Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had its two heroes do battle with each other - here's why the story required Batman to emerge as the winner.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice pits the Dark Knight against the Man of Steel, but the movie's story made it necessary for Ben Affleck's aggressive version of Batman to win. Zack Snyder's approach to superhero movies continues to inspire non-stop debate, and nowhere is this fact better evidenced than in Batman v Superman. The follow-up to 2013's Man of Steel, a polarizing take on the Last Son of Krypton's origin story, Batman v Superman has proven to be an even more divisive comic book movie for Snyder.
As promised by the title, Batman v Superman positions its two heroes as staunch adversaries for the majority of its runtime. With Batman fearing the ramifications of Superman's unchecked powers, and Superman (Henry Cavill) concerned about Batman's increasingly brutal methods, the distrust the two share for each other is manipulated by Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). Batman, armed with a Kryptonite spear as his intended killing weapon, emerges victorious when the two finally come to blows, and from a narrative perspective, Batman v Superman could go no other route.
To begin with, Superman's own role in the fight is a coerced one, with Lex Luthor having kidnapped Clark's adoptive mother, Martha Kent (Diane Lane), and giving Superman one hour to kill Batman to save her life. Faced with such a horrible dilemma, Superman tries reasoning with Batman, and while he eventually has to get more physical, he never attempts to kill the caped crusader. The Man of Steel also warns Batman, "If I wanted it, you'd be dead already," bearing out Henry Cavill's commentary that Superman was holding back throughout the Batman fight.
When it comes to Batman's role in the fight, he sees Superman as nothing more than a potential alien threat to be eliminated. As set up by Batman v Superman, the showdown between the two heroes is symbolically positioned as Batman's last chance to regain the humanity slipping away from him. Without seeing Superman as more than a possible alien conqueror, that couldn't have happened, which meant that Batman beating Superman was the only option for the film.
This leads into the movie's much-debated "Martha moment," in which Batman is pulled back from killing Superman with the Kryptonite spear by Lois Lane (Amy Adams). Criticism of the scene has focused on Bruce and Clark's mothers, both being named Martha, as what stops Batman. However, that misconstrues Batman at last coming to understand Superman's humanity and Batman's loss of his own, which Snyder explained as the scene's meaning in his Batman v Superman streaming commentary. In this way, Batman, fully prepared to slay Superman in cold blood, finally sees him as human and, conversely, himself as a man blinded by rage and paranoia. For this moment and Batman's subsequent rescue of Martha to work, Batman had to see himself in a new light - which couldn't have happened without Batman as the victor.
Batman v Superman struck a nerve in the world's collective consciousness as arguably no other superhero movie ever has. While it continues to inspire endless debate from both its proponents and critics, the smackdown advertised by Batman v Superman's title could not end in a mere stalemate before the pair eventually join forces. For Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, its redemption story for Batman and the sacrifice of Superman ultimately meant the former had to be triumphant in what Lex Luthor sold as "the greatest gladiator match in the history of the world."
