Hidden Villains of the Batman v Superman Trailer

WARNING: If it turns out I’m right – and I always am – then this post contains potential spoilers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Batman Arkham Knight.

No matter how many times I watch that trailer, I still don’t quite believe this film is really happening. I’m betting the apocalypse kicks off about two weeks before the release date, just to spite me. But anyway, I’m not going to gush about how amazing the trailer is (you’ve got your own eyes), this post is going to briefly examine the villains possibly hidden in between the cuts and punches.

What, you didn’t think they weren’t going to team up at the end, did you?

Anyway, first up, the most heavily rumoured to appear: Doomsday.

This Kryptonian monstrosity is most famous for appearing in the story arc The Death of Superman, in which – spoiler alert, I guess – Superman ‘dies’ by way of being beaten to death in a cross-country brawl with Doomsday, who is also killed. In the comics, Doomsday was created by a scientist and released on a prehistoric Krypton, where it died due to the atmospheric conditions. The idea behind the character is that he can never be killed the same way twice, as the scientist would collect his remains and create a stronger clone by removing the weakness that resulted in his death – a sort of forced evolution. Eventually Doomsday murdered his creator, stole a spacecraft and crash-landed on Earth and remained buried for centuries until waking up, resulting in Superman having to stop his reign of wanton destruction.

In terms of his possible appearance in Batman v Superman, we see in the trailer that General Zod’s corpse has been retrieved and brought to Lexcorp for examination. In this movie universe, many people blame Superman for the destruction of large parts of Metropolis in Man of Steel, and no doubt Lex Luthor is one of them. The rumour is that in an effort to convince the world that Superman is a threat and deserves to be hated, Luthor experiments on Zod’s body – possibly using the Kryptonite also shown in the trailer – and either reanimates the corpse or creates Doomsday. This would then result in Batman and Superman teaming up and give us our introduction to Wonder Woman.

The clues for Doomsday are there: the apparent destruction of a Lexcorp facility as if something powerful had broken out, the burning lands the Batwing (or Wonder Woman’s jet?) is seen flying over, and the massive blast of what is edited to look like Superman’s heat vision narrowly missing Batman – but notice how focused and thin his heat vision is here…

compared to the uncontrolled and fiery beam shown here…

No matter how annoyed Superman is at Batman (who also notice is not wearing his battle armour at that point in the trailer, as he does when shown fighting Superman), he is not going to reduce him to an ash smear on the wall – he’s a pretty good bloke that way.

Next up: The Red Hood

The Red Hood was an identity the Joker may or have not have used (depending if you trust his honesty in retelling his origin story, as seen in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke) and was adopted by the back-from-the-dead Jason Todd – the second Robin, murdered by the Joker.

In the comics, Todd returns from the grave thanks to Superboy punching a hole in the time-space continuum (comics can be dumb sometimes), but in the animated adaptation, Ra’s Al Ghul steals his corpse and dips it into a Lazarus Pit (a rejuvenating pool he uses to cheat death, but which also greatly affects the mind) as an apology to Batman for hiring the Joker for a job which inadvertently ended with Robin being beaten to death. Shit happens, you know? The Pit brought Jason back from the dead, but sent him insane and he escaped, to begin plotting his revenge against Batman for not only failing to save him, but for not killing the Joker in revenge and stop his body count piling up.

A new version of the story was the main plot-line of the new video game Batman Arkham Knight, where it is revealed that the Joker never killed Jason, but held him prisoner in an abandoned wing of Arkham Asylum to torture him before faking his death and sending Batman the video. Todd returned with a military force and help from the Scarecrow in a bid to finally defeat Batman and get revenge for apparently leaving him to die and replacing him.

In the Batman v Superman, we see an apparently burned Robin costume with a taunt from the Joker sprayed onto it in the Batcave, as Bruce Wayne contemplates becoming Batman again – the shots of him staring down the Batsuit imply he has been retired for a while, as in The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel by Frank Miller where Batman also retired partly due to Jason Todd’s death.

We also see a newspaper in Bruce Wayne’s hands with the message ‘YOU LET YOUR FAMILY DIE’ scrawled across it. Some have suggested it could be a relative of one of the Wayne Financial employees who died in the Superman vs Zod fight, but why would it say ‘YOUR FAMILY’ and not ‘MY’ or ‘OUR’ family? Others have suggested it’s the Joker taunting Bruce, but the Joker doesn’t know or care who Batman is in pretty much every iteration of the character – plus, in The Dark Knight Returns the Joker is catatonic during Batman’s retirement and only wakes up when he hears about his return, a factor which may or may not be used in the film.

