BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

SUPERMAN WAS NEVER REAL

Cut to a shoulder shot from Lois on the television displaying footage of the exploding Capitol, where a reporter explains, “Capitol police are confirming to CNN that the suspected bomber is Wallace Vernon Keefe. Now these sources also say that–“ The news ticker below tells us that 35 are confirmed dead. Now we know that Wallace Keefe has been directly linked to the explosion, and this attack immediately comes off as an attempt to kill Superman.

Lois turns, on her phone. “Clark, it’s me again,” she says, softly but worried. She steps through her hotel room. “Can you…” She does a double take, seeing Superman outside her window on the balcony. It is night, so we can assume the same night as Batman’s attack on LexCorp. She heads over to glass doors.

At the same time, the reporter continues, “…could have gotten the explosive device into the hearing by concealing them inside his wheelchair.”

Superman looks empty as Lois slides the glass balcony door open to join him in the night air of Washington.

We still hear the reporter continue, “As for Superman, he was in the room, but obviously failed to stop him.”

As if responding to the report, Superman says, “I didn’t see it, Lo.” He turns to her and continues sombrely, “Standing right there and I didn’t see it.”

“Clark, there are people behind this,” says Lois, appealing straight to the mission.

Superman interrupts, “I’m afraid I didn’t see it because I wasn’t looking.” Note the Washington Monument over his shoulder, associating him with a distinctly American landmark to represent him as a distinctly American figure. His following words, metaphorically, are speaking of his country. Half his face is darkened, skeletal, hollow, like he has been killed inside.

Earth Motif.

Lois says nothing. She knows now that he needs to speak here.

He continues, “All this time, I’ve been living my life the way my father saw it. Righting wrongs for a ghost. Thinking I’m here to do good.” I expect he means Jor-El, who met Clark in the form of a holographic ghost, but Clark will later meet with the ambiguous ghost of Jonathan Kent for guidance, so the ambiguity of his words can refer to both fathers. Then, after a pause, looking between Lois and the floor, he says apathetically, “Superman was never real.” He turns away from her. “Just the dream of a farmer from Kansas.” Now convinced that he is literally doing more harm than good, unable to live up to Jor-El’s vision of giving hope to humanity, this is the only conclusion one can possibly reach in his position.

In comes the Clark Kent Theme, putting emphasis on Clark’s humanity now that the Superman element has been verbally disowned by the character.

Lois says, “That farmer’s dream is all some people have. It’s all that gives them hope.”

Superman turns to look at her again, still vacant. He cannot believe that anymore.

Lois steps forward. She brings her hand up over his shining shield, lit to emphasise it, and in turn, its meaning. The Washington Monument is also in the same shot. Lois looks Clark in the eyes. Firmly, yet somehow still softly, she says, “This means something.”

“The symbol for the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential for every person to be a force for good.”

Jor-El, Man of Steel, 2013

Clark responds, “It did on my world. My world doesn’t exist anymore.” Of course, not only is he referring to Krypton, but to the world he thought he lived in. Perry’s cynicism has won out. Clark’s naivete and optimism are long gone, replaced by defeatist pessimism. He believes now that Superman cannot be a force for good. He has lost his hope.

Perry White: “When the Planet was founded, it stood for something, Perry.”

Clark Kent: “So could you if it was 1938, but it’s not 1938!”

Cut to Lois. Close on her until Clark leaves the frame. Then we hear a sonic boom as Lois looks up suddenly, watching him fly away.

Wide shot of Lois’ hotel room with her looking up on the balcony beyond. We pull out gently as she crosses her arms.

Krypton Motif leads into the next scene.

SCENE OVERVIEW

While the media concludes that Wallace Keefe was a Capitol bomber, Superman arrives at Lois’ hotel room and reveals that he has lost faith in his mission, no longer able to commit to the meaning of the symbol on his chest. To him, Superman can no longer be a force for good, providing verbal cues that tie into his arc and will come back around at the film’s emotional climax. Defeated and disillusioned, Clark flies away into self-imposed exile.

SCENE ANALYSIS

Analysis coming soon.

The music track in this scene is the first half of You Have To Believe. It serves primarily to up the emotional content of the scene with the Earth Motif and Clark Kent Theme to contrast the grandiosity of Superman’s past few appearances. This track is not on any commercially-available version of the score.

BEHIND THE SCENE

This scene was shot at the Courtyard Detroit Pontiac/Auburn Hills hotel, 3555 Centrepoint Parkway, Pontiac, Michigan. Members of the crew were staying here during shooting in the region. Shooting took place in the day, and the balcony was covered in a green screen to simulate the night. The University of Muscle blog has photos of the location depicting the covers erected over the balconies. The hotel is just down the street from 2011 Centerpoint Parkway where LexCorp was shot. This sequence was evidently filmed around 11 June 2014. Henry Cavill and Amy Adams were both spotted.

“We shot this sequence in a little residence or, I forget, one of those little hotels? It literally was right around the street in Detroit from our stages. I think a lot of our crew were staying here, and then we just took over this hotel room, put a green screen outside. We shot this during the day and we just tended this with a green screen.”

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

Snyder confirmed in the director’s commentary (1:36:03) that additional footage was shot of Lois doing research on her laptop. This behind-the-scenes photo (right) depicts this footage.