Batman v Superman: Is Doomsday a good idea?

comic book movies

By Nav K on December 5, 2015 • ( 24 Comments )

The latest Batman v Superman trailer was quite polarising, but regardless it did confirm that Doomsday is in Batman v Superman. And with that reveal comes the discussion, is including Doomsday a good idea?

It’s been rumoured for months, but we finally know for sure. When the synopsis came out teasing the greatest threat humanity has ever faced, the idea of Doomsday actually being in the film became greater. But it wasn’t until the trailer that all those rumours were confirmed.

Doomsday is a famous character in the Superman mythology. He’s known as the villain who killed Superman. And because of that people have very strong opinions about him. Many wanted him for a solo Superman movie, and think it’s ridiculous that he’s being used so early.

But here’s the thing: Doomsday really isn’t that interesting of a character. Yes he’s super strong, but he doesn’t have the depth that characters like Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Brainiac etc have. I know there have been stories that explore him more like the recent Doomed story arc, but from a story perspective, what you can do with him is lot more limited than what you could do with other villains, if Doomsday was used as the solo villain.

Many people said they should have saved him for a Death of Superman movie. I for one don’t want to see Superman die in the universe. If these were standalone Superman movies, yeah a Death of Superman story could be cool. Seeing the greatest hero fall would be incredibly powerful. But this is a shared universe, and to remove such a big character from that universe doesn’t make sense. 

So if they really wanted to use Doomsday, this is the best way to use him. The current Doomsday theory in Batman v Superman is that he is created from Zod’s DNA. This is why he seems a little different in the trailer.

There’s been a lot of complaints about how Doomsday looks visually. Yes we’ve seen the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle jokes, and no he doesn’t have as many bone protrusions. He looks a little more human, but that would be the case if he was created from Zod. But also here’s the thing, is this even really Doomsday? Maybe they’ll call him Doomsday (or will get his name similar to the comics where someone makes a comment about Doomsday coming), but he won’t be like comic book Doomsday.

Instead he’ll be this Frankenstein’s monster, this creature created from Zod. A Bizarro/Doomsday composite character. The general Doomsday theory is that Doomsday will evolve. The form we see in the trailer isn’t his final form. That would make a lot of sense considering that’s what Doomsday is supposed to do. You kill him, he just evolves and comes back stronger.

So when Doomsday is defeated in the movie, even if he is killed that doesn’t mean it’s the end of his character. It would be very easy to bring him back in the Superman solo movie, evolved and looking different. Bringing him back evolved, stronger than ever down the line could be really interesting. We see him in the early stages of his life and he is defeated and Superman is feeling good, but then he comes back. Superman may underestimate him as he was able to defeat Doomsday before, but now Doomsday is closer to what we know in the comics and is able to get the upper hand. Hence if you believe he will be underused in Batman v Superman, there very well could be plans to bring him back.

Honestly I could care less if he comes back. It’s a good idea to include Doomsday in Batman v Superman in this role. Lex Luthor’s weapon. The Trinity needed a physical force to match them, unite them, and Doomsday represents that.

The better Superman villains are the ones Superman can actually have a conversation with. Who have their own conflicting ideologies and goals compared to Superman. Who can be a physical threat, but also challenge Superman on a mental and intellectual level. Doomsday doesn’t represent that, making him the main villain in a solo Superman movie would be limiting compared to the use of other villains.

Overall at first when I heard about this Doomsday rumour I wasn’t the biggest fan, but using him in the context the film is using him in makes sense. Hopefully the fight between the Trinity and Doomsday isn’t too long and smashy smashy, and we see the trio try to contain the fight and save civilians, otherwise we’ll get those Man of Steel complaints all over again!

Categories: comic book movies

Tagged as: batman, batman v superman, dc comics, doomsday, film, superman