The Woman At The End Of The Snyder Cut Isn't So Random After All
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Contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League
After years of campaigning, several million dollars provided by the folks at Warner Bros., reshoot sessions, and likely many, many hours in the editing bay, the once-mythical Snyder Cut has finally arrived. Zack Snyder's Justice League hit HBO Max on Thursday, March 18, and it's been all anyone has been able to talk about ever since.
The movie's strange and convoluted production process and the fan campaigns for its release have made it a particularly interesting specimen in the already pretty fascinating superhero movie genre, and to make the most of a unique situation, Snyder seemingly used every opportunity to cram the four-hour film full of neat stuff. There are numerous changes from the theatrical version and cool Easter eggs – and even a brand new epilogue scene that teases a grim, apocalyptic future in which a potty-mouthed Batman (Ben Affleck) and a long-haired, weary Joker (Jared Leto) team up to battle an evil Superman (Henry Cavill).
Among the many new characters the Snyder Cut brings into the fold is Darkseid (Ray Porter), the interplanetary warlord behind the movie's main villain, Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds). Darkseid drops by near the end of the movie, rocking up to the action with his two major lieutenants flanking him. The creepy, robed guy on the tyrant's right-hand side is Desaad (Peter Guinness), Darkseid's sadistic assistant. But who's the white-haired old lady rounding up the trio? Let's discuss who the old woman at the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League is. And as a fair warning, try not to laugh at her name.
Meet Granny Goodness, supervillainess extraordinaire
The lady in question is Granny Goodness, a perennial contender for the worst misnomer in the entire DC universe. She may look like a sweet old lady, and her name may suggest that's entirely true, but she's anything but. This granny won't bake you cookies and slip a $20 bill into your bag after you visit her "just in case you need pocket money" — oh no, she'll mess your whole life up while keeping a smile on her face.
Created by comic book legend Jack Kirby, who's credited both as the writer and artist behind the character, Granny Goodness made her DC Comics debut in 1971's Mister Miracle Vol. 1 #2. She's a New God originating from the planet Apokolips, and started off as a member of the "Lowlies" class. When she was plucked from the peasants around her to become a "Hound" for Darkseid, Granny Goodness' life and fate changed. She established herself as an incredibly ruthless, manipulative, and dangerous woman as she became the trainer and commander of Darkseid's elite forces — a job that she accomplishes by brainwashing innocent orphans into obedient killing machines in his "orphanage" facilities.
What's worse, her torturous training methods and unrepentant, sadistic nature are directly contradicted by her gentle, sweet manner. Granny Goodness even takes her appearance from that of the late comedian and actress Phyllis Diller, who wouldn't hurt a fly unless she could make it laugh beforehand. Basically, imagine Dolores Umbridge (portrayed by Imelda Staunton) from the Harry Potter film franchise, add superpowers and elite military training in place of magic, and equip her with several torture dungeons and battalions of elite troops she has at her disposal. That's Granny Goodness.
Zack Snyder's Justice League isn't Granny Goodness' first live-action rodeo
What little we see of Granny in Zack Snyder's Justice League makes her seem like a more physically imposing figure than her comic book counterpart. And while the Snyder Cut of Justice League does mark Granny Goodness' live-action film debut, it's not the first time she's appeared in the flesh on viewers' screens. That happened just once prior, in the penultimate season of the CW superhero series Smallville, starring Tom Welling as Clark Kent in his years living in Kansas before he becomes Superman. Two different actresses portrayed Smallville's Granny, and the depiction of the character leaned pretty heavily on the sinister end of the sweet-old-lady-ruthless-manipulator dichotomy.
In Smallville, Nancy Amelia Bell brought Granny Goodness to life in the season 9 finale, "Salvation," in which her face isn't seen but the markers of her outwardly sweet side — knitting needles and a cozy, covered-up outfit — were. Christine Willes took over the role thereafter, making her the literal face of Smallville's Granny — the prim and proper Head Administrator of St. Louise's Orphanage who's secretly a cunning master manipulator with powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities, along with a number of other powers. A season 10 episode reveals that one of the children at St. Louise's Orphanage was Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman), who – spoiler alert — is really Lutessa Luthor, the daughter Lionel Luthor (John Glover) had with Pamela Jenkins (Donna Bullock), his son Lex's nanny. Tess lived at the orphanage from the time she was five years old to when her biological father returned and took Tess out of Granny Goodness' care. Before Tess left, Granny erased nearly all of her memories so that she wouldn't remember her life before the Mercers adopted her.
It doesn't seem likely that Snyder will get the opportunity to create a sequel to his version of Justice League, but if any creative minds at Warner Bros. and DC want to make use of the character in future projects, Granny Goodness would certainly make for a menacing, scheming villain that would scare just about anyone who crosses her path. Or maybe all fans can hope to see of Granny going forward is her name on a food cart that sells hot dogs and various other "tube steaks."