Most of the people that I’ve talked to seem remarkably confused at the whole concept of "Batman Vs. Superman," so I thought I’d clarify a few issues for those of you who haven’t watched all four seasons of "Batman: The Animated Series." So, here’s what’s what. Please bear in mind, most of this is speculation and guesswork. It might also be considered spoilers for the movie, but again, I have no idea if this is right or not.
1. The Background
First off, Batman and Superman fighting isn’t something that the movie is inventing just to keep up with "Captain America: Civil War." Super heroes fight practically every other day. Sometimes, it's due to mind control; sometimes, the Hulk just likes beating up Thor and Wolverine. (Not joking; Hulk's fought both of them dozens of times.)
Batman and Superman don’t trust each other. Batman is super-ultra paranoid. He’s got countermeasures for every single super hero in existence, in case they go dark. Which is something that’s come in handy before. There’s mind control all over the DC Universe, and there are heroes that go evil. He's out for Superman's blood in this movie because Superman's fight at the end of "Man of Steel" wrecked half the city. Superman, for his part, doesn’t trust Batman, since he’s all dark and brooding. While Batman doesn't kill people, he does break bones and brand people with his symbol, so Superman might not agree with his methods. Batman also works on fear, which rubs Superman the wrong way.
That isn’t to say that two don’t like each other. Batman actually got some of his stash of kryptonite directly from Superman.
The two also know each other’s secret identities. Batman got it from detective work and by spying on Superman via satellite, and Superman, via X-ray vision on his cowl. Sometimes. Sometimes Batman lines it with lead. It’s hard to say what the movie will do, though the trailers indicate that Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent haven't met each other, at least in their civilian identities.
2. Doomsday
So, this is the spoiler part of this article, although it is in the trailers, so I consider it fair game.
Superman is an almost all-powerful being who, in some depictions, can travel through time and hear people’s cries for help from space. So, how do you make someone to fighting him?
Enter Doomsday. He’s an ancient monster from Superman’s homeworld and actually killed Superman once. (Shockingly, he didn’t stay dead.) Other than that, there isn’t much to talk about; his powers are a fairly standard super strength, invulnerability, but to the point that he can overpower Superman. After Batman and Superman have settled their differences, they team up with Wonder Woman to take down Doomsday. The one thing he doesn't have is a backstory -- no secret identity, no tragedy to his story. He's simply an alien monster.
Judging by the trailers, it seems as though this incarnation of Doomsday is going to be created by Lex Luther and is a clone of Zod, the bad guy from "Man of Steel."
3. Hero worship
Both Batman and Superman have their own squads of followers in this movie, as seen in the trailers.
Those of you who have seen "The Dark Knight" -- and if you haven’t, then go see it instead of wasting your time reading this article -- then you might remember that the movie did feature vigilantes who wore Batman-inspired great in an attempt to help Batman. Batman didn’t approve of anyone else risking his life, and shut them down. It seems that a similar thing is going to be happening here, just with a team for Superman and a team with Batman. Both teams fight each other. I wouldn't expect Batman or Superman to be approve of their followers.
4. Robin is probably dead
Long story short, Jason Todd, the second person to take up the mantle of Robin, was brutally murdered by the Joker, with a crowbar. It was a super violent and dramatic moment in comics and a moment that stuck for a while until, like basically every comic book character ever, he came back from the dead, where he continued fighting crime but with guns. It seems as though the Batman from the upcoming movie shares a dead Robin, which could play a major role in the movie. This shot from the trailer seems to confirm that Bruce lost Jason in this movie as well. It's possible that Batman actually retired due to Robin's death, and is coming out of retirement to fight Superman, as a retired Batman happens more often than you'd think.
5. There’s going to be Super Friends
Aquaman, the Flash and Teen Titan’s Cyborg will appear in the movie. Wonder Woman will be playing a more major role in the film, and will be a daughter of Zeus this time around, instead of made of clay. Both of which were origins in the Comics.
Notably, the Flash will not be played by the same person who plays him in the TV show, as the "Arrow"and "Flash"TV shows take place in a different Universe for whatever reason.