Zack Snyder's Justice League has a lot going on in
its four-hour runtime, so it's not surprising if you miss a few things while watching it. These
lines go by quickly, but they're surprisingly loaded with meaning. Here are some of the
key quotes from Zack Snyder's Justice League. "I've come to enlighten you to the great
darkness. I will bathe in your fear." Most people would be intimidated by the sight of
a phalanx of battle-hardened Amazonian warriors, but that's not the case for Steppenwolf.
When Darkseid's lieutenant breaches the stronghold on Themyscira, he doesn't
cower in fear. He taunts Hippolyta and her soldiers before unleashing a horde
of parademons on the vigilant defenders. A few minutes later, Steppenwolf repeats himself. "The great darkness begins." If you're a longtime DC Comics fan, your
ears probably perked up immediately. Published in 1982, "The Great Darkness
Saga" was a five-part storyline that started in Legion of Superheroes #290. The
story pits a team called the Legion — a group of 30th-century youths who have
modeled themselves after present-day superheroes like Superman — against a
mysterious villain called the Master. In one of the all-time greatest
reveals in superhero comics, the Legion eventually learns that the
Master is none other than Darkseid, who has been waiting for 1,000
years for the opportunity to strike. To this day, The Great Darkness Saga
is still considered the very best Legion of Superheroes tale and one of
Darkseid's most memorable appearances. It's only fitting that it gets a nod
in Darkseid's feature film debut. "Wonder Woman. What do you think, man? You
think she'd ever go for a younger guy?" Barry Allen's offhand, casually pervy quip
to Cyborg isn't all that notable on its own, although Cyborg's reply is one of the
Snyder Cut's more memorable jokes. "She's 5,000 years old, Barry.
Every guy's a younger guy." Surprisingly, this little exchange marks
a big moment in the history of the DCEU: It's the very first time in any of these
movies that Diana is actually called Wonder Woman on-screen. Seriously. She doesn't get
called by her superhero nickname in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Justice League
theatrical cut, or in either of her solo films. In the comics, of course, Diana has been going
by Wonder Woman since her mother bestowed the title on her in her debut story, which appeared in
1941's All-Star Comics #8. In her next appearance, 1942’s Sensation Comics #1, shortly after
landing in man's world, Diana causes a big scene as she outruns cars, beats up muggers,
and deflects bullets with her magic bracelets. This attracts the attention of an agent named
Al Kale, who signs Diana up for a stage show. It's a hit, and the newspapers soon
dub her "Wonder Woman" publicly. Diana's partnership with Kale ends just a few
pages later, when Diana quits the show and Kale tries to run off with the profits. Still,
by that point, she's stuck with the name. "Suppose we start with your name." "Wonder Woman!" "Sure." "...and I'm happy to discuss with you, in
any way you like, why you sent a Boy Wonder to do man's job." There's a very good reason why we
don't see Batman's trusty sidekick, Robin, in Zack Snyder's Justice
League: He's been dead for years. Before the Snyder Cut, however, all we had were
oblique hints to that effect, like the Robin suit memorial in the Batcave and comments
from Snyder during promotional interviews. Now, thanks to Batman's heated exchange
with the Joker, Robin's death at the hands of the Clown Prince of Crime
is explicitly Snyderverse canon. Of course, Joker killing Robin isn't exactly
a new idea. It's been done a number of times, including in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight
Returns, which was a huge influence for Zack Snyder's Justice League. The most notable
example, however, occurs in the '80s storyline "A Death in the Family," which somehow ends
up being even more morose than Snyder's take. In Batman #427, the second installment of
the story, the Joker beats Jason Todd's Robin with a crowbar, then blows up a building with
Robin still inside. That's a huge cliffhanger, but it gets even worse. Rather than letting
writer Jim Starlin decide Robin's fate, DC Comics set up a 1-900 number hotline
which readers could call to decide whether Robin lived or died. Death won by a paltry
72 votes, sealing the Boy Wonder's fate. "You have the blood of the old gods in you." Steppenwolf's half-taunting, half-admiring
observation during his first real showdown with Wonder Woman begs a question: If Zeus, Ares, and
the rest are the "old" gods, who are the new ones? Well, comic readers already know the
