly depressing and bleak that it either makes the whole thing feel ridiculous and stupid due to how relentless it is, undermines the sympathetic qualities of Batman or simply ruins the audience's ability to care about anything happening in it.
  • Anvilicious: Much like its predecessor, the film made many unsubtle comparisons between Superman and Jesus, even to the point where his death scene pulled imagery from Jesus' death: he's shown dead in a Crucified Hero Shot and is wrapped up in his red cape and handed down to Lois, akin to how Mary received her Son's body. Perhaps these undertones would have been better-received if the audience themselves were able to find them, but the film was so preachy and unsubtle with this religious symbology that it comes off more annoying than ingenious.
  • Awesome Music: See here.
  • Base-Breaking Character:
    • The DCEU's incarnation of Batman has proven to be significantly divisive. While fans and detractors alike feel that Ben Affleck put out an amazing performance there's far more division in the way the character is written. Fans feel Batfleck makes for a compelling Deuteragonist whose Fallen Hero status and eventual redemption are handled exceptionally. Detractors however feel too many of Batman's unsavory behavior (in particular the dozens of people he kills) is swept under the rug and as Misaimed Fandom notes the film itself can't seem decide which parts of Batman's actions we're supposed to approve and disapprove.
    • Lex Luthor. Many people hate his portrayal since he comes across as being an Expy of The Joker without anything that made him the character of his namesake, as well as in general Jesse Eisenberg being seen as the wrong choice for the role. There are however, as many (including Sebastian Stan of all people) who enjoyed his performance and find him to be a very entertaining villain that provided a fresh take on this character, or at least well-fitted as a Hate Sink.
    • Doomsday's presence in the film itself has also caused some contention. Some think it's too soon to show Superman going up against his most dangerous foe and would prefer that his death be given its own film. Others are okay with it however, since Doomsday is more a plot device than an actual character.
  • Better on DVD: The Ultimate Edition was met with better reception than the theatrical cut, due to a clearer explaining of certain plot points, more focus on Lois and Clark as characters, and smoother pacing. Some viewers even said it was like watching a different movie.
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
    • The "Knightmare Sequence" and Flash's time-travel cameo is completely out-there if you don't have a basic idea of what the New Gods teases hidden in it (Darkseid's insignia and the Parademons) mean, or the general direction that Zack Snyder wanted to take his story in with subsequent movies. The scene has absolutely no context going into it (it's a random vision — Batman's suddenly in a post-apocalyptic future leading a doomed resistance), Superman is evil for no discernable reason (aside from a mention of losing "his world"), and Bruce does nothing to look for Lois after being warned to do so by the Flash. Not to mention that it outwardly appears to be a Dream Within a Dream, only for it to actually appear to be one dream that Bruce somehow "woke up" twice from. It is never mentioned again, and although one can make a case for Batman wrongly interpreting vision of the apocalyptic future as being purely caused by Superman — and thus being more driven to kill the Last Son of Krypton — nothing else in the movie indicates that it has any significance whatsoever. It's at least remedied when the scenario is explicitly mentioned again by Batman to Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder's Justice League (though not the theatrical version), but in the context of the movie by itself, the sequence is absolutely confounding.
    • The final shot where the soil on Clark's coffin beings to rise, hinting that he's still alive. In both cuts of Justice League it's established that Clark's as dead as they come, with only a Motherbox being able to fix things. Really the only reason the moment exists is so the movie can have a proper coda.
  • Bile Fascination: A few people have admitted to watching the movie just to see if it's as bad as others say it is.
  • Broken Aesop: Batman's initially portrayed as having lost his way by developing into brutal, merciless killer. However, even after he has a Heel Realization, he's still shown indulging in the same kind of behavior that was previously portrayed negatively. The fact that Zach Snyder has made comments seemingly defending his killings only further muddies up the issue.
  • Can't Un-Hear It: Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth. His voice has just the right mixture of refinement and snarkiness that's inherent to the character.
  • Common Knowledge: Batman only decided to be friends with Superman because their mothers have the same name. In context, Batman's reasons for performing a Heel Realization were more complicated. First, he wasn't aware until that very moment that Superman had a human mother, which would mean he was raised on Earth and therefore had nothing to do with the Kryptonian invasion. Secondly, Batman realised that trying to kill a man who was only trying to protect his loved ones made him no better than the criminal that murdered his parents, hence his moment of hysteria.
  • Contested Sequel: Moreso in the sense that reception for the film was all over the place than it being a divisive situation like Man of Steel. Many saw it as an improvement over the previous movie, which either made it even better, surprisingly improved, or still average. Others saw the movie as one of the best comic book films ever made. There's also a group that thought the premise was wasted and that the movie wasn't good (but again, whether it's unwatchable or average was a dividing factor between these two groups). A small camp even saw the movie as being So Bad, It's Good. This even came through in the box office numbers, as after one of the biggest opening weekends in history, the numbers dropped almost 70% the following week.
  • Critical Backlash: The infamous 27% Rotten Tomatoes score, which indicated the kind of critical flogging that many believed the film didn't deserve, as they felt that there were a lot of good, even great moments. Even some folks who disliked it have said they felt the negativity was over the top and unwarranted.
  • Critical Dissonance: The film generally scored better among audiences than it did with critics, and since its release has gained a rather vocal fanbase. Of course that’s not to say that it doesn’t have equally vocal detractors who hated it as much as critics.
