The DC fanbase’s Twitter division has been coming together to celebrate Ben Affleck’s Batman performance, a celebration they’ve dubbed #ThanksBatfleck. Why today? Your guess is as good as mine.
We’re going to run through some of their tweets for you, though. Among them you’ll find sweet dedications, a comic book comparison, and takes hotter than Dick Cheney’s armpits after a run.
First up are a couple of those unpretentious expressions of gratitude:
My favourite Batman #ThanksBatfleck pic.twitter.com/FBhzbmcYoY
— -/George- (@kryptonscodex) July 24, 2020
We’re always with you @BenAffleck.#ThanksBatfleck 🖤🦇 pic.twitter.com/F5zavq2Sxa
— Catt (@ChicCattLady2) July 24, 2020
The following tribute is a little more effusive:
I said it before & I'll say again, your Batman is still the absolute best. I'm blessed to have seen such a great performance. I can't wait to see more of it in Zack's cut of JL. It'd be great if you came back for your own film but you have my support anyway. #ThanksBatfleck pic.twitter.com/Th8Atcukvq
— PiScEs27 AKA: Gandalf's Apprentice (@Josh2Gud4U) July 24, 2020
Next we have @NaveenShankarSP, who draws attention to the parallels between Batfleck’s depiction in the movies and Batman’s depiction in the comics:
@BenAffleck's portrayal of Batman was always comic accurate. 🦇#ThanksBatfleck @ZackSnyder pic.twitter.com/3ivTIXfk8v
— Naveen (@NaveenShankarSP) July 24, 2020
Coincidence or deliberate choices by Snyder? Either way, one person pointed out that the photo of Affleck sporting a beard is in fact from Argo. So er, top marks for comic book accuracy.
Now for the good stuff. These are bound to inspire some divided responses. No one has ever tried applying Cartesian thought to Batman V Superman – until now:
There’s a radical dualism between the observed nature of man and man’s moral nature.
JUSTICE#ThanksBatfleck“Power Art can heal, bring awareness, and create change.”
–@ZackSnyder
The Lengend Continues pic.twitter.com/NyXXWu12z5— AtpzA #HereForZack (@HereForZack) July 24, 2020
The misspelling of “legend” is an apposite metaphor for Zack Snyder’s filmmaking.
Now, so far we’ve had some fun with #ThanksBatfleck. I hope it was taken in good faith. But our final tweet blows everyone else’s out of the water as it’s a take of truly stratospheric proportions. Brace yourselves:
Ben’s portrayal of PTSD in the Martha scene is exceptional and one of the reasons it works so well. I’ll never stop defending it. Most people don’t get it but this guy does… #ThanksBatfleck pic.twitter.com/yCTSKhdJlG
— -/George- (@kryptonscodex) July 24, 2020
To be honest, I’m still recovering. Reading has never given me the bends before, but this just did. Every credit, though. The world would be a miserable place without original criticism, and the passion with which this is argued is heartening to watch.
Personally, however, I don’t agree with a word of it – whatever the intentions behind the Martha scene were, its super-seriousness belied the absurdity of the dialogue. As far as my Batman fixes go, I’ll be sticking with Bale and Nolan. But Ben Affleck was well-cast, even while his surroundings ground him down. Consider this my own #ThanksBatfleck.