5 Things We Learned about Batman v Superman at Comic-Con Panel

The Warner Bros Pictures panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego dominated Hall H on Saturday morning and into the early afternoon. In front of a capacity crowd of around 6,500 people, they revealed new footage from several upcoming movies, including a new trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

But the information overload didn’t stop there. Thanks to the trailer, plus comments from director Zack Snyder, stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Helen Hunt, Jesse Eisenberg, and more, we learned a lot of brand-new information about the film, set for a March 26, 2016 release. Here are the five most important things we learned.

Gotham and Metropolis are Sister Cities

In the world of Batman v Superman, Gotham City and Metropolis are “sister cities similar to Oakland and San Francisco,” Zack Snyder revealed. This means the two are separated only by a small body of water, lending an even starker “mirror image” quality to them than they have in the comic books.

Of course, this does raise some questions, like why Superman doesn’t help people in Gotham, or where Batman was during the attack on Metropolis (Edit: he’s there! Bruce Wayne watches the fight destroy Metropolis’s Wayne Tower in the trailer’s opening moments!), but with the way they’re taking other things head-on, it would be surprising if they don’t address these questions in the full film.

Lex Luthor Has Hair – and a Huge Piece of Kryptonite

Every scene shown with Lex Luthor in the new full trailer featured long, flowing locks of hair. Oh, he’s also seen with a massive chunk of Kryptonite, which he seems to be marvelling over. Perhaps the radiation will be the source of his hair loss, like in some other Luthor stories? Either way, we know that Batman will have some Kryptonite for his throwdown with the big S, so is this how he’ll get it?

Bat-Armor is for Defense, not Offense

The Frank Miller-esque armor that Batman can be seen wearing in the trailers and multiple promotional types is not made for fighting – at least not in a way many expected. When asked about the “Bat-Mecha,” Affleck explained that it’s not about enhancing his strength or using weapons, it’s about “just buying some time.” The defensive capabilities may have a bit more than what we’ve seen so far (after all, there’s those glowing eyes, so some kind of power is flowing through it), but don’t expect Batman to suddenly be able to exchange full-force blows with Superman when he suits up. Unless, of course, he has some of that Kryptonite…

Yes, Wonder Woman is in Action

There have been questions about just how much we’ll see of characters like Aquaman and Wonder Woman in this film, but judging from the trailer, Wonder Woman won’t just be a cameo. She’s shown clearly in action in the trailer, more than once. It’s just a few seconds, but she’s definitely mid-battle. What is not clear is who she’s fighting – is she in the midst of three-way fisticuffs with two other particular superheroes? We’ll see in about 8 months…

More Destruction Coming Our Way

One of the most-criticized parts of Man of Steel was the massive destruction in Smallville and Metropolis during Superman’s fights there. Well, don’t expect to see too much less explosive action here. In addition to seeing buildings come down and large swathes of firey settings, there’s a shot of an absolutely massive explosion in the midst of the trailer. Hopefully Batman is able to get some civilians out of the way before Superman starts blowing stuff up again.

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