James Gunn’s Superman and Matt Reeves’ The Batman have suspiciously similar plot twists even though they don’t exist in the same DC universe. James Gunn has repeatedly denied the idea that Robert Pattinson’s Batman is starring in Andy Muschietti’s upcoming The Brave and the Bold. Still, there are several details that highlight how well Pattinson’s Batman and Corenswet’s Superman fit together.

Both David Corenswet’s Superman and Robert Pattinson’s Batman are young but not amateur versions of the World’s Finest, both have just learned to be responsible heroes, and both have learned a valuable lesson about their public perception. Both DC heroes even have a rock song that’s now synonymous with them. As if it weren’t enough, Superman and The Batman follow similar story beats.

Gunn’s Superman & Reeves’ The Batman Have Extremely Similar Parent Twists

James Gunn made the bold decision to reimagine Superman’s Kryptonian parents with a dark twist. Instead of sending Kal El to Earth as a savior or just as a survivor, Jor-El and Lara sent Superman as a conqueror. David Corenswet’s Superman only learns this truth halfway through Superman‘s plot. By the end of Superman, the Man of Steel has changed his whole perspective about his origins and purpose.

In Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Pattinson’s Batman learns that his parents weren’t the selfless philanthropists he thought they were. Halfway through the movie, Batman realizes that Thomas Wayne probably hired Carmine Falcone to silence a reporter who investigated Martha Wayne’s secret psychological condition. At the end of The Batman, Batman has exchanged his brutal revenge crusade for a search of justice and hope.

Corenswet’s Superman & Pattinson’s Batman Get The Same Lesson From Their Plot Twist

Both David Corenswet’s Superman and Robert Pattinson’s Batman find a hard truth about their parents’ legacy, which leads them to rethink their crime-fighting methods and their outlook on justice. Both twists are revealed by their respective movies’ main villain, and both twists involve each set of parents’ relationship with the public. Also, both sets of parents’ deaths make it impossible for each hero to get direct emotional closure.

After accepting that his Kryptonian parents weren’t the perfect extraterrestrial saviors he thought, Superman is now ready to be a more down-to-earth hero. Likewise, Batman has accepted that everyone has their light and their dark side. In Matt Reeves’ The Batman – Part II, Batman will likely be a symbol of true justice instead of punishment.

Corenswet’s Superman & Pattinson’s Batman Perfectly Complement Each Other, But Their Worlds Don’t

All these similarities between Robert Pattinson’s Batman and David Corenswet’s Superman make them two sides of the same coin. If they were to cross paths, Pattinson’s Batman and Corenswet’s Superman would likely have plenty of differences to ʙuтт heads over, as well as plenty of common ground. They could even have more natural chemistry than Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman.

However, bringing Corenswet’s Superman and Pattinson’s Batman together would require their worlds to come along with them. Unfortunately, Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe is too grounded to coexist with James Gunn’s DCU. The mere fact that characters like Krypto and Metamorpho exist somewhere out there could diminish the polished realism of Reeves’ Elseworlds universe.

Even if Matt Reeves’ Gotham was left untouched in the easter-egg-filled DCU, merging universes would require James Gunn and Matt Reeves to sacrifice their plans for both franchises. The Brave and the Bold‘s Batman would have to be much more grounded. Even worse, Pattinson’s Batman and other Gotham characters would have to become much more fantastical from one project to the next.