Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice pt. 1 – Prologue

 

"There was a time above. A time before. There were perfect things. Diamond absolutes. But things fall, things on earth. And what falls, is fallen. In the dream, they took me to the light. A beautiful lie."

As Batman vs. Superman starts we are shown a prologue that plays an important role in  the story and has major repercussions for the rest of the movie. I haven't seen too many prologues that have such an influence on the rest of a film as this one does. In this prologue we are shown the death of the Bruce's parents at the hands of Joe Chill, we see Bruce's discovery of the caves near his home, and we see the final battle of Kal-El and Zod in Man of Steel but from Bruce Wayne's perspective. This is a lot of ground to cover in the short 10 minutes that is devoted to these scenes.

The prologue starts with the Death of Thomas and Martha Wayne while the haunting score of Hans Zimmer's 'Beautiful Lie' plays during this scene. We also hear the above quoted dialogue from an older Bruce Wayne during this scene.

In regards to the death of the Wayne's, this is a scene that has been shown many times on the big and small screen. I myself have seen it four times in various formats prior to this movie. However, I believe this one is the most impactful of the ones that have previously been shown. This scene focuses solely on the mugging and murder of the Wayne's. Only one word is spoken in this scene, "Martha". This scene focuses more on the loss of Martha Wayne and how a little boy had to watch his mother die. While Batman Begins had focused on the relationship between Bruce and his father, Thomas, this movie is more about the loss of Martha. This scene is juxtaposed with the funeral of the Wayne's and in this film, Bruce discovers the cave full of bats near his home during this time. As Bruce discovers the cave of bats they end up carrying him up to the light and out of the cave as the older Bruce says "In the dream, they took me to the light. A beautiful lie."  These two short scenes are the essence of Batman and are the impetus of how he comes to be. Bruce Wayne becomes Batman because his parents are killed and he desires to right this wrong for the rest of his life.

From there we jump ahead in time to the events that we see at the end of Man of Steel (2013). Bruce Wayne arrives in Metropolis via helicopter from Gotham and witnesses first hand the final battle between Zod and Kal-El while driving on the streets of Metropolis. Bruce has an office building full of friends in Metropolis that he is trying to reach as Metropolis falls apart around him due to the World Builder wreaking havoc in the city. As Bruce reaches his office building, he is too late as he witnesses Zod destroy the building with his laser vision. Bruce can only watch in horror as his building collapses killing his friends and coworkers. Bruce then makes his way to the building to try and find survivors. He helps a security guard, Wally, who is trapped in rubble. He also is able to save a young girl from being killed as debris collapses almost killing her. As Kal-El and Zod continue to fight in the sky above Metropolis, Bruce watches with hatred towards these two aliens who are destroying a city and killing innocents.

This is the moment that Batman starts planning to stop Superman. This is the moment when Batman vs. Superman starts. A common complaint of this movie is that there were only a small amount of actual fighting between Batman and Superman. When in reality, Batman vs. Superman starts 9:50 into the movie.

Zack Snyder does an excellent job of tying in Man of Steel to this movie and propelling the overall story forward. Including this prologue scene setting up Bruce Wayne's hatred of Kal-El and what he did to Metropolis was a smart move in more ways than one. Not only does it move the story forward, Snyder validates one of the biggest complaints from Man of Steel. This complaint is about the wanton destruction of Metropolis during the final battle and the major loss of life. Snyder doesn't attempt to excuse or explain why it happened, but instead infuses those complaints into Bruce Wayne and his motivations for Dawn of Justice.

Before this horrific moment, the public and even Bruce Wayne did not know of Kal-El and his existence on Earth. Then all of a sudden in a matter of days, the world changes and these aliens are destroying cities and people are dying as a result of their feud. Dawn of Justice deals directly with this fear, from Bruce Wayne and others being scared of what Kal-El can do, to the media having a heyday with biased reporting and trying to pit half of the population against the other half. In real life we can't even have a presidential election without arguing and protests, with the media fueling hatred for the two parties to go against each other. Imagine if an event such as what happened in Man of Steel actually happened and how the media would cover it and try to influence the population. I imagine it would happen pretty close to what is portrayed in this film, half of the population would hate Superman, the other half would love him and the media would do all it could to demonize the other half it doesn't agree with. I believe this to be a genius move by Snyder and the story writers. This isn't your father's 1978 Superman feel good story, and nor should it be. A lot has changed in 35 years and a modern retelling of Superman should reflect that.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice

"Black and blue. Fight night. The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus man; day versus night; Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!"- Lex Luthor

Batman versus Superman. When this title was announced at San Diego Comic Con in 2014, it blew my mind! I was eagerly awaiting the announcement of a Man of Steel 2 movie, but this! This, my fellow nerds, was paramount to the Second Coming! Then to top it all off - Wonder Woman was announced to be a part of the movie too!

