Zack Snyder recently revealed his concept for the DCEU’s grand climax, which sounds quite similar to the MCU’s Infinity Saga end.
Zack Snyder revealed his concept for the DCEU’s finale, which sounds very similar to the MCU’s Infinity Saga conclusion. One of the drawbacks of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is that it promised an epic conflict that would never materialise. After defeating Steppenwolf, the Justice League confronted Darkseid, who was on his way to Earth. Unfortunately, the DCEU’s climactic fight with Darkseid will not take place, but Snyder had ideas for it. In a recent interview with GQ, Snyder discussed how his Snyderverse would have concluded, specifically what would have happened to Superman.
“He (Superman) was going to have to succumb to the Anti-life, be destroyed, turn the clock back, and then get his chance for this battle against Darkseid that would have finished his trilogy of becoming this guardian, and sort of, return him to his humanity.”
That sounds like an epic battle between Superman and Darkseid. However, it sounds similar to the plot of the MCU’s Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame finales. The DCEU was frequently playing catch-up with Marvel, and it would not have been helpful if the DCEU’s climax was too similar to Endgame, as this would have resulted in constant comparisons.
Zack Snyder’s DCEU vision sounds even more like Avengers: Endgame.
Snyder’s concept for the conflict between Darkseid and the Justice League would have seen Superman lose to Darkseid and surrender. This would result in the apocalyptic Knightmare future that Bruce Wayne envisioned before Superman discovered a method to turn back time and destroy Darkseid, erasing that future. While this sounds fantastic, it’s also far too similar to how the MCU concluded its Infinity Saga. Thanos defeats the Avengers in Infinity War, wiping out half of the world’s population.
Five years later, in Endgame, the remaining heroes figure out how to time travel and stop Thanos from gathering the Infinity Stones and snapping his fingers. While there would have been many notable distinctions between the DCEU’s finale and Endgame, the narrative pattern is too similar to Marvel’s, and DC would have looked horrible if it had created something so similar to its competitor firm.
Snyder already had an excellent time travel scene in Justice League.
Superman has travelled through time before, including the contentious scene in 1978’s Superman where he saved Lois Lane by flying around the Earth in the opposite way, causing it to journey back in time. Snyder did, however, craft a terrific time-travel moment in Justice League, in which Barry Allen travels through the speed force to prevent the mother boxes from joining. It’s a fantastic scene that really captures the speed force while also providing emotional character development for Barry.
Because this moment is so memorable, it would be redundant to include another time-travel sequence to destroy Darkseid. If time travel is employed excessively, it can lead to story gaps questioning why characters do not travel back in time to solve other problems, as well as poor writing. It can be exciting when utilised well, but it’s a plot point that the DCU was wise to employ sparingly.