answer. See, Darkseid, Steppenwolf, DeSaad, and the rest made their
debut in the Fourth World Saga, which introduced the New Gods to DC Continuity —
courtesy of master comic book artist Jack Kirby. The Fourth World is Jack Kirby at
his biggest and most imaginative, and tells the story of a cosmic battle between
the forces of good and evil. On one side are the residents of the planet New Genesis, which
is led by Highfather and his adopted son, Orion. On the other, you have the forces of
Darkseid, who resides on the planet Apokolips. Kirby never really got to finish the story, which
was maybe more ambitious than entirely coherent. Still, many of the New Gods characters
became fixtures of DC's canon, so it's nice to see Steppenwolf pay subtle
tribute to the story that started it all. "Ship's all yours now, kid. You're the boss. Ryan Choi, director of
nanotechnology. That's your thing." Ryan Choi spends most of Zack
Snyder's Justice League playing second fiddle to S.T.A.R.
Labs director Silas Stone, but the end of the movie sets him up for much
bigger — or should we say smaller? — things. In light of Silas' sacrifice, Ryan gets a
much-deserved promotion, but as this line hints, that's only the beginning for the scientist. See,
in the comics, Ryan Choi is better known as the Atom, a superhero with the power to change size
at will (hence the whole "nanotechnology" thing). Choi is actually the fourth superhero to take on
the mantle of the Atom, following the Golden Age's Al Pratt, Ray Palmer, and former Suicide Squad
recruit Adam Cray. He's also inexorably tied to the Atom's legacy. In the comics, Choi takes
over Ray Palmer's position at Ivy University after the superhero goes missing, leading him
to Palmer's old "bio-belt," which harnesses the power of a miniature white dwarf star in order
to give its wearer size-changing abilities. The words that echo through Clark Kent's
head as he reclaims his superhero identity are a throwback to Man of Steel,
during which Russell Crowe's Jor-El delivers a heartfelt speech to his son
while Superman flies for the first time. It's more than that, though. It's also a
reference to All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, one of the
very best Superman comics ever published. Published in 2006, All-Star Superman is a
streamlined, continuity-free take on the Man of Steel that aims to tell timeless Superman
stories revolving around a simple concept. Thanks to Lex Luthor's machinations, Superman's
powers become overcharged by solar radiation. He's never been more powerful. He's also
dying, with only a year left to live. Superman spends his remaining time
on Earth doing what he always does: working to make it a better place. Still,
even the Man of Steel has limits. Eventually, solar radiation poisoning catches up
with Superman, and he begins to pass. That's when he encounters a memory of his father,
Jor-El, who delivers these same poignant words. They're not much, but they're enough.
Superman rallies and foils Luthor's schemes, then literally ventures into the center of the
sun, which he keeps burning for all of eternity. Jor-El's speech is already a perfect summation
of Superman's entire deal, but it becomes even more poignant given its placement in Zack
Snyder's Justice League. As in the comic, it comes at the moment when Superman, treading
the line between life and death, re-dedicates himself to his original mission and truly
becomes the savior he was always meant to be. As a tribute to one of the most popular Superman
stories ever told, it couldn't be better. "I hate Atlanteans as much as you Amazons do." Zack Snyder's Justice League
establishes a long-standing rivalry between the Atlanteans and the
Amazons. While it never quite pays off, it does give Wonder Woman and Aquaman a bit of
history together. As she explains in the movie, the two peoples once even
went to war with each other. The idea of a long-standing rivalry between
Atlantis and Themyscira has come up a number of times. The Atlantean-Amazonian war is one of
the centerpieces of DC's big Flashpoint event, in which Barry Allen creates an alternate timeline
by traveling to the past to save his mother. In that version of the timeline, a
war begins when Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta, is assassinated on Wonder Woman
and Aquaman's wedding day, sparking a conflict that sees the Amazons conquer Britain while
the Atlanteans sink most of Western Europe. As in Zack Snyder's Justice League, however,
the two sides ultimately reach an understanding, putting their differences aside
to stop an unhinged Thomas Wayne, who serves as this reality's Batman.