Batman AND Superman in the same movie?! The Man of Steel AND The Dark Knight at odds one with another?! Wonder Woman fighting alongside the two most iconic superheroes of all time?! Finally! This will be the first time The Trinity would appear on the big screen for fans to enjoy. For the first time we will see Diana Prince in action on film. The potential for greatness and movie making history was finally announced! And let me tell you, this film did not disappoint.

Wait, WHAT?! What is this you are reading? I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Am I truly reading a review of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice that isn't disparaging the film left and right?" or "Am I understanding this correctly? This guy actually LIKED this movie?!" The answer is yes, you are.

But all joking aside; yes, I did enjoy this movie from the first viewing. I saw it multiple times in the theaters, four times in fact. I would've gone once or twice more had I had the time to do so. I bought the Ultimate Edition when it came out on home video and my appreciation and enjoyment of this film grew even more. The storyline and character development was fleshed out to be more fulfilling and robust with the Ultimate Edition. If this Ultimate Edition had been released in theaters, I believe it would have been better received.

I intend to break this film down into various parts from beginning to end, as well as to write a character analysis for each of the main players in the film, over the next few weeks. To discuss and analyze everything this movie event has to offer would be too long for one blog post. I will attempt to win over those that dislike, are ambivalent, and even hate this movie; as well as reinforce the greatness of this movie with those that do enjoy it. I'm looking forward to this experience as I delve deep into this film, which in my opinion could be considered the greatest movie of 2016. It's only competition being Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

But at the end of the day, if you don't like the film - that's fine, if you do like the film -great! Either way, life will go on and Warner Bros. will continue to produce and release films from the DC Universe for those that enjoy them.

Listed below are the topics I will address and expound upon, I will activate links to the various topics and characters as I finish writing them.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice pt. 1 - Prologue

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice pt. 2 - The Setup

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice pt. 3 - Investigations

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice pt. 4 - The Plan is Set in Motion

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice pt. 5 - War

Bruce Wayne/Batman

Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

Lex Luthor

Lois Lane

Alfred

Zod/Doomsday

Smallville Season 6 Episode 1-Zod

What a great start to this new season of Smallville! General Zod almost takes over Earth for the first time (or again, depending on your age). We get to see Clark Kent kneel before Zod and trick him again (or for the first time). We see the Phantom Zone and those that inhabit it and how it's possible to escape it if you know the secret passageway. I watched in sadness as Lana Lang and Lex Luthor's relationship takes a new twist, as Lana is exposed to Kryptonian powers without somehow forgetting it by the end of the episode, but it is from Lex/Zod and not Clark Kent. Lana is forgiving of Lex and the terrible things that he did, but "he wasn't himself", so it's all good. Then we see Clark and Lois Lane share an emotional moment, then realize that it was not the norm for them, but they realize that they kind of liked it too. This could be a new beginning for them as they start to realize that their relationship could be more than big sister/little brother, and it wouldn't be so bad.  FULL REVIEW:

This episode starts right where Season 5 ended, Clark Kent is trapped in the Phantom Zone and is hurtling away from Earth. Chloe Sullivan and Lionel Luthor are being attacked amidst the chaos of Metropolis. Lex Luthor/Zod and Lana Lang are on top of the LuthorCorp building surveying the destruction.

In the Phantom Zone, Clark is wandering around an empty desert when he is attacked by specters who overwhelm him with their speed and ferocity. A robed stranger intervenes and drives them off with a beam of light emanating from a talisman engraved with the Superman 'S'. Clark thanks the stranger, but then the stranger kicks him in the head knocking him out and the welcomes him to the Phantom Zone.

