BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

PROBLEMS UP HERE

KIDNAPPING

Ground-level shot of what looks like a basement level judging from the “Stairs to Parking” sign, presumably at the Daily Planet. A janitor moves his floor polisher to and fro in the left foreground, while Lois descends an escalator in the right background. Three people walk through the scene away from us down the hall.

High-angle over-the-shoulder shot from Lois as the janitor’s head comes into view, turned away. Low-angle medium shot on Lois to see another man, a security officer, step onto the escalator behind her. Back to the shoulder shot, the janitor glances at Lois, revealing Knyazev, and we immediately know she is in great danger.

The music that begins here is Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (1944) by Cole Porter, performed by cover band Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, one of two covers made specifically for this film. They first collaborated with Zack Snyder when he used their cover of Down with the Sickness (1999) by Disturbed in Dawn of the Dead (2004). On 25 March 2016, they released a short parody track titled Richard Cheese: Live at Wayne Financial Tower, where their performance is interrupted by the World Engine. On 6 December 2019, the band supported the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement. They later covered Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas with Allison Crowe for Snyder’s Army of the Dead (2021). Considering Knyazev’s presence in this scene, he later quotes the song in this scene when he is about to incinerate Martha Kent.

Lois steps off the escalator and turns to leave before stopping. She turns to Knyazev. Then she heads in the Russian’s direction. She smiles. “Excuse me. Don’t I know–?” As far as she knows, Lois has only met Knyazev once, and barely even looked at him during that time. He even wore sunglasses then. For her to recognise him here is a testament to her perceptive abilities and powers of journalism.

Knyazev has turned off his machine and turns to reveal his face in full, glaring at her. On his janitor outfit, the nametag says “Clay,” a likely reference to Clay Enos, the film’s still photographer and a friend of Zack Snyder. The other side of his shirt has a “Daily Planet” tag, confirming our location.

Timpani building as Knyazev turns before coming to a sudden stop on his glare.

Lois looks alarmed for a second before she is suddenly grabbed from behind by the security officer, putting a hand over her mouth as she yells and struggles. The two men step aside and Knyazev opens two doors through to the parking lot.

Silence bursts into Lex Luthor Theme A, dramatically making this his kidnapping.

A white van screeches to a halt, the side door opening. The security officer throws Lois (revealed by Zack Snyder to be a stunt woman) into the van while Knyazev gets in the passenger seat. As the door closes, the van speeds off, revealing a logo for “Terrio Janitorial” on the side, a reference to the film’s writer, Chris Terrio.

Cut to the rapid passing of a building’s windows to reveal a helicopter flying between the buildings of Metropolis. We follow its movements, and LexCorp Tower comes into view as the camera rises up in awe of its shimmering scale — Lex Luthor’s Mount Olympus above all else.

Lex Luthor Theme A dramatically carries on.

Medium side shot of Lois in the helicopter, looking composed but uncomfortable as Knyazev flexes his fingers beside her in his black gloves. In the background beside her is the window to the glistening skyline beyond, and we move forward to see the helipad come into view, with Lex alone standing near the edge, waiting since we last saw him.

A chorus joins over Lex Luthor Theme A as the villain comes into view.

Medium shot of Lex looking up at the chopper excitedly.

Shoulder shot from Lex as the vehicle touches down on the helipad, his hair and coat blowing furiously in the wind from the rotors.

Behind the Scene

“Amy doesn’t like to fly in helicopters, so we tried to keep it to a minimum, so this shot we did on the ground with a green screen out the window with the shot of LexCorp out there and the helipad, but it worked out pretty nicely, the CG environment out there.”

Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman Watch Party, 29 March 2020

Cut to the door of the helicopter as it slides open. A thug forces Lois out at gunpoint. She complies, stepping onto the helipad.

Top-down rotating view of the helipad, where Lois turns to watch the helicopter take off, bound for Gotham, where we will next see Knyazev at the location of Martha Kent’s imprisonment.

Lois stands in the chopper’s lights when she is startled by Lex saying, “Plain Lo in the morning. Lola in slacks.” He places his hands on his hips yet again and sighs with satisfaction. “Lois Lane.” He sniffles. Lex is referencing the opening paragraph of Vladamir Nabokov’s novel Lolita (1955), and there are a few points that come from this…

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.”

Lolita, 1955

• Samuel Otten pointed out that Lolita includes a highly intelligent psychopath named Humbert Humbert who justifies his evil actions by demonising the titular character, just as Lex demonises Superman.
• Jeremy Irons (Alfred) played Humbert in the 1997 adaptation of the book directed by Adrian Lyne.
• Lolita is also a child, so this could also be Lex belittling her. Considering his further mockery of Lois’ intelligence throughout this scene, this would tie into his ego and desire to put her down for the accomplishment of catching on to Lex’s scheme.
• Recall that Clark once calls Lois “Lo” earlier in the film, him being the only character to nickname her as such, implying that Lex has been spying on them very closely.
• Referring to Lois as the titular character of Nabokov’s novel essentially refers to her as a sexually victimised character, further establishing Lex as a creep, which he reinforces soon when he sniffs her hair.
• Alternatively, with Lolita being the victim of manipulation, perhaps Lex sees Lois as a mere plaything for Superman in a one-sided relationship, totally unable to imagine that Superman can actually love a mere mortal like her.