There are a few quick shots of Batman wearing some kind of desert gear and fighting with a militia emblazoned with Superman’s logo on their arm. But if you look closely, that doesn’t look like Ben Affleck under the cowl, and Batman doesn’t usually snap a guy’s neck like that (what with his no-killing rule and all). Compare that few seconds of footage to how the Red Hood is usually portrayed – has no problem killing, uses Batman’s tactics but with a lethal edge and he wears more militaristic attire including a brown jacket over his costume. It’s possible that is Jason Todd under the cowl, trying to defame Batman by leaving a trail of bodies killed by someone wearing a Batsuit, after taunting him from afar about the deaths in Metropolis. 

With it recently being announced that Ben Affleck with direct and co-write (as well as star) in the next solo Batman film in 2018, and with Jared Leto’s Joker being introduced in next year Suicide Squad movie as well as the Robin costume prominently on display in the trailer for this film, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the Under the Red Hood storyline is the one chosen for adaptation. It may only be introduced as an ongoing mystery in Batman v Superman first, with it left unanswered who sent that taunt on the newspaper and who is possibly masquerading as the fake Batman, as setup for that solo outing.

Finally, I have two unlikely options. One: Metallo.

Ignore the gorilla.

It was rumoured a while ago that Callan Mulvey could be playing Metallo; a Superman bad guy who’s a sort of cyborg thing that is powered by a Kryptonite heart. Because of that, he’s a tough opponent for Superman but probably easy pickings for Wonder Woman, so I don’t expect to see him in this film – even though Zack Snyder did recently admit that Metallo was in contention for the villainous role should they have chosen to do a standalone Man of Steel sequel. Plus, Metallo doesn’t have heat vision, so this would mean it was indeed Superman who tried to wipe Batman off the face of the Earth.

Option Two: Battle Armour Lex Luthor.

We know that Batman’s battle armour for fighting Superman will be Kryptonite infused, and there have been rumours that along with General Zod’s corpse, his military battle armour was also retrieved. Perhaps Lex Luthor has tweaked it and uses it to attack the Trinity once he realises they have cottoned on to his manipulations, and that heat vision blast was actually some kind of laser weapon. After all, the first official image of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor showed him with a shaved head (I'd say bald, but you can still see hair follicles or whatever) and wearing a prison jumpsuit.

If I had to guess, I’d say it’s Doomsday or a reanimated Zod that unites the three heroes, and I’d also put money on Jason Todd’s Red Hood to be the villain of the standalone Batman film – even if that message on the newspaper was from the Joker.

Video Game Review - Batman: Arkham Knight

“From the ashes of Arkham, Gotham will burn. And you, you will burn too, Batman”.  – Azrael, Arkham City, 2011

The final entry in the Rocksteady Batman trilogy (quadrilogy, including Warner Brothers Montreal’s Arkham Origins), and my primary reason for buying a next-gen console, is finally here. With a hefty standard to live up to thanks to both of its predecessor’s universal high scores from critics, this story-closer adds incredible new gameplay elements, such as driving the Batmobile around an insanely detailed Gotham City and dual play with allied characters, to the already solid foundations of the series.

Without Bat-legend Paul Dini (writer of Batman: the Animated Series, and both ‘Asylum’ and ‘City’ entries in the Arkham franchise) writing the story, some have doubted whether Arkham Knight can cement the legacy of the Arkhamverse alongside the greatest Batman stories.

So, were those concerns proved valid?

1.       Main Plot 

The game opens with Commissioner Gordon (voiced by Jonathan Banks – Mike from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) narrating the fallout from Arkham City. In essence, with the Joker dead, Gotham waited for a massive crime war for control of the city, which surprisingly never came. The reason being that with the Joker’s unpredictability now out of the way, Scarecrow has convinced the villains to team up and launch a coordinated attack on Batman, in order to finally end his meddling. With Gotham evacuated due to Scarecrow’s threat of a chemical weapon being launched, the bad guys get to work dismantling Batman’s grip on the city, enhanced by the presence of a mercenary military force led by the mysterious Arkham Knight.

As usual with the Arkham games, the story is fantastic. While the identity of the Arkham Knight is unfortunately the most obvious thing in the world for any Bat-fan worth their salt, the way the character is presented and the build up to the reveal is executed masterfully. With a deep personal hatred of the Dark Knight coupled with extensive knowledge of his tactics and allies (for example, telling the militia to aim for the shoulders and the places where the plates separate on the new Bat-suit, rather than the extra-armoured Bat symbol on the chest), there is a tangible sense that maybe the Arkham Knight could actually defeat Batman, which makes for an intense story.