In Metropolis, a LuthorCorp security guard helps rescue Lionel and Chloe and brings them into the LuthorCorp building and they head to the rooftop. On the rooftop, Lana urges Lex to stop the destruction with the powers that Professor Fine gave him. Lex then tells Lana that he is not Lex, but Zod. Chloe and Lionel arrive on the rooftop only to see Lex grab Lana and fly off.

Chloe and Lionel go back to his office and they talk about how Clark failed to stop Zod. They talk about going back to the barn and getting the knife to kill Zod/Lex. They try to think of another way. Lionel mentions that he doesn't have the connection with Jor-El anymore. He will head back to Smallville, and Chloe will go to the Daily Planet to try and find an answer.

In the Phantom Zone, Clark is being held by the stranger. The stranger recognizes Kal-El and then shows him the talisman with the Superman S.

Lana and Lex arrive at a warehouse and Lex shows Lana the spaceship. Lana is trying get Lex to fight Zod from within. Zod brings Lana along to bear witness to the rebirth of Krypton. Lex extracts a key from the ship and the ship disappears.

Lois Lane and Martha Kent's jet has crashed in some snowy mountains. Martha wakes up and finds Lois injured adn unresponsive. She is half frozen and can't move. Martha finds that the cockpit of the jet has been destroyed and all the communication devices are destroyed. She looks out of the window and sees the Fortress of Solitude and it is glowing red.

Martha takes Lois into the Fortress. Jor-El communicates with Martha and tells her how Clark used the knife to kill Fine instead of Zod. He tells her that Clark has been banished. Jor-El tells Martha to retrieve the dagger and kill Zod to save her world. Martha accepts the mission and Jor-El thanks Martha for doing such a good job raising Kal-El. He then sends Martha and Lois back to Smallville.

In the Phantom Zone, the stranger, Raya, helps Clark with his injuries.They talk about how she has been trapped there. She was one of Jor-El's assistants on Krypton. He sent her away to the Phantom Zone to protect her from dying. She gives Clark the crystal with the S on it. He tells Raya that he has to get back or Zod will kill everyone he loves. Raya is fearful of Zod but will help Clark.

At the Daily Planet, Chloe is studying the kryptonian symbols that Lionel had written. She hears someone coming in, and grabs her gun and fires an errant shot. The intruder ends up being Jimmy Olsen.

Zod and Lana go back to the mansion and Lex pulls out the object from the ship and disables the virus. Lex tells Lana that the ship will send out an impulse that will start the transformation to Krypton. Lana attempts to attack Zod, but he takes the weapon from her and impales her hand to the wall instead. Lex then leaves for the Pentagon. After he leaves, Lana pulls her hand free.

In the Phantom Zone, Raya and Clark are heading to the gateway when they are attacked by the two Kryptonians who attacked Earth in Season 5. Clark is captured and Raya tells them that she was bringing him to them, as he can set them free. Clark is the only one who can open the gateway as he is the son of Jor-El.

Martha is at the barn and she finds the dagger just as Lionel walks in. They are talking about Lex when Lana walks in. They agree that they have to kill Lex, Lana agrees to do it as she will be the only one who can get close enough. She takes the dagger.

At the mansion, Zod comes back with a Pentagon computer. Lana is back and tell him that she has nowhere to run to and will give into her fate. Zod tells her that she will give him an heir, and she agrees that it will be the first of many. They start to kiss and Lana tries to stab Zod with the dagger, but her grabs it from her and breaks it. Zod uses the object to interface with the Pentagon computer and access the satellites.

At the Planet, Jimmy and Chloe are talking, when the Earth starts to shake and a high pitched noise is heard everywhere, The Planet starts to fall apart.

In the Phantom Zone, they arrive at the gateway. Raya cuts Clark's hand and draws blood. She then kills one of the attackers and frees Clark. Clark uses his blood to open the gateway, but it also sucks in others and they arrive on Earth.

On Earth the are massive earthquakes and at the barn, it is falling apart. Clark saves Martha and Lionel and finds out where Zod and Lana are. He goes to the mansion just as Zod is choking Lana. Clark arrives and destroys the object and stops the destruction on Earth. Clark and Zod start fighting with superpowers and Zod is winning. He tells Clark to "Kneel before Zod" and he will not destroy the ones he loves. Zod reaches out his hand and Clark grabs it and gives the crystal with the S on it to Zod. It emits a power and defeats Zod, driving him from Lex's body. Lex passes out and drops the S.