The music has terminated until Lex speaks, wherein the diabolical piano notes of Lex Luthor Theme B enter to substitute the dramatic villainy for something more subdued and calculated as we transition to a dialogue-centric sequence.

Lex sniffles. He says, “Mmm. Come see the view.” He then approaches her, gesturing for her to come, and wraps his arm over her shoulders, which is the first of many of his invasions of her personal space in this scene. The view of the Bat-signal over Gotham indicates Lex is telling Lois to to gaze upon his machinations, essentially boasting, “Look. I did this.”

She resists, but Lex maintains a forceful hold on her, once again asserting power.

Lex Luthor Theme B concludes, giving us silence as Lex speaks.

As he brings her closer to the edge, the Bat-signal blurred ahead across the bay, he says, “Now the secret to the height is the building material.” Rack focus to emphasise the Bat-signal. “It’s the light metals which sway a bit in the wind.” He waves his hand for emphasis.

Then he removes his arm from around Lois as she looks away repulsed and steps in front of her to face Lois directly. “And you know something about LexCorp metals, don’t you, Miss Lane?”

“I’ve proven what you’ve done,” says Lois, confidently.

Lex quickly responds, “Wow, you’re feisty. Unfortunately, that will blow away. Like sand in the desert.” This is almost certainly him referencing the very events in Nairomi that Lex orchestrated and started Lois on her investigation. But it is also Lex telling Lois that she is inevitably going to die. Recall the line from the start of the Nairomi sequence: “This wind is bad luck. Blood in the sky.” Both Lex and Lois are now sky-high.

Lois responds, “You’re psychotic.”

“That is a three-syllable word for any thought too big for little minds,” says Lex, demonstrating his ego and how he looks down on others as intellectually inferior to him. As he says this, he wriggles his fingers at her forehead condescendingly while we cut back to her.

“Then why do you call [Batman] psychotic? Because you like to use that word for any motive that’s too big for your little mind?”

Lana Lang, The Dark Knight Returns, 1986

Lex continues, “Hmm. Next category: circles. Round and round and round they go to find Superman.” He circles around Lois in accordance with his own words to enforce his dominance in this situation.

Lois shows her stoic resolve in the face of his insanity, unflinching.

Lex comes around to his former position in front of her and grunts in frustration. His inflexions here speak of a sudden loss of focus and control. “Wrong category, boy,” he says to himself, likely echoing the words of his father, implying he was strict with his son’s education and showing how Lex Luthor Senior’s abuse has embedded itself in his son’s psyche. Then he begins circling Lois again. “No, no, triangles. Yes, Euclid’s triangle inequality. The shortest distance between any two points is a straight path.” He stops behind her. “And I believe the straightest path to Superman is a pretty little road,” he sniffs her hair, “mmm, called Lois Lane.” This is a pun: a road called Lois Lane. This is also a reaffirmation of his knowledge that Superman always saves Lois, basically calling out a classic Superman cliché.

Very forcefully, he then turns Lois to face him and pushes her over the edge of the platform. It is especially sadistic that Lex wanted her to look him in the eye before pushing her to what could likely be her death. She screams in terror as she falls.

Frantic, dissonant strings come in to emphasise the danger.

She stops screaming as we cut to a medium close-up on her from the side, parallel to the ground with Lois facing down. Then we see that cliché in action as Superman enters the frame from below her, catching her extremely gently as he looks her in the eyes. As our descent begins to slow, Lois looks at him in wonder as the building’s lights behind her add a lens flare to complete the triumphant save with a splendid visual element. Superman smiles at her.

Strings change from frantic strings to a heroic note before relaxing.

Taking hold of Lois in the air, Superman carries her in the classic position, descending rapidly to the street below.

Transition into a soft, gentle rendition of the Flight melody from Man of Steel, both heroic yet romantic.

Cut to the street. Superman lands and places Lois on the ground. She is panting as she looks him in the eyes, hands around his head. “You came back,” she says, showing where her priorities lie. Rather than expressing relief at him saving her life, she is relieved he has chosen to deny his despair and return from his exile to fight for hope. “You came back,” she repeats, and then they kiss. We close in on them to a medium shot throughout this sequence to magnify the transition from relief to love.

Their kiss ends. Superman’s eyes are closed before he opens them to look at Lois, who pulls back to smile at him.

Then Superman steps away from Lois, looks up, and takes flight, heading to the top of LexCorp Tower for his fateful conversation.

A fast-paced string melody vaguely similar to Lois’ Man of Steel theme rises as Superman does, reverting the film’s falling motif.

HELIPAD CONFRONTATION

Ascending shoulder shot from Superman as he rises to the level of the helipad, further flying up before we cut to a low-angle shoulder shot from Lex to see Superman stop in the air above, glaring down at the comparatively diminutive human. This shot places Superman in a powerful, authoritative position. Keep this in mind.

Carrying from the previous scene, a fast-paced string melody vaguely similar to Lois’ Man of Steel theme rises as Superman does, reverting the film’s falling motif and ending abruptly when he arrives at the platform.

