7 Massive Things We Learned About Batman vs Superman After Watching The New Trailer

Writer of film and self-proclaimed 'Batman of Ballina'* Conor Dever gives The Sliced Pan his seven cents about the MEGA new Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer ahead of the film's release next spring.

The second trailer for Batman vs Superman dropped on Thursday, and gave us all a nice tingly feeling in our nether regions. Over the course of three minutes, director Zack Snyder gave us a massive insight into the world he has created.

Since yesterday, we have a lot more knowledge of the upcoming Dawn of Justice film - some potentially exhilarating, some not so much (just listen to Jesse Eisenberg’s voice).

Here are the 7 most important points we took from the trailer:

1) Superman is Adored, Batman is Feared

Straight from the off, Bruce Wayne is accosted by the idealistic reporter Clarke Kent regarding ‘the bat vigilante’. Quoting invasion of “civil liberties,’ he claims that the people Batman has sworn to protect are living in fear. This must grate on a hero who has served his people for years, losing those close to him in the process.

Superman, however, has statues erected in his honour, and is called upon by the government to aid them in keeping the world safe - an offer he clearly accepts judging by the army he is given. (Regardless of whether or not this could simply be a dream sequence, which has been theorised, the army retains significance).

Superman is appreciated for his work, Batman is not. But Batman has been in this game a long-ass time, and maybe it's not an issue of due credit, or lack thereof, and rather that this 'newbie' needs to be taught 'what it means to be a man'.

2) Superman is the government’s bitch

Superman is called in front of a grand jury by the US government, and the most powerful man in the universe says 'yes'. He accepts accountability to the government and possibly even garners a personal army for his troubles. The Man of Steel is even seen rescuing a Russian rocket that comes into a spot of bother, perhaps even mending US-Russian relations. 'Well, that’s the Cold War and the Bay of Pigs forgotten about, Superman is here now'.

But how honest are the government going to be with the Kryptonian? Probably not very, considering they're politicians. American politicians.

3) Lex Luthor is the wicked puppet-master

Lex Luthor is famed for his intellect, and this, along with his megalomania, will come to the fore in the latest on-screen iteration of the DC supervillain. Luthor is the one who foreshadows Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent's inevitable battle as soon as the pair meet. How did he know?

Because it's his idea for them to fight in the first place.

He is even seen later, inside Clarke Kent’s, presumably with Kent's permission, creating Doomsday from the corpse of General Zod from Man of Steel.

Luther's delusions of omnipotence even result in him trying to take on the man upstairs:

If man wont kill God then maybe the devil will do it,

he says.

4) The Joker is alive and killing

It’s done less subtly than the first trailer, but we now know that The Joker is not only alive in Batman and Superman's universe, but is also held in notorious regard. And it’s not simply because Bruce cheekily says:

We just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns.

It’s also the shot of bronzed Robin suit in a glass case.

The spray paint says “ HaHaHa joke's on you BATMAN,” - a clear reference to the 'Red Hood' arc in the Batman comics, where The Joker murders then Robin, Jason Todd.

5) There will be blood

There's already blood.

The shot may be blurry, but there is blood on Superman’s mouth, which would lead us to believe that we have an actual fight on our hands here, despite Clark Kent's slight intergalactic advantage. So call the epic sports announcer guy, because this shit is about to get as real as the front of Babylon on the third Sunday of September after Mayo have squandered another one.

A fight to the point that Superman is rendered 'human', if only slightly, shows how unwavering both Batman and Superman are in their mutual hatred, so much so that - at one point - they are in fact willing to try to end each other.

It also harkens back to Batman's promise in the first trailer:

Tell me. Do you bleed?

You will.

6) Enter Doomsday

They certainly don’t have to get along but the world's two most prominent heroes do have to work together. There is no bigger galvanising force than a common enemy.

Enter 'Doomsday'. In the comics he was the result of a Kryptonian experiment, but in Snyder's upcoming silver screen instalment he is instead born of Lex Luthor, who uses Superman’s ship to reanimate the corpse of general Zod. I mean, seriously, has awakening the dead ever achieved a positive result?

Doomsday is essentially a powerful alien but also kind of a zombie - a cross between Superman and Frankenstein’s monster, if you will. In short, he's bad news.

He's also possibly too powerful for Superman to defeat on his own, thus the reason for the inevitable team-up.

But not all wounds will not be healed - Batman and Superman won't ever fully trust each other, which is a frankly tantalising dynamic to take into this new DC cinematic series.

7) Wonder Woman… Just Wonder Woman

Even though Diana Prince is only in the trailer for a few seconds, her impact is massive.

It looks like the most iconic female superhero is, crucially, going to be taken seriously; a recurring gripe in the world of comic book films is the lack of meaningful roles for women, and the prevalent 'Damsel in Distress Syndrome' that blights many superhero flicks in the eyes of many.

Seconds after her arrival, Wonder Woman ends the boys' pissing contest and reminds them of the more serious matters at hand, instantly establishing a significant presence in the film.

She is going to be a force to be reckoned with ahead of her own standalone film in 2017.

Verdict:

Let's choose to ignore the negatives, like Eisenberg’s histrionics and Batman holding a gun in the final shot (he's not supposed to like guns... I dunno, something to do with his parents, apparently), because the positives have made us very excited indeed.

We mentioned the tingling.

The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham. Batman vs Superman hits cinemas on March 25th, 2016.

*Conor did not, and has never referred to himself as 'The Batman of Ballina' - though if you wish to call him such a name on Twitter, we're sure he'd be fine with it. In fact, please do.