Batman (DC Extended Universe)

Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman in Zack Snyder's Justice League

Zack Snyder

Vigilante

Dick Grayson (adopted son)

Patrick A. Wayne (grandfather)

Laura Wayne (great-grandmother)

### Abilities

Genius intellect, Expert detective, Skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, Utilizes high-tech equipment

Bruce Wayne also known by his vigilante alias Batman is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The character was portrayed by Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's 2016 superhero film *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice*, the 2017 film *Justice League* (as well as its 2021 director's cut), and a cameo appearance in *Suicide Squad* (2016). He will reprise the role in the upcoming films *The Flash* (2023) and *Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom* (2023). Fans nicknamed this iteration of the character "Batfleck", a portmanteau of "Batman" and "Affleck". In the films' universe, Bruce had already been active as Batman for twenty years before the emergence of Superman, and despite being initially at odds with him to the point of paranoia and anger, Batman comes to appreciate the former, starting the Justice League in his honor after Superman's sacrifice to stop Doomsday. The Justice League, under Wayne's leadership, fights to prevent Steppenwolf from collecting the three Mother Boxes and destroying Earth alongside his master Darkseid, eventually resurrecting Superman to aid in their collective efforts.

The DCEU marks the fifth time Batman was portrayed in film, but the first to share a film series with other DC superheroes such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Although the announcement of Affleck's casting in *Batman v Superman* was initially met with intense fan backlash, his performance received positive reviews despite the film's generally unfavorable reception. Affleck was later hired to write, direct, and star in his own standalone Batman film entitled *The Batman* before stepping down from both roles. The project would be realized as another reboot by Matt Reeves, with Robert Pattinson succeeding Affleck in the role, although Affleck would nonetheless return for *The Flash*, alongside Michael Keaton as his iteration of the character. Upon the events of that film, when Barry Allen travels back in time to ensure his father is found innocent of false charges against him, Bruce Wayne's appearance is altered and is portrayed by George Clooney.

## Role in the Films

### Parents' murder and impact

Wayne was born on February 19, 1972 to Martha and Thomas Wayne. In 1981, after watching *The Mark of Zorro* with his parents, a mugger holds his parents at gunpoint, shooting both dead after a struggle in front of Wayne.

During the funeral, Wayne runs off, only to fall a dry well, and get attacked by a swarm of bats. This would later inspire him to use that fear to battle the criminal element that took his parents' lives. Years later, Wayne becomes the CEO of his father's company, Wayne Enterprises, while also becoming Batman, defending Gotham City from danger.

### Early years as Batman

At some point, Wayne recruited Robin who was then killed by Joker and Harley Quinn, with Wayne later keeping his vandalized suit to commemorate him.

As depicted in flashbacks in Suicide Squad, Batman gets into an entanglement with Deadshot. While he gets the best of Deadshot, the latter pulls out his rifle and is prepared to kill Batman, but his daughter Zoe gets in the way and persuades her father to surrender. 1 year later, Batman chases down Joker and Quinn, resulting in Quinn's capture and incarceration.

### Against Superman

In 2013, Wayne happens to be in Metropolis during the Black Zero Event resulting in the destruction of several skyscrapers, including the Wayne Financial Tower, as the Kryptonians throw each other across the city. Enraged at Superman's apparent lack of concern for innocent bystanders, Wayne devotes his life to taking Superman down, deeming him a threat to humanity. In 2015, at a gala held by Lex Luthor, Wayne encounters Clark Kent, a young reporter attempts to question the billionaire's position on Batman, whom he views as a brutal criminal.

Wayne mockingly counters that Superman is dangerous but hypocrites defend him, attempting to brush him off after noticing the mysterious Diana Prince. As he plants a device to steal and decrypt information from Luthor's servers, Prince takes notice and steals the device before Wayne can get back to it, though she returns it to him at a museum gala after he tracks her down, as she is unable to bypass the military-grade encryption on the device. Wayne returns home and falls asleep decrypting the drive. Waking up from a nightmarish dream, he encounters The Flash, who tells him that Lois Lane "is the key" and to "find the others" before vanishing. Looking at Luthor's files, he finds that not only was Luthor after kryptonite, but was also researching metahumans around the world, one of which includes Prince, also known as Wonder Woman.

While attempting to intercept Luthor's men during a kryptonite shipment, Batman is ambushed by Superman himself, with Luthor finally pitting them against each other in combat. Although Superman has realized the situation and attempts to talk Batman out of it, the latter is ready to fight, subduing Superman with two kryptonite smoke grenades after a lengthy struggle. As Batman prepares to move in for the kill using the spear, Superman pleads with him to "save Martha", setting out to rescue Martha, killing mobster Anatoli Knyazev in the process, while Superman regains his strength and confronts Luthor. Luthor executes his backup plan, unleashing a monster genetically engineered from DNA from both Zod's body and his own.