At the hospital, Lois is getting better and Clark arrives to speak with her. Lois tells her about how she doesn't know how the plane went down. She did wake up in a palace of ice and knew everything was going to be alright. Clark tells her that he is glad she is back and grabs her hand. They both realize they are sharing an awkward moment and recoil from each other.

Lex comes to the hospital and finds Lana, he tells her that the last time he remembers anything he was in the field with her and then all went white and he woke up at the hospital. Lana tells Lex that he caused all the destruction and that he wasn't himself. Lex tells her that he will work hard to fix things.

Clark goes to the Planet and finds Chloe and that she is alright. They embrace and they discuss the kiss from earlier. They both agree that it was nothing. Jimmy comes in and he is introduced to Clark, and he picks up on that Jimmy and Chloe like each other. They go off to get something to eat. Clark heads back to the Farm.

Martha is cleaning up in the barn and Clark comes back tells Martha that he took the crystal back to the Fortress for safekeeping. He tried to talk to Jor-El, but there was no answer. Clark tells his mother that the Fortress is dead. Clark says that everything is changing, he doesn't know what to do now.

At LuthorCorp, Lionel is drawing kryptonian symbols but isn't in a trance, he translates one as Power. At the mansion, Lex is holding a broken piece of the object form the spaceship and is examining it. At Iguazu Falls in South America, we see one of the phantoms from the Phantom Zone flying around, letting the audience know that danger is still out there.

Smallville Season 5 Episode 22-Vessel

Clark is working in the barn and a mysterious wind and reflecting light appears. At the Luthor mansion, Lex Luthor and Lana Lang are sleeping on the couch together and Lex starts acting strange and has a pain in his head. He takes off in his car driving fast with Lana following him. Lex pulls over by a field and starts running through the field with Lana chasing him. He comes out into an open area and the pain subsides, he warns Lana to stay away. The ground starts erupting at his feet all around him. Just then a shadow falls over Lex and Fine appears next to Lana. Just then a beam of light comes down from a spaceship and takes Lex up into it. The ship leaves a kryptonian symbol on the ground and disappears. At the Kent Farm, Lois is on the phone with an airline company trying to get a flight for her and Martha to go to Washington. Lionel comes by and offers to take them in the LuthorCorp jet. She declines and Lionel starts complimenting Martha on her rare qualities and is quite close to her.

Lana visits Chloe at The Daily Planet and she tells Chloe about Lex being abducted by the black spaceship. Fine was there and Lana blames herself for getting Lex involved. She is worried that Lex is dead.

Chloe visits Clark at the barn and tells him about Lex's abduction. Clark is thinking that Zod is using Lex to get himself free. Clark tells Chloe that he needs to go talk with Jor-El about this. He goes to the Fortress of Solitude. Clark talks with Jor-El about how Fine is back and how they can stop him. Jor-El tells Clark that the ship and Fine are preparing for Zod to come back. Zod is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and that he killed him and his mother. Zod's physical body was destroyed, but when Zod is released he will need a new physical body. Jor-El gives Clark a kryptonian knife to kill Zod's human form when he returns, whomever Zod inhabits.

At The Planet, Clark has returned and is talking with Chloe about having to kill Zod. They don't know who it will be, but that it might be why Lex was captured so Zod can inhabit his body. Clark then states that if it is him, he will have to kill Lex. Lana overhears the last statement of how Clark has to kill Lex from the doorway.

At the Kent Farm, Clark pulls out the knife from where it is hidden. Lionel walks in an sees him with it. Lionel asks what Jor-El wants him to do with the dagger. Lionel brings another paper with kryptonian symbols, Clark translates it as "Sacrifice The Vessel". Lionel wants to help him, but Clark tells Lionel about he will have to kill the vessel. Zod will inhabit a vessel that Clark will have to kill. Clark says that he can't kill anyone. Lionel tells Clark that the true test of a hero is that he might have to kill one to save many. Clark says that even if it is your own son? He tells Lionel that Lex was abducted this morning at the field. Lionel goes to the field and Lex is back. Lionel and Lex talk about Lex has made a deal with the devil and he always comes to collect. Lionel grabs Lex by the shoulder and Lex throws him 100 yards away. Lex now has super powers. Lex runs off back to the mansion.

