BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

AFTERMATH

In the blackness, we hear ambulance sirens wailing. Then we hear Lois’ voice: “Excuse me!”

Cut to two police officers conversing. Between them, in the background, is the press area separated by railings. Lois is there, snapping her fingers at the officers.

“Excuse me, officer.” She shows her ID. “Member of the press. Can you let me in, please?”

Beside her is presumably another reporter, looking at Lois like she is an idiot. The two officers ignore her request, and one shakes his head.

Cut to an injured woman on a stretcher. A paramedic beside her signals and she is wheeled out of frame by a firefighter, revealing the steps of the Capitol. Several stretchers are scattered about, and injured people are sitting on the steps, conversing with each other or getting help from paramedics. Two fire-fighters are carrying a body bag down from the building. Armed guards are situated along the steps.

A sad piano rendition of the Flight melody from Man of Steel plays. The character’s heroism has arguably become a negative force in the world, and the music highlights an optimistic worldview turned guilt-ridden.

As two heroic firefighters rush up the stairs into the building, Superman descends from above, holding an unconscious woman in his arms. This might be a mirror of the Day of the Dead. There, Superman descends from above with a child he saved and he is met with worship and adoration. Here, he descends from above with a woman he saved, and he is met with resentment and fear. One act of altruism was unambiguously good, but another was met with an unintended great loss of life, feeding the theme of unintended consequences for seeking to do good, highlighting the binary perceptions of Superman. He steps towards a stretcher. We hear one paramedic (Jason Hughley) nearby tell his patient, “Breathe slowly and deeply. You’re gonna be fine.”

Shoulder shot from Superman as he approaches, and we see the paramedic tending to a victim in the background. Then he sees Superman placing the injured woman on a free stretcher, rushing to them. He helps help lay the injured woman down gently, awkwardly glancing at Superman before saying, “Thank you. I’m… gonna need a little room to work.” Within this is the implication that Superman is unwanted and untrusted.

Superman gets the picture and stands. He knows he is unwanted. He knows people are afraid of him, and even blame him. He looks around at the environment mournfully.

We hear the medic’s voice trailing off as he addresses the woman, “Ma’am, it appears you’ve suffered a head injury.”

Cut to medics tending to the injured on the ground, faces bloodied and getting patched up. One breathes with difficulty into an oxygen mask. These are the wounded. Their expressions of pain remind us that this is suffering.

“I’m gonna need you to follow my light with your eyes,” continues the first paramedic, possibly a symbolic juxtaposition of Superman’s mission to give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards against the carnage of what his good will has led to.

Superman he turns to face the other direction. Cut to innumerable black body bags, many with the faces of their deceased occupants revealed. A police officer crouches to close one, concealing the victim within. These are the dead. Their exposed faces remind us that these people mattered, and are not mere statistics.

Superman’s face full of grief and anguish. He turns away from us. Rack focus to the press beyond the railing in the background, emphasis on Lois. Another casualty is wheeled by between the two lovers. This look between them might also be a call back to Clark’s earlier line: “The woman I love could’ve been blown up or shot,” suggesting that, during this moment, he also feels regret for Lois being so close to death, and additionally blames himself for putting her in danger. We can already tell that he is supremely troubled by this horror, and certainly blames himself regardless, so it would fit.

Shoulder shot from Lois to see Superman, standing among the dead and wounded below him. He looks at Lois quietly, his expression telling her all she needs to know.

Medium shot on Lois, looking remorseful as we close on her. Through another wordless interaction, she understands. A photographer casually takes photos of this horrific tragedy over her shoulder as an example of media indifference and disconnection, all while pinning Superman at the middle of this tragedy.

“Also, I love this, Superman physically helping everyone but emotionally he’s out of place. He knows how to do the work of rescuing people and saving them but the cost is really reflected on him emotionally here. It’s not black-and-white or simple, and I think that’s the pain that he’s going through right here. Lois understands, but that’s not enough.”

Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Watch Party, 29 March 2020

Medium shot on Superman, looking at Lois regretfully. He then turns away, looking down as he readies his feet before facing up.

Shoulder shot from Lois again to see Superman launch into the sky, piercing the wind with a boom as we pan up to watch him leave. Unwanted and presumably with the last of the living saved, he has no reason to stay. Lois watches him fly away, sad and afraid for him. This is also likely symbolic of an angelic figure leaving humanity and ascending back to heaven, accepting that he is unwanted and exiling himself before he can bring further harm upon the world.

Lois looks up to watch him leave. The crowd behind her does the same, and we hear angry yelling among them. The photographer over Lois’ shoulder takes photos of his ascent. There is much imagery to be exploited here.

SCENE OVERVIEW

After helping the injured at Capitol Hill, surrounded by the cost of his idealism and no longer wanted, Superman flees in shame.

SCENE ANALYSIS

Superman can tell that he is unwanted. People are afraid of him, and he can already tell that they blame him. He knows why he is unwanted — one way or another, he is tied to this. Death follows him. He cannot disagree. Stricken with guilt, convinced he is doing more harm than good, he flees in a heavenly ascent.

The music track in this scene is unknown, consisting of a piano rendition of the Flight melody from Man of Steel on the casualty-laden steps of the Capitol and droning strings as Alfred returns to the Glass House. It cannot be found in any version of the score.

BEHIND THE SCENE

The Capitol exterior and crowd of protesters was shot on an outdoor green screen set at the late Michigan Motion Picture Studios along Centerpoint Parkway, Pontiac, Michigan. The building was digitally inserted into the scene, but half of the North wing steps were constructed for real for Henry Cavill to ascend. The sequences here were shot in July 2014 when the crew were filming in Pontiac.