  • Do Not Do This Cool Thing: Batman killing people throughout the movie is meant to be a sign that he has gone off the deep end and is risking becoming the type of man he swore to fight. But the movie goes out of its way to make the damage he causes look cool, not to mention the fact that everyone he killed was an Asshole Victim. The result is that the movie has instead been heavily criticized for having Batman kill people, especially since he isn't actually called out for it.
  • Ending Fatigue: So after Superman dies and Doomsday is defeated, you would think the movie would wrap up pretty quickly... but it goes on for another ten minutes before the credits start rolling.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
    • Jeremy Irons' portrayal of Alfred was one of the few things everyone seems to like about the movie. The main reason was because he provides humour through snarky comments, as well as being very intelligent, and even being directly involved by helping build/maintain things for Batman. It also helps he's the Only Sane Man who points out how foolish it is for Batman and Superman to even fight each other.
    • Laurence Fishburne as Perry White has also garnered some fan appreciation, mostly due to his over-the-top, take no bullshit attitude.
    • Jenet Klyburn from the Ultimate Edition cut, whose appearance was greatly anticipated since the role was revealed and who helped explain a few of the more complicated plot details. Being played by the queen of Ensemble Darkhorses Jena Malone helps too.
    • Gal Gadot’s debut as Wonder Woman was greeted with near universal positivity.
    • For a costume example, Batman's "Knightmare" outfit even by non-DCEU fans, thanks to how badass it looks, and it's quickly become one of the character's most iconic looks of recent years, with tons of merchandise and even being referenced in the comics.
    • Despite only getting two lines of dialogue in the entire movie, and otherwise mostly just being in the background as an assistant to Lex Luthor, Mercy Graves has many fans who hope she survived her death by explosion and will return in a later movie.
    • Despite being Superman's most vocal critic, Senator June Finch is also pretty popular for being portrayed as nuanced and sympathetic and having legitimate concerns that aren't dismissed by the film or Clark and seeing Lex for the raging narcissist he truly is and making clear she isn't fooled by him. Being played by Holly Hunter certainly helps her popularity.
  • Fan-Disliked Explanation: There was quite a backlash when Zack Snyder revealed his intent for it to be Dick Grayson who the Joker killed, not Jason Todd, meaning that it was Dick's defaced Robin costume strung up in the Batcave. Considering there is a huge demand for a Nightwing movie and people prefer Jason to be the dead Robin anywaysnote  this is often ignored by fans. WB themselves seems to agree, as they stated that Jason is the Robin who died.
  • Fan Nickname:
    • Batfleck, for Ben Affleck's Batman. Has spread even to DC's higher-ups like Dan DiDio, who tweeted an image of Batfleck's cowl and cape at Comic-Con 2014.
    • The film itself has been given a number of nicknames until the actual title was released. Aside from the enduringly popular Batman VS Superman (which served as the basis for the actual title), World's Finest was used by fans of the comics.
  • Fandom Rivalry:
    • With the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because some things never change, and with Captain America: Civil War in particular. It came out the same year, and featured a clash of superheroes. Some fans took it to quite insane levels by bombarding every negative review of the film with accusations that the writer was in Marvel's pocket. Steve's reaction to hearing the name "Bucky" is often compared to Bruce heading the name "Martha" as a possible double-standard.
      • Many early reviews of Captain America: Civil War contained rather snide references to this movie. To say this exacerbated the fandom rivalry is a huge understatement.
    • With the Arrowverse and the Supergirl show because of the differences in tone applied to the same DC material - while Arrow is serious and The Flash and Supergirl less so, they were all far outdone by this and Man of Steel in terms of seriousness/darkness. Supergirl in particular was hit with this because it directly used the Super-mythos and Superman himself appears in it, albeit as a silhouette.
      • This ramped up a bit following the Supergirl episode "World's Finest," which aired just a few days after the movie premiered. A lot of fans turned off by the "grimdark" of the movie found that episode, in which two superheroes meet, instantly like each other, and team up to solve their respective problems, to be the perfect antidote.
      • Taken even further when the show introduced its own take on Superman in Season 2. Marc Guggenheim explicitly mentioned that the new Superman would be a kinder, gentler and more overtly heroic take on the character, similar to his usual depiction in the comics. It's almost like he was subtly trying to distance the TV Superman from the modern movie version. Tyler Hoechlin, the actor playing Superman, even went so far as to say that Superman doesn't have to be brooding or dark to be cool, seemingly taking a shot at the mixed reception to the DCEU version of the character.
  • Fan-Preferred Couple: Despite Clark Kent being in a loving relationship with Lois Lane, most fanfiction about the film instead pairs him up with rival turned ally Bruce Wayne. This is due to the tension between the two during the film and the fact that the pairing was already very popular in the comics. They have the most fanfiction of any pairing in the DCEU tag on Archive of Our Own and outnumber Clark/Lois by a wide margin.
  • Franchise Original Sin: Batman has causally killed criminals in nearly every live action film between this and Tim Burton's original 1989 movie, with the sole exception being Batman & Robin. It happened so often that Christopher Nolan went out of his way to make the distinction of his Batman having a "no execution rule" in Batman Begins. What sets this film apart from the rest is that Batman's entire goal is to kill Superman, which combined with his portrayal as a Villain Protagonist and the movie's extremely bleak tone rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way.
  • Genius Bonus:
    • Lex's rant to Superman that God can be either all-powerful OR good, and never both, is a reference to the problem of evil, a philosophical question which asks how evil could exist if there exists a good and all-powerful god.
    • Batmans "One-Percent Chance" speech to Alfred is taken from a Dick Cheney quote.