Lana is there and she is glad to see Lex. Lex tells Lana that he is okay and that he has been given a gift. He pulls out a gun and shoots his hand to demonstrate, he catches the bullet. Lana is amazed that he isn't scratched. Lex tells her that she needs to tell the truth about him. He has their abilities but he isn't one of them. Lex tells her that he couldn't keep something like this from the person he cares about the most. Lana then tells him that she overheard Clark and Chloe talking and that Clark is going to try and kill him. Lex believes that it is his father's fault for infecting him with fear. Lex tells her that he has to go somewhere, Lana wants to go, but he tells her no. Lex tells Lana to meet her at the top of LuthorCorp Plaza tonight.

Lionel is at the hospital and Clark comes in and Lionel tells Clark that he found Lex and that he has changed. Lex now has powers like him and that he is dangerous. Lionel believes that Lex was chosen by Zod because of the darkness in him. Lionel warns Clark that Lana is in danger too.

On the LuthorCorp plane, Martha and Lois board and find a bottle of wine and a card from Lionel. Martha states that she isn't interested in a relationship with Lionel. Lois doesn't believe her.

At the Luthor mansion, Clark comes looking for Lex. Lana is there and they talk about how Lex is in trouble. Lana doesn't believe him and won't tell him. Lana asks Clark to tell him what is happening to Lex, Clark doesn't answer and Lana tells Clark that she can't believe she ever loved him and then walks out. Fine appears behind Clark and tells him that if he would have told her the truth about him, then Clark would have her allegiance. Clark then punches Fine, and Fine tells Clark that he was supposed to be the vessel and release Zod the first time. Clark tells him that he will never release Zod. Fine tells him that he will use Clark's weakness of caring for humans to manipulate him. He then uses a computer program to shut down all the power.

At The Planet, Clark finds Chloe and they talk about how the computer virus is shutting everything down. Havoc and panic are occurring throughout Metropolis. All of a sudden, a car comes through the window and Clark saves Chloe. They talk about how now the only option is to kill the vessel of Zod. Clark goes to leave, and Chloe says that she doesn't know if she will ever see him again. Chloe gives him a passionate kiss. Just then a phone rings and Clark answers it. It is Lex, who says that he heard Clark was looking for him.

On the LuthorCorp jet, Martha and Lois start talking about how it sure is taking them awhile to get to Washington. They look out the window and see they are not anywhere near the East Coast, as there are snow covered mountains below them.

Clark goes back to the Kent farm and is in the barn when Lex walks in. Lex asks Clark if has decided to kill him. Clark tells him that Lex did this to himself. Lex confronts Clark how he used to think that Clark was so virtuous, but realizes that Clark lies to everyone he cares about. Lex tries to throw Clark, but Clark throws him. They fight and Clark pulls out the knife to kill Lex, but can't do it. Fine appears and encourages Clark to kill Lex. Clark instead kills Fine with the knife. A red beam shoots out from The Fortress and Zod is released into Lex's body. Zod's confronts Clark and tells him Lex is dead. Zod tells Clark that Jor-El banished him to an eternal hell and that the only survivor is Kal-El. Clark tells him that it is between them and no one else. Zod tells Clark that he needs to join him and Clark says that he will never join him. Zod then is able to imprison him in the Phantom Zone.

In the LuthorCorp jet, Lois and Martha are running out of oxygen. Martha passes out and Lois is able to pry open the oxygen masks, but passes out before she can put them on.

News clips from all around the US are shown of people rioting and looting. In Metropolis, Chloe is stuck in the middle of a riot. Lionel shows up in his limo and Chloe gets in, but they are pulled out and assaulted. Lana is also in the middle of Metropolis heading for the top of LuthorCorp. She manages to arrive and finds Lex there. Lana tells Lex that she is there for him and wants to find out where this will take there relationship. They kiss and the camera pans to Metropolis and then the US and then the world and how it is in chaos. Tjhe camera pans to space and we see Clark trapped in the Phantom Zone flying away from Earth.