A lot has certainly happened during this month of April 2014, all about news of the current clash existing between Disney/Marvel and Warner Bros./DC Entertainment film studios. It all began after the April 4, 2014 release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It opened big, and as of April 27, 2014 according to Box Office Mojo, Cap 2 so far has earned an impressive $645,359,241 worldwide. Thus, while Cap 2 was earning cash, the entertainment media is still dealing with news ever since mid-March 2014 of the two film studios expected release dates, as Disney/Marvel announced Cap 3 to open on May 6, 2016, the same day as Warner Bros./DC to open Batman vs. Superman. Now there is reaction to news just last week, shortly after Chairman of Disney studios, Alan Horn, voicing Disney's struggling with the decision of Cap 3's release date. This news was reported by Variety reporter Brent Lang, and documented in an informative web article on April 22, 2014 titled, "Disney Has Doubts About 'Cap 3' Release Date?" by Adam A. Donaldson at NerdBastards. Yes a lot has happened all in just one month.
Then just yesterday I posed a question to a nice gentleman who is an admitted Marvel guy, as I asked, "If both film studios stick to their guns, which film would come out on top?" The Marvel guy quickly answered Batman vs. Superman without hesitation. I followed by asking why, to which he then said, "Superman is too iconic." This flies in the face of some in the entertainment media who still believe Disney/Marvel has nothing to lose; understandably basing their belief in that Disney/Marvel studio is currently the top entertainment franchise. Furthermore there's the still current web article by El Mayimbe on April 22, 2014 titled, "Disney Mad Scared To Put 'Captain America 3' Against Batman Vs Superman,' at Latino-Review. For within the web article Mr. Mayimbe states that every poll he's seen online thus far including at Latino-Review, after asking the question, "...which movie folks are going to see first: Captain America 3 or Batman vs. Superman, hands down the victor has been the latter."
Superman may be the most iconic of all superheroes, given the fact that he's the first, and this also supported by the Marvel guy I spoke to. But I suspect the interest in the Man of Steel 2 film more so has to do with Batman. This I had surmised in my previous HuffPost April 24, 2014 blog titled, "Captain America vs. Batman and Superman: A Heavyweight Bout," as I mentioned that a Batman and Superman film may prevail over Cap 3 for two reasons. The first reason would be Batman having durable star-power clout, and the second would be Christopher Nolan's bona-fide street cred. Nevertheless I now offer a third, and that's Batman's mystique.
According to the definition of the word mystique, it means, "...an aura of mystery, power, and awe that surrounds a person or thing." That definition came from an online source, along with an online Merriam-Webster source giving its definition of mystique as, "...a special quality that makes a person or thing interesting or exciting." Whereas Superman may have iconic status going for him, Batman has mystique and boatloads of it.
Batman has undeniable mystique power, far more than any superhero ever created before or since. The mere fact that he has no superpowers to speak of, unlike Captain America and Superman, is the source of his greatest strength which is a combination of a superlative intellect, street-smarts, and a highly trained body all marshalled by an unstoppable will. Author Daniel Wallace also concurs in his book titled,Batman: The World of the Dark Knight, for within he states, "All of Batman's most amazing feats, from his combat mastery to his detective prowess, are the products of a brilliant mind." Then Mr. Wallace further adds about Batman's ability to retain what disciplines and secrets he's learned, his ability as an escape artist to free himself from restraining devices within seconds, as well as his ability to understand at least a dozen world languages such as Russian, French, German, Japanese and Cantonese.
This man known to the world at large as a playboy multi-billionaire CEO of a multinational corporation, a product of having his parents mercilessly gunned down, has forged himself into a lethal weapon of mind and body. Bruce Wayne/Batman has mystique. So all of that taken together is why if both studios do in fact stick to their guns on their May 6, 2016 release date, that a Batman vs. Superman film would be very hard to beat.