    • Superman can't see Batman through the smoke cloud Batman creates at one point during their showdown. Earlier, when Bruce was doing his prep work, the grenades he would use for said smoke diversion before using those with Kryptonite gas had "Pb" written on them, the symbol of lead. Bruce used a lead-based gas, Superman can't see through lead.
  • Ham and Cheese: Jesse Eisenberg clearly had a lot of fun playing Lex Luthor.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • The Walking Dead co-stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) and Lauren Cohan (Maggie) were cast as Batman's dead parents Thomas and Martha Wayne. Considering what Jeffrey's character does (brutally beating Maggie's husband Glenn to death with a baseball bat while she is forced to watch) it's a bit harsh to see them here as a loving couple that see the other get cut down in front of them...
      • It gets even worse in light of an alternate version of the scene leaking where Maggie is the one Negan kills.
      • To make things even creepier, a couple episodes later Negan expresses interest in making Maggie one of his wives (who are basically women he's coerced into prostitution). Here, their respective actors are actually married.
    • Superman dying in a kamikaze attack on Doomsday, followed by his mother grieving over the fact that she's outlived her child became even more tragic a year later, when it was revealed that Zack Snyder's daughter had committed suicide. Despite this, there is a case of Heartwarming in Hindsight as following scene showing all of Metropolis united over Superman's passing mirrors the number of real people — both fan and non-fan — who expressed their condolences to the Snyder family.
    • Bruce's vision of Superman becoming a bloodthirsty dictator over the loss of a loved one. In Wonder Woman (2017), Diana nearly became this very monster Bruce wanted to destroy, starting a full-blown massacre after witnessing Steve Trevor's death.
    • Many aspects of the film, such as Bruce's vendetta being largely motivated by the death of his adopted son, Wallace Keefe losing his daughter in the attack on Metropolis and particularly Alfred's arc where he tries to pull Bruce back from his self-destruction and eventually realizes that he can't, qualify as this in light of the suicide of Zack Snyder's daughter Autumn. The entire central plot could even be said to qualify as it revolves around Bruce developing an intense and dehumanizing hatred of Superman and realizing how he's been in the wrong, reflecting the intense and often personal vitriolic hatred directed at Zack Snyder which some of his more vocal detractors became ashamed of contributing to when he shared the news of what happened.
    • The fight between Batman and Superman has become even harsher in light of the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. That series showed the Batman of Earth-99, who succeeded in murdering his Earth's Superman leaving that Earth without hope. Said Batman also murdered his rogues gallery and had become so disillusioned with heroics that he was convinced that no earth was worth fighting for to the point he wanted to let the multiverse die. It's a frightening take on what would have happened if the DCEU Batman hadn't been made to see Superman's humanity.
    • Batman becoming an emotional wreck with no family and an alcohol problem hits close to home with the reveal that Ben Affleck's personal issues were catching up to him during his time playing the character. Seeing how Batman turned out, most of his fans were relieved to see him hang up the cape so he could save himself.
    • In the sequence of Lois cradling Superman's body, there's a shot of Wonder Woman looking away sadly. Wonder Woman (2017) would reveal she experienced the very same thing — where her lover died in a Heroic Sacrifice to save the day. And then Wonder Woman 1984 shows she got Steve back for a while and then had to lose him all over again.
    • Lex's bombing of the Capitol can now be a bit uncomfortable to watch after the real-life Capitol riots in Jan 2021 after Donald Trump lost the US Presidential election.
    • Alfred laments that there might not be another generation of Waynes. Sure enough, Ben Affleck's sabbatical from the role stifled any chance at introducing Damian Wayne, and by the time he was ready to don the cowl again (admittedly for what was likely going to be an official exit from the role anyway), the new studio heads had decided to discontinue the DC Extended Universe. Especially harsh considering the Batmen in previous films at least had a Robin who could be their surrogate heir, whereas the Robin in this universe is already dead.
    • Back when Batman v Superman was announced in 2013, film Youtuber John Campea stated that if WB messed this up, the DCEU would be dead for the next ten years and the only choice left would be to do a complete Continuity Reboot. The highly divisive reception of the film did indeed kick off a series of tumultuous events for the franchise that ultimately capped off with the 2022 announcement that the DCEU would be discontinued, with the next Superman movie being a complete reboot starring a new actor.
  • He's Just Hiding:
    • Possibly in the case of Mercy Graves. In the comics, she's an Amazon, meaning that she's significantly more durable than a standard human being — and if the DCEU follows this path, she could have survived the explosion she was caught in.Taking into account the events of Wonder Woman (2017), it's doubtful any Amazon without any other power enhancements, aside from the Godkiller herself, Diana, could have survived such an explosion point-blank.
    • Many fans hoped that the CIA spook we see die was just using the real Jimmy Olsen's name as part of his cover, and that the real version will show up in another movie.
    • One of Doomsday's more notable powers in the comics is to come back from the dead immune to what previously killed him, leading some fans to think he'll be back.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • I Knew It!:
    • Many had speculated that Doomsday would be making an appearance from a number of rumors, including a Freeze-Frame Bonus of what appeared to be one of his spikes in the second trailer. They were proven correct with the arrival of the third trailer.
    • Many correctly guessed that Callan Mulvey would be playing Anatoli Knyazev (known as KGBeast in the comics), who was similarly rumored to appear.
    • From the moment the film's logo was revealed, many hardcore Batman fans predicted that the batsuit and the portrayal of Batman would be influenced by Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (the Bat-Signal in the logo and film resembles the distinct design from that comic series). Most of these fans also predicted that Batman would win the fight against Superman.