The other main villain, The Scarecrow, was one of the highlights of the first instalment of the series, and he’s a defining attribute of this game too. While some might say another character – who I won’t spoil – steals the limelight, Scarecrow is absolutely terrifying and personifies the theme of the game perfectly. Voiced hauntingly by John Noble and given a hideous redesign, one of Batman’s most underrated villains enacts a near-perfect masterplan to destroy the Dark Knight’s allies and legacy in a story that pulls no punches.

1 Mark

2.       The World

 

Gotham City is amazing. From the opening credits where you walk into a Bioshock style diner on a neon-lined street, to gliding past gargoyle-decorated skyscrapers; this is Gotham City from the comics. There are plenty of references to other DC characters in the overheard dialogue from thugs at street-level (as well as a fun answering machine message or two from a certain bald Metropolis resident) and story-twists that incorporate Batman’s actions from the previous games, all of which help to establish the Arkhamverse as its own unique setting while also hinting at a wider world with even more characters.

As you’d expect from a next-gen only game, the graphics are incredible. The water out on the port looks violent and real and Batman’s cape has never looked as good as it does when soaked with rain and opened up for a glide across this Gotham skyline. The Batmobile is pretty nice too…

Characters have been redesigned – the Scarecrow in particular looks much more terrifying in his new hooded garb after he was savaged by Killer Croc in Arkham Asylum. Part way into the game, Batman has a new Batsuit dropped out to him – which is the one featured in all the promotional material – which takes obvious inspiration from the Christian Bale Batsuit, with the cowl a separate detachable piece. The idea behind that is the new armour enables faster movement while enhancing protection from attacks, but in reality it’s just because it looks really cool.

1 Mark

3.       Side Missions

With a rogue’s gallery as vast as Batman’s, the side missions in Arkham Knight almost overshadow the main plot – or they might if not for one particular fault in them I’ll get to in the Gameplay section. The best side missions range from halting Two-Face and his gang’s bank robbing spree, to tracking down Man-Bat (whose reveal will make you poop yourself), to using your detective skills to hunt down a serial killer who has left a trail of bodies around Gotham in almost ritualistic poses; the guessing which villain is responsible is half the fun.

Firefly was one of the eight assassins hired to take out Batman in Arkham Origins, and makes a return in this game as a side mission where you come across burning fire stations before initiating a cross-city chase sequence in the Batmobile. I prefer using the Batmobile in its primary function, as opposed to the tank battle sequences, so these chase missions were quite fun for me, even if the plot thread wound up a bit anti-climactic.

Unfortunately, some side missions were just too quick – Deacon Blackfire for example, an intriguing and unique villain from the comics who broke Batman mentally in the ‘The Cult’ storyline, only had one sequence where you find him and incapacitate him after beating up a bunch of his followers. Those of you who played Arkham City will remember the Identity Thief side-story, where you had to track down a serial killer who was carving up people’s faces – that plot thread resumes in this game, and sadly was very underwhelming. That particular villain was one of my picks to turn out to be under the Arkham Knight mask, but winds up being a mere quick-time event.

Upon completion of the main story, you have the ability to complete the side missions to reach 100% and unlock the full ending to the story (which sort of annoys me – a trilogy closer should have a definitive ending to a story we’ve followed this long), and once you’ve slogged through the militia based plot threads – lots of destroying outposts, incapacitating commanders and disarming roadside bombs – you decide to push through the Riddler challenges. Once you’ve done all the silly races and solved all of the surprisingly fun Dual Play rooms with Batman and a captive Catwoman, you’ll get the full ending, right? Nope. It looks that way initially, before you’re told to bugger off and collect TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE Riddler trophies scattered across a Gotham City which is five times bigger than the map of Arkham City. 

Think I’ll just pop over to Youtube and watch the 100% ending instead. Didn’t think of that, did you Riddler?

Three-quarters of a Mark

4.       Gameplay

      

      The gameplay in general has been as strong as the story in all of the Arkham games – even Origins added new features to the combat and detective side. In Arkham Knight, the combat has somehow been made even better with additions such as the Fear Multi-Takedown (where you can drop in on a group of unaware enemies and jump from opponent to opponent before they even have time to raise their fists), mini-gun wielding opponents that require their own unique Takedown, auto-turrets that make remaining incognito more challenging, and the ability to carry on hitting a bad guy once they’re on the ground, rather than being forced to initiate a Ground Takedown. 

