Easter Eggs You Missed In Zack Snyder's Justice League

Look, the Justice League is great, but do you really think a mere six heroes can prop up a four-hour movie? Not even Superman is that powerful. Even with all of the apocalyptic action unfolding throughout the film's sprawling runtime, the Snyder Cut finds the time to introduce a few more fan-favorite characters to the DCEU. As rumored, Martian Manhunter appears in a few big scenes, and Wonder Woman's father, Zeus, and her number one nemesis, Ares, enjoy some expanded screen time as well.

However, the most exciting hero to show up in the Snyder Cut never gets to wear a supersuit, show off his powers, or fight Darkseid's minions — not yet, anyway. In the re-cut Justice League, Ryan Choi may only be Silas Stone's second in command, but comics readers know him better as the Atom, a hero with the ability to shrink at will.

Ryan, who was created by writer Gail Simone, began his career as the protege of the previous Atom, Ray Palmer, and took over Palmer's post at Ivy University when the elder professor went missing. That's how Choi found Palmer's old bio-belt, which is powered by a fragment of a white dwarf star. From there, it wasn't long before Choi began investigating all the weirdness that surrounds Ivy Town and its residents.

Despite his powers, Ryan Choi remains an academic at heart, and for all their absurdity, his best adventures still have their roots in real-world science. So when S.T.A.R. Labs dubs Choi the head of nanotechnology at the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League, it's not just a promotion. It's a premonition of things to come.

Forget the Justice League. Without venerated DC Comics writer Gardner Fox, we may not have super-teams at all. In 1940, when comics books' Golden Age was in full swing, Fox and his editor, Sheldon Mayer, had a blockbuster idea: What if some of DC's most popular heroes came together and formed their own team? A little while later, the Justice Society of America debuted in the pages of All-Star Comics #3, with a roster featuring the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, the Sandman, Hour-Man, the Spectre, and the Atom. Superhero comics would never be the same.

Then, a few decades later, Gardner did it again. In the late '50s, DC found great success revamping its dormant superhero properties by adding sci-fi twists to established heroes like Flash and Green Lantern, ushering in the Silver Age of comics. As part of this revival, editor Julie Schwartz asked Gardner to revitalize the Justice Society, albeit with a new name: the Justice League. Gardner obliged, putting Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, and Martian Manhunter on the same team for the first time. The Justice League made its debut in The Brave and the Bold #28, and it's been with us ever since.

Zack Snyder's Justice League pays tribute to the man who created the Justice League in Barry Allen's brand new introduction sequence (which is extra-fitting, given that Gardner created the Golden Age Flash, too) by way of the speeding truck that threatens downtown Central City. Look carefully, and you'll see an advertisement for the Gard'ner Fox produce company painted on the vehicle's side. 

Oh, and in case you missed it: The young woman who Barry saves from almost certain death is none other than Iris West, aunt to Kid Flash Wally West and Barry's future wife. No, she doesn't get much to do in Justice League, but if Ezra Miller's long-gestating solo Flash film ever gets off the ground, she's expected to play a big role.

Before mankind knew it was called a Mother Box, they gave it another name. As the Snyder Cut reveals, Nazi forces found the Mother Box that humanity had pledged to hide forever in the final years of World War II. Soon afterward, the device was taken into American custody and it was given a new, albeit temporary, name: 6-1982. Eventually, 6-1982 made its way from the Department of Defense archives to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Silas Stone used it in a last-ditch effort to save his son following a horrific accident.

As you may already be aware, 6-1982 isn't a random string of numbers. It's a direct reference to Cyborg's original origin story. In June of 1982 — or, you guessed it, 6-1982 — DC Comics published the first issue of Tales of the New Teen Titans, a four-issue miniseries that delved into the history of DC's New Teen Titans team, which was, at the time, one of the hottest books on the shelves (to put it in perspective, in terms of popularity, New Teen Titans' only real competition was Marvel's Uncanny X-Men).

Naturally, this first issue was all about Cyborg, and his story follows the same major beats as the adaptation seen in Zack Snyder's Justice League, although there a few major differences: the accident that cripples Victor is caused by an extra-dimensional entity, not a car crash, his super-intellect is the result of experiments his parents conducted before his accident, and there isn't a Mother Box to be found. Still, if you've seen the Snyder Cut, you know basically how the storyline of Tales of the New Teen Titans #1 unfolds, at least in general terms.

Zack Snyder's Justice League is full of treats for fans of Jack Kirby's Fourth World, the legendary comic book artist's biggest contribution to DC's canon. Not only does Steppenwolf finally get his due, but his boss, Darkseid, plays a major role in the movie. So does Darkseid's torture-loving second in command, Desaad. In the Snyder Cut, you get the infamous Anti-Life Equation, references to the classic Legion of Superheroes story "The Great Darkness Saga," which details Darkseid's schemes in the 30th century, what looks like a Boom Tube, and Darkseid's deadly Omega Beams, which serve as his signature weapon.

