Zack Snyder's Justice League finally premiered on HBO Max last week and fans have been busy
discussing and dissecting the film in the days since its debut. It doesn't come as much
of a surprise that some of the biggest and most noteworthy moments in the film have to
do with its Knightmare sequences.
The biggest Knightmare sequence comes during the epilogue and focuses on a handful of players
from the DCEU. The sequence sees the ragtag group doing their best to sneak across a hazy,
broken dystopian landscape which looks to be the same one glimpsed briefly during Batman
v. Superman's Knightmare sequence. It's during the Snyder Cut's Knightmare scene that Ben
Affleck's Batman has his first on-screen interaction with Jared Leto's Joker. The conversation
that takes place between the two characters not only takes up most of the scene's run
time but is also loaded with references to other DCEU films and storylines. For example,
"He knows exactly what it's like to lose someone he loves. You know, like a father, like a
mother, like an adopted son. Isn't that right, Batman?"
That's the line, spoken by Joker, that kicks off the conversation between him and Batman
in the film. The line references three of the moments that proved to be the most formative
for the Affleck version of Batman, with the first two obviously being the deaths of his
father and mother. The third moment, however, is one that has not been shown on screen yet,
but was briefly referenced during Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The moment in question
is the death of Robin, Batman's sidekick and so-called "adopted son." The character's death
was referenced when Affleck's Caped Crusader is seen staring at a Robin suit in a glass
case. The words "Ha! Ha! Joke's on you, Batman" were seen spray-painted onto the suit, heavily
implying that the DCEU's Robin had, in fact, been killed by Leto's Joker.
While the Knightmare scene's reference to Robin is notable, the conversation between
the two characters doesn't end with Joker just throwing Robin's death in Batman's face
again. Instead, Batman responds by referencing the death of Harley Quinn — an event that
hasn't happened on screen yet and is implied to have occurred sometime in between the present-day
events of Zack Snyder's Justice League and the future shown in its final Knightmare sequence.
Batman describes how Harley died in his arms, and with her last breath, demanded that he
kill Joker slowly — a request that Bruce says he still fully intends to fulfill. While
it's unclear why exactly Harley wanted Batman to kill the Joker, it's possible to infer,
given their breakup in last year's Birds of Prey, that not even the end of the world could
manage to heal Harley and Mr. J's relationship in the DCEU.
"I am not someone who is loved. I am an idea."
One of the biggest ways Joker tries to emotionally manipulate Batman throughout the Knightmare
sequence is referencing Bruce's apparent role in creating the dystopian future. Joker says,
"You need me to help you undo this world you created by letting her die."
Who is the "her" he's referencing? None other than Lois Lane. Zack Snyder has been candid
about the role Lois Lane's death was supposed to play in his overall DCEU plans. Essentially,
Lois' death would have been the thing that allowed Darkseid to take control of Superman
and use him to bring about the ruined world seen in Justice League's Knightmare scenes.
That means it's Lois' body that Superman is seen holding during the film's earlier Knightmare
sequence, and according to Snyder, Lois' death would have been the result of Batman failing
to sacrifice himself to save her. That's why the Joker blames Batman for Lois' death and
the apocalyptic scenario as a whole.
But the most important part of the scene is that it shows two bitter enemies forced to
work together in the most extreme of circumstances, regardless of their shared history and the
taunts they lob at each other. That's how dire the situation has become: things are
so hopeless that Batman is willing to work with the Joker in order to defeat a Superman
gone bad.
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