I can't say that I was 'disappointed' with Batman Vs Superman because I really never expected it to be that good. It was as humorless and lacking in any real fun as its predecessor Man of Steel. So, why doesn't it work? What is at the heart of its failings? Is it Ben Affleck's Batman? Not at all; as skeptical as I was when he was initially announced, I thought he did an admirable job and, all things considered, Affleck looks the part of Bruce Wayne more than just about anyone who has played him on the big screen. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is also a definite highlight so that leaves only one culprit in this holy trinity of the superheroic: Superman.
However, I do not blame Henry Cavill's performance; no, the problem is much deeper than that. There is something inherently wrong with this Superman. If you want to do a film about a clash between the two greatest superheroes to ever put on tights, you have to have an inherent understanding about who those characters are. When it comes to Superman, Snyder, Goyer and Co. are clueless.
The first time we see the Man of Steel in the film, he recklessly charges in to a foreign country to save the life of Lois Lane, leading to an international incident (granted, some of this was a result of the machinations of Lex Luthor.... but still). This is a Superman who does what he wants with complete disregard for the consequences of his actions. He doesn't act in the interest of the greatest good, he doesn't even act in the interest of "the American Way" like the Superman of old--- he just rushes in to 'save the day', consequences be damned. Oh, and if it's someone he cares about (which, as far as I can tell, is limited to his adoptive mother and Lois Lane)who is in danger he will gladly trample over anyone or anything that stands in his way.
So what happened? Why is this Man of Steel so selfish? Why isn't he able to separate himself from his own self-interest and work towards the greater good?
The answer is quite simple: his adoptive parents are terrible, terrible people.
I grew up with the Christopher Reeve Superman. This Man of Steel was adopted by farmers of the greatest generation--- the people who survived the great depression and defeated Hitler---they knew a thing or two about the sacrifice necessary to make the world a better place. As a result, this is a Superman who can never truly be with Lois Lane. He could never dedicate himself to just one person because that would be denying the world of his extraordinary abilities--- he can't just focus on Lois, he has too much else he needs to do.
In Superman II, Superman makes the choice to give up his powers so that he can be with Lois but, when General Zod and his cronies show up, he quickly makes the decision to regain his powers even though it means he can never be with Lois again. He sacrifices his own happiness because he realizes the world needs him more.
He learned this from his parents. They taught him not to abuse his power. In the original Superman, Pa Kent tells his son that he's "There for a reason [and that] it's not to score touchdowns". Moments later, he suffers a heart attack and dies, teaching Clark two very important lessons: 1) don't waste your talents on selfish pursuits of glory and 2) not even Superman can save the people he loves all the time.
Compare this to Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent from Man of Steel who, when asked by his adoptive super-son if he should just let people die rather than reveal himself, rather bluntly replies, "Maybe". Here, we have a father teaching his son to be selfish. He is worried about how the world might react to him so he teaches him to hide his power and act in his own self-interest.
This leads to this Pa Kent's own, rather stupid, death by tornado. So, rather than learning about the fragility of life and the inevitability of death, this Clark Kent carries on his conscience the death of a father he could have easily saved.
However, Pa Kent isn't the only parental force in Superman's life. We must not neglect Diane Lane's Ma Kent who, in Batman Vs Superman, advises him to, "be anything they need you to be.... or be none of it. You don't owe this world a thing. You never did." And there you have it: rather than teaching her son that "with great power comes great responsibility" (see what I did there) and a moral obligation to help those less powerful than yourself, she says that great power means you can do whatever the hell you want with it.She probably used to read to him from The Fountainhead at bedtime (this isn't all that surprising when you consider Zack Snyder's own admiration for Rand's work).
There is one crucial aspect of Superman that one needs to understand for the character to make any sense. Why would a being this powerful even bother to help us? Why not conquer us and rule us as a god? The answer is simple: the Kents. The Kents are supposed to teach him the value of compassion and altruism. Their very first act towards him is one of charity. They had no obligation to take this poor, alien, space-baby into their homes. They could have easily handed him over to the government. After all, who knows what kind of alien diseases he may have been carrying. But, they take him in: he cares for man because man cared for him first. Remember, Superman was born in the era of the New Deal, in a time where, as a nation, we realized that we could only survive through combining our strength and agreeing that we are only strong when we are able to help the weakest among us.
However, the Kents of Man of Steel/Batman Vs Superman are not the idealist of the greatest generation; they are jaded and suspicious about their world. They are not the generation of FDR and the New Deal--- they are the children of Watergate and Vietnam. That's right, this Ma and Pa Kent are Baby Boomers (after all Costner even made his uncredited film debut as the dead body in the opening of The Big Chill--- that most quintessential of Baby Boomer movies). If you think about it, it's a wonder they even bothered to save the poor infant from krypton in the first place!
So what kind of Superman does this get us? Brooding, grim, egocentric, self-pitying--- probably spends a lot of time alone in his room listening to his favorite Stone Temple Pilots and Collective Soul CDs. That's right: I give you the Superman of Generation X!