If you're paying attention, you can also catch another one of Darkseid's lieutenants, the villainous Granny Goodness, standing next to the space warlord during the movie's big climax. Unfortunately, Granny doesn't get any lines during the film, but that doesn't mean that she's not a big deal. In New Gods lore, Granny Goodness is the person in charge of raising Apokolips' children into fearsome warriors. Don't be fooled by her name, though. While Granny talks like a kind, caring old grandmother, her child-rearing methods involve torture and brainwashing, and her "orphanages" are really prisons from which escape is almost impossible.

In addition, Granny is also the commander of the Female Furies, Apokolips' elite, all-female strike force, and primary antagonist to Mister Miracle and Big Barda, a husband-and-wife couple who escaped Granny's clutches and fled to Earth, where they became heroes. In other words, it's no surprise to find Granny by Darkseid's side. Through her countless despicable deeds in the pages of DC Comics over the years, she's more than earned it.

While Gotham sports fans are probably most familiar with the Knights, the comics' canonical name for the city's professional football team, chances are they'll also cheer for the Wildcats every now and then, too. In Zack Snyder's Justice League, the Wildcat is the mascot of Gotham City University — and Victor Stone was the star quarterback on the Wildcats before his accident cut his football career short.

The Wildcats' legacy goes deeper than that, though. In 1989's Manhunter #17, the Gotham City Wildcats were a professional football team owned by a man named Tom Melcher. Unfortunately, the team was also home to a future supervillain. See, the Wildcats' star player, Victor Gover, had a metagene, which gave him enhanced abilities. This led to accusations of steroid abuse, which forced Melcher to cut Gover from the team. Infuriated, Gover assumed the name Sportsmaster and began hunting both Melcher and the Wildcats' coach, attracting Batman's attention. Later, he also served as a member of the Suicide Squad.

Despite rumors, neither Hal Jordan nor Ryan Reynolds, who played the Green Lantern of sector 2814 in the widely panned 2011 Green Lantern movie, make a surprise cameo in Zack Snyder's Justice League. There is a Green Lantern in the movie, though. As in Justice League's theatrical cut, one of the space cops shows up in the big Lord of the Rings-esque flashback scene, which shows Apokalips' first invasion of Earth. Unlike the theatrical cut, however, this is more than a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. This time, we can see the Green Lantern's face. We know exactly who he is.

As it turns out, the Snyder Cut's Green Lantern is none other than Yalan Gur, one of Sector 2814's previous protectors. According to 1991's Green Lantern #19, Gur was once one of the most skilled Lanterns in the entire Green Lantern Corps, and only became more formidable once his bosses, the Guardians of the Universe, removed his Power Ring's weakness against the color yellow. Unfortunately, all of that power went straight to Yalan Gur's head. With his newfound strength, Gur headed straight to Earth and enslaved China.

In response, the Guardians gave Yalan Gur a new weakness, wood, which allowed his subjects to beat him with clubs. In the comics, this led to Gur's demise, although we know that the Snyder Cut has a different fate in store for him: death at the hands of Darkseid.

While DC and Marvel have crossed over a few times in the comics, a big-screen team-up between the Justice League and the Avengers doesn't seem to be in the cards, at least not officially. Unofficially, though, it's actually already happened — twice.

The first potential Marvel reference in Justice League comes early on, just after Bruce Wayne visits Aquaman for the first time. As Bruce gets off his helicopter, you can see that the company that owns the aircraft is named Kvikasilfur. That's Icelandic for "Quicksilver," an Avenger and X-Men ally who, after recent events, needs no introduction. On one hand, that's kind of a stretch. On the other? Well, the guy is everywhere these days. Why not Zack Snyder's Justice League too?

The other Marvel nod is a little more straightforward. During the big fight scene between Superman and the rest of the Justice League, Supes flings the Flash into the monument at Heroes Park, giving us a very clear look at some of the names engraved on the memorial. For comics fans, one should look very familiar: Ben Parker. Yup, that's right. In the DCEU, it looks like Peter Parker's uncle met his demise during Zod's attack, not at the hands of an anonymous robber.

Zack Snyder's Justice League is superior to Justice League's theatrical release in practically every way, but the original version of the film did have some pretty fun Easter eggs. Well, good news: The very best of them survived the transition, and they appear in the Snyder Cut too.

