"Here they come, here they come." Bruce said with some excitement.
"Let me say this again: I have absolutely no interest in these people's twisted relationships," Hal said, tossing a potato chip into his mouth, "Besides, aliens are about to invade Earth, and we're sitting here watching Batman's drama. Is this really okay?"
"It's perfect." Harley said, "Let the aliens go to hell. Batman's drama is way more entertaining."
Though Hal said so, he didn't shut his eyes either. On the contrary, Oliver, who was clearly uninterested, sank into the couch to catch up on sleep after drinking a cup of hot chocolate.
"So, what exactly happened in that universe of theirs?" Clark asked, looking at Lex.
Lex was spacing out, and it was only after about a dozen seconds that he snapped back and said, "Professor Xavier read Superman's memories. He told me the situation goes something like this..."
Lex roughly recounted the circumstances of Injustice Superman's universe, leaving everyone deeply moved.
"Do you think Professor Xavier can broker peace?" Diana asked, her worry evident. She continued, "Batman is genuinely difficult to deal with. And I must say—although I'm not playing armchair quarterback—if I were the Wonder Woman of that universe, I'd probably say the same thing."
"Say what?" Clark turned his head to look at her.
"It was Batman's fault." Diana said, "This whole thing happened because Batman mishandled it. I think he's at least 70% to blame."
Clark was about to speak, but Diana interrupted him with, "I'm talking about the aftermath. The true culprit is, of course, the Joker. But Batman's poor management of the aftermath is the main reason the situation escalated to this."
"Do you think Batman should've forgiven Superman back then?" Bruce asked.
"I don't like the word 'forgive.'" Diana shook her head lightly and said, "Batman is just a volunteer police officer; he's not a judge in court, let alone a jury. He doesn't have the qualifications to forgive anyone."
"He's just Superman's friend, so he should do what friends are supposed to do. For example, when his friend loses the most important person in their life, take some time to comfort him."
Diana crossed her arms and tilted her head, saying, "Killing is against the law, even if the one being killed is the Joker. Before there's been a legal trial, there's no need for moral judgment. I've always adhered to this principle."
"Superman lives within human society, enjoying the emotional feedback it brings him. Thus, following the rules of human society is his duty. He should abide by the law—that is beyond question."
"If Superman is willing to accept legal judgment and, in human terms, pay the price for his breach of the law, then we should treat him as we would any criminal: put him in court, let him stand trial, and then send him to prison."
"If that's the case, then we may not call him morally noble, but there's no need for extra moral judgment, because he would have already paid the price within the scope of universal values."
"And Batman's problem is that he didn't ask if Superman was willing to accept legal judgment but instead directly imposed moral judgment. The process was wrong, and so even if the result was right, he was still wrong."
Clark nodded repeatedly as he listened and said, "Batman was overly focused on the moral question of 'Is killing right or wrong?' while ignoring the precondition for moral judgment, which is first using the law to judge the individual. If the individual adamantly refuses legal judgment, then moral judgment becomes meaningful."
"But doesn't Superman also have little reason to comply with legal judgment?" Hal said, "He's too powerful. Would he really willingly let himself be locked up in prison?"
"He may not want to, but that's when Batman could intervene," Diana said, "However, without explicit refusal, no one should assume Superman wouldn't comply."
"What if his actions prove that he has no intention of following the law?" Hal added, "The version we heard is too brief and lacks many details. Maybe Batman determined, from Superman's various actions, that he wasn't willing to accept legal punishment, and that's why he initiated moral judgment directly."
"Fair point." Bruce said, "I think Superman was already losing it at that time; the irrational things he did went beyond murder alone. Batman had to stop him first, which Superman took as reproach."
"This boils down to Superman himself," Diana said, looking at Clark, "When you're in pain, would you choose anger or despair?"
"I think it would be the former," Clark said, "If tragedy struck, I couldn't guarantee I'd be able to control my emotions. I might end up doing many irrational things."
"If I tried to stop you, would you resent me?" Diana asked.
Clark remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Rather than physically preventing my actions, it would be better to try calming me down on an emotional level. I think Batman made the wrong choice."
"But if we don't physically stop your actions, how could we possibly calm you down?" Harley asked.
"If you were Professor X, you might have a way," Clark said, "But if it were Batman—perhaps he didn't make the wrong choice—maybe he simply had no other choice."
"Then it seems this is a deadlock," Diana concluded, "Batman would definitely try to stop Superman's actions, while Superman, grieving and angry, would see this as betrayal and engage in even more extreme behavior to oppose Batman. This would leave Batman utterly exhausted..."