Why we need the Snyder Cut by Diogo Mourão

My first experience with Superheroes, in special with DC Superheroes, wasn’t with comics. I was between 2 and 3 years old, barely learning to read, when ‘Batman Returns’ arrive on theaters (and later on Home Video, when I watched every weekend with TMNT 2), and I was mesmerized. I was probably one of the few kids at the time what wasn’t shocked by the dark atmosphere, the monsters around the town and a Penguin what spits pitch-black saliva while talking. Was a awesome, thrilling, brave new world to me.

I was living at the time in a violent neighborhood (and I was living there until my 10 years old, until I moved for a better place), and Batman show me a hero, in a violent city, what show he can make a difference to make there a better place. This, of course, is a explanation what I developed when I was a adult, because my-2/3-year-old-self maybe just thought Batman was plain and simple, a very cool hero. But is one of these ideas what, doesn’t matter the age or the time, get stuck in your head. I knew other heroes at the time, but Batman, for me, was a example of somebody I could relate, because in some way, you could be like him.

What was just a kid loving one his first childhood heroes become true obsession when he finally pick up a comic book to read, and my world changed forever. It was literally the last editions of the ‘Knightsaga’ (the ‘KnightsEnd’ part) and everything was different. We have more than one Robin, and the first one become his own hero, Nightwing! And Dick Grayson, the Nightwing dude, was using the Batman mantle because (of my shock at the time) Bruce Wayne was hurt so bad he have to drop the Batman mantle! Commissioner Gordon was running for mayor! Alfred was in London, acting in a theater! And is there what I gone from a fan to a lover of these character, this world, and the experience what connects this comics and this movies is part of me forever.

Comics are (sadly) a niche media. Not everybody jump in at first, besides they are made to embrace everyone. These characters, these heroes, are older than us and will outlive us, and many of the reasons some become so popular is their ability to change and adapt in different medias, and reach a bigger number of people doing that way. The sad part is many of the audience don’t feel the need to return to the original source, like a book adaptation, for example, does.

Of course, not every adaptation is great, but the ones what worked make their brand in the character and the pop culture forever, in special making a print in the collective vision of the main audience about this characters. For years Batman was seen as a camp character, and Superman as what Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve, with brilliance, had establish at their time. These characters change, evolve and need have something to say for keep their relevance, to keep their cultural impact, and stand as symbols what many, include myself as a child, look after to give us inspiration, hope and the will to act. As it did to me, as still does to many others, in different phases of life.

And everything I said here, leads to the point on what Zack Snyder actually did with the DC Universe. Because he took all this ideas, and as the visionary he actually his (without the jokes and the sarcasm what he title this days can bring), he pushed forward showing respect and gratitude for the mythology as it is, but still doing questions of why we need these figures among us.

In Man of Steel he bring Superman back to his science fiction roots, but still injecting a humanity and fragility never seen before on the character. Is a man struggling with himself about who he is, if where he came from defined him,  what he will do for the rest of his life and what is the best decision do to under pressure, while staying true to his freewill. The humanity we see of Clark Kent is really inspiring, because he still have doubts, he still fears and sometimes even, yes, fails. Too much weight on his shoulders, like sometimes we felt we have in our lives too.

But what he choose to do is aways be the best version of himself. The most caring, the most helpful, the most altruistic version of himself. Pushing himself to be a inspiration of hope, and by doing that, making other see and act like the best version of themselves. Superman takes us out of the confort of our theater seats and call us to action, showing the first steps to show we can change the world is taking the responsability in our own hands. Zack makes me wonder and fall in love with Superman again, for making this version the most human and inspiring of all, even if that version push away some what wanted to see the perfect, immutable, unshakable boyscout on the big screen.

And on ‘Batman v Superman’ (which every frame earns to be called and recognize as the masterpiece what it is), we see the themes what Snyder used as his foundations be questioned, and by doing that, and proving the whys of telling the history on that way, solidifies even more how serious and respectful with this characters his approach is. It’s not just a political thriller, and a sci-fi critique, is a reverence and admiration for the almost a century of mythology what DC Comics have craft.  Is not a happy-shine-people kind of movie.  He not delivered easy questions, but these questions is necessary to be done to recognize and think about the problems of our world, in a genre what many search exactly to be a escape valve for that.

