TRAILER: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice #2

Whoa.

That’s my reaction to the new trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Whoa.

How do I even begin to dissect these action-packed three minutes? This is easily much better than the first trailer and gives us a stronger sense of what we can expect when the movie hits theaters. Even if you aren’t a huge Batman or Superman fan, this is bound to give you chills and make you anxious to see the film.

There is an even balance between Batman and Superman in this trailer. It’s clear that this isn’t a Man of Steel sequel as much as it is a Batman establishment story. We catch glimpses of a young Bruce Wayne watching his parents get shot, and we hear news reports raving about the new Batman and his war on crime. But we also see evidence that Batman has been acting as a vigilante for quite some time, especially in this one shot.

This one picture alone says so much that I could probably write a separate review on it. That’s clearly Robin’s suit, but which one? Dick Grayson comes to mind since he was the first Robin who most audiences recognize. But that bo-staff in the memorial’s arms looks like it belongs to Tim Drake. Then, we have the graffiti, which was obviously written by the Joker, meaning that this suit most likely belonged to Jason Todd. If this IS Todd’s suit (and it seems to be the general consensus that it is), then the Batman solo film that is due out in a few years could be an adaptation of the amazing Batman: Under The Red Hood storyline. I can’t handle all these possibilities…

90% of the audience was baffled upon hearing that Jesse Eisenberg had been cast as the notorious Superman villain Lex Luthor, partly because of his young age and partly because of his questionable acting history. In this trailer, I’m actually buying his performance. His voice is perfect as the conniving, sinister, two-faced businessman with a hidden agenda. The only complaint I have is that the long hair does not look right on Eisenberg. It looks like a wig. Obviously, they were trying to go for the younger version of Lex with the flowing locks before he went bald, but I don’t think it works with Eisenberg’s face. Don’t get me wrong: I won’t bash this movie solely because of someone’s hairstyle; it’s a very, very, very minor grievance. Plus, I’m assuming that Lex loses his hair by the end of the film and we’ll eventually see him in all his bald glory.

Speaking of Lex Luthor, I think we find out how exactly he’ll play into the supervillain role in this film. There’s a shot of Lex being presented with Zod’s body and then another one of him looking over a piece of Kryptonite ore. I’m guessing that he’s using Zod’s body to test the effects of the Kyptonite to see how they’ll work against Superman, OR he found a way to harvest Zod’s powers and transfer them to a rock, thus creating the DC Cinematic Universe’s version of Kryptonite.

A common question being thrown around is “Why are Batman and Superman fighting?” Right from the get-go, I figured that it had something to do with the final battle of Man of Steel. Maybe Bruce is mad at Superman for all the collateral damage and wants revenge/justice? Judging from this trailer, it looks like that may indeed be the case. The San Diego Comic Con panel revealed that Gotham and Metropolis are very close to each other, and that the Man of Steel battle spilled into Gotham City at some point. The trailer shows a clip of Wayne Tower being destroyed as a hapless Bruce Wayne looks on. Yeah, that seems like a good reason for Batman wanting to fight Superman.

Here’s an interesting theory: what if Commission Gordon was killed during that battle? There’s been no word of casting for this character, making you wonder what’s going on with him. I’m thinking Gordon is going to be dead by the time of this film, and maybe Superman/Zod had something to do with it; yet another reason Batman wants to fight the Man of Steel.

Let’s not forget another important feature of this trailer/film: Wonder Woman! Yes, we finally see Wonder Woman in action, using her bracelets, sword, and shield in battle. The new question is: who is she fighting? My guess is that Batman recruited her to help fight against Superman because he can’t handle him on his own. If you look at Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which this movie is borrowing heavily from, Batman needed the Green Arrow’s assistance to ultimately defeat Supes. Looks like Battfleck will be needing help as well. I’m incredibly excited to see this incarnation of Wonder Woman, and I hope that she ends up as a fairly huge player and not just Batman’s temporary sidekick.