If you ask any die-hard DC fan who their favorite Batman is, they would likely say “Christian Bale,” or maybe even “Robert Pattinson.” Still, for fans of The Dark Knight Returns, there’s only one person who ever lived up to the Batman role: the Batfleck himself, Ben Affleck. Say what you will about his whole “no killing rule” (or lack thereof), but Affleck infused the character with a unique gravitas and on-screen presence that perfectly encapsulates the legendary image of the Dark Knight. Well, he did it once, at least.
“But wait,” you might be thinking, “didn’t he play Batman throughout the whole Snyderverse?” Technically, yes, he did wear the costume, but there was only one movie where everyone could see him embody Gotham’s Caped Crusader as he appears in the comics: Batman v Superman.
The Real Dark Knight
I think we can all agree that the Snyderverse had a bit of an identity crisis. As much of an auteur as Zack Snyder can be, it was clear from the start that WB wanted DC’s prime cinematic universe to be just an alternative to the MCU. To that end, movies underwent constant reshoots to fall in line with what audiences come to expect from Marvel: jokes, goofs, and characters that never take themselves too seriously. Essentially, everything Batman is not.
You can see the drastic change in Affleck’s performance going from Batman v Superman to Joss Whedon’s take on Justice League. In the first movie, Affleck plays a broken Batman who goes to extreme lengths to instill fear in the hearts of Gotham’s criminals. In Whedon’s Justice League, he’s just DC’s Iron Man, complete with Tony Stark-level quips at every second.
The tonal shift hits like a shockwave, enough to give anyone whiplash. And yet, it only goes downhill from there. Justice League was the first indication of the cracks happening within WB with the DCEU, and Suicide Squad just proved there was no way for this cinematic universe to live up to the MCU’s standards.
Ben Affleck’s Brief Cameos And Quick Getaways As Batman
We all know Batman is well-known for his stealthy retreats. You know, like how he constantly leaves Commissioner Gordon speaking to himself as he seemingly disappears into the night. The DCEU took this stealthy approach to heart, having Affleck doing random cameos all over the cinematic universe – but never enough to evolve his character beyond “dark Iron Man”.
Even if some believe that he almost redeemed his character in The Flash, it was too little, too late for the Batfleck. Even the legendary Snyder Cut did little to make up for how badly tarnished his image had become. After all, there was only so much Snyder could do with the movie after it had Whedon’s trademarks all over it.
The DCEU is an unfortunate case study of poor management. Not only was Henry Cavill’s amazing Man of Steel wasted: almost every major character in the franchise suffered the same fate, including Ben Affleck’s Batman. At the very least, Batman v Superman gave us a glimpse into what the DCEU could have been – and, honestly? It was great.
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