Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is getting showered with rave reviews from audiences and critics both. The movie is breaking box office records too! Many fans are analysing its character arcs and comparing it with a movie from the other universe- DC’s Batman vs Superman (BvS). Plenty of Twitter users think that there’s one particular scene that Black Panther 2 did better than BvS, and yes it’s the infamous Martha scene. Want to know how Black Panther 2 succeeded whereas Batman vs Superman failed? Read on then!
The Batman vs Superman Scene
DC’s Batman vs Superman was released in 2016 to much fanfare. But it failed to impress critics and audiences. One of its most reviled scenes is the one where Batman is about to impale Superman with his kryptonite spear. But he stops because Superman says, ‘Save Martha’.
The name Martha resonates with Batman strongly since it was also his mother’s name, and he angrily responds with, “Why did you say that name!” A few seconds later both the heroes are friends and they forget why they were even fighting.
The scene was endlessly memed and made fun of for years because of how silly it was. Many users pointed out that it was unlikely the Batman has never met a woman called Martha or even a mom who was named as such.
Others said that it felt weird that Superman would call his mom by her name. Irrespective of the reason, many agreed that it was a bad scene, made worse because each and every conflict between them magically disappears after this and they team up to take down Lex Luthor and Doomsday.
How Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Improved On The ‘Martha’ Scene
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did this BvS scene better. The goal of the ‘Martha’ scene in BvS was essentially two things. One was to establish that Superman and Batman were similar and two, to humanize Superman in Batman’s eyes. But the movie went about establishing it in a haphazard way that didn’t convey either of the two things to the audience. Now, Black Panther 2 did one thing different than BvS that made it come out on top.
Just like BvS, in the final fight, Shuri and Namor were both fighting in an all-out battle. At the end, Shuri had Namor pinned down under his own spear. This seems to be a direct parallel of the BvS scene. But neither Namor or Shuri say anything. Instead of spoken words, we get visual flashbacks and montages. And thia is where Black Panther 2 won.
We are shown the parallels between the two characters. We see the love Fen and Ramonda had for their respective children and how it was their loss that made them vengeful. Shuri realises that she and Namor are the same and are walking on the same path. And she decides that she isn’t going to let revenge consume her. So she spares him and this act makes them allies.
It’s an upgradation over DC’s movie because the scene made its intentions clear and was a great way to tie the threads of the movie together. It inspired empathy in the audience whereas the BvS one made everyone laugh.
What do you think about this parallel? Let us know.