It's not quite the same as in the movie, but at the very least, you can see
where Zack Snyder got the idea. "Who have you ever loved?" While we'll never get to see Zack
Snyder's proposed Justice League sequels, we know the basic outline of what
they were going to be about thanks largely to the dialogue in the
Snyder Cut's extended epilogue. It all begins when Mera snaps at Batman after he
tries to console her about Aquaman's death — and, to be fair, it's kind of inappropriate. After all, losing loved ones is kind of Batman's
whole thing. As the Joker explains, "He knows exactly what it's like to lose
someone he loves. You know, like a father. Like a mother... Like an adopted son." There's one person who's very conspicuous
in her absence on the Joker's list, though: Lois Lane. Yep, that's right. As Zack Snyder explained, in
his Justice League follow-ups, we were going to learn that Bruce Wayne
had fallen for Superman's girlfriend, making her death in the Knightmare timeline
all the more tragic to the Dark Knight. "I'll never love anybody the
way that I love your son." Making it even worse? Her death, which caused
Superman to break bad, is Batman's fault. "How many alternate timelines do
you destroy the world because, frankly, you don't have the
cojones to die yourself?" Ironically, however, this line also hints
at how Batman was going to save things. This is just an alternate timeline;
in Snyder's planned trilogy, the main one would be saved after Cyborg used
the Mother Boxes to send Flash back in time, making sure that Batman died instead of Lois
and keeping Superman on the side of good. Basically, Snyder's whole Justice League
trilogy is here in this one scene. It's just hidden in the dialogue. "How'd you get the house back from the bank?" "I bought the bank. Congratulations, by the way." Batman and Superman have spent most of their
time in the DCEU as enemies. Their first clash was so epic it lasted for an entire
movie. Their second, while much shorter, came right after Superman had been resurrected,
and his mind was still on the fritz. However, by the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League,
the two are not just colleagues, but friends. Still, when Bruce slaps Clark on the back and
congratulates him, it's not immediately clear why. It's not for coming back to life — Bruce and the
rest of the Justice League did that. It's not for getting the family farm back, either; Bruce did
that, too. It could be because of his engagement to Lois Lane, but the more likely answer lies
in a few small details you might've missed. Earlier in the movie, you can spot a pregnancy
test in Lois Lane's drawer. When this scene begins, Lois carries a bassinet into the
Kents' farmhouse. Between those two clues, the conclusion is obvious: Lois Lane is pregnant, and
a super-baby is on the way. Well, kind of super. As Snyder has explained, his original plan was for
Lois and Clark's baby to be powerless, although he'd later take after his uncle Bruce's example
and strap on a cowl to become Gotham's new Batman. The Snyder Cut's most memorable line isn't actually in the movie. It only
appears in one of the trailers. "We live in a society where
honor is a distant memory." If you're not perpetually online, you may
not have known what all the fuss was about. For the rest of us, though,
it was a moment to remember. While that phrase originated as a line on the
classic sitcom Seinfeld, it became associated with the Joker thanks to memes surrounding 2019's
Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. As time has gone on, it's become even more popular. Given that the
Snyder Cut is basically a four-hour piece of fan service anyway, people went rabid when it looked
like it was going to make its way into the movie. While the line didn't make the final cut, Zack
Snyder still talked to the press about it, and he says the meme-ification
of the Snyder Cut was an ad-lib, so that buzzworthy trailer moment
was basically Jared Leto's fault. Check out one of our newest
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