Henry Cavill Jokes Superman Was “Holding Back” in Batman v. Superman Fight

It’s been years since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was first released in theaters, but it looks like the film is still causing quite a bit of conversation. Henry Cavill, who played Clark Kent/Superman in the film, recently caught fans’ eyes when he commented on a piece by DC CCO and co-publisher Jim Lee. The sketch, which shows Superman using his heat vision to essentially skewer Batman in the head, prompted Cavill to remark that it was evidence of Superman “holding back” throughout the entire BvS fight sequence.

The whole discourse around Batman and Superman’s power level – and how it is displayed in the film – has been a point of controversy almost ever since BvS debuted.

“Someone says to me: [Ben Affleck’s] Batman killed a guy. I’m like, F**k, really? Wake the f**k up,” director Zack Snyder said during a panel appearance earlier this year. “I guess that’s what I’m saying. Once you lost your virginity to this fucking movie and then you come and say to me something about like ‘my superhero wouldn’t do that.’ I’m like ‘Are you serious?’ I’m like down the f**king road on that. It’s a cool point of view to be like ‘my heroes are innocent’…That’s cool. But you’re living in a f**king dream world.”

While the initial response to BvS was pretty polarized at first, the film’s cast and crew have come to peace with the film’s place in the comic book movie canon.

“I think it was — that movie is… it’s part of an arc for what [director Zack Snyder’s] vision was, or is, and it’s also, in my mind, fairly niche.” Cavill said in a 2017 interview. “It’s a niche style of movie within a genre and it reflects in the audience reviews and critic reviews, it’s divisive. When anything is niche, it’s gonna be liked and loved by some and disliked by others, and that’s the whole point of niche.”

Do you think Superman was holding back in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Upcoming DC movies include Joker on October 10th, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.