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The Island They Completely Changed In The Justice League Snyder Cut

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Fictional Earths tend to be bigger than the real one; that's how authors cram novel locations into their fictional geographies. For instance, Marvel's premier source of vibranium (the material that makes up Captain America's shield) is the hidden East African kingdom of Wakanda, while DC's Earth is full of crazy cities and islands. Unfortunately, no one has yet to produce definitive comic world atlases, so borders and exact locations are redefined as writers see fit.

For example, in the theatrical cut of Justice League, Steppenwolf and his Parademons form a nest underneath Braxton Island, which sits smack-dab in the body of water that separates Gotham City from Metropolis. If you want to learn more about Braxton Island, you're out of luck, since no information seems to exist on the internet, not even on the DC Wiki (and that site chronicles everything DC, including Arm-Fall-Off-Boy). Braxton Island was seemingly created for the Justice League movie, or, to be more specific, the original release, since the Snyder Cut, now streaming on HBO Max, rewrites it into a different location that should be more familiar to DC comic and movie fans.

What's in a name?

Zack Snyder's Justice League features many alterations and additions, but the Parademon hive is still underneath an island between Gotham and Metropolis. Except this time, the isolated rock isn't called Braxton Island — it sports the much more familiar name of Stryker's Island.

In DC Comics proper, Stryker's Island is a prison that sits off the coast of Metropolis. The isle houses the DC Universe's population of super-powered villains. Think Alcatraz, but instead of containing Al "Scarface" Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Stryker's Island is (occasionally) home to faces such as Parasite and the Atomic Skull. However, in the Snyder Cut, Stryker's Island isn't just a cute reference to its comic source material but also a demonstration of the gravitational pull of fictional landmarks.

Before Stryker's Island was used as a makeshift base of operations for Steppenwolf, it served as the final battle with Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The island was uninhabited before the fight, and it remained uninhabited afterward, which is probably why Steppenwolf decided to set up camp there. In the Justice League movie, Parademons can literally smell fear, which sends them into a predatory frenzy. The farther away from society (while also being within flying distance of the two biggest DC cities on Earth), the better.