Smith very nearly makes the real point here – which goes to heart of the pointless DC/Marvel ‘debate’ that has sprung up since it was revealed that Batman vs. Superman and Captain America 3 would both be released on May 6th, 2016. This is Batman we’re talking about. Batman – who has been a top-selling comic book title since he first appeared in 1939. Batman – who first appeared on film in 1943, and has 10 titles under his utility belt. Batman – who has starred in 8 TV shows since 1966, 1 stage play, 3 radio shows, 7 video games and a board game. This guy needs no introduction – we know who he is. Just as Superman – a multi-media icon since 1933 – is already known the world over. And Wonder Woman? She was leading her own top-selling comic book series and starring in her own TV show while Marvel’s Black Widow was just a niche off-shoot from Iron Man’s back-catalogue.
Yes – they are all superheroes appearing in movies, but that’s where the similarities end. Warner Bros. are not fools – they are fully aware that it is the differences between their DC characters and those at Marvel that will make their movies stand apart. The difference is history – decades and decades and decades of internationally recognisable history – and that will surely be the basis of their promotional campaign. Because – in all the predictably frenzied frothing at the keyboard that erupted when Zack Snyder tweeted that first Batsuit reveal – we lost sight of the fact that what we are watching is a promotional campaign.
Of course, we’re all chomping at the bit to see more of Snyder’s Batsuit, Supersuit and, crucially, Wonder Woman suit – but this is a film that is not being released for another 24 months, and the marketing geniuses at Warner Bros. will be seeing that as an opportunity, rather than a frustration. Those two years will provide that team with the space for a carefully planned, strategically designed schedule of drip-feeding and teasing, before the big opening weekend – and in that respect, it is not in the least bit surprising that the Batsuit image we have seen is not entirely “representative.” You thought that Batsuit picture was the big reveal? Well, now that the internet has filled itself with memes and GIFs (also known as free publicity), Smith has let us know that actually, a different, altogether more mind-blowing image exists – and you haven’t seen it yet. And so the anticipation-building machine grinds on.
So what of the Batmobile in the picture? Talking to his Babble-On co-host, Ralph Garman, Smith teased:
“I will put this to you – what if it’s one of a few Batmobiles? What if that’s one of a few outfits in the movie? I suspect that’s the case.”
Make no mistake – Batman vs. Superman is one of the highest profile projects that Warner Bros. have undertaken. They are taking three of the most beloved and iconic superhero characters ever created – each with 70 years of their own history – and they’re putting them on a cinema screen, in live-action, for the first time. Everything we see of it, hear of it and learn of it until that day will be microscopically stage-managed and released for a reason, and for maximum impact. We may as well just sit back and watch it unfold.