BATMAN and SUPERMAN Cover Empire Magazine

The hype train for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice just keeps on chugging. After blowing away Comic-Con, the dukin’ superheroes have taken the cover of Empire Magazine to look incredibly badass and DC-y.

I like the stark contrast between the characters and the comic-book-y feel that the images have. The background of Gotham looks very much like it does in the comics, and it’s still fucking cool to see a grey Batman suit on film – a good one. Gotham appears very grey and run-down which is exactly how it should be. Compare this with the glossy, metropolitan feel of, well, Metropolis, and it’s almost representative of the two heroes themselves. Batman has been around for a long time, he’s grey (literally and metaphorically) and somewhat decrepit. Superman, meanwhile, is bright and shiny new which fits with the colourful imagery. Most importantly, he’s powerful. He strikes a more authoritative pose than Batman who appears very rugged and you can tell that these guys mean business – just in different ways. Basically, these are very cool images.

You’ll also notice in the bottom right corner the page reads, “turn to see their alter egos!” with two little images of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. You can’t really make out any details but they appear to be new images. What other goodies does the magazine hold? Well, there’s this. Empire also interviewed Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill, who had this to say about how the new heroes are presented in the movie.

“There is just this gravitas to Batman. He is operatic.” -Snyder

“In this movie, everyone has split into different directions as to how they feel about this alien. Some people love him, some hate him. Other people fear him. Is he a tyrant?” -Cavill

Much more of what we already knew but it’s still nice to see it in writing. Perhaps most interestingly, however, is Snyder’s comments on the larger DC Universe.

“I want all the other directors of the other films to be able to stretch their legs and do what they want, but at the same time there is a big interconnected universe.”

At first glance, it feels as if this isn’t DC’s approach at all, but instead they’re stuffing every Justice League member they can into one massive movie. However, this would suggest that there will be a more hands-off approach than the one Marvel takes which often has several movies at a time running a continuous plotline. It seems as if DC will construct movies which are relatively standalone but still acknowledge that they’re part of a wider universe. Both methods are effective and I’m excited to see how this will work out.

If you’re at a loss for how to cover your much-needed Batman v Superman addiction, then we advise you stare at these images for a few hours longer whilst listening to the Man of Steel soundtrack. Then watch the trailer again, because y’know, it’s fucking awesome.