    • Dan Amboyer was believed by many to be the DCEU's Green Lantern. While the movie doesn't explicitly call his character "Hal Jordan", he is referred to as "Highball", the character's callsign, suggesting that, while he's not a part of the Green Lantern Corps just yet, he soon will be.
    • Either the appearance of Wonder Woman or the "Dawn of Justice" subtitle, or even both at once, led many viewers to predict that the conflict would ultimately result in the formation of the Justice League.
    • Many fans speculated that Wonder Woman's leitmotif in this movie (the guitar and drums driven piece, best heard when she tanks Doomsday's heat vision) would wind up becoming the theme for her own movie, which it did a year later.
    • Many fans speculated that the costume of the dead Robin we see belonged to Jason Todd, considering that one major Batman plot line was Todd's death. Although Zack Snyder had other plans (detailed under What Could Have Been), Warner Bros has confirmed that the costume is Jason Todd's, and by extension, confirming that this Batman had at least 2 Robinsnote .
  • Improved by the Re-Cut: The film got a Director's Cut, a la Watchmen, referred to as the "Ultimate Edition". The film's runtime went from two and half hours to three and quite a few things were changed from the theatrical version, such as a stronger focus on characters like Superman and Lois Lane, a better grasp on Lex Luthor's motivations and his involvement in the subplot in Africa, Jena Malone appearing as a S.T.A.R. Labs member helping out Lane, an R rating and more. The R rating actually caught Snyder off-guard, as he didn't make the film with that rating in mind. While reviews for the theatrical cut were negative, the overall response has improved thanks to the Ultimate Edition, which rearranged certain scenes back to their original order to fill in plot holes, among other things.
  • It Was His Sled: Unless you know next to nothing about Doomsday or expected Zack Snyder to throw a curveball, Superman and Doomsday killing each other will not be a shocker.
  • It's the Same, Now It Sucks!:
    • One problem for fans is that this version of Lex Luthor is similar to Gene Hackman's and Kevin Spacey's despite being a Corrupt Corporate Executive. Like them, he lacks the comics Lex's skill as a scientific genius and inventor and merely hijacks Kryptonian technology rather than come up with his own. To his credit, he was shown performing an autopsy on General Zod and surgically removing his fingerprints, so this version of Lex has some aptitudes outside of business. They just don't seem as extensive as they are in the comics.
    • A common complaint about the movie is that it is too similar to the previous movie Man of Steel in tone, if not darker due to the abundance of night settings. Since the movie has the same tone and feel, it left some people questioning if anyone involved even listened to criticism of the previous film's tone. These complaints subsided after the theatrical cut of Justice League took a sharp left turn, which viewers found too out-of-place.
    • According to Screen Junkies, many things from this film have already been done in Watchmen, a previous entry by Zack Snyder. Such as rain, sex, Jesus allegories, dreams of apocalyptic disasters, the destruction of a massive metropolis, and even two characters who despise each other until they find out that they have the same name.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Batman/Bruce Wayne. While his plan to destroy Superman is horribly misguided, it isn't hard to see where he's coming from considering that he fought crime in Gotham for the greater part of twenty years, only for it to come at the cost of his sidekick dying and Gotham still having a significant criminal presence in spite of everything he's done. His envy of Superman - who has managed to not only make a substantial difference in his city and the world in a mere two years - is more than understandable, especially when taking into account of how powerless he was to do anything during Metropolis's razing.
  • Just Here for Godzilla:
    • Even fans that weren't happy with Man of Steel say that they will see the movie just because it might have Batman and Superman trading blows and teaming up.
    • Some fans also express interest in wanting to see Wonder Woman, Cyborg, the Flash, and Aquaman (among others) on film for either the first time in years or the first time overall. In fact, in Wonder Woman's case, 88% of audiences polled by Fandango said that they went to the film to see her debut.
    • Some Batman: Arkham Series fans watched the film just to see the warehouse fight scene.

    L-Z 
  • LGBT Fanbase: This film has many LGBTQ fans who sympathize with Superman's isolation and public controversy, comparing it to what they experience.
  • Like You Would Really Do It: People were skeptical that they would kill off Superman before the Justice League movie, even with Doomsday involved. While he actually does die, it's only temporary, like in The Death of Superman comics.
  • Memetic Bystander: The anti-Superman protestor with the alien tattoo on his forehead has been used by fans as an unflattering strawman against people who continuously voice their dislike of Zack Snyder's movies.
  • Memetic Loser: Lex Luthor has been the butt of many jokes due to his bizarrely awkward, cringeworthy personality mixed with his plot relying on luck and others' incompetence than truly valid planning on his part.
  • Memetic Mutation: Has its own page.
  • Misaimed Fandom:
    • Some of Batman's most... intense fanboys take some of his quotes against Superman ("You're not brave. Men are brave.") at face value, not realizing they are meant to show that Batman has lost sight of his ideals and is very close to becoming the very thing he swore to fight.
    • Batman killing people is meant to be another sign his losing sight of his ideals. This flies over the heads of many critics of the movie since it goes to such lengths to make Batman killing people look cool, and treats his murder of Luthor's men to rescue Martha Kent as part of an act of heroism. This has led many critics of the movie to deride Batman as a Designated Hero.
    • Part of it is down to the fact that the movie itself doesn't know. In some scenes, Batman's brutality is portrayed as him having lost his way after Robin's death. However, we see him about to brand Lex after supposedly being "himself" again, and again doesn't restrict himself to nonlethal tactics when rescuing Martha. Finally, there's Zack Snyder's comments over it all, where he basically says the problem is the viewers thinking Batman should be like, well, Batman, that we should "wake the fuck up" and get out of our "dream world." It's hard to say what is or isn't "misaimed" when the work itself doesn't know if Batman was once more heroic and this is the place he's fallen to, or if only idiots living in a dream world don't realize that this is how he should be, and changes its mind from scene to scene.