Having heard of the mayhem, Wonder Woman arrives in her armor with her metahuman powers on display, joining forces with Batman and Superman against the creature. Unfortunately, while the monster is mortally wounded, an enraged dying Doomsday manages to pierce Superman's chest with his huge arm-protrusion, mortally wounding him as well. He and Wonder Woman promptly retrieve Superman's lifeless body, seconds before the arrival of a devastated Lane. Batman confronts Luthor in prison, warning him that he will always be watching. Wayne and Prince attend Kent's funeral, and Bruce later delivers Diana a photograph of her from 1918.

### Forming the Justice League

#### Theatrical cut

In 2017, Wayne and Prince follow on their plans to locate more metahumans in the wake of Superman's death. A global threat has arisen with the emergence of the demon Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), who has sent his Parademons to plague Gotham. Wayne easily manages to persuade Barry Allen, also known as "The Flash", to join, but faces difficulty in recruiting Arthur Curry, also known as "Aquaman", until Steppenwolf attacks Curry's home of Atlantis.

Wayne and Allen join up with Prince and Victor Stone, also known as "Cyborg", as they receive intel from Gotham City Police commissioner James Gordon. The team sets out to an underwater facility between Metropolis and Gotham City in order to rescue Stone's father Silas and other employees of S.T.A.R. Labs, whom Steppenwolf and his forces had kidnapped in an attempt to locate the last Mother Box, one of three devices sought to reshape the world. After the group rescues the employees and seizes the Mother Box to analyze it following a skirmish, Wayne decides to use the device to resurrect Superman after hearing from Stone that Silas had used it to revive him after a horrific accident. Diana and Curry are hesitant about this idea, but Wayne forms a secret contingency plan in case Superman returns as hostile.

After exhuming Kent's body, the team successfully revives Superman using the Mother Box and amniotic fluid in the Kryptonian scout ship that was used to create Doomsday. However, Superman has lost his memory, and he attacks the group after Stone accidentally launches a projectile at him. Superman remembers Batman's aggression towards him, grabbing Batman off the ground and nearly killing him, but Batman enacts his contingency plan: Lois Lane. Superman calms down and leaves with Lane to his family home in Smallville, where he reflects, and his memories slowly come back. In the turmoil, the Mother Box is left unguarded, allowing Steppenwolf to retrieve it with ease.

Without Superman, the five heroes travel to a village in Russia, where Steppenwolf aims to unite the Mother Boxes once again to remake Earth. Batman risks his own life to distract Steppenwolf while the other members separate the Mother Boxes, though the plan is unsuccessful. Superman, having regained his memories, arrives and assists Allen in evacuating the city, as well as Stone, in separating the Mother Boxes. The team defeats Steppenwolf, who, overcome with fear, is attacked by his own Parademons before they all teleport away.

After the battle, Wayne and Prince agree to set up a base of operations for the team, with room for more members, and Bruce begins rebuilding the destroyed Wayne Manor for this purpose. Wayne then makes amends with Kent, buying out the bank trying to foreclose Martha Kent's farm in Smallville and offering Superman the mantle of leadership for the newly minted Justice League.

#### Director's cut

Wayne is unable to get the jet to fly until Stone discovers and fixes a software bug in its firmware. During the final battle in Russia, Batman utilizes his weaponry and vehicles to break through the fortification Steppenwolf builds around the Mother Boxes and joins the rest of the team in fighting their way to the boxes and confronting Steppenwolf. He also kills a parademon that had shot Allen, giving Allen time to heal and undo the Unity of the boxes by entering the Speed Force and thus indirectly playing a major role in Steppenwolf's defeat.

Sometime after, Wayne has another dream. After waking up, he is met by Martian Manhunter, who thanks him for forming the Justice League and promises to be in touch to plan for Darkseid's inevitable return.

### Helping Flash

Wayne continues to mentor Allen, becoming a close friend and helping him realize his potential as a superhero, in addition to helping him create a new suit. After Allen helps Wayne and Prince stop a bank robbery, Allen becomes nostalgic for his past and theorizes that he could go back in time to stop both the murder of his mother and that of Wayne's parents, to which the latter sternly warns against. Allen goes back in time nonetheless to save his mother, resulting in the world changing drastically, with Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman not existing, Victor Stone not having had his accident yet, and an older, retired version of Wayne taking the original's place. After Allen reverses his changes to the universe, realizing there is no other way to save the world from General Zod's invasion, but makes one change that would prove that his father did not kill his mother, the universe seemingly reverts to normal, although Wayne's appearance changes again.

## Alternate Versions

### Steppenwolf Victorious

In *Zack Snyder's Justice League* Wayne, alongside the rest of the Justice League, is destroyed by a blast when the Mother Boxes are united and Steppenwolf successfully communicates to Darkseid and his army. Wayne's death is erased when Barry Allen enters the speed force and reverses time to the moment before the blast.

### Knightmare Reality

Wayne experiences his first "Knightmare" dream in 2015; the reality depicts an evil Superman spearheading a regime to take over the world. Wayne is betrayed by some of his insurgent allies and fights alone against Superman's soldiers in a war before being captured and killed by the Kryptonian for taking "her from [him]".

In 2017, Wayne, having stopped Steppenwolf, has another "Knightmare" in the world ruled by Darkseid, joining forces with Stone, Allen, Mera, Deathstroke, and Joker, before confronting a brainwashed Superman.

