No one would blame you if you missed the new Batman v Superman teaser that aired during Gotham this evening – the series is a painstakingly hollow reminder that there is better Batman content in this world. So for those of us who did not tune into Fox, Warner Bros. was kind enough to upload the video to the Internet; as one would to get their content seen. Just a sneak peek of what’s to come, this short 50-second teaser sets the tone of one of the biggest cinematic showdowns in history.

If the brooding shown in the Batman v Superman teaser wasn’t enough, this short clip of the Dark Knight facing off against the Big Blue Boy Scout only serves as a prologue to the second official trailer, which will have its worldwide premiere during Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday, December 2 at 11:35/10:35 pm CST.

It’s hard to get a read on the situation between the two DC titans without context. From what I can gather, based on the previous trailer we’ve seen, Batman (Ben Affleck) is captured by Superman’s SWAT team and then taken to Supe’s (Henry Cavill) underground lair. Why Superman is so pissed off at Batman we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe Clark and Bruce have a kinship and he feels betrayed. What will this big unmasking mean for the two heroes? And who are the Superman loyalists in riot gear?

There hasn’t been an official plot synopsis released for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice yet, but we can surmise, based on the Comic-Con trailer, that Batman is really pissed at Superman and sees him as a threat to humanity. There’s also Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) who is scheming per usual, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) shows up for some reason, and Zod’s body is in a plastic bag. Cool?

I’m still not entirely impressed with the whole confrontation. My inner fanboy should be geeking out hard, but because Warner Bros. hasn’t built up the mythos of their DC Cinematic Universe I don’t have any f*cks to give. If Zack Snyder and Co. can establish a good argument as to why the Batman needs to take down Superman along with setting up Affleck’s iteration of Bruce Wayne, all within this one movie, I will be greatly impressed.

I think my feelings about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice can be summed up best in LEGO Batman’s hit song, “Untitled Self Portrait”:

DARKNESS

NO PARENTS

CONTINUED DARKNESS

MORE DARKNESS

GET IT?

THE OPPOSITE OF LIGHT!!!

BLACK HOLE

CURTAINS DRAWN

IN THE BASEMENT

MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

BLACKED OUT WINDOWS

BLACK SUIT

BLACK COFFEE

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Directed by Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne aka Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen aka The Flash, Jason Mmoa as Arthur Curry aka Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone aka Cyborg, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. The movie is set to release in theaters on March 25, 2016.

Source: Warner Bros.

This past Wednesday, director Zack Synder promised the world that a teaser for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would be unleashed unto the world on Monday, April 20, 2015. Unfortunately some greedy, impatient people had other intentions. Last night, an English dubbed trailer with Portuguese subtitles was leaked and spread across the Internet like wildfire. Following Marvel Studios’ lead when it happened to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Warner Bros. released the Batman v Superman trailer today to give fans a full-HD version rather than a shaky blurred one.

As far as teaser trailers go, especially with how grandiose the new Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens teaser is, this Dawn of Justice teaser is pretty unimpressive on a visual scale for what could be a huge blockbuster in 2016. There’s been a lot of haters throwing shade at how dark and brooding this film looks, but I’m feeling it. I think fans are all upset because DC and WB didn’t set up enough mythology in their new shared Cinematic Universe to warrant this big showdown. And I’m with them. But I like the direction the story is going. The one thing I wish they included, one of many items, is the glowing red eyes of Superman that was seen during the Comic-Con teaser last year. I’m assuming they don’t want him to come off as that bad of a guy.

So many complained about Superman’s (Henry Cavill) careless destruction in Man of Steel and demanded repercussions for his actions. Well it looks to me as though we’ll be seeing those consequences take form, justice if you will. It’s just a first teaser and too many people are quick to judge less than two minutes of footage. I think the conversation that it builds up to before the “False God” statue is revealed is alluring, and you can hear Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor chime in at one point saying, “We know better now don’t we. Devils don’t come from hell beneath us, they come from the sky.”

There is certainly a power dynamic that the world is seeking to balance, and it looks like only Batman (Ben Affleck) seems up for the job; because the teaser definitely doesn’t show Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, or Cyborg. And that’s all well and good. I’m sure they’re only in the movie as brief cameos.

The one thing that does irk me about this teaser is Batman’s one line; it’s pretty silly. This is the best reaction to the last line of the teaser:

So I’m good to go for this for now until future trailers show me otherwise.

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As I said, the original plan was for the teaser to debut on Monday until this leak happened. Warner Bros. even set up special screening events at certain IMAX theaters to play the teaser on the big screen – free passes are now unavailable and all have been claimed. So why should folks go out of their way to see the teaser at a theater when it’s now available online? Well Zack Snyder claims that additional footage has been added to reward those who come out to see it.

On one side of the coin, Warner Bros. created a different kind of marketing gimmick to encourage fans to get out and see a teaser the way it should be seen, on the big screen. But on the other side, they could have waited a month to release it and put it in front of Mad Max: Fury Road to increase ticket sales for their own movie. It’s a marketing gamble that I hope won’t be a growing trend.

Directed by Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne aka Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen aka The Flash, Jason Mmoa as Arthur Curry aka Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone aka Cyborg, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. The movie is set to release in theaters on March 25, 2016.

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