While we had to wait a few years from the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to get to that big Avengers team up, DC isn’t planning to make us wait that long. The first part of Zack Snyder's Justice League is less than two years away, and we still haven’t even seen the second movie in the overall DC film franchise. But when we do see the Justice League on screen, who will be leading the show? Ben Affleck has an idea who it should be, and you can probably guess which hero he favors as leader.
The exact makeup of the Justice League in the comics, and who’s in charge, has been an ever-changing dynamic over the years, but Batman is usually at or near the top of the leadership pyramid. It’s only fair. Bruce Wayne is often responsible for paying for everything, so really, he should be in charge. However, Ben Affleck tells Entertainment Weekly that it’s Batman’s humanity, not his bankroll, that makes him uniquely qualified to lead the team.
Batman represents human beings, mortal men. In a world of Flashes and Aquamen and Supermen, there needs to be that guy. It's interesting that he became the leader of the Justice League in the books - I'm not sure how that will play out here - but his humanity is also an asset.
The idea fits into what we know of Affleck’s version of Batman/Bruce Wayne, as well. At the beginning of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman doesn’t trust the Kryptonian boy scout because he’s an alien, with powers that are capable of great destruction. Even once (we assume) the two put their differences aside, it likely won’t have a great impact on Batman’s greater view, that humanity requires protection (Batman tends to hold grudges, after all). We can totally see how Batman’s willingness to join all these superpowered people could be largely because he wants to be sure they don’t go and get any ideas.
Batman’s humanity has often been seen as one of the reasons that he’s become a popular character who has withstood the test of time. He has to use ingenuity and creativity rather than super powers. As these are skills that the rest of us humans possess (in different quantities), then we are not that far removed from the character, making him all the more relatable.
It’s probably a little early to be asking ourselves who should be the leader of the Justice League when the team reaches the big screen. We’ve only ever seen one character on screen so far. Still, we can speculate as to who should be the best leader of the team. Would you like to see Batman running the show, or is somebody else a better choice?