  • Misblamed: Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder taking heat for an R-rated extended cut blu-ray, mostly due to talks about R-rated superhero movies becoming cash-grabs thanks to Deadpool. This is despite the fact that the announcement came from the MPAA via a quarterly report (so not even a formal press release), which was made available on the internet mere weeks after Deadpool premiered. Snyder even went on record, when prompted by Hollywood Reporter, about the rating; he didn't expect the rating for the initial cut. He hadn't realized that the deleted sequences were too intense for a PG-13, so he happily opted to include them in a Re-Cut. The R isn't even a "hard" R like Deadpool's—it's a soft R just for intense violent sequences. Not for blood, not for gore, not for profanity (except for one use of "fuck" being used), and not for nudity. This still hasn't stopped a few people from asserting that the alternate cut owes its existence to Deadpool and Deadpool alone, even though something similar happened with the extended cut for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, a movie that Warner Bros. also produced.
  • Money-Making Shot: The third trailer has the biggest one you could imagine: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman standing side by side, ready to face the enemy. Very simple, but nothing else is really needed.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Lex Luthor blows up the Capitol while Superman is present, while simultaneously sending Bruce several taunting letters allegedly from the bomber. Even worse, many of the people he killed were fellow Superman-skeptics and one was his personal assistant and most likely the only person besides his mother who actually liked him.
  • Narm: Has its own page.
  • Narm Charm:
    • The scene where Clark slips fully clothed into a bathtub with Lois while she's holding a flower. Although it feels cliche, it shows that Lois can bring out Superman's frisky side; additionally, it reinforces the traditional Superman/Lois romance that certain viewers feared wouldn't exist.
    • When Bruce is musing in his Batcave, he glances at the old Robin costume, which has "Ha ha! Joke's on you, Batman!" spray-painted on it. It's jarring and out of place given the seriousness of the scene, but that just makes Robin's supposed death even sadder, as the Joker has stripped the poor boy of his dignity.
    • For some people, Lex Luthor's over-the-top portrayal is one of the movie's saving graces; providing an entertainingly evil villain who at the same time provides levity to the movie's general Darkest and Grittiest tone.
    • The Senator reacts to the jar of "Granny's Peach tea" by behaving like someone was pointing a gun at her from behind that very instant. Absurd? Maybe. But then Lex's bomb goes off and kills a lot of people including her. While Lex might at first seem less like a threatening evil genius and more like the class clown at school who does unfunny pranks, the fact that he followed it up with the bomb pushes it into Black Comedy.
    • People who are more forgiving of the oft-mocked "Martha" scene argue that there's a lot more to it than the trope most obviously at play — namely, that it causes Batman to realize that he would be no better than Joe Chill if he killed an innocent man in cold blood and that it establishes that Superman is fundamentally an innocent man after all, especially with the arrival of Lois.
  • Never Live It Down: This incarnation of Batman is strongly associated with the "Save Martha" scene, which continues to be brought up even after the strong backlash against the movie had cooled off. Batman freaking out on hearing the name is supposed to be his PTSD kicking in, as "Martha" was the last word Thomas Wayne said as he and Martha died, but the combination of "Martha" being a common name and the execution of the scene makes people think Batman is unaware that there is more than one Martha in the world and makes people have the misconception that Batman dropped his conflict with Superman because their mothers have the same name, when the intended reason had more to do with Batman realizing Superman has a human mother and, by extension, some humanity despite being an alien.
  • Nightmare Retardant: It’s very hard to take Lex Luthor seriously as a villain. The combination of Jesse Eisenberg’s over the top and whiny portrayal alongside the character’s bizarrely comical dialogue can ruin every moment where he’s meant to be intimidating.
  • Older Than They Think:
    • Regarding Wonder Woman wearing high heels, she did have those before Crisis on Infinite Earths, particularly her Golden Age version, until from Crisis onward where she wears flat-soled boots. Her DC Animated Universe version also wear high heels which is lampshaded in the Justice League episode "The Once and Future Thing Part 1" where Batman teases that "you fight crime in high heels" to which she responds, "high heels that fit."
    • Doomsday's appearance has drawn frequent comparisons to the Abomination from The Incredible Hulk, when actually the latter looked a lot more like the former instead of its proper comics version (mainly green with fins and scales), so it's recursive.
    • This isn't the first time Lex Luthor's been depicted with long red hair. Most versions of Luthor have him start out with a full head of hair only to lose it under various circumstances (Luthor here gets his head shaved after being taken to prison). He also had a large mane in the Post-Crisis 90s while posing as his own son. In fact, the movie version is directly inspired by the look he has in Superman: Birthright as a teen.
      • It's also been pointed out that Lex's cocky, jokey behavior in the movie is very similar to his more comedic portrayal of Lex Luthor by Gene Hackman in the Richard Donner Superman films. Kevin Spacey's performance in Superman Returns was also no differentnote  and the only real difference between Hackman, Spacey and Eisenberg's performances are their ages. He was also willing to put the safety of the Earth at risk for his own advantage in many storylines, including Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
    • This isn't the first time Lex Luthor's really named Lex Luthor Junior, due to the above 90s circumstances.
    • Batman wore goggles and a longcoat over his normal suit in the Elseworlds JSA: The Liberty Files.
