This week on Most Heroic, we’ll pick up the second half of my pitch for the Batman vs Superman film.

So let’s get right down to it. Part two begins now!

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Clark is waiting in his hotel room when Lois returns from pursuing some leads on her story. She sees that something is clearly wrong with him, and after some prodding, he confesses that Batman knows who he is and has threatened to expose him. She wonders aloud how Batman could have figured it out so quickly, and once she hears Clark’s recap of their fight, she suggests that he could have been bugged. At this suggestion, Clark x-rays his uniform and finds a tracer hidden underneath one of the armpits. He quickly destroys it to prevent Batman from listening anymore. Lois realizes that if Batman could use this kind of technology, he must be someone who has access to either a lot of money or a lot of state-of-the-art machinery, or both. Angered that someone would try to blackmail Clark like this, she becomes determined to find out who Batman is.

Meanwhile, Batman is attending to his wounds in the Batcave, while researching Clark Kent. Alfred expresses some pleasant surprise that Superman is someone so good-hearted like Clark. Alfred says that he reads The Daily Planet and has been impressed with Clark’s articles over the last few weeks. Clark reminds him of the old-school journalists who stood up for the little guy, and helped expose corruption. Bruce remains both skeptical and cynical of the Clark Kent identity, claiming it’s just another disguise. Alfred remarks, “Just like yours, Master Bruce.”

Bruce ignores this not-so-subtle criticism, and pulls up some information on the Batcomputer. He explains to Alfred he’s been monitoring a new criminal organization that seems to have set up shop in Gotham. In fact, it’s a group known for their strong, but secretive control of Metropolis: Intergang. He’s been attempting to get some more information on them and their plans, but Superman put a damper on that by thrashing him.

The next day, Lois and Clark continue pursuing their stories on Bruce Wayne, and the Batman respectively. What they learn is largely positive on both fronts. Wayne, while known as being an irresponsible playboy, is genuinely doing his best to help the less fortunate of the city, giving hundreds of thousands to various charities, and doing his best to bring industry back to the once prominent city. On the other hand, Batman has been a clear deterrent to major crime. In her downtime, Lois is doing her best to find out who Batman is, since Clark won’t tell her.

That night, both Batman and Superman do separate patrols of Gotham City. Batman pursues a lead with Intergang, where he discovers that they have access to some very impressive weaponry that is far beyond anything else on the planet right now. Even with all his training, gadgets, and skills, he’s no match for these weapons. Just when it looks like he’s about to get overwhelmed, Superman arrives and saves Batman’s life. Despite his noble action, even Superman is weakened by these new powerful weapons. It’s only through their mutual teamwork that they’re able to survive at all. They have a quick conversation after their battle, and they still don’t like or trust each other very much yet.

The next day, Lois and Bruce have their final interview, and Lois reveals she has deduced that he’s Batman. She’s displeased that he blackmailed Clark, but she hasn’t made up her mind whether she’s going to expose him or not yet. She doesn’t like him or trust him, but she also doesn’t want Bruce to reveal who Clark is, because she knows he’ll do it.

That evening, Batman and Superman are both attacked by agents of the Suicide Squad, but they both manage to fight them off. After defeating them, they realize that they have both been targeted by the government, since they can’t be controlled or trusted. Both Batman and Superman gain a new respect for each other, recognizing that they both do the best they can with what they have. Batman recognizes that Superman means it when he says that he will never kill again.

At the end of the film, Superman and Lois return to Metropolis, and Superman continues his quest to be accepted by the people of Metropolis. Meanwhile, General Sam Lane realizes that he cannot trust Superman, since he’s allied himself with Batman, and he needs to discover a way to kill an unkillable man. He then picks up the phone and says, “Lex Luthor? We need to talk.”