Small Details You Missed In The All-New Justice League Snyder Cut Trailer
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You may have thought that because Zack Snyder's Justice League is almost here there wouldn't be any more trailers coming, but you'd be wrong. On the afternoon of Sunday, March 14, HBO Max released a new trailer for the film formerly known as the "Snyder Cut," and there's a lot of new stuff to gawk at. In particular, we see a lot more of Ray Porter's Darkseid than we have previously, including the powerful New God expressing his hunger to rule over "all of existence."
But along with big, explosive moments of heroes warring with villains and armies clashing, there are a handful of small details you likely missed upon first viewing. A number of shots in the trailer show us classic DC Comics characters we hadn't seen before, and — just like one of the most famous Justice Leaguers — none of them are from anywhere near our zip code, our hemisphere, or any place in our particular corner of the solar system.
While some reports about Snyder's original plans for Justice League claimed Darkseid wouldn't confront the eponymous team of do-gooders himself, a couple of moments in the trailer have us wondering whether or not the ruler of Apokolips might not be taking a much more direct hand in things than previously believed. Here are the small details you missed in the (likely final) trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Martian Manhunter could be anyone
Blink and you'll miss it, but one of the most interesting moments in the latter section of the new trailer comes at around 2:03. Very briefly we get a shot of a woman — who may be Diane Lane's Martha Kent, Kal-El's adoptive mother — and her eyes are glowing bright red. Of course, even if that is Martha Kent, being from Krypton isn't contagious so why would her eyes be glowing like that? The most likely answer: While that may be Diane Lane, it isn't Martha Kent — it's J'onn J'onnz, better known as the Martian Manhunter.
In January 2021, actor Harry Lennix confirmed a long held fan theory that General Swanwick — the character Lennix plays in both 2013's Man of Steel and 2016's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice – is the Martian Manhunter in disguise. At the same time, Lennix said he would finally be revealed as J'onn J'onzz in Zack Snyder's Justice League. The alien hero has a long list of powers in the comics including flight, super strength, telepathy, and — relevantly to this investigation — shapeshifting. It isn't a huge stretch to imagine J'onzz taking on the form of Martha Kent. Either that, or Diane Lane's dealing with some brutal allergies.
A famous Green Lantern takes flight
Martian Manhunter isn't the only alien hero the new trailer gives us a first look at. At around 0:57, in shots that appear to be from the battle between the forces of Earth and those of Apokolips in the distant past, we get a glimpse of a member of the Green Lantern Corps. who looks nothing at all like Ryan Reynolds. That doesn't mean he's completely unfamiliar, however — at least not to long-time fans of DC.
Judging by this lantern's appearance, there's a good chance this is Yalan Gur, a Green Lantern who's introduced in a flashback in 1991's Green Lantern #19. Gifted with a ring that has no weaknesses, Yalan Gur becomes overconfident and dies for his error. Will Zack Snyder's Justice League delve significantly into this deep canon? Will we actually get to see Gur's downfall brought to life on screen? Time will tell, but this kind of addition would be certain to delight hardcore fans.
Darkseid's terrible Omega Beams are revealed in the new trailer
At about 01:37 into the trailer we see something that's never before been portrayed in live action — the deadly Omega Beams of Darkseid. Their zig-zagging pattern is unmistakable, and Darkseid's target may very well be Jason Momoa's Aquaman. Whoever it is, they seem to be swimming, and moments before this shot we get snippets from the underwater battle between Aquaman and Darkseid's lieutenant Steppenwolf.
That may not be the last that we see of Omega Beams, either. A few seconds later in the trailer, we see red energy beams firing at the Batmobile, and at around 02:07 we get more red beams firing at Batman himself. It isn't clear if these last two shots emanate from Darkseid. They don't share the trademark zig-zag pattern from what we can tell, and there are plenty of other possible origins in a film like Justice League for crazy sci-fi lasers.
Regardless, just the first shot of the Omega Beams is intriguing. When Kevin Smith first started spilling the beans (via Nerdist) on what he knew about Zack Snyder's plans for Justice League, the story was that while Darkseid would have shown up, it wouldn't have been until toward the end of the film. What we see in this latest trailer could suggest Zack Snyder's Justice League will give us a Darkseid who's more involved throughout.