“Boy, do we have problems up here!” says Lex, filled with utter jubilation. He is sitting on the platform, cross-legged. Recall his line during his conversation with Finch in his father’s room: “The devils don’t come from Hell beneath us. No. No, they come from the sky.” Now, Superman has risen from below to confront Lex in the sky. Subconsciously or unwittingly, Lex has identified himself as the villain, especially considering he later identifies his own “son” (Doomsday) as the Devil. This line also positions both Lex and Superman as above humanity, in turn placing himself as a being who sees the truths that others cannot. This is, ultimately, just a battle between Lex Luthor and the alien he hates. Everything and everyone else are merely tools or weapons at his disposal. The moral fate of humanity will be decided by these two high above the world, the two warring representatives of fundamentally incompatible ideologies. To Lex, he will win this battle for humanity, but he considers both of them above humanity.

He looks down and winds up a kitchen timer. He is visibly shaking, showing us either that he feels genuinely afraid of Superman physically or is just so excited that he cannot restrain himself. Either way, it is brilliant acting. The timer is a literal Doomsday Clock, considering its proximity to Doomsday’s birth.

Lex clears his throat and stands as he continues, “The problem of evil in the world. Uh, the problem of absolute virtue.” He waves and gestures to Superman as he speaks. Lex is referring to the most common argument used against the existence of God, known as the problem of evil.

Slow rendition of Superman Theme A on low strings and synthesizer, positioning Superman as the angry, dominant force in the scene. For now.

“I’ll take you in without breaking you,” says Superman, angrily and fiercely. “Which is more than you deserve.” Though firm and threatening, this is a reaffirmation of Superman’s conviction to humane justice and is a stark contrast to Batman’s tremendous brutality. It may also be a callback to Superman killing Zod, renouncing the method he used to save the day.

Shoulder shot from Superman as he descends on the platform towards Lex below. @ZSShots on Twitter pointed out that this shot might be a symbolic reference to Zack Snyder’s 2009 cinematic adaptation Watchmen, where Doctor Manhattan shrinks from his giant form as he approaches Ozymandias. In both shots, a hero god is looming over a genius yet villainous mortal.

Lex angrily yells, “The problem of you on top of everything else. You above all. Ah, because that’s what God is.” This is said with the conviction of someone who hates Superman for being seemingly above mankind, compounded by Superman physically above him at this moment, especially since we know Lex is an envious man. This says a lot about Lex’s sense of ego, having built himself a record-breaking skyscraper from which he can look down on the world — Lex above all.

Shoulder shot from Lex to see Superman’s gentle descent, putting us in Lex’s shoes. The lighting here has darkened Superman’s costume and shield to near black, making him look more threatening, especially with his expression of anger. He closes his right hand into a fist, clearly wanting to hit Lex, but knowing he should not, he soon unclenches his fist.

Lex names, “Horus. Apollo. Jehovah. Kal-El.” Note the reference to Apollo, the Greek god of the sky. Now recall Lex’s earlier line equating Zod with Icarus, whose wings melted when he flew too close to the sun (Son of Krypton). All these beings he associates with Superman.

Then Superman touches down on the helipad, approaching the psychopathic billionaire.

Lex pauses before finishing slowly, “Clark… Joseph… Kent.” He appropriately says this just after Superman touches down. When this god-like superhero ceases to fly, that is when Lex announces Superman’s humble human name. Thusly, Superman is made vulnerable in this moment, yet no Kryptonite is required. Superman has literally landed in a trap.

Superman’s demeanour changes. He terminates his approach, but maintains a focused expression. Now Lex is free to proceed with his monologue without the threat of Superman’s formerly imminent arrest.

Superman Theme A terminates for eerie strings and a periodic piano note as Lex’s plays his first card of the scene.

“See, what we call God depends upon our tribe, Clark-Joe,” continues Lex, awkwardly bent over as if condescendingly lecturing a child, which may be intentional. “Because God is tribal. God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from Daddy’s fist and abominations.” Lex says this line with such anger, like someone who knows he was wronged and was denied the justice he so rightfully deserves. There are several things we gain from this line…

1. We now learn the truth — Lex’s father abused him, recontextualising every time Lex spoke of him highly before now. All of these moments were a front for what he really thinks of his father.
2. Where the fist of Thomas Wayne was employed in defence of his son, the fist of Lex’s father was employed in abuse of his son.
3. Furthermore, the ambiguity here is essential, as what we can imagine Lex means by his father’s “fists and abominations” is so much scarier than anything Snyder can depict in a movie with “Batman” and “Superman” in the title. To give another example, take the hospitalised children in The Third Man (1949) suffering from meningitis and treated with diluted penicillin; we can’t see them, and that leaves us to imagine what terrible state they are in.
4. The fact that Lex was never saved from his father’s cruelty implies Lex killed his father to fix the problem himself, a theory Snyder corroborated…

“We feel the same about Lex taking out his dad.”

Zack Snyder, Vero, 5 April 2018

Expression filled with contempt, the villain goes on, “I figured out way back… if God is all powerful, he cannot be all good… and if he is all good, then he cannot be all powerful. And neither can you be.” Lex is word-for-word explaining the Problem of Evil. The argument asserts that a benevolent God would seek to destroy evil, but since evil exists, either God is not benevolent or God lacks the power to destroy evil, of which both possibilities seemingly invalidate the “God” status. This is the seminal anti-theist argument, having made millions upon millions of people into atheists, and it’s fascinating to reframe it in the context of a supervillain’s motivation. Furthermore, this is one of those rare instances in storytelling — outside of horror films — where telling is better than showing. What we can imagine Lex means by his father’s “fists and abominations” is infinitely scarier than anything Zack Snyder would be allowed to include in a film starring Batman and Superman.

