As most people on planet earth now know, Ben Affleck has been recently cast as the “Man of Steel” Batman. The outcry was loud and forceful. Fans of Batman let Warner Brothers know in no uncertain terms that this was a terrible decision. According to social media analytics firm Fizziology, in the over 96,000 tweets sent in the first hour after the casting announcement was made, 71 percent of that talk was negative. Its clear that the general public didn’t embrace this decision with open arms.
You can look at Ben and cite some of his career gaffs (“Gigli” and “Daredevil”) and use that as the reason for the vocal backlash. But, Ben’s prior fails were years ago. And, he’s managed to completely revamp his Hollywood persona with successes like “The Town” and “Argo”. Ben has shown us a competent, serious, successful actor. And, yet, we balk?
Maybe the problem isn’t Ben at all. Could it be that we don’t really understand the brand of Batman? What is the Batman brand promise? Is he a superhero that will always take the viewers on a journey of self discovery, self loathing, and a sworn promise to help the underdog? Or, is he the antihero to the policeman he works with? Or, is he really a villain that enjoys killing and mayhem, because he spends all of his time wrestling with the bad guy? If we had a clear understanding of what’s behind the mask and what he is going to mean to us, maybe we’d have a better idea of when to root for the person cast as him.
Looking back at the various Batman franchises and actors, Batman has taken all sorts of character turns. We are never quite clear on who the next Batman is going to be, and what that will mean to our interpretation of his actions. Is he dark, angry Batman that isn’t going to take any shit anymore? Or, is he the sullen, slurry Batman that is expressionless? Or, is he the charming, handsome Batman that sweeps us off our feet emotionally and physically? So, can you blame us for reacting on what we think he is, or should be? Is there anyone out there that we’d be ultimately happy with, as our next Batman? Who will help full his “brand promise?”
There have been a number of Batmans (Batmen?) that were questionable – Michael Keaton, George Clooney and even Christian Bale. None of these actors screamed Batman from their prior films – quite the contrary. Don’t get me wrong, I love these men as actors. (George, let’s talk…seriously, I’m age appropriate and single!).
I might suggest that the franchise do a better job of helping us to understand what this character is supposed to deliver in cinematic glory, and we’ll know how to react to the next actor chosen for this legendary – but apparently brand-challenged character. Meanwhile, I’ll root for Ben along with Tom Reimann from The Cracked. And, Ben, let’s go for the charming Batman. We haven’t seen him in a while.
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