Batman and Superman Square Off On Jimmy Kimmel

Now that we're living in a post-Avengers world, one superhero isn't enough to carry a blockbuster. And, while everyone's psyched for a big superhero team-up, it's far more interesting to see a big superhero face-off. That's why everyone's been waiting with baited breath for the Dec. 2 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, on which Ben Affleck appeared to debut a new trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

In it, Batman and Superman first meet as Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. When they speak as their alter egos, they immediately start criticizing each other's heroic counterparts. That makes sense in a movie called Bs, but the interesting thing is that they both see their opposing superhero as a failure of the town's power structures. "Civil liberties are being trampled on in your city," Clark Kent says about Gotham's vigilante. "He thinks he's above the law." Wayne coutners that the Daily Planet runs too many puff pieces about Superman. "Maybe it's just the Gotham City in me," he says. "We have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns." Ouch.

It only gets more tense from there — especially because that's when Lex Luthor pops in. It looks like the trailer is going long on intensity without spoiling all of the big action scenes. There's a lot of glowering, a lot of sneering, and a few derisive looks, but only a minimum of Batman/Superman fight scenes (though there are a couple shots of a flying fistfight). That doesn't mean there isn't a ton of destruction in the trailer. Everything seems to be on fire.

Also, while Kent, Wayne, and Luthor get all of the dialogue in the trailer, there are some shots of the movie's ladies — and extremely pleasing ones at that. Lois Lane (in the form of Amy Adams) turns up — hooray! — to call Luthor psychotic, and there's the briefest of glimpses of Wonder Woman. Speaking of wonder, I wonder if the trailer contains her entire cameo, but I'm holding out hope there's more of her to come.

Jimmy Kimmel Live isn't exactly the first time that fans got to see the two heroes square off in these scenes. (Or face off at all. "Last time I saw Batman and Superman fight, it was out on Hollywood Boulevard," Kimmel quipped.) Outside of Hollywood Boulevard, Gotham fans already caught a glimpse. Yes, this trailer was so awaited that they were able to make a sneak peek of it — a teaser for a teaser, or a commercial for a commercial.

Still, no matter how itty-bitty the offering is, I'll take it. Otherwise, I'd have to wait until the movie comes out on March 25 to take a peek under Batman's hood.

Image: Warner Brothers