As Lex says this last line, Superman narrows his eyes, trying to understand, but paying attention. With Lex knowing his secret identity, Superman has to hear him out, which Lex is counting on.

Lex gestures sternly at him. “They need to see the fraud you are, with their eyes — the blood on your hands.” He raises his right palm, showing the blood through his bandage. This concludes the explanation of his motivations.

“What have you done?” Superman asks, seeing the bandaged hand.

Lex closes his open palm and now happily says, “Hmm. And tonight, they will.” He walks forward casually. Superman steps aside as Lex walks through him to the edge of the helipad. “Yes. Because you, my friend, have a date. Mmm. Across the bay.” He is especially gleeful here, now seconds away from the moment he has been waiting for.

Turning back to Superman, the Bat-signal behind him, the villain gestures further as he says, “Ripe fruit, his hate. Two years growing, but it did not take much to push him over, actually. Little red notes, big bang, ‘You let your family die!’” He says this loudly and dramatically, smiling gleefully as he describes his cruel psychological manipulation of Bruce Wayne. This line confirms Lex has been nurturing Batman’s rage since the Black Zero event and that it was he who was writing the messages on the cheques sent to Bruce. Also, remember that one of the messages included “Bruce = blind,” which might be a sly teasing by Lex, as the Dark Knight is currently blind as a bat to Lex’s manipulation. Now Superman has also learned that Batman has been driven all this time into conflict with him.

Goof

While Lex is talking with the Bat-signal behind him, Superman soon turns his body to face Lex directly. When we next cut to Superman, his body is turned 90 degrees to the right of Lex.

Lex continues, “And now you will fly to him. And you will battle him. To the death. Black and blue. Fight night!”

Superman looks amused by Lex’s demand.

Lex continues, “The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God versus man.” Thunder crackles and rumbles over Lex’s shoulder dramatically. “Day versus night. Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham.” Lex says this with the utmost excitement and sinister glee. His use of “Day versus night” might also be his callback to the song “Night and Day” that played during the Library of Metropolis benefit at Lex’s home, which is a lot like him.

Slightly smug to indicate he clearly thinks he has the upper hand, Superman asks, “You think I’ll fight him for you?” Note his use of “fight him” instead of “kill him,” not even considering that he would actually kill Batman. To him, that idea is absurd. It’s not even on the table.

Lex responds, “Mmm, yes, I do. I think you will fight, fight, fight for that special lady in your life.” He is jumpy as he says this. His big bombshell is coming, and he is relishing in the anticipation.

Superman, still smug and confident, threatens Lex. “She’s safe on the ground. How about you?” This is a nice reminder that Superman is not without wit in the face of villains.

“Close, but I am not talking about Lois,” Lex says, now walking past Superman’s other side to complete a circle around him, demonstrating his physical control of the scene. Behind Superman, Lex keeps walking as he says, “No. Every boy’s special lady… is his mother.” As he speaks, his attention is focused down, indicating he is retrieving something from his person.

An ominous rumble from the soundtrack highlights this disturbing point.

Superman looks over his shoulder just as Lex finishes his sentence, showing a mixture of concern and anger. He turns to approach Lex.

Lex has stopped and is turned to face his foe. He gasps, revealing a displayed hand of Polaroids of a gagged Martha Kent, face contorted in fear. Note that these are the same kinds of Polaroids as the mortuary photos of Cesar Santos. Lex is also presenting the photos as if revealing his hand in a card game, literally showing his hand — but with an ace still up his sleeve.

Superman abruptly halts his approach on sight of the photos.

Behind the Scene

“These shots we did of the Polaroids, I shot those on my phone and then we printed them in Polaroid. I shot them in pre-production. We tied [Diane Lane] up and I took the pictures of her, then we printed them. I think we shot them with the Polaroid camera to make them into Polaroids, and that’s how they had that real Polaroid feel to them.”

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

“I had shot all of these pictures of Diane. I shot them with my phone, and then I manipulated them, and we put them in the polaroids so I could get them, and I gave them that little… It was [my handwriting] in the storyboards, I did it that way, and then someone was copying my handwriting on the day. Also, the photos are really upsetting in all the ways, these kinds of ‘kidnapping’ photos. Look at how scary they are. I was like shaking the camera.”

Zack Snyder, Full Circle, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice commentary, 29 April 2023

Lex repeats, “Martha, Martha, Martha.” The film is drilling us with an important reminder of Superman’s mother’s name that will be relevant down the line.

Distorted female vocals representing Martha, the same as Lara Lor-Van’s theme (Kal-El’s birth mother) in Man of Steel.

Superman looks truly concerned now. Then he looks up at Lex, who squeals in delight.

The young man continues, “Why, the mother of a flying demon must be a witch. The punishment for witches, what is that?” He looks up in feigned thought before turning back to Superman to say, “That’s right. Death by fire.” This is clearly Lex referring to how Martha is soon to be executed via flamethrower, but it may also be a poetic reference to how Kal-El’s birth mother, Lara, died in the fires of an exploding Krypton after committing an act of heresy against Kryptonian doctrine. Threatening to kill Martha in fire is a particularly cruel method of execution, and gives Superman greater incentive to do as Lex commands. Indeed, witches were traditionally burned at the stake, so this may be Lex’s idea of an ironic religious punishment.