    • A Batman who kills is nothing new. Michael Keaton's Bat almost gleefully offed criminals, and other alternate versions have no problem with also doing so, such as the Batman of Earth-51 and Crazy Steve (the fan nickname for the Batman in All-Star Batman and Robin). Even when he makes it clear that he considers killing beneath him he'll still resort to it (Batman Forever and The Dark Knight).
      • Comic Book Bats himself was perfectly willing to use lethal force in his very first year. A Death in the Family also showed that Robin's murder pushed Batman hard enough to decide he'll kill the Joker, with Superman and Tim Drake's interventions stopping him from following through on it. Infinite Crisis repeated this trend, with Alexander Luthor in the Joker's place and Dick Grayson in Jason Todd's.
    • Doomsday's being created from Kryptonian DNA on Earth was also in Justice League.
      • It was also a plot point in the comics, on the anniversary (in-universe and out) of Superman's first fight with Doomsday. Lex Luthor used Kryptonian DNA to resurrect it and unleash it on a major American city.
    • While many fans were shocked by Lex nonchalantly killing Mercy, it happened before in Superman: Doomsday.
    • Jimmy Olsen being an intelligence operative without Lois knowing, and then getting killed at the beginning, happened before in Flashpoint.
    • Gotham and Metropolis being neighboring cities dates all the way back to the Bronze Age of Comics.
  • One-Scene Wonder:
    • Thomas and Martha Wayne only appear in the opening for obvious reasons, but leave an impact all the same. Tellingly, post-release and following the ill-fated Flashpoint film announcement, there was no shortage of Flashpoint fan art representing this comics' version of Batman as Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Thomas and this comics' version of The Joker as Lauren Cohan's Martha.
    • Early on, there were concerns that the other Justice League members aside from Wonder Woman would be featured prominently and would distract from the overall narrative itself. Those fears were alleviated with the implementation of this trope, which merely teased their appearances instead. The Flash makes his mark in a cameo appearance during the Knightmare and once more later on in the film. Similarly, Aquaman and Cyborg get small-yet-striking cameos late into the film.
    • Likewise, the cameo Jonathan Kent makes in Superman's dream is also pretty memorable, not least because it allows him some measure of redemption after Man of Steel left the impression he would have disapproved of Clark becoming a superhero.
  • Presumed Flop: The movie not cracking a billion at the box office is often turned into "Box Office Bomb" in some discourses, with some exaggeration about its breaking even point. While it had a huge drop (from a huge opening) on its second weekend and didn't reach Warner Bros.' (quite lofty) expectations, it still ended up in profit territory.
  • Questionable Casting:
    • Ben Affleck as Batman was probably the most controversial Bat-casting since Michael Keaton, with many criticizing his acting skills, while others resented him for replacing Christian Bale as Batman (despite Bale showing no sign that he wants to return, and the Nolanverse firmly being over). Ben himself even pointed out the internet reactions. However, when the film came out, critics pointed to Affleck's portrayal as one of the film's strongest points. Even those who disliked the film saw Affleck's performance as a positive aspect.
    • Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, with fans decrying the fact that a little-known actress was chosen to play the most iconic female superhero in her live-action film debut. Some fans have also complained about Gadot's lack of physical resemblance to the comic book version, specifically that she has a 'fashion model' build (ie. slender, flat chested and narrow shouldered) as opposed to a more muscular and physically imposing build like Gina Carano's (with some accusing WB/DC of not considering her due to her past romantic history with Henry Cavill). Some fans were also vocal about their preference for Jaimie Alexander (Sif in the Thor films), and prior to the announcement Alexander herself seemed to be interested — though she has a similar build to Gadot, so the backlash based on Gadot's appearance seems a little hypocritical if one also rooted for Alexander. As it turned out, similarly to Affleck as Batman, Gadot's Wonder Woman ended up one of the film's most highly praised aspects and the backlash is now a distant memory.
    • Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. A common criticism of the casting choice was that he is way too young looking to really fit the idea of Lex Luthor, on top being a bit infamous for playing the same type of character in most films (awkward, nervous nerdy types). While Eisenberg is about the same age as Henry Cavill, the film makes him look and act like he's a teenager rather than adult, which makes it harder to take him seriously and believable as a villain. His overly hammy and manic take on the character in the final product is often singled out as the weakest casting choice in the film, and while he does his best to seem intimidating, the number of Narm scenes he's involved in lead to a number of people to say he doesn't fit as Lex Luthor. His height and build don't help either - canonically, Luthor is a tall, muscular and well built man the same height as Batman at 6'2", with Superman just slightly taller at 6'3". Eisenberg is only 5'7" or so and pretty scrawny - he simply lacks physical presence when matched up against the brawny Cavill (6'1") and Affleck (6'3") - this makes it hard to take him seriously in the role. As a result, Eisenberg was nominated for and won the Worst Supporting Actor award for the 37th Golden Raspberry Awards.
    • Superman's French VA: Adrien Antoine. While he is a good actor and is pretty good with his lines, he's also been Batman 's French VA since 2004 (The Dark Knight trilogy excluded).
  • Signature Scene:
    • The "Save Martha" scene is first and foremost due to it leading to Batman and Superman's alliance and remaining contentious long after the worst of the backlash against the film cooled off due in part to the common misconception about the circumstances of Batman dropping his conflict with Superman.
    • The "Knightmare" sequence, which was considered a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment on release and given more significant context Zack Snyder's Justice League.
    • The Trinity uniting against Doomsday contains the Money-Making Shot and marks the dawn of the Justice League.