I see many saying it “sucks”, it’s not hopeful, or this or that, but everyone what I’ve seen saying that lacks to understand what the movie is really about. It’s to the fact of even you trying to do good, the world still doubts for the reasons, because lacks of empathy, empathy that what Superman have in plenty. And in the moments of despair, when everthing looks like will end, in his last breath he begs to, even if Batman kills him, to save his mother. THAT what show to Batman for the first time he is a human, in the sense he feel and cares the same way he does. That when the farce about been this “emotionless, cold alien what can wipe us out” is gone.  

The “Martha” line show a (brillhant) reflection and recognition of Bruce Wayne almost becoming 100% what he hates. Both parts complete each other, making this moment one of the most emotional and heartfelt connections in all pop culture, even in the history of cinema.  Not just Batman found empathy on Clark, and with that, he found empathy on humanity, and he will fight to prove men, and women, are still good, and for that potential of good in everybody is worthy fighting for.

My  expectations (and everybody what loved DC Films so far) was to ‘Justice League’ not just be the adaptation what many is expecting for all their lives, but to be a triumphant finish and celebration of the Superman trilogy, with Batman, inspired by Superman’s actions and sacrifice, recruiting heroes around the world to face a intergalactic invasion, while also these same heroes faces each one different problems and doubts, finding his inner heroism and inspiration to face their personal problems based on what Superman also had dealed before.

And besides, as a fan, the premiere of the movie been one of the greatest experiences what I have in the fan community, the movie itself was losing his shine with every view, with every discussion, with every new scene discover to be deleted (or even leaked). When the truth becoming more evident, I pass through all the phases of grief, until the sad acceptance what Whedon, Tsujihara and others did with Snyder’s movie just plain suck. The movie is bad, and the anticipation of a lifetime fades away.

Worse than that, I see a studio what you’ve deposit your trust just use a personal tragedy as a opportunity to screw things up because they thought that would be more “audience-friendly”. We understand this is business, but this just show how morality low this act is. And makes me even sad, been a fan of Zack Snyder beyond his DC Films, to see someone what is one of the best working directors these days, been treated as such.  Just because he dare done different from the mold what other are doing in the genre, or in movies in general these days. He sees the greatness what these characters have, the importance what they never lost, and go forward to it. He celebrates this characters at the same time he pushes, and question them, to keep them bigger of what they are and moving them forward to the future, a word what scares the extremely nostalgic pop culture of today.

I want the Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League released because I need this movie to make something what the theatrical cut didn’t, but MOS and BvS succeed a lot: I want to care about them, the world, these characters, what they are meaning by telling this history. If the superhero boom of 2000’s happen because the world sees horrors only show in history books, and become a more dangerous and darker place in the process, what DC (and Christopher Nolan) did with TDK Trilogy is the question “why we need heroes”? And Snyder moved forward asking “what kind of heroism we need as society today? And how heroes are defined by this heroism?”

And I was glad he choose the DC heroes, these truly modern myths, to tell that history, and to try to answer that question. I want Superman returning in a way that make the world change, and cries of pure joy. I want see Steppenwolf be the scary villain, full of New God Mythology,  like was teased at the end of BvS. And I want the movie fully explore his characters, motivations, fears and in special, how their team work helps everybody raise up and join Kal-El in the sun.

I wanna see a movie what shows why they choose to follow Superman’s steps, and why take action and be our own everyday hero matters. That line of thought is inspiring for children, adults, elders, everyone. That’s why the Snyder’s work is so powerful, that’s why his work matters and upsets so many people, because he shows our own humanity, with the good and the bad side of it, and set up with the main superhero of all the fact the heroism, the true kind, lives in everyone of us.

That’s why I fight for #ReleaseTheSnyderCut with petitions, tweets, posts on other social media, and editorials like this. Because when Snyder made me renew my vows with DC Comics and what be a DC Fan means, he teach me I have to take a stand for what is fair and right, to believe the change we are doing have to be a positive one to make the world a better place. And we have not just to fight for a artist finish his trilogy, but a true fan deliver his love letter to these characters. Because we are a community, we are a team, and that what team does: fight together, against all odds, for what we believe. And we believe in heroes, whatever is the ones of DC Comics or Zack Snyder. And they are worth fighting for.