Then Lex begins flipping the photos onto the helipad. Superman gets on his knees to fearfully examine them, the shield on his chest lit almost totally black to fit the dire nature of the situation. Lex murmurs happily to himself as he tosses the photos one at a time. His ear-to-ear smile shows he takes great joy in Superman’s suffering as he tosses two more photos.

Superman picks one up, in which we can see written on Martha’s forehead is the word “Witch.” Another photo lying on the helipad focuses on the cross hanging around her neck, which is appropriate for the demented Lex who likely finds an irony in her wearing the symbol he associates with the man he wants to destroy. In one photo, the motion blur (suggesting haste and struggle while the photos were taken) whitens Martha’s eyes, making her look dead. She is crudely gagged throughout the polaroids. The photos are distinctly unsettling, shot in a dark environment like the unthinking taunts of a terrorist or serial killer with their terrified captive. These photos were taken explicitly to convince Superman that his mother is suffering.

The Man of Steel brushes a thumb over her face before he begins to shake as his vaunted self-control breaks down. Then he suddenly throws his head up to look at Lex above him, his eyes burning red, and roars, “Where is she?!”

Very much believing that he’s pushing Superman’s restraint to its limits, Lex hastily yells, “I don’t know! I would not let them tell me.” He puts his hands on his hips again. Then he waves his finger. “Now, uh-uh-uh! If you kill me, Martha dies.” He gestures upwards. “And if you fly away, mmm, Martha also dies.” His expression and mannerisms show he is not taking Superman’s attempts at intimidation seriously anymore now that the sudden shock of his enraged reaction has blown over into idle threat. “But, if you kill the Bat,” he closes his fist dramatically, “Martha lives.”

After a few moments, Superman closes his eyes. Shortly after, he opens them again, the glow gone, and he bows his head in helpless defeat.

Distant female vocals accompany Superman’s acceptance of his predicament.

With Superman brought to his knees, Lex violates his personal space with a hand encircling his enemy’s head, but not touching. Condescendingly, he remarks, “There we go. There we go. Hmm.” Then he bends down closer and says, sneering and mocking, “And now God bends to my will.” His smile disappears as he says this in a low-angle shot from Superman’s shoulder, looming over his hated enemy. This reverses their positions from the start of the scene, placing Lex in the authoritative position.

Superman looks up at Lex hatefully, at the man forcing him to destroy himself, but there is nothing he can do.

Then we hear the rotors of another helicopter. Lex looks around at the approaching chopper before saying to Superman, “Now, the cameras are waiting at your ship for the world to see the holes in the holy!” Gesturing dramatically yet again, he likely refers to the media cameras that will be drawn to the spectacle at the scout ship. This is also possible foreshadowing of Superman’s impending impalement through the chest. “Yes, the Almighty comes clean about how dirty he is when it counts. To save Martha, bring me the head of the bat!” The vitriol in Lex’s voice here suggests he is also angry at Batman for trashing his lab, but he is also making it very clear that he is totally serious. As Lex said, “God takes sides,” and now he is forcing Superman to pick one: Either he remains true to his ideals and allows Martha to die, demonstrating that he is not all-powerful, or he kills Batman to save Martha, demonstrating that he is not all-good.

The photos on the helipad blow away in the wind as we hear a chopper approach.

The chopper lands behind Lex. “Ah!” he exclaims and hastily retrieves the timer from his coat pocket. “Mother of God, would you look at the time!” he jokes after a glance at the timer, obviously making a pun. “When you came here, you had an hour.” He feigns a concerned expression. “Now it’s less.” Roughly one hour from now, the movie ends and the credits roll.

Top-down shot of the scene as Lex steps back, turns, approaches the chopper, and enters as the camera circles the vehicle bound for the Kryptonian scout ship. With its passenger aboard, it takes off, and the camera’s circling reveals Superman standing up, looking up to watch the helicopter leave as his cape billows in the wind. Their positions at the start of the scene totally reversed, Lex is taking his leave above Superman.

When Lex finishes speaking, Lex Luthor Theme A explodes greater than ever with male and female vocals, strings, brass percussion, and that ever-sinister piano tying up his most glorious moment with his theme song at its most triumphant.

Now the board is set for the clash between Batman and Superman.

TICK TOCK

Rear tracking shot on Knyazev opening double doors into a warehouse space, flanked by two underlings. He walks through the area as his men part to allow him through.

The thunderous Lex Luthor Theme A transitions immediately into Lex Luthor Theme B on low piano, foreboding.

Medium backwards tracking shot. Shoulder shot to see one underling open the next door in his path for him. It slides open, and there in the middle of the room is Martha, seated on a chair with a thug pointing a rifle at her head from behind. This implies that, if she talks (potentially alerting Superman), she dies.

Medium shot on Knyazev, showing a sinister smile.

Low-angle shot on Martha, leaning back in her chair with a look of fear.

Shoulder shot from the thug behind Martha, emphasising the weapon aimed at her skull while Knyazev ahead strolls gleefully the room. He stops in front of her and removes his gloves.

Waist-level shot to see him discard them onto the nearby armchair. Pan up to a thug (Sam Looc) entering the room behind Knyazev and walking around. Pan down to the table against the wall, where he places a clock counting down from 00:34:58, telling us how much time has passed and how much time remains. It beeps as it ticks down.

