Every Character Who Dies In Zack Snyder's Justice League
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Contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League
It's fair to say that Zack Snyder's Justice League is a little more violent than the typical superhero blockbuster. The new cut available on HBO Max sees our heroes willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done from the very beginning, as even Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) dispatches a squad of terrorists by hurling them around the room, leaving bloody smears behind their heads as they slump to the ground.
But as the stakes get higher with the arrival of Steppenwolf and his legions of Parademons, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince realize what they're truly up against and a number of characters end up dying by the end of the film. Audiences are even treated to a trip to the Knightmare timeline's post-apocalyptic wasteland following Darkseid's assault on the planet. But just because the Lord of Apokolips' is an overarching villain meant to set up Justice League 2 and 3 doesn't mean that his deadly reach isn't felt in the recently released film. Here's a look at every character who dies in Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Atlanteans, Amazons and Yalan Gur
When Darkseid first arrived on Earth millennia ago, he waged war against an almighty alliance of Atlanteans, Amazons, the Old Gods and the forces of men. During the history lesson given by Wonder Woman, we saw the villain slaughtering countless enemies and decapitating any soldier who got close to him. Earth's army was even bolstered by Yalan Gur, a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Unfortunately for the cosmic cop, Darkseid brutally killed him with an intimidating-looking lance and — just to add insult to fatal-injury — the villain also cut his ring-slinging hand off to stop any last minute attacks. Ouch.
Fast-forward to the present day, and Steppenwolf is eager to follow in Darkseid's footsteps when it comes to assembling the Mother Boxes that were left on the planet during the original assault. During Steppenwolf's Boom-Tube teleportation tour across the world, Steppenwolf kills hordes of Amazons protecting one box on the island of Themiscyra and also decapitates a number of Atlanteans underwater before Mera manages to drive him off.
Silas and Elinore Stone
Victor Stone is an incredibly unlucky man — sure, Cyborg has incredible abilities, thanks to his new body being born of a Mother Box, but he's also an orphan by the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League. Although it was great to see Ray Fisher's hero finally get the spotlight in the film, Cyborg didn't have an easy ride whatsoever. His mother, Elinore Stone (Karen Bryson), was killed in the very accident that forced his father to facilitate Victor's current robotic state — and he blames his father, Dr. Silas Stone (Joe Morton), for her death. Victor venomously explains in the film that if Silas had made the time to see his son and support him at the game, the accident probably wouldn't have happened in the first place.
Victor definitely regrets all the strife he has with his father though, because when Steppenwolf finally tracks down the Mother Box in Metropolis, Silas locks himself away with a powerful laser. He superheats the cosmic object so the heroes can track it to Steppenwolf's lair, but, in doing so, Silas vaporizes himself. It's a heroic sacrifice for the good of humanity, but it's still heartbreaking for Cyborg to have to watch his father die after recently losing his mother.
Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Lois Lane, Kilowog, and Harley Quinn
The addition of the Knightmare timeline was one of the biggest selling points of Zack Snyder's Justice League, after all, what would a post-apocalyptic Earth look like in the DC Extended Universe? We only got two glimpses of the dire future, but they were both surprising enough to really shock audiences. The first vision was given to Cyborg when he connected with the Kryptonian ship, seeing Hipolyta and the Amazons burning Wonder Woman's body in a funeral pyre as Darkseid's forces fly behind it. Another brief shot also showed Darkseid hurling Aquaman's trident into Arthur Curry's chest underwater before blasting other Atlantean warriors with the Omega Beams from his eyes. But the most chilling shot in Cyborg's vision reveals Darkseid towering behind a broken Superman, who's cradling a charred corpse in his arms. The scream he lets out confirms that the villain killed Lois Lane, which is how Darkseid corrupts the Man of Steel into becoming his pawn.
Victor's vision reveals another death as we briefly see the dead body of another Green Lantern in the wreckage of Justice League's headquarters, Kilowog. Up in the sky, Superman can be seen hovering above the rubble — did Clark kill the Lantern? Finally, the last death from the Knightmare timeline comes from the full scene dreamt by Bruce at the end of the film. When Batman is verbally sparring with Jared Leto's Joker, the Dark Knight reveals that he promised a dying Harley Quinn that he'll kill the Clown Prince of Crime, and he'll do it slowly. It's unclear who killed her; either way, it sounds like Harley died pretty horribly.
The entire Justice League
In a bold move from the director, the entire Justice League actually dies in the finale of the film; well, they do for a few seconds at least. While Cyborg's trying to stall the Mother Boxes from forming the Unity and terraforming the planet, The Flash is hurtling around the city of Pozharnov to build an electrical charge big enough to separate the boxes. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite manage it in time and the Unity explodes – instantly decimating the entire League in a burst of cosmic energy.
It's a good thing the Scarlet Speedster just happens to be able to turn back time. In a vibrantly impressive moment, Barry Allen rewinds the flow of time to roll back all the damage – while the immense energy he builds up in traveling back gives Victor the energy he needs to separate the boxes. But can we all just appreciate the body-horror weirdness of Superman's bones and muscles all slurping back together as Barry ran past him? Hopefully we get to see more of the time-travel shenanigans in The Flash's solo movie, directed by Andy Muschietti.
Steppenwolf
But what's a bombastic superhero film without something of a happy ending? Thankfully, the alien perpetrator of this whole threat, Steppenwolf, got his comeuppance before the credits roll. While Darkseid, DeSaad, and Granny Goodness looked on through another Boom Tube, the League really gave Steppenwolf the punishment he deserved — although Superman searing off one of the New God's horns beforehand did look pretty painful.
Steppenwolf doesn't get an easy death, as Aquaman stabs him through the chest with his trident before hurling him towards the Boom Tube to Apokolips. Wonder Woman makes sure the villain can't make a return by leaping into the air and slicing his head off as punishment for slaughtered countless Amazons, Atlanteans, and people in his attempted conquest. Clearly Darkseid wasn't impressed with his Uncle Steppenwolf though, as he crushed the decapitated head under his massive foot as it rolled towards him.