Batman v Superman: Superman Can’t Win Anymore

Zack Snyder explains how public perception has changed for Superman in Batman v Superman

Superheroes often go through periods of being loved and then questioned and sometimes even reviled by the public. They are sometimes seen as just as bad or worse than the villains they fight. I mean, what’s the point if you wrecked a building to apprehend a villain? It can be even or way less extremes than that.

And that’s what Superman is having to deal with in Batman v Superman. Since the events of Man of Steel, he’s been doing lots of good, saving lives and such. And for awhile, the public loved him, most still do. But as Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder explained, the tide of public opinion on Superman is starting to turn:

"Over the last two years he’s basically been Superman as pop culture would know him. He’s been righting wrongs, there have been floods, mines have collapsed, bridges have collapsed, churches have caught on fire. He’s basically been a hero. When we find him, he’s been dealing with the everyday world of being a superhero, but there’s a paradigm shift happening in that the unintended consequences of some of those rescues are starting to come into fruition. He’s starting to see that every action has a reaction. Like, if you’re just taking a cat out of a tree, you can’t touch anything or the arborists will say, ‘He damaged the tree branch when he got the cat down.’ Or, ‘The cat wasn’t neutered, so now there’s thousands of cats.’ There’s no winning anymore for Superman."

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It’s a pretty extreme analogy, but we understand what Snyder is getting at. There’s almost always the question of, was the world actually better off before this self-proclaimed hero started getting involved? Sure he saves some lives here and there, but unintended consequences might happen that could be far worse. And of course, there’s that whole super powered beings may come to Earth for Superman that wouldn’t have even given Earth a fleeting glance otherwise. How will Superman deal with public opinion turning against him? We’ll find out when Batman v Superman opens in just 22 days.

h/t Collider