Return to low-angle on Martha, looking from the clock and shaking. The ticks continue.

Shoulder shot from Jenny Jurwich at the Daily Planet, looking at the televisions lining the walls. CNN is on them all, showing arcs of lightning exuding from the scout ship container.

“Brooke Baldwin is on the scene. Brooke, you’re live on the air. What are you seeing?” asks a reporter on the news.

Many other Daily Planet workers are standing and watching the spectacle on the screens. Jenny turns and says, “There’s something happening at the ship.”

Perry emerges from his office, looking concerned. Flashes of alien lightning are visible through the window beyond.

“It’s sending massive power surges,” Jenny explains.

Perry turns to look at his office at the flashing spectacle.

Cut to Diana, now in a white suit dress, entering her hotel lobby and ascending the steps.

We hear a reporter (Erika Erickson, a real reporter who plays herself) loudly explain, “…police helicopters surrounding the area. They’ve created a barricade around this containment centre.”

At the top of the small flight of steps, Diana steps into the lobby, through the palatial space to join the other people gathered around the television.

On Channel Eight, the Erickson is outside the scout ship premises, saying, “And we’re trying to get a little bit closer here to find out what’s going on. It is absolute chaos. You can see that lightning, those surges of electricity.”

Arcs of electricity flash yet again above her, and the hotel lights begin to flicker in tune with the lightning, startling the other guests. Diana glances around at the flickering lights.

“They seem to be getting stronger by the minute.”

With the sound of a drive-by car horn, cut to Lois, running up to the driver window of a taxi. “Daily Planet,” she says, and the driver gives a thumbs up. Immediately she heads to the back of the taxi and opens the rear door to enter.

Suddenly, we hear Superman say, “Lois.” Pan right as Lois turns, and Superman is standing a few paces away. He looks anxious. “I have to go to Gotham to convince him to help me.”

The solemn version of Superman Theme C comes in, once again.

“Who?” asks Lois, approaching him. She looks concerned.

He turns away to say, sombrely, “Or he has to die.” One can tell from his sickened expression that he is repulsed and mortified by the notion.

“Clark?” Lois asks, knowing something is terribly wrong, but she does not understand.

Superman Theme C continues to intensify, generating an atmosphere of uncertainty and perhaps even despair. Literally or figuratively, the score is conveying the sincere possibility that the death of Superman is upon us.

Superman begins to rise into the air and says, with a tone of despair, “No one stays good in this world.” The look on his face makes him appear like he is about to cry. These words reflect Bruce’s earlier question, “How many [good guys] stayed that way?” and Jonathan’s words, “[Martha] gave me faith that there’s good in this world.” Now Superman, like Batman, is going down that existentialist road of losing faith in the practicality of principle.

In the air, Superman turns, cape flowing around him, and he flies up into the darkness of the night sky. A sonic boom signals his absence.

Lois looks up, breathing heavily. With that, the scene ends on a weighty note, overwhelmed with anticipation as the film primes itself for the battle between Batman and Superman.

“…and if there were more adventures for Superman in the future, you now don’t know 100% what he’s gonna do. When you really put the concept that he won’t kill in stone and you really erase it as an option in the viewer’s mind, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a code. But again, you’ll always have this thing in the back of your mind. This little thing of… ‘How far can you push him? If he sees Lois get hurt or he sees something like his mother get killed… you just made Superman really mad. A Superman that we know is capable of some really horrible stuff if he wants to do it. That’s the thing that’s cool about him I think, in some ways, the idea that he has the frailties of a human emotionally but you don’t wanna get that guy mad…”

Zack Snyder, Empire Film Podcast, 17 June 2013

In itself, Superman flying down to reveal his predicament to Lois, without giving her specifics, tells us why he flew down here. Superman will tell Lois everything. Here in this situation where his very soul hangs in the balance, the first thing he does after resolving to confront Batman is tell the woman he loves what is going on, like an instinct, but he only tells her enough to satisfy that instinct in him before flying off because time is of the essence. Indeed, Clark keeps Lois clued in, updated on everything she would want to know. Even when he believes she cannot help, he will still tell her anyway. This makes sense, as Lois is the one person besides Martha that he can confide in completely in a world full of people from whom he is keeping secrets.

The building Superman Theme C comes to an abrupt stop, ending this track and this scene.

SCENE OVERVIEW

While leaving the Daily Planet, Lois is abducted by Knyazev and delivered to LexCorp Tower, where Lex reveals he is aware of her investigative efforts and gloats like a true villain before using her as bait yet again to lure Superman into his trap. Superman makes her dramatic return to save the life of the woman he loves.

As Superman confronts Lex, the villain reveals the full extent of his motivations and his true form; with all his sadism, hatred, and pettiness on full display. He lays out his ultimatum: kill Batman to save Martha. With Superman in the palm of his hand, Lex heads back to the scout ship to prepare his final play, leaving the superhero thoroughly outmanoeuvred.

While Knyazev arrives at the warehouse in preparation to kill Martha, the activity at the scout ship builds up the next threat. Superman meets with Lois to confide in her his feelings of despair before setting out to confront Batman, placing him at his lowest point yet. This has also told Lois what she needs to do, as now she knows Superman is going to Gotham and will need her help.

