I was thinking about this the other day while watching Ultimate BvS. Batman is supposed to be modeled after Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns and its damn near an exact translation. But I was think that Batman realistically cannot maintain his presence in that world for more than 5-10 more years before he would need to retire. Even Miller’s Batman isn’t older than 60 (excluding the trash heaps of his later works) and isn’t Batman after his “death” per say but more of a Nick Fury type for the Sons of Batman.

So what if Bruce was 28 years old when Mankind is introduced to the Superman. This meaning that he’s 30 during BvS and has been Batman for at least 5 years (given that Frank Miller’s Year One is the inspiration and stuff like Long Halloween/Dark Victory happened). I don’t think the fight itself would be changed but the motivation might be. Since he isn’t jaded yet, I’d think Bruce would be a more arrogant and aggressive young man, and have his judgment clouded by fear of this new being since the world (like in the movie) is experiencing E.T.s for the first time. Also having him a bit younger would make him apart of the Justice League longer and give more opportunities to tell stories. Since this is a Cinematic Universe, I think making Batman too old was a mistake for a prolonged Cinematic Universe (not like it matters anymore) but it would be akin to introducing say Iron Man at the end of his career and Avengers 2012 was his second or third appearance, making Endgame Iron Man like 60 years old. (I’m not trying to compare MCU to DCEU, it’s just an easier and straightforward analogy for this setting). We definitely could’ve had the older Batman/younger Superman dynamic even if technically Bruce was younger. Since he’s already been doing the Batman shtick for 5 years, he at least knows what he’s doing meanwhile Clark is just starting out. Plus giving him 5 years instead of 20 helps with that plot point of Clark (or anyone outside of Gotham for that matter) not knowing much about the Batman and making him the urban myth he’s portrayed as in the movie. I don’t think it really works well if Batman is already 20 years deep. It’s like Lois spending ever waking moment with Clark and Superman but never putting two and two together. Plus it gives Clark more of an incentive to learn about and stop Batman and his “reign of terror”. Also the 5 year plan would be why no one outside of Gotham really knows or cares about Batman. He’s too new or a phenomenon and is now overshadowed by the arrival Superman so people wouldn’t pay as much attention, giving the whole “people have a right to know!” speech Clark gives Perry more emphasis.

Because Bruce is young, less reserved, arrogant, and aggressive, the Lex Luthor manipulation plot can go exactly as it was in the movie. Pretty much everything stays the same but the dynamic between Batman and Superman is shifted and emphasized. Also if needed, you can make the “fallen hero” aspect work given the five year job experience. Make it like, Batman has been doing his thing for five years straight and he’s still having trouble getting a handle on the surprising uptick in metahuman villains whereas he was used to dealing with drug dealers and mafiosos. Similar to the Dark Knight movie in which the Joker causes Batman to lose it because it’s a very different impossible to understand threat but expand it to more of his rogues gallery. And Superman’s arrival plus Lex Luthor’s manipulation heightens that fear and loss of control. This can also help with the line “My father taught me the world only makes sense if you force it to”. So in a desperate act to regain control Batman tries to kill Superman. But obviously he’s stopped when he finally sees that Superman is just a boy from Kansas trying to save his mother and Bruce realizes his mistake. Pretty much the movie will play out exactly the same, but with the slightest of tweaks that I mentioned. I love Zack’s original vision, I just don’t think it would work for more than 5 or 6 movies or maybe 10-15 movies but they’re mostly two-parters. Getting 20 movies would require a younger Batman.

We probably could have gotten an awesome Robin origin with the younger DCEU Batman. Maybe even Multiple Robins (I demand live action Tim Drake)

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love Batman in BvS and I think Ben Affleck is probably the best if not top 3 best Batman portrayals. I’m just curious to see what would’ve happened if we got a younger Batman to start with in the DCEU.