First off, while telling Bruce Wayne all about his skills, including the languages he knows, Barry Allen mentions that he's fluent in sign language — "Gorilla sign language," he quickly corrects himself. That's actually a pretty useful skill for the Scarlet Speedster to have. As Flash fans know, the speedster's rogues' gallery contains a few different simian foes, including the fearsome Gorilla Grodd.

Next, as Bruce, Barry, and Diana gawk at the Bat-signal from an airport tarmac, you can catch a glimpse of the Ace Chemicals plant in the background. That's where the Joker fell into the vat of goop that transformed him into the Clown Prince of Crime, and where he took his therapist, Harleen Quinzel, to make her into Harley Quinn. It also exploded in spectacular fashion in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), if you're curious about where the events of the Snyder Cut happen to fall in the DCEU timeline.

Finally, as before, Spy Kids, Sin City, and The Haunting of Hill House star Carla Gugino returns to voice the Kryptonian spaceship, as she did in both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Gugino is one of Zack Snyder's frequent collaborators, having also worked with him in Watchmen as well as Sucker Punch. She's a great actor who probably deserves a much bigger role in the DCEU, but if this vocal cameo is all we can get, we'll take it.

Wonder Woman may be exiled from Paradise Island, but that doesn't mean that the Amazons don't have any way of getting in touch with her. After Steppenwolf storms the Amazons' stronghold and steals their long-guarded Mother Box, Queen Hippolyta (wearing an outfit that recalls Diana Prince's gold armor in Wonder Woman 1984, which is itself a reference to the classic comic book Kingdom Come) fires off the Arrow of Artemis and lights a far-off beacon, warning her daughter that danger is on its way.

As a way of communicating with Wonder Woman, an arrow belonging to the goddess of the hunt couldn't be more appropriate. Not only can you catch Artemis herself fighting the forces of Apokolips alongside Zeus and Ares in that big flashback, but guess what Artemis' Roman name is? Yup, it's Diana.

Artemis isn't the only figure from Greek mythology to make a sneaky cameo in the Snyder Cut, either. In her introductory shot, Wonder Woman is standing on top of a Lady Justice statue. Historically, the earliest depictions of Justice were based on the Greek titan Themis, one of Zeus' lovers.

You probably won't recognize actor Ray Porter from his appearance in Zack Snyder's Justice League. In the movie, he plays Darkseid, intergalactic warlord and leader of Apocalypse, whose physical body is made up entirely of CGI. Still, while Darkseid is a largely digital creation, Porter's voice and motion-capture work are towards bringing the villain to life. Without Porter, he just wouldn't be the same.

Justice League's big bad isn't the only character that Porter plays in the film, though. The longtime character actor makes another cameo in the Snyder Cut as the blacksmith who helps encase the humans' Mother Box in its stylish, otherworldly metal container. If you need help spotting him, check out some of Porter's other work — he's been in everything from Argo to Justified to Showtime's Shameless. Oh, and by the way, if Darkseid sounds a little familiar, there's probably a good reason. In addition to everything else, Porter is also a prolific audiobook reader, and has won a number of awards for his work.

The Stone family is made up of geniuses, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that they're quite well-read. Still, there's a big difference between loving a book and hanging a poster of it in your home. And yet that's exactly what Victor and his father Silas have done: As Cyborg broods in his Gotham City apartment, you can catch a poster referencing Franz Kafka's classic 1915 novella The Metamorphosis on the wall.

If you've read Kafka's story, the thematic parallels should be obvious. In The Metamorphosis, a young salesman named Gregor Samsa wakes up one day and discovers that he's been turned into a giant insect, then struggles to adapt to his new situation as his humanity slowly slips away. For Cyborg, who's grappling with who — and what — he is now that he's half machine, it's a tale that probably resonates rather heavily. At least Cyborg gets a happier ending: While Victor ultimately reclaims his identity and finds a new home with the Justice League, Gregor starves to death after becoming a burden on his family.

It's only appropriate that Zack Snyder's Justice League ends with Bruce Wayne talking about setting up "a big, round table" in the League's future headquarters. Not only does the Snyder Cut play up the mythological aspects of DC's superhero pantheon, rendering them more like figures from legend than everyday people, but John Boorman's Arthurian fantasy film Excalibur is one of Zack Snyder's all-time favorite movies.

"The thing about Boorman is he's one of those rare guys who combines drama and being a visualist," Snyder tells DGA Quarterly. "The drama of the movie is clearly the most important thing to him, but the way he sees it is incredibly painterly." If you know what to look for, you can clearly see Boorman's influence on Snyder's work, too. Justice League is filled with striking shots that blend godlike power with pulpy, violent action. Like Excalibur, it's absolutely stunning.