SCENE ANALYSIS

You can watch the full scene in HD on the official Warner Bros Entertainment YouTube channel.

KIDNAPPING

Superman saving Lois here may be inspired by a similar scene from Superman: Birthright (2003-2004), the comic that heavily inspired Man of Steel. After apprehending Lois Lane in his lab, Lex pushes her from the skyscraper of LexCorp, and she is saved similarly to how Superman saves her in BvS.

Note that saving Lois is the first thing Superman does after the mountain scene where Jonathan tells him that Martha was his world. Metaphorically, he came back to save his world, and by the end of the film, that is what he does literally.

“There’s Superman returning, of course, after the conversation with his father. He’s come back understanding that he has to try, but he also accepts his humanity. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s the thing he has to grapple with. So he’s recharged, he’s re-energised, but he doesn’t understand the checkmate that he’s about to walk into.”

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

The first music track in this section of the scene is Kidnapping. It is very short, but ties together how Lex Luthor masterminded everything, especially when paired with his subtle and overt revelations to Lois. This track is not on any commercially-available version of the score.

The second music track in this section of the scene is Falling. It serves mainly to create an ambience and musical backdrop for Lois’ scary fall and Superman’s heroic yet romantic save. This track is not on any commercially-available version of the score.

HELIPAD CONFRONTATION

The totality of Lex’s psychology is on full display in this scene. It’s such a glorious moment for him that he could have written it himself. It’s a masterclass in what exactly makes a well-written and intellectually threatening antagonist. Not to mention Jesse Eisenberg’s enthralling performance. With all this, it’s absolutely one of my favourite villain-centric scenes of all time.

Lex reveals his motivations, which also perfectly tie into his rhetoric up to this point. The “oldest lie in America” is that “power can be innocent,” and here he explains why he believes that. We have also learned about his father actually being abusive, revealing that he was lying to Finch about his presumed desire to have his father back and recontextualising his prior references. Under the cruelty of his father, Lex developed an inability to believe in the idea that power can also be good. With that heart full of rage and resentment towards the idea of God, he simply cannot tolerate the deification of Superman, as Lex has projected this hatred for God onto him. Now we see that his goal is to basically prove to the world that Superman cannot be noble. To him, it is comparable to proving that God is fiction.

“One of the things I really wanted to find with Lex were moments where I could go from a wide shot into a closer shot of Lex. Punch-in cuts can have a strong emotional effect because they are unexpected (we expect to keep cutting back and forth with reverses), and the place where punch in has to be the right place physically (it’s best on a strong movement) and in the best scenario, the right place emotionally. So in this scene, where he is talking about his father, we punch in close when he says ‘my father’s fists and abominations,’ which underscored what was wrong with Lex. It also coincided with with Jesse Eisenberg making a sudden fist in the air and with him emphasising these words. So it worked in many ways.

As far as cutting away from the listener, well we had to involve Superman to see him affected by Lex’s words, to build his anger… and in a few places we had to trim some of the pauses in the monologue.”

David Brenner, ProVideo Coalition, 10 April 2016

In this scene, Lex Luthor has utter control. He’s the dominant force despite the superpowered being come to confront him. The scene depicts two sequences where Lex monologues to both Lois Lane and Superman. In both sequences, Lex gradually performs a full 360 degree path around the two characters, circling each of them like a shark. This is appropriate given Lex is literally wearing the colours of a shark: a cool grey trenchcoat with a white jacket. Also like a shark, there comes the point where he strikes — he pushes Lois off the helipad and reveals his ultimatum to Superman. However, where Lois escapes intact, Lex takes a bite out of Superman’s heart.

Earlier in this scene, “God” arrived above Lex — confident, angry, and powerful, depicted visually in the sky. Without any physical force, Lex then brings “God” to his knees, powerless and his newfound hopes shattered. The tables have turned dramatically. At this point, Lex occupies the space in the frame that Superman did, whereas the kneeling Superman is now in Lex’s position below, using cinematography to symbolically reverse their positions from the start of the scene. Afterwards, Lex then leaves above Superman. Like Keefe and Batman, Lex now controls Superman too.

You can watch the full scene in HD on the official Warner Bros Entertainment YouTube channel.

The first music track in this section of the scene is “Rooftop.” It illustrates the shift in the power dynamics between Superman and Lex, starting on Superman Theme A with him in power, but Lex Luthor starts to reveal that he has Martha hostage, putting him in power with his slow Lex Luthor Theme A.

The second music track in this section of the scene is the first quarter of Tick Tock. It finalises Lex’s insidious moment by blowing up Lex Luthor Theme A at its grandest yet, making this the character’s musical high point.

TICK TOCK

The sequence where Clark tells Lois he has to confront Batman is absolutely essential. We know now that he is indeed considering killing Batman to save Martha. Without this scene, the fight between the two characters would have less tension knowing Superman wouldn’t ever kill Batman. Now we believe he could actually do it.

Indeed, Superman has lost sight of the words Jonathan gave him on the mountaintop, and now we know he doesn’t have high hopes about succeeding to gain the help of the brutal, violent, hateful vigilante, so killing him is on the table. However, though the odds are not in his favour, we do still know that he will try. He will not kill a man if he has another solution. This is where Superman killing Zod in Man of Steel comes back around. Lex has put him in a similar scenario, but now much worse. To save Martha, killing a man (brutally) may be the only solution. Clark simply must find a way out, following from the traumas of the last film, or he truly can never be a symbol of hope.

