On Saturday, Warner Bros. premiered a brand new Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer at San Diego Comic-Con.
This second trailer feels like a direct response to the leaked initial trailer which came with a plethora of quibbles and skepticism. There's more action, more take-your-breath-away moments, and our first look at Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) in action:
Warner Bros.
We get a better sense of Superman's persona
The most difficult task facing this movie is getting Superman's (Henry Cavill) persona right. He isn't a "dark" character. Rather, Clark Kent/Superman/Kal-El is a figure that represents hope. And this is why Man of Steel, the 2013 Superman reboot, felt off — you had Superman in fights that leveled buildings and destroyed Metropolis (something Superman wouldn't do).
There's a concerted effort in the trailer to establish this persona. We find out the government is really mad at him, and that it's turning to Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) for help. There are voiceovers from Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Clark's mother (Diane Lane) explaining that he doesn't owe Metropolis a thing, and that he is a hero, no matter what people say. But since Superman is Superman, he can't just walk away without trying to help the people that hate him.
And there are also shots like this one with Superman coming down from the heavens, bathed in sunlight, to establish him as a hopeful presence:
Warner Bros.
Why Batman fights Superman
The other part of this equation is why Batman, a good guy, would be fighting Superman, another good guy. In the comic book The Dark Knight Returns, it's established that Superman is a government lackey and reluctantly fights Batman — they don't have animosity toward each other, they just are doing what they think is right.
It's a little different in Batman v. Superman. There's a pronounced 9/11 feel to our introduction of Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), who we see running through a city and seeing what appears to be Wayne tower crumble and come crashing down thanks to Superman's fight:
(Warner Bros.)
We don't know what or who is in that tower that's so important, but it prompts Bruce Wayne to run into the crashing building head on:
(Warner Bros.)
And we also see what appears to be some goading from the Joker:
(Warner Bros.)
So mix Batman's anger about Superman's uncontrollable destruction, his past trauma about his parents being killed and not being able to do anything about it, and some not-so-gentle ribbing with the word "joke" in it, and you get a Batman that's ready to brawl an invincible hero:
(Warner Bros.)
It'll make for a good fight scene or two:
(Warner Bros.)
Our first look at Wonder Woman
One pressing question that we didn't get an answer for is how Wonder Woman factors into this fight. You might think someone who is an Amazon blessed with god-like strength would see the anti-Superman hate and want to keep a low profile.
But that would be a boring movie.
We see two shots of Wonder Woman fighting. The first (above) has her brandishing her famous bracelets and releasing some kind of force. The second looks like she's taking a punch, and to show off her badassery, she shakes it off like it's nothing:
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Again, how Wonder Woman fits into this universe or story is still a mystery. But she looks fit to fight.
And the take-your-breath-away moment of the trailer is…
This one:
(Warner Bros.)
