Batman V Superman: That’s Not Doomsday

What’s not Doomsday?  Oh, I don’t know, that giant monstrous abomination (Sorry, bad choice of words.  I know it looks like The Abomination from The Incredible Hulk (2008)) that was seen towards the end of the latest Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer.

Contrary to what many believe (hey, even I originally thought it was), I think that this character is not The Ultimate, a.k.a. Doomsday.  But wait, he’s grey, has the bony protrusions, and is mean as all hell.  That still doesn’t mean he’s Doomsday.  There’s also been no official confirmation from Warner Bros. / DC or Zack Snyder and company that this creature is the one who made his first appearance in the Death of Superman storyline.

The rumor that Doomsday would be making an appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice started early during the film’s production.  Many people welcomed it, and an equal number derided it.  I was one of the ones who wasn’t too keen on Doomsday making an appearance.  Why?  It was the method by which he would be brought into the DC Extended Universe.  In short, the rumor stated that Doomsday would be the creation of Lex Luthor via the dead body of General Zod.  I for one didn’t like the fact that they were discarding the character’s true extraterrestrial origins.  In addition, I felt that the introduction of Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would be too soon.  This is a character who needs respect.  As one of the few beings who has incapacitated one of the greatest heroes in the universe, you can’t go into this willy-nilly.  Doomsday is not a supporting character for a movie, and should not be a footnote.

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Other evidence also points to the fact that this is not who viewers think it is.  First off, in this day and age, it wouldn’t be too difficult to make something look legit and like the comics via visual effects.  The television series Smallville prominently featured Doomsday in Season 8, and they did a relatively decent job with his appearance.  That was in 2008 and on a television budget.   Looking at this creature’s appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, he has the bony protrusions, but they’re not as defined as Doomsday in the comics.  Plus, he lacks the bones covering his eyelids.

Doomsday also doesn’t have the ability for heat vision, especially the type of energy blast that comes out of his eyes and mouth.  Comic fans might say, “But Doomsday later developed the ability to absorb energy attacks and send it back.”  I would counter that and say that in Action Comics #900 (April 2011) it was revealed that this “energy expelling” Doomsday was one of many clones created to defeat certain metahumans.  So even if you want to argue that point, this wouldn’t be the original Doomsday.

Okay, then who is he?  I believe that in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this monstrous creature is an OMAC.  For the purposes of keeping this article focused, I will not be talking about the original Jack Kirby-created OMAC whose alter-ego was Buddy Blank.  I will be talking about the Infinite Crsis re-imagined version.  The OMACs (Observational Meta-human Activity Construct) — cyborg humans that were transformed by a virus for the specific purpose of exterminating metahumans — made their first appearance in The OMAC Project #1 (June 2005) and was created by Greg Rucka.

The transformative virus was created with Brainiac-13’s nanotechnology via a joint partnership between LexCorp and the US Department of Defense.  It was then secretly introduced into vaccinations meant for the general public.  The OMACs are centrally controlled by a satellite named Brother MK I — which was created by Batman.  In the story, Batman created the satellite to keep track of metahumans after feeling deceived when he had his memories altered by the Justice League in the Identity Crisis storyline.  Maxwell Lord later reprogrammed Brother MK I to have a fear and suspicion of all metahumans.  And Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three would give the satellite sentience.

Brother MK I later renamed itself “Bother Eye” and ordered all OMACs to exterminate the metahumans.  It took a team of superheroes to stop the attack with the use of an electromagnetic pulse and a shutdown command.  This, in turn, freed the OMAC human hosts which significantly reduced the overall number of OMACs.  Later, OMACs continued to make other appearances in major DC storylines.

OMACs display a number of powers and abilities: ability to fly; shoot fire; project needles of artificial cellulose; dispense flame-retardant foam; and fire energy beams from its large eye and hands.  OMACs adapt their powers to the individual metahuman they’re fighting.  Within a few seconds, an OMAC can assess its opponent and adapt countermeasures for battle.  Their biggest weakness is the fact that they’re human underneath their armor.

Given what we now know of OMACs and what we’ve seen in the latest trailer, here’s why I think the creature in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an OMAC:

• Lex may have created an OMAC to keep tabs on all metahumans.  This theme of surveillance, paranoia, and xenophobia is pretty prevalent in all the trailers and promotions we’ve seen.
• The OMAC may still have a viral source, but this source may be a type of genetic engineering from General Zod’s DNA.  Zod’s dead body could also be the first OMAC host in the DC Extended Universe.
• The creature is firing an energy blast from its eyes and mouth.  When an OMAC has an armored mask on, it appears as though the source of the energy blast comes from the entire face or a single eye.  Could this creature be an OMAC out of armor?
• The signature mohawk helmet of OMACs may later be added as well as the armor.  The explanation for the helmet’s existence could be that they’re a type of mind-control device used to keep the creature in control via the Brother MK I satellite.
• Since Bruce Wayne is also paranoid of Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, could we be seeing Bruce create Brother MK I as an initial joint venture with Lex?  After all, Bruce does attend one of Lex’s parties.

One of the biggest pieces of evidence is that trailers can always be misleading, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is no different.  Like I said before, neither Zack Snyder nor his cast and crew, nor Warner Bros. / DC have announced, confirmed, or denied that Doomsday will be in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  I know that a lot of people felt that the latest trailer ruined the surprise of Doomsday appearing, but what if that was what the studio intended?  The studio never said that was Doomsday in the latest trailer, and they’re letting people make their own assumptions.  So when release day comes, everyone will be very surprised.

How does that theory sound?  Do you still think the creature in the latest Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer is Doomsday?  Post your thoughts in the comments.

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Official Synopsis: Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has a United States release date of March 25, 2016.  It will be directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio from a story by David Goyer and Zack Snyder, and will star Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg, and Callan Mulvey, Scoot McNairy, and Jena Malone in unspecified roles.