What is Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice?

It is a 2016 Zack Snyder superhero film that paired Batman and Superman for the first live-action team-up and became a lasting internet meme through its casting backlash and the Martha scene.

Where did Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice come from?

Warner Bros. announced the project at San Diego Comic-Con in August 2013 as a Man of Steel follow-up, with the final title revealed in May 2014.

What does Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice mean?

Online, the title is used less for the movie itself and more as a reference to the Batfleck casting drama and the Martha scene, both of which are widely joked about.

How do you use Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice?

People typically drop the word Martha in unrelated fight scenes as a callback, or use Batfleck as a tag when arguing about superhero casting decisions.

Is Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice still popular?

The film is still discussed as a classic DCEU flashpoint, especially in Snyder Cut debates, and the Martha joke is still cited in DC fan spaces.

Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice

2016eventclassic

Published August 16, 2026

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the 2016 Zack Snyder film that put Batman and Superman on screen together for the first time in live action. The movie fueled years of internet jokes, from the pre-release Batfleck petition against Ben Affleck's casting to the infamous Martha scene that fans mocked long after opening weekend.

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Overview

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a 2016 superhero film directed by Zack Snyder and the second entry in the DC Extended Universe after 2013's Man of Steel1. It paired Henry Cavill's Superman with Ben Affleck's Batman for the first live-action pairing of the two DC characters, and stacked the cast with future Justice League members including Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman3.

The film became meme fuel long before release, driven by anger over Affleck's casting and later by the movie's grim tone, dense plot, and the Martha scene where the two heroes stop fighting after realizing their mothers share a first name3. Its mixed critical reception, including a 29 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, kept the jokes running for years across Twitter, Tumblr, and Reddit5.

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Origin & Background

Platform

Twitter / Change.org (viral backlash)

Creator

Warner Bros. Pictures / Zack Snyder

Date

2016

Warner Bros. announced a Man of Steel sequel in June 2013 with Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer returning1. At San Diego Comic-Con that August, Snyder revealed the film would put Batman and Superman on screen together for the first time in a live-action feature3. The official title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was locked in May 20141. On May 13, 2014, Snyder tweeted the first set photo showing Affleck's Batman next to a new Batmobile, and it pulled more than 44,000 retweets inside 48 hours3.

How It Spread

Affleck's casting kicked off an immediate fan revolt. Kentucky resident John Roden started a Change.org petition asking Warner Bros. to recast Bruce Wayne, and it picked up over 14,000 signatures in under 24 hours2. The Twitter tags #Batfleck and #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck became shorthand for the pushback, and the debate carried through the entire production cycle3.

The marketing rollout kept the film in front of meme communities. Warner Bros. dropped the first teaser on April 16, 2015, four days ahead of schedule after a leak forced its hand4. A full trailer debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 to a standing ovation, and a third arrived on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 3, 20151. The release date shifted twice, first from July 2015 to May 2016, then to March 25, 2016, with a premiere at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on March 196.

When the film finally opened, its reception generated a second wave. The Martha scene turned into a stock punchline, Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor was widely parodied, and Rotten Tomatoes' rotten score became a talking point in every DCEU debate that followed5.

How to Use This Meme

The meme typically shows up in two forms. Batfleck jokes recycle the pre-release outrage and are often used ironically now that Affleck's Batman is well liked. Martha jokes reference the scene by yelling the name in unrelated fight scenes or edits, and are a common convention when mocking convoluted plot beats in blockbuster films.