That would surely be Wonder Woman, in another historic aspect of this film. Wonder Woman has been the third part of DC’s ‘Trinity’ of superheroes for just as long as Batman and Superman have – but she has never before been depicted in live-action cinema. This can be blamed on any number of issues – but each returns to simple sexism in film. Despite the fact that we have enjoyed female superheroes leading their own comic book series for decades, we have never had a female-led live-action superhero movie from either DC or Marvel. Swamp Thing and the Toxic Avenger have had their own film adaptations. Ant-Man made it to the big screen. Batman and Superman – the male counterparts to Wonder Woman – have been adapted over and over again. But Wonder Woman has continually been passed over.
Meanwhile, sexism in film and TV has become a topic of great debate – particularly surrounding the superhero genre. Black Widow rose to be very popular within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but remains a supporting character in male superhero movies. Marvel is making an Ant-Man And The Wasp film, but again, the female character shares the top spot with a man. It’s also not happening until 2018. Marvel’s Captain Marvel will be its first female-led superhero movie, but it won’t arrive until 2019.
This is why Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is historic. Wonder Woman is the only female comic book superhero in film who is an independent character. Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Catwoman, Supergirl – each of them is spun-off from a male character’s story. They are women who exist in relation to men. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, has always been the hero of her own story, and Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice introduces her to cinema in a way that is so powerful, it prompted Warner Bros. to push their planned Wonder Woman film into production, with a woman director, and a 2017 release date – a true victory over sexism in film.
But what of the truly evil bad guys? Again, previous DC comic book adaptations in film have always featured the same narrow range of villains. The Joker is perhaps the most well-used villainous character – but he is by no means the most powerful, nor the most disturbing. Equally, Lex Luthor is an iconic supervillain. These characters are notable because they are just human men, like Batman, but while The Dark Knight is busy in pursuit of Superman in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, a different, altogether more monstrous evil arises.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice will see the first live-action cinematic depiction of Doomsday, and will apparently set the stage for Darkseid – two of the most powerful characters to exist in the DC universe. To be clear, these guys make The Joker and Lex Luthor look like Sunday School teachers.