  • So Okay, It's Average: Going by audience ratings, the movie scores between 60 and 70 percent with most reviewing websites. Now that the dust has settled, most people (on social networks, at least) agree that it's a solid action flick that's held back by a few very detrimental flaws. Most people there seem to think the 64% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a fair indicator of the movie's overall quality, which is also supported by the movie's average critical rating of 4.9/10note .
  • Special Effect Failure: The muzzle flashes during the Knightmare scene are backwards.
  • Spiritual Adaptation:
    • Batman's fighting style, relying on quick reflexes and gadgets, is a very faithful live-action version of the "Freeflow Combat" system from the Batman: Arkham Series.
    • Due to the film's dark, deconstructive take on what many people consider to be the archetypal heroes of comic books, this is probably the closest we'll get to a film adaptation of Squadron Supreme or Supreme Power.
    • The "Knightmare" sequence is basically a live-action version of Injustice: Gods Among Us complete with Superman as a tyrant and black-cloaked soldiers bearing his insignia. Snyder has even confirmed that it was a deliberate homage to the games.
    • In addition to the Knightmare sequence, Batman's paranoia is more or less the whole reason behind why his Expy in Irredeemable was paranoid the Superman Substitute of his world would turn against humanity.
  • Squick: The jar full of urine just before the Capitol explosion. Did Luthor really pee in a jar?
  • Tainted by the Preview:
    • The first new picture of Cavill in the Supersuit drew mixed reactions for its similar dark and gloomy tone (though if he's in Gotham City, which will be in the film, the dour mood is justified). The first picture of Gadot in the Wonder Woman costume also drew mixed reactions for its muted colors.
    • Jesse Eisenberg being cast as Lex Luthor was controversial from the get-go, but it intensified after fans got their first look at his portrayal in the SDCC trailer. Many felt their fears about the casting had been confirmed, i.e. that he looked too young, wasn't intimidating, and/or generally played the character as too campy. By contrast, footage of Affleck and Gadot from the same trailer actually managed to win over some of their detractors. This only intensified after the second trailer.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • Many fans of the comic and animated versions of Mercy Graves were shocked to see her killed off so nonchalantly by Lex, especially since there could have been many potential plotlines involving her.
    • Fans learning that Lois's cameraman (who only appears for a minute or two before being executed by Knyazev) was Jimmy Olsen, and Zack Snyder admitting he did it because it'd be fun to shock the audience by so casually killing off an iconic character who he felt had no place in his film (even though most likely the majority of viewers didn't even realize the cameraman was Jimmy), despite making him a CIA spook who could have had a different and more interesting relation with Clark. His screen time is slightly longer in the Ultimate Edition.
    • Even those who did like the film believe that Superman, despite being a titular character, was unfairly sidelined in focus by Batman and Wonder Woman. Superman is practically Demoted to Extra in what should have been his movie, and it took the release of the Ultimate cut to really show that he was supposed to be more important than the film gave audiences.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • The main driving force of the early part of the movie is people questioning if Superman can be trusted after the previous film, as well as deconstructing Hero Insurance after Superman and Zod's fight caused many people to die. This is one of the few plot points setup in the previous film that actually gets used here to any effect, and serves as the major divide between Superman and Batman. Save for the actual fight between Batman and Superman, it fits the story pretty well, and yet this plot line is just dropped later into the film without any resolution. In fact, the whole plot line really feels like a reason to motivate Batman to fight Superman for real, rather than give Superman any character development, which is fine for Batman but doesn't work beyond that. Cracked summed up the general view on the matter:
    There are plenty of great movies out there that don't take sides on deep issues like how we must handle the consolidation of power given its corrosive nature. One such movie is Rocky. Another is The Little Mermaid. While those movies have some differences, they do have one big thing in common: They don't spend their first 30 minutes underlining, bolding, and italicizing the question "Can you be moral and all-powerful?" only to end with, "Well, we sure killed that monster that came from out of nowhere. Please enjoy all eight of our spinoffs/sequels."
    • Superman's death and the apparent confirmation he'll be resurrected happened far too soon, with the DC Cinematic Universe barely being set up yet and therefore robbing most of the impact of Superman's death which could have been done better if handled in its own future film. It became especially obvious with Justice League (2017) that this was a weak foundation for a Shared Universe since the event in question distracts from the pantheon-forming earth-shaking event that the formation of the League should be. It also loses much of it's impact because this is the second movie with Superman in it, which leaves next to no emotional attachment for a good number of viewers, since if it had occurred in another film, audiences could have felt it was a big moment.
    • Really, the basic premise of the film sets up a solid story that it somewhat uses: "an older, cynical Batman, finds his humanity again, because of a younger, more optimistic, Superman". If the film really needed a central antagonist (though that in itself is debatable), then that should've been Lex Luthor, manipulating both heroes into fighting each other without Doomsday. The actual movie is so crammed full of plot-threads, sub-plots, and teasers, that even with a 3-hour runtime it just turns into a barely-functioning mess with most of the more interesting ideas severely underdeveloped. Batman "regains" his humanity in a way that comes across as not using the concept to the fullest, and Superman doesn't really do anything to inspire hope in Batman. The plotline is there, and it is clearly meant to be an idea, but it doesn't get explored in any way.
