Kulturkampf

[Polident]

There a number of scenes in Batman vs Superman where they do a commendable job addressing Batman’s perception among various groups. You have people saying he’s targeted the less fortunate. But some of those same people are saying he’s doing what the cops can’t. There are mock political cartoons implying the cops use Batman to bypass the law. There’s the idea he doesn’t consider the collateral damage.

It’s interesting because it’s Superman, as Clark, facing these perspectives. All while these questions about Superman’s role in the world are at the center of the movie. He’s in a way investigating Batman as a way to investigate his own purpose. The inverse of that is this Batman is so lost he doesn’t consider these questions. And he doesn’t consider his hypocrisy towards Superman.