### Flashpoint

In the reality Barry Allen creates after stopping his mother's murder, the timelines crossed over with that of Earth 89. In this Earth, Bruce Wayne is replaced with his older counterpart, played by Michael Keaton. This version has made Gotham City one of the safest on Earth through his years of crime-fighting.

Allen, alongside his younger counterpart, enlist the help of this version of Bruce Wayne in order to stop the impending invasion of General Zod.

## Other Appearances

### *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice* prequel comics

Batman appears in some comics which serve as a prequel to *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice* but follow after the events of *Man of Steel*. In the comics, he fights and defeats Firefly and his henchmen, encounters Superman while defending middle school students from criminals armed with Kryptonian firearms, and expresses to his butler Alfred his concern that Superman will turn against humanity, whereas Alfred suggests that Bruce may have some professional jealousy towards Superman.[*citation needed*]

### Advertising

Ben Affleck appeared in-character as Bruce Wayne in a Turkish Airlines advertising campaign aired during Super Bowl 50, in which he promotes flying to Gotham City in a tie-in to *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice*. A counterpart with Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor promoting Metropolis was also aired during the game.

### Other Film & TV Appearances

* The suit and titular fight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is references to have happened in-universe to the Batman in the film The Lego Batman Movie in 2016. This sequence also features the power suit from the film.
* This version of Batman makes a cameo appearance as pencil drawings and toys in the DC Extended Universe film Shazam. His batarang is bought by Freddie Freeman on eBay.
* Bruce Wayne and Batman are mentioned in the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey. Harley Quinn mentioned her arrest by Batman (as depcited in Suicide Squad) and she also names her pet Hyena after 'that hunky Bruce Wayne Guy'.
* Batman is mentioned in the DC Extended Universe series Peacemaker. He was also intended to appear alongside the rest of the Justice League, however according to writer James Gunn Warner Bros asked for his appearance to be removed. He was to be portrayed by stunt actor Matt Turner.
* The DC Extended Universe version of Batman makes a cameo appearance in the 2022 film *Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers*, voiced by Jorma Taccone. In the film, Batman is depicted as a main character starring opposite E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in an in-universe movie, *Batman vs. E.T.* (a parody of *Batman v Superman*)

## Appearances

* Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ben Affleck and Brandon Spink
* Suicide Squad - Ben Affleck
* Justice League - Ben Affleck
* Zack Snyder's Justice League - Ben Affleck
* The Flash - Ben Affleck

## Reception

Upon the release of *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice*, Affleck received considerable praise for his performance, despite the overall mixed reception of the film itself and the initial negative reaction to his casting. Conner Schwerdtfeger of *CinemaBlend* specifically notes that Affleck's portrayal is faithful to the comics, showcasing the best of Batman's intellectual and physical abilities while balancing both Bruce Wayne and Batman and "looking the part", whereas Michael Keaton focused too much on Batman and Christian Bale on Bruce Wayne. However, Affleck and Zack Snyder were both criticized for the decision to have Batman kill people, a departure from other interpretations of the character.

Contrarily, Affleck's performance in the theatrical release of *Justice League* drew mixed opinions from critics; Todd McCarthy of *The Hollywood Reporter* wrote that Affleck "looks like he'd rather be almost anywhere else but here." Ben Sherlock from *ScreenRant* also noticed that Batman's characterization in the latter film was inconsistent with how he was portrayed in *Batman v Superman*, which was attributed to the sudden handover of directorial duties from Snyder to Joss Whedon. Affleck's performance in the director's cut of the film was much more warmly received, as Tom Jorgensen of *IGN* writes that Batman's motivations and character development are more comprehensive. He also adds "Hearing Batman say f\*\*\* is rad." Rick Stevenson from Screen Rant wrote "Is Batman’s whole character perfect in *Zack Snyder’s Justice League*? No, he still has some clunky moments, his Knightmare confrontation with Jared Leto’s Joker feels forced and out of place, and his story isn’t terribly original. But it works, and overall it works well. *Zack Snyder’s Justice League* delivers the best version of Ben Affleck’s Batman, and it’s one of many reasons the new cut is superior to the original theatrical film."

After Affleck initially stepped away from the role and following announcement of the release of the "Snyder Cut" on HBO Max, a trending social media event titled *#ThanksBatfleck* emerged on July 24, 2020, with fans expressing gratitude to Affleck for his contributions to the role of Batman and sympathy for his reasons for departure. His casting in *The Flash* to reprise his role once more was well received. However, shortly following the release of *Zack Snyder's Justice League*, a #MakeTheBatfleckMovie campaign had started up all over social media seeking for Ben Affleck to reprise his role in a standalone Batman movie.

## See Also

* Batman (Lewis Wilson)
* Batman (Robert Lowery)
* Batman (Adam West)
* Batman (Michael Keaton)
* Batman (Val Kilmer)
* Batman (George Clooney)
* Batman (Christian Bale)
* Batman (The Lego Movie)
* Batman (Robert Pattinson)