    • Particularly in the extended cut of the movie, Lois has a significant subplot where she tries to figure out who framed Superman for the deaths in Nairomi, and why. However, to the viewers it's obvious right from the start that Luthor is behind it, so the scenes with Lois' investigation don't really work as Detective Drama. If Lois would've used her knowledge as a leverage against Luthor, either by confronting him herself or giving the information to Superman, that would've provided a satisfying conclusion to her arc. But as it happens, Luthor confesses what he's done to Lois and Supes before either of them can confront him with the fact.. The information Lois uncovered probably helps to get Luthor convicted at the end of the movie, but even that isn't made clear onscreen, so her subplot has no dramatic conclusion and gets pretty much forgotten once the big brawls in the finale begin.
    • With just a few minutes of footage, the opening scene in Metropolis perfectly demonstrates why some people might distrust Superman and see him as a threat to humanity, even though he was just trying to protect innocent people. But when we meet Lex Luthor (Superman's nemesis), that proves to be incidental to his characterization and motivation, and we never even get to see his reaction to Superman's battle with Zod—even though he lives in Metropolis, and was presumably there to witness it. At the very least, the movie could have shown how Luthor exploited other people's understandable reasons for distrusting Superman.
    • In the previous film, Superman's split-second decision to kill General Zod was clearly depicted as a traumatic experience that shook him to his core, and Superman still clearly considers it one of the biggest mistakes that he ever made. This film coincidentally ends with Superman fighting a mutated, reanimated Zod. Despite the obvious potential for drama in that scenario, the movie never really explores the fact that Superman is fighting the reanimated corpse of the only person that he ever killed; Superman just treats Doomsday as a mindless monster, and doesn't seem to have any reservations about killing Zod all over again.
  • Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: One of the prevailing criticisms about the film was how bleak it was, with Superman spending much of the runtime doubting himself, feeling burdened by his duties, or being depressed, while Batman is portrayed as a violent, xenophobic hypocrite who refuses to to the sensible thing and has given up on his most basic principles as a hero, with the world around both of them being shown to be pretty rotten with little effort to improve — and then the whole thing ended with Superman dying immediately after finding something to fight for, just so he'd be out of commission for most of a Justice League movie, leaving audiences on a note where a threat more dangerous than Doomsday (who was the one who just killed Superman) is on the immediate horizon and there's little hope to stop it without Superman, even with Batman and Wonder Woman teaming up and presumably heading out to look for the Justice League (though this is never explicitly stated). Many unfavorably contrasted Batman v Superman with how the Marvel Cinematic Universe films managed to balance levity and seriousness with character work truer to the source material, and based on box office returns, it seemed that many hoped that a "versus" movie might instead be more of a crowd-pleaser instead of a dour, slow-paced melodrama. Shortly after the movie's release, public relations for DC Films spent a considerable amount of time ahead of Justice League talking about how future movies would be more hopeful and optimistic in nature.
  • Took the Bad Film Seriously: It's generally agreed upon that everyone, or almost everyone involved gave it their all. Henry Cavill is clearly sidelined in focus by Ben Affleck note , but it's clear Cavill does his best with what he's given. Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Jeremy Irons all received heavy praise for their performances as well. Jesse Eisenberg, however, was not so fortunate.
  • Unexpected Character: Has its own page.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: No matter what your opinion on film was, it's hard to deny that Snyder's flair for engaging imagery shines through as usual in the film. It also help that unlike with Man of Steel, this film saw Snyder reuniting with his usual DP Larry Fong. Fong is responsible for creating the highly bright Color contrast imagery, one thinks of when they think of a Zack Snyder film.
  • Vindicated by History: While still divisive, the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League has put this film in a better light as part of a trilogy, giving Superman and Batman a proper arc with payoff and making the gloomy atmosphere more tolerable as it is building up to a lighter finale.
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: Batman insists he has to treat Superman as a threat to the world, even if there's only a 1% chance he turns into a bad guy. You suppose this is saying something about terrorism? In any case, it's in line with Batman making contingency plans against fellow heroes out of paranoia, as seen in JLA: Tower of Babel and its Animated Adaptation, Justice League: Doom.
  • The Woobie:
    • Both Clark and Martha Kent take a lot of punishment in the final act.
      • Just before the final act begins, there's "No one stays good in this world."
      • Martha's situation becomes worse once you take to mind that after years of learning how to live without her husband, she now has to face a life without her son. To the entire world her son is dead. Even though we know Superman will return in Justice League, with Clark also counted as a casualty of the Doomsday battle, it's safe to say that we might never see Superman revert to that identity again. And while the world may have Superman once more, she will never really have her son ever again.
    • Lois Lane goes through some trying moments as well. Following the incident in Nairomi, she has to deal with not only the love of her life being framed, but also her journalistic integrity being questioned multiple times. In attempting to clear both her and Superman's name she has to deal with red tape courtesy of Lex Luthor and the power he has over folks in the government, that and folks won't let her forget that at the end of the day they see her more as Superman's girlfriend than as a reputable journalist. By the time she's finally able to clear both her and Superman's name, Superman has already sacrificed himself to kill Doomsday. And to add to this, it's at his funeral that she finds out that he was planning on proposing to her.
  • WTH, Costuming Department?:
    • While many think Batman's desert getup with trenchcoat and goggles is cool, many others think it is goofy.
    • Lex Luthor's shoulder-length red hair has caused its fair share of raised eyebrows. Not to mention his pimp coat.
    • Barry Allen's long hair (with high ponytail, in civilian dress) and mustache has had the same effect. He has cut his hair short for Justice League however.
    • Superman's unflattering, severely swept back hair has also been a target of scorn for making it look like he's prematurely balding, especially since Cavill has on multiple occasions been seen with more Superman-esque hair, naturally, including at the premiere of Justice League. The addition of the Man of Steel costume in Injustice: Gods Among Us further exposed the flaws of the look.

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