♪ (ragtime music) ♪
(Senator) Today is a day for truth.
Is that Superman?
(gasps) Superman!
(Senator) The world needs to know what happened.
Superman, one of my favorite compadres.
(Senator) That kind of power is very dangerous.
♪ (dramatic music) ♪
He's running into it? What's wrong with this dude?
Here comes 9-11.
(Alfred) That's how it starts, the fever...
Here's Ben.
(Alfred) ..that turns good men...
Oh, it's a Batman film.
(Alfred) ..cruel.
(Superman) This bat vigilante--
Is this a bad Batman? Is this a bad Batman?
(Perry White) You don't get to decide what the right thing is.
Oh, this is a great cast!
Now, they cast each other as a team or not?
(Lois Lane) This means something.
This isn't right. This isn't right.
Superheroes shouldn't fight. They should stick together.
(Lex Luthor) Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator?
(Lex Luthor) The devils don't come from Hell beneath us.
And the guy who started Facebook is in this.
(Lex Luthor) They come from the sky.
Oh no.
This is making me nervous because I like Batman.
(Batman) He has the power to wipe out the entire human race.
Yeah, Superman was very powerful.
This is gonna be really good.
(Batman) And we have to destroy him.
Very confusing.
Who's the good guy?
Batman has no chance.
Is that Xena?
Wonderwoman?!
(laughing) What happened to her red, white, and blue outfit?
(Alfred) He is not our enemy.
(Lex Luthor) God versus man.
And this stuff, I hate.
- (Lex Luthor) Day versus night. - Good Lord.
Oh, I can't wait to see this.
(Lex Luthor) The red capes are coming.
(chuckles)
(Lex Luthor) The red capes are coming!
(cracks up)
Be serious.
Batman can't stand up against Superman.
♪ (choir sings) ♪
So they combined the symbols.
I guess we're always looking for ways
to bring people in to see movies.
Batman VERSUS Superman?
(intrigued) Ooh!
Well, that was sort of like take absolutely everything from
every place you could possibly think of and gush it all together.
Twisted a little, uh...
but hopefully it has a happy ending.
(movie reel clicks)
(Finebros) Okay, so this was a trailer for
the upcoming Batman versus Superman movie.
Did you know this movie was coming out?
No clue.
No.
I did not.
(chuckling) No! What a good idea though.
I heard about it, yes. Or read about it somewhere.
(Finebros) Is this the type of movie that you like to see?
Oh, definitely.
I love Superman. That's my favorite superhero.
I would go with the kids to see it.
You know, my grandson, if-- not that he would want me.
We grew up with these movies,
you know, and they keep making them
and they get more and more excited with the new technology.
Yeah, I can't wait.
Honestly, no.
I like small indie films.
As a kid, I enjoyed them, but I like more of the realistic.
But I don't want to let go of that kid in me.
(Finebros) So Batman and Superman first appeared in comic books
in the late 1930s.
When do you remember first discovering Batman or Superman?
Well, Superman from the George Reeves show on television.
I loved that show.
Black and white TV show with the original Superman.
The Batman show that was kind of cheesy and funny.
I was 14 years old.
I was a comic book reader.
Definitely have to have the comic books.
Probably in the early 1940s.
There was a comic book store around the corner from us.
I think the comic cost a nickel.
They were the big little books. Do you remember those?
All those kids were into Superman and we were into Tom Mix.
(Finebros) So take a look at this screen again.
What do you prefer?
The old style costume or the new costume?
I like the old costumes, of course.
I guess that's because I'm familiar with them.
Definitely the one with Christopher Reeves.
What a difference.
I like the older one on both.
It's too fake. It too buffy.
I like the new costumes in that they show more definition
and they show that six-pack.
Is that the original Batman outfit?
You know? It looked so much hotter back then.
(laughs)
(Finebros) So there have been a lot of Batman and Superman movies,
but this is the first time they're being placed in the same film.
Why do you think they decided now was the time
- to put them together? - Because they've run out of ideas!
'Cause they're both so well-loved.
That's like a grand slam, man.
Somebody had the brainstorm and said, "Why don't we put 'em together?"
Like they did with the other Avengers,
putting together Iron Man, Thor.
DC needed to up its game.
Marvel has better writers than DC, I'm thinking.
I don't know.
- I don't wanna get-- - (Finebros) Blasphemy!
Yeah, I don't wanna get into that war.
(Finebros) So superhero movies are probably
the most box office successful films right now in Hollywood,
but were comic books always considered a very mainstream
and cool thing that everybody liked when you were younger?
It was always considered for kids.
More for kids.
I definitely think comic books were more nerdy.
You got your comic book collections stacked
right next to your vintage Dungeon & Dragon board.
My father thought it was the biggest waste of time.
He didn't realize that we did get a lot of language
and humor and how to connect that.
I think that was a terrific experience for us.
(Finebros) What changed, that something that was nerdy
is now the thing that everybody goes to see?
Those people simply continue to grow up.
In many ways, I think people look for nostalgia
in things nowadays.
Nerds are the hippest thing around nowadays.
Intellect became really, really attractive
and whatever those intellectuals are into,
I think is more attractive now.
They're finding ways to appeal to everyone.
I think that was what was missing.
I think it has something to do with the way they make them.
It's not stupid.
You know, sometime when you see the old Batman TV series--
you know, "Pow! Boom!" You know, everything.
And I think that the technology, with the graphic
and the computer generate, you know,
I think you get a little more excitement.
(Finebros) So back to the movie, some people were disappointed
that they cast Ben Affleck as Batman.
Do you think he's a good choice to play Batman?
No.
I'm not a Ben Affleck fan.
Just like a bad choice with George Clooney playing Batman.
You know, sometime some of those guys, they're just to pretty.
Sometime you have to have a bad boy to play a certain character.
I anticipate that he'll do a swell job.
I've seen him be exceptionally good in a whole lot of stuff.
Yes, because he does have that square jaw.
He looks like a hero.
The stuff that I've seen Ben in, he's been all right.
Maybe he might not have been the best choice,
but we can be more critical of it afterwards.
(Finebros) There's a lot of hype for this movie.
Do you think it's gonna live up to the expectation
- or do you not think it can? - One can only hope.
I think it's gonna disappoint.
Based on what I saw just now, it's gonna be there.
It's going to be popular or it's gonna be very successful.
It will not matter.
Everybody will go to see it anyway.
If it does live up to it, then they'll make Batman and Superman 2.
Everything's over-hyped nowadays, so you just gotta figure
what you think you might like and lay down your $15 or whatever,
and go in and have a good time.
Forget about the reviews.
Forget about the hype and just enjoy the movie.
(Finebros) So finally, we have to ask: who would win in a fight?
Batman or Superman?
Come on, guys. Is this a real serious question?
It's Superman.
Superman seems like have more power.
Superman.
I would have to pull for Superman.
I hope Batman wins.
Superman.
Basically, Superman has the most power.
Unless kryptonite is hidden someplace.
I think they both would.
(laughs)
I'm gonna play it safe.
I really don't like the idea of one being an adversary of the other.
I would rather they teamed up together.
(Finebros) But if they were to fight, who would win?
(laughs)
Superman.
Thanks so much for watching this episode of Elders React.
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So long, everybody.
Gee, Batman! It's time to go! Let's go!
♪ (ragtime music) ♪