So naturally, Snyder snuck a couple of Excalibur references into his giant superhero epic. Actor Ciarán Hinds, who plays Steppenwolf, made his feature film debut in Excalibur. "The future has taken root in the present," a line spoken by Carla Gugino's Kryptonian AI when Superman is revived, appears in Excalibur, where it's delivered by Nicol Williamson's Merlin. Finally, the two men burying humanity's Mother Box appear to be King Arthur and Sir Bors, two characters who pop up every now and then in DC's comics — and who will probably feature prominently in Zack Snyder's own King Arthur movie, if that ever gets off the ground.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League borrow a few key notes from the seminal '90s storyline The Death and Return of Superman. As in the comic books, a genetically engineered superweapon called Doomsday kills the Man of Steel. Also like the comics, when Kal-El returns, he wears a black suit decorated with a silver version of his classic logo, although, sadly, the big boy scout's super-mullet didn't quite make the cut.

As such, you may think that the four super-suits Superman considers before deciding on his all-black garb are references to the comics' Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Steel, and Superboy, a.k.a. the four replacement Supermen who took Clark Kent's place after his death. They're not. Instead, they're throwbacks to Superman's previous DCEU adventures. In addition to Superman's classic red-and-blue garb, the Kryptonian spaceship contains Jor-El's bone armor, the space suits worn by Zod's soldiers, and the general's very own combat gear.

As previously mentioned, recurring New Gods villain Granny Goodness makes her live-action debut in Zack Snyder's Justice League, even though she doesn't speak, or fight, or really do much of anything other than stand faithfully by Darkseid's side. However, that's not Granny's only appearance in the movie. Much earlier in the film, during the Flash's big introduction, an out-of-control big rig collides with a hot dog cart crossing the street. The name of that cart? Why, "Granny Goodness Tube Steaks," of course.

Hilariously, that's not the only hot-dog-related Easter egg in this scene, either. A few seconds after the truck collides with the cart, hot dogs fly through the air in slow motion as Barry zooms past. Remarkably, this recalls an extremely similar panel in Showcase #4, the comic that introduced Barry Allen to the world.

In the comic, Barry has just been struck by lightning, and stops by a local diner to calm himself down. While he's there, a waitress trips, spilling everything she's carrying, including a plate of franks and beans. Barry leaps into action, but he doesn't just save the food. This is the moment when he realizes he has super-speed. You love the Flash? Well, you have hot dogs to thank.

Look, the Snyder Cut is four hours long. If Mr. Snyder wants to repeat a few Easter eggs, he's got the time. And so, even if you caught one reference to The Fountainhead in the movie — the boat named the Cortlandt, which we discussed earlier — there's a good chance you didn't catch the other one, given that it's even more subtle.

Early in the film, when we first see how Lois Lane is holding up, a Daily Planet truck crosses the frame, followed shortly by a close-up on one of its daily papers. The headline, however, doesn't seem to have much to do with Superman, or Darkseid, or superheroes. In fact, "Security Bank of Manhattan Seeks New Architect" hardly seems like front page news at all, especially in a world filled with living gods.

However, if you're a devotee of Ayn Rand like Snyder is, you'll know what that's referencing immediately. In The Fountainhead, genius architect Howard Roark is initially hired to design the Security Bank of Manhattan, but ends up getting fired after he refuses to compromise his creative vision. Okay, so, it's a bit of a double-dip, but the movie is called Zack Snyder's Justice League for a reason. It's his movie. He can do whatever he wants.

Face it. By all indicators, Zack Snyder's Justice League isn't getting a sequel, although that certainly didn't stop the director from loading his revamped Justice League cut with setups for what was supposed to come later. Obviously, the Knightmare sequences contain the biggest teases, but eagle-eyed viewers have spotted another one: a pregnancy test in Lois Lane's dresser, hinting that the Man of Steel's child may be on the way.

Well, at this point, consider it more than a hint. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Snyder confirmed that his never-to-be-seen sequel plans involve a super-baby, and while that's been a popular idea lately — Bryan Singer's Superman Returns used it, as does the CW's latest entry in the Arrowverse, Superman & Lois, in addition to a number of comics over the past few decades — Snyder's take sounds positively bonkers. In the Snyderverse, Clark and Lois' son would've been born without powers, but would've ended up getting into the family business anyway by taking over as the new Batman following Bruce Wayne's heroic sacrifice. Yup. Wild stuff.

Lois' telltale pregnancy test also contains one of the Snyder Cut's subtlest jokes. See, it's not any pregnancy test. According to the package, it's a "Force Majeure" pregnancy test, which translates to both "unforeseeable circumstances" and "superior or irresistible force." The former is a pretty hilarious name for a pregnancy test, while the latter is a fairly apt description of Superman himself. Taken together? Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex indeed.