James Gunn Said He’d Kill Batman And DC Fans Are Outraged
Whether they fall into the Marvel or DC camp, comic book fans are extremely passionate about their superheroes.
James Gunn just learned that the hard way.
The Guardians of the Galaxy director has been gifting fans tiny easter eggs about Marvel’s massive box-office success, Avengers: Infinity War, for the last couple of weeks. Gunn was involved in story mapping the film, which marked the biggest superhero team up in the studio’s history. The director gave input on the storylines for his motley crew, the defenders of the galaxy, which included characters like Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and of course, Groot (Vin Diesel).
Warning, spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War ahead.
Gunn effectively broke fans’ hearts when he revealed that Groot’s last words in the film before he dissolved into dust after Thanos succeeded in his plan of purging the galaxy of half of its inhabitants, were meant for his friend and pseudo-parent, Rocket.
@JamesGunn Might be too soon to ask this, but do you know what Groot's last line is at the end of the movie?
— Joe Green (@Shekebel) May 6, 2018
So the director has proven he’s not shy when it comes to stirring up emotions on Twitter, but things took a nasty turn when Gunn good-naturedly entertained a TMZ reporter’s comic book-themed game of “Would You Rather” as Gunn was heading home from the Los Angeles International Airport. After quizzing Gunn on some Marvel storylines affected by Infinity War, TMZ then asked Gunn which DC character he’d like to poach. Gunn quickly answered Batman, saying he’d love to incorporate that character into the Marvel universe.
Of course, because Gunn is known for breaking hearts with his plot twists — he revealed that Groot did, in fact, die at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy and that the Groot we saw in Infinity War is actually Groot’s son. TMZ then asked in Gunn would be willing to kill off Batman given the chance.
“I could kill Batman,” Gunn told TMZ.
He then joked that maybe Batman would die from a pretty average cause, like getting thrown off a roof. Obviously, the whole conversation was just a fun hypothetical, but that didn’t stop DC fans from torching Gunn on Instagram for his comments; but Gunn was having none of it.
As committed to defending their superheroes as comic book fans are, it seems Gunn was only joking and there’s no real threat of Batman biting the bullet anytime soon. Plus, with Gunn busy planning Guardians of the Galaxy 3, he won’t have time to imagine all of the possible ways Batman might meet a gruesome end.
Looks like Bruce Wayne is safe. For now.