My personal favourite additions to the combat is that a slow-mo sequence is triggered when you are spotted by an armed enemy – giving you a few seconds to decide on an escape plan rather than being shredded immediately – and the enemies wearing special armour than renders them dulled when observed in detective vision, which makes sense given the Arkham Knight’s knowledge of Batman’s equipment and serves to challenge the player to not be over-reliant on the thermal imaging feature.

Another fantastic addition to the gameplay is the Dual Combat segments, where you fight as both Batman and an ally. For example, one sequence has you making your way through an abandoned movie studio as Batman with Robin tagging along. Once you reach a room full of enemies, you’d wade into them and build up a combo-meter before being prompted to press L1 to trigger a Dual Takedown, where maybe Batman would lift an opponent up and Robin would jump in and smash the guy in the face, and you then control Robin until the next Dual Takedown where you’d switch back to Batman, and so on. It’s a brilliant feature that allows for the player to experience the other character’s fighting style, with their own gadgets and manoeuvres, and it’s a shame it’s not utilised more often.

But now, for a gameplay, mechanic that can’t possibly complain about not being used often enough: the Batmobile. Imagine the tank from Grand Theft Auto was given the speed of the fastest cars from that game and placed in a destructible environment – that’s the Batmobile. Thugs speed away in fear, pillars crumble underneath you, pedestrians get zapped and thrown back by the non-lethal electric force field if they get too close and the handles as smoothly as you’d expect from a car driven by Batman. The combat sequences involving the Batmobile involve you initiating Battle-Mode before firing missiles at and/or hacking unmanned drones. A common complaint is that the Batmobile is overused, and I’d have to agree. There are a few too many tank battles and some boss fights, which you’d expect to be hand-to hand (especially after the ingenious Mr Freeze boss battle from Arkham City) are Batmobile only missions. 

This bring me to my other complaint, and one which let down the side missions aspect of the game: the lack of boss battles. For a property like Batman, where there are so many great villains to fight, Arkham Knight doesn’t really let you actually fight any of them. This may be because the only real problems with the previous entries were that the boss fights weren’t as good as they should have been – most of them were formulaic and uninventive. However, with the aforementioned Mr Freeze fight from Arkham City, as well as the Deathstroke and Bane fights in Arkham Origins, it appeared the boss fights had been brought up to the standard of the rest of the gameplay. Perhaps to avoid the ‘still got crappy boss fights’ criticism, Rocksteady chose to make all of Arkham Knight’s key battles either chases followed by a quick cut-scene, predator sequences where you have to take out armed enemies before the final boss Takedown, or flat-out tank battles – even against expert hand-to-hand combatants like the Arkham Knight.

But, you know:

 

Three-quarters of a Mark

5.       Re-playability

     

      Admittedly, I haven’t gone back and played New Game Plus yet (where you replay the story but with all your upgrades from the get-go, but more difficult enemies and no hints), as I did Arkham City, which is probably down to my apathy at the tank battles more than anything. But thanks to the magic of Youtube, I do know that the opening of New Game Plus is slightly different – and again, as with Man-Bat, it will make you poop your pants.

I’ll get there eventually, the plot is just so good and the gameplay and graphics fully utilise the PS4’s capabilities. I’m also pretty intrigued to see what a fully upgraded Batmobile is capable of, and there are plenty of unlockable new skins to use – I’m thinking of decking everyone out in their New-52 garb this time around, unless I can find a way to play through the story in the Arkham City suit which is my personal preference over the new Batsuit. Hopefully, we’ll get a Ben Affleck Batsuit skin at some point, too.

In terms of add-ons, anyone who bought from Game will have the Harley Quinn and Red Hood story packs to play through as well, which I haven’t got to yet but have heard that they’re only around ten-to-fifteen minutes long each, which is disappointing. But then again, there is a DLC piece which will be released soon called Season of Infamy, and included many more side missions and villains to fight – including Ra’s Al Ghul and Mr Freeze, from what I’ve heard. So while not technically part of the game at the moment, it does sound like a very expansive add-on.

Three-quarters of a Mark

While an overuse of the new Batmobile mechanic and the lack of boss fights may hold Arkham Knight back from the perfection of Arkham City, the trilogy-closer is a more than worthy sequel and, in my opinion, contributes to a series that is as close to the ideal portrayal of Batman and his world that any product in any media – comics included – has given us. Hopefully Warner Brothers Montreal will be allowed to produce two more prequel games, now that the Batmobile and dual play have been introduced, and we can have two trilogies which when combined tell the complete story of the Dark Knight.

Final Score: 4.25/5