This new low in Superman’s story is also a refreshing subversion of the traditional superhero formula. Normally, the pep talk scene would put the hero on the right track for the rest of the film, verbalising their lesson as a quick and easy way of progressing the arc. That appears to be the case until the helipad scene, dealing a gut punch to Superman that dashes his newfound optimism. The truth of Jonathan Kent’s wisdom cannot be told — it has to be seen.

Lex’s manipulation has been almost perfect. Because he has further fed Superman’s dislike for Batman, plus his stoking the fires of Batman’s hate, the chances of the Man of Steel trying to appeal to the Dark Knight are minimal, as are the chances of Batman listening to reason. Both characters have been manipulated into seeing violence at their best options, as we will see.

Diana’s brief appearance here as she enters her hotel is the first of many in the last leg of the narrative leading up to her debut as Wonder Woman. Each appearance reiterates her attempts to recuse herself from the sword and shield, turning a blind eye at every step before finally acknowledging the stakes of the growing threat.

The music track in this section of the scene is Tick Tock, beginning at the end of the previous section. The dramatic renditions of Lex Luthor’s themes, as well as the solemn, “unsure” rendition of Superman’s theme illustrate the power he has over Superman in his current position. Superman may be strong enough to kill Lex in at least three different ways at any given time, but Lex is in the position of power; Superman cannot kill him, and he must obey Lex. The uneasy textures between the two characters’ themes serves to accompany the growing concern from civilians, notably Daily Planet employees and Diana Prince (who is in actuality, not a civilian). This track does not exist in any commercially-available version of the score.

BEHIND THE SCENE

Zack Snyder confirmed Lois’ abduction was shot in the basement of 111 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Michigan. It is the same building used to shoot the Daily Planet entrance seen earlier. Base camp was set up under North Stetson Avenue. Shooting took place on 12 November 2014.

“We built this helipad in the parking lot. We built a helipad that you could land on but was elevated about twenty feet off the ground, so we could put green screen all around it and it allowed us to shoot these shots. We shot at night, of course, but all that was all a big green screen environment out there, to look over to Gotham across the way.”

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

The LexCorp helipad was shot at an outdoor green screen set right beside the Heroes Park set at the late Michigan Motion Picture Studios along Centerpoint Parkway, Pontiac, Michigan. The helipad itself was constructed for real, raised slightly above the ground. The helipad sequences were likely shot around 20 June 2014 due to the presence of the LexCorp helicopter. On Vero, Zack Snyder [1] and Clay Enos [1/2] have photos, and concept artist Christian Lorenz Scheurer has artwork of the scene.

The sequences of Superman and Lois landing on the street and Superman meeting Lois to tell her he is going to Gotham were both shot the night of 7 November 2014 on the appropriately named Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois. Road closures were publicly listed. Crews were setting up the day before, police cordoned off streets, and Metropolis vehicles were brought in. The best photos come from Just Jared and Daily Mail, showing Henry Cavill and Amy Adams up close. Press and bystanders shot video footage of Superman taking off, Cavill hopping and waving, Amy Adams at the taxi, and some more wire work. The shoot was covered in detail by Fox 32 (who got some footage) and Chicago Tribune. On the 8th, set costumer Kate Abraham posted this photo of the nearby Chicago Flamingo sculpture.

The next day on the 8th, Henry Cavill had a reunion with Michael Shannon (General Zod) at The Underground where Shannon was co-hosting a fundraiser for A Red Orchid Theatre, which he co-founded in 1993.

Diana’s hotel was shot in the lobby of the Jack White Theatre, Masonic Temple, 500 Temple Street, Detroit, Michigan. Set costumer Kate Abraham got this photo from the rooftop on 14 August 2014. The sequence was most likely filmed between the 21 and 24 August, roughly when the underground fight club scene was filmed in the building’s basement. Base camp was set up in the parking lot behind the Masonic Temple.

There was a deleted scene of Superman trying to listen for his mother, but due to the immense hustle and bustle of the city, he was unable to hear her.

“We had a scene that we cut from the movie where he tries to look for her when he finds out that Lex has got her. It was a slightly dark scene that we cut out because it sort of represented this dark side. Because when he was looking for his mum he heard all the cries of all the potential crimes going on in the city, you know when you look.

I kind of like the idea that he’s taught himself not to look because if he looks it’s just never-ending, right? You have to know when, as Superman, when to intervene and when not to. Or not when not to, you can’t be everywhere at once, literally you can’t be everywhere at once, so he has to be really selective in a weird way about where he chooses to interfere.”

Zack Snyder, IGN, 8 April 2016

“It is a green screen shot. He flies up above the city and hovers. The camera begins to rotate around him as he hears the cries of citywide crime going on and as we get closer, he is in pain because he knows if he tries to find her this way, he will have to ignore the countless crimes going on in the two cities and the world.”

Zack Snyder, Vero

“Everyone always asks me for this scene, the ‘looking for Martha’ scene. I think I’ve talked about it where we photographed him flying up after this bit where he’s listening for her, but he just hears the screams of all the murders and everything that’s happening in the city, so he can’t really quite pin it down. That happens right after this, I guess.”

Zack Snyder, Full Circle, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice commentary, 29 April 2023