‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’: what the title really means

When Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was announced as the official title for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel it was met with mixed reactions from the fans. Some loved it. Some hated it. Some fans even questioned why Batman’s name came first in the title of a Superman movie sequel. AMC Movie Talk’s John Campea has the most logical explanation for what the title really means, and it should hold fans over a bit until we get an official comment from Zack Snyder. Here’s what Campea had to say about the title on AMC Movie Talk:

I have a legal background. The whole “v” thing, that is an adversarial thing in courts. When you go to court and you’re reading old court cases it’s “Smith v California”. The first name in the title of a court case is the grieving party. It’s the one bringing the grievance. The one saying the first party has a problem with the second party. And that’s the legal way that that’s set up. So when I look at that title, it makes sense that they left the “s” out of the “v” [in “vs.”]. Now it makes sense to me. Batman is the one coming after Superman in this film. I have no doubt about that.

In Man of Steel Superman nearly destroyed his entire city, which left thousands of people dead. Batman is probably going to have a big problem with that, and it’ll likely be the key factor in their feud in the new movie. The title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice makes a lot of sense to me when you break it down in legal terms like that. You can check out the full breakdown in the video above. Do you think that’s the reasoning Warner Bros. used when picking a title? Let me know what you think of John Campea’s explanation in the comments below.