Thread by @ClarkJoeDCEU

It’s a new Monday, so time for a new entry into the #BatmanvSuperman references the DC lore series. Today, it’s time for the scene Helipad Confrontation in the 🧵 below! #RestoreTheSnyderVerse #BvSMondayMood

This scene is so special for me. It’s probably my favorite one in the movie, but also, it’s where I get the inspiration for my twitter nickname. I am so happy to be able to unpack different connections to the DC world. So, here we go. Beware (very) long thread incoming!

It is very hard for me not to think about Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (from Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo) during this scene. The imagery already is there from Superman flying atop and Lex seeing him from the ground.

But also, in this scene Lex through his speech is going to unpack his psyche and why he hates Superman existence. The comic unpacks Lex psyche uniquely by telling a whole story from the perspective of Lex Luthor.

And as suggested for instance by @itsmukil there is a lot in the comic that inspires Lex ideology in #BatmanvSuperman

There are even some coincidences in ideology in some parts where Lex talks about demystifying a myth that I found interesting. These happen while we see Batman fighting Superman (and we’ll get to that later).

However, there are also differences in Lex psyche and why he despises Superman between comic and movie. And doing these threads I always find these interesting because it allows me to pinpoint where #BvS is taking unique swings. So, let’s get at it!

In the comic Lex despises Superman because he’s an untouchable god. A superior being, perfect. Valuing life above else. Lex thinks humans are cynical, imperfect beings. Superman’s existence, he thinks, stop humans from trying to be better, because he exists, he’s already better.

Lex instruments a plan to showcase how Superman is not willing to terminate a criminal who’s terrorizing the city (Toyman) while a superheroine he creates (called Hope) is. When Supes saves Toyman, Lex autodestructs Hope framing him.

The purpose of this is for the citizens of metropolis to despise Superman because he saved the criminal who was terrorizing the city and is seen as destroying Hope. Lex ends up saying that this would be worth if he’s able to change even one mind about Superman.

BvS has a different motivation for Lex, a very personal one. He was abused by his father while he was a kid. So, he cannot fathom the existence of someone with Superman’s power that is also fundamentally good.

If such an individual exists, why wasn’t he saved from his father’s fists and abominations? Superman’s appearance (and thus his existence) brings back all of this for Lex. And that makes him determined to show Superman as a fraud.

And I want to highlight this a lot. #BvS takes a swing with Lex and reframes his disdain of Superman as something so personal, so psychological as someone/something reminding you of all the wrongs you suffer during your childhood. Very human and powerful in my view.

There are more similarities between comic and movie (though it’s probably the biggest) suggesting that this storyline is homage in #BvS. For example, you can also see Batman fighting Superman in the comic with Bruce having obtained kryptonite.

In the comic, different from the movie Bruce and Lex are trying to work together. Even Bruce gives Lex essential technology to create a robot (Hope) for his plan to frame Superman. Also, Lex hands in the kryptonite to Bruce, instead of Bruce stealing it from Lex.

In smaller similarities, the comic displays a news article of Batman capturing kidnappers. Similar to the #BvS one, though different since this latter points to Batman being very violent. Also, the LexCorp tower sign in the comic resembles a lot one from the BvS prequel comic.

Then we get Lex presenting the tower in issue #2 of the comic like how he does it in a BvS commercial tv spot for Turkish Airlines. In that same tv spot we see a blur of Superman, that looks like the one in the same tv spot for #BvS.

And that’s about it on the relationship of this scene with the Lex Luthor: Man of Steel comic that I really like (and the art is just amazing). To finish, I wanted to share small snippets where this scene might touch on other stories from the DC world.

For example, Superman watching Lex from above resembles a shot with Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias in the movie Watchmen (also directed by Zack Snyder).

There is also Lex using words to explain his plan that resemble Superman: Birthright as pointed out by @zack_know

To finish, the quintessential shot of Superman flying above Lex could be a homage to a number of comics/other media stories for instance Superman for all Seasons (thx @raveryn), and Superman: The Animated Series (Episode 3).

The amazing difference with all of those and #BatmanvSuperman is that in general, that shot is always there for the different stories. But in #BvS it evolves starting with Superman above Lex, but Lex being able to bring him to his knees in such a powerful image!

And that’s a wrap for today’s lengthy thread. Remember if you like this thread or any previous ones, consider donating to the @afspnational Autumn Snyder Fund. Every small amount counts to raise awareness for this cause! supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuse…