I just learned that the Kryptonite spear that Batman used in Batman v Superman was supposed to be a reference to the spear used to pierce Jesus’ side. It finally occurred to me recently, after several watchings, that Zack Snyder intended this film - probably including the three Justice League films he intended to follow it - to be his version of a Biblical epic, a la “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. The themes of the lack of faith Superman was surrounded by, and the internal struggle that Superman dealt with throughout the film as he felt the weight of people’s doubts and his responsibilities, were intended to reflect that. Compare this to the doubt Jesus was surrounded by, even in “Greatest Story” - from Herod, from his disciples, and so on. If you watch the Crucifixion scene in “Greatest Story” and put it side by side with the end battle and death scene in BVS, you see the color palette is the same, as is other imagery, such as the presence of crosses in BVS. The film failed in some ways, and some folks didn’t like the heavy-handed allusions, but the brilliance of it has to be acknowledged. The goal never was to make something along the lines of an Avengers film, but something weightier.
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