Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman Takes Place in a Universe We Already Know

In this essay, I will establish that Zack Snyder’s latest movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is actually a continuation of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films.

Needless to say, spoilers will follow.

Batman v Superman opens up on a scene we know all too well: the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne. We see a shadowy figure kill them in cold blood as Bruce is left crying. This may remind some of you of a very familiar scene in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman where his parents were also killed. But this is only the first of several connections.

Later on, Bruce, played by Ben Affleck, visits the tombs of the family Wayne and we finally see the date of their death: 1981. 1981 is eight years before 1989, the release of the first Batman, played by Michael Keaton.

Assuming Bruce, played by Brandon Spink, is about 11 in that part of Batman v Superman, that means he’d be at least 19 by the time we take a look at Burton’s Gotham. 19 is just the right age to be Batman.

Now, I know what you might be saying. That’s just some funny math stuff, but what’s your real evidence. Well the real evidence can already be seen in the trailers and in Batman and Robin.

First off Batman and Robin ends with Batman, Robin and Batgirl all running off into the light. We never know where they’re heading, but it’s safe to say that light is probably a metaphor for death and that certainly matches the fates of all three characters. Batman is killed in a future dream sequence, and Batgirl, once played by Alicia Silverstone, but now Jena Malone in a probably deleted scene, is probably killed in the same future sequence. Robin, as played by Chris O’Donnell, has been killed by the very Joker that killed the Waynes in 1989 Batman. And this is what drives Bruce Wayne into the arms of insanity: The Joker has taken everything away from Bruce including his actual family and his adopted family, including the niece of Alfred Pennyworth played by Michael Gough.

Some of you will try to argue that the huge age difference in Alfreds probably invalidates this whole theory, but you’d be wrong. Just as Lex Luthor, as played by Jesse Eisenberg, alludes to an abusive father, there’s no reason to believe Alfred Pennyworth, as played by Jeremy Irons, isn’t actually Alfred Pennyworth Jr.

Which brings me back to the opening scene of Batman v Superman. We never know it’s necessarily Joe Chill that kills the Waynes, we just see a mysterious figure that could easily be a younged up Jack Nicholson as the Joker as the original killer of the Batparents.

You can even look at Bruce as played by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Ben Affleck all side by side and see a startling trend:

 THEY ALL LOOK LIKE BATMAN.

So what does this mean for the upcoming Justice League movie? I’d be willing to bet Zack Snyder’s masterplan is to tie all the Batman and Superman movies into one continuity. Utilizing the wikipedia summary of Mark Millar’s Red Son where Superman rules the world with an iron fist, a time paradox is made where Kal-El is actually the distant descendant of Lex Luthor in the far future. This is where we will see a young Ka-El, played by a baby actor, get shot off into space only to arrive in the Richard Donner Superman, played by Christopher Reeves (RIP) and later on Brandon Routh.

I, for one, cannot wait.

Andrew Tan is an occasional contributor to Loser City whose chief claim to fame is being mocked by Gawker for a joke he made in McSweeney’s.