Was Batman V Superman really THAT bad? Zack Snyder speaks on the backlash he received for his sophomore outing in the DC Universe.
It’s hard to describe what it was like to experience Batman V Superman in real time. While Man of Steel wasn’t beloved, it was good enough that fans were sat to see where Zack Snyder was taking the DC Universe. Expectations were high, too, with the film coming out around the same time as Captain America: Civil War. Sadly, for most people, the film got a resounding: Meh?
The backlash only got worse beyond Batman V Superman. Now a decade out, Zack Snyder is very much a “love him or hate him” director. He has big fans, but he has equally big haters. However, it seems as though the backlash doesn’t get to the director, as he is proud of both movies that came out (even if he has a preference for which is better!)
“I think the director’s cut of [Batman v Superman] is really the movie that I was trying to make,” Snyder told the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast. “It’s a better movie than the movie that was theatrically released. That’s my feeling. I still love the theatrical release, and I’m not mad at it. I just think that the real intent that Chris Terrio and I had was in the director’s cut.”
“My 100% honest reaction to [Batman v Superman] and how it’s received in the world is that, do you really want a movie that’s had all the edges shaved off it by the focus groups. Do you really want a movie [where] decisions have been made in the boardroom or tested ideas are being rendered for your enjoyment? Do you really want the Kmart version of your story? Is that what you really want?”
The Mockery Of Martha
Perhaps the most infamous piece of backlash Zack Snyder received following the release of Batman V Superman was about the “Save Martha” scene. It’s a moment that has been the subject of a decade of discourse. And while Snyder himself defends the scene, he certainly understand why it has become such a big meme in DC Universe fandom spaces.
“I would argue that’s fine to make fun of Martha. It is true in canon that Batman and Superman’s mothers are both named Martha. That is a fact of the comic book world. Whether or not that is a thing, you feel like Batman with the hovering spear of destiny over Superman’s heart. Those words, seeing what he believes is a creature that he’s demonized in his mind.”
Perhaps the one thing that everyone has learned following Zack Snyder’s time in the DC Universe is that he isn’t a director for everyone. He has his own genre of storytelling, and he does it well. Did that arguably make him a bad pick to unite two iconic heroes in Batman V Superman? Maybe. But with a new reboot of the franchise now in full swing, fans can at least appreciate the creative swing he took, even if they don’t agree with it.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is currently streaming on HBO Max. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the DC Universe!
