Zack Snyder's Justice League is officially here on HBO Max, which means fans of DC Comics
who expected a lot more out of 2017's Justice League are receiving everything they hoped
for.
That includes the revelation that the Man of Steel character Calvin Swanwick was Martian
Manhunter all along, as well as more scenes showcasing the origin story of Ray Fisher's
Cyborg. On top of that, the excitement of fans would still be through the roof even
if the only change between the two cuts was the addition of the DC supervillain Darkseid.
In the theatrical version, Darkseid is merely alluded to, but Snyder's edition gives him
the screen time he deserves. Not only does he show up in a flashback sequence depicting
the first time he tried to conquer Earth, but there's an integral moment where he communicates
with Steppenwolf about something that should be very interesting to anyone familiar with
the comics.
While Steppenwolf tracks down the Mother Boxes, he discovers the mythic Anti-Life Equation
is also on the planet, which is of particular interest to Darkseid.
Steppenwolf's plan fails, but after coming face-to-face with the Justice League, Darkseid
makes it clear that he's determined to go to Earth himself to find the Anti-Life Equation.
This undoubtedly would've factored into the plot of Justice League 2, which Snyder had
a plan in place for. And now, even though the likelihood of a sequel is minimal, it's
intriguing to consider what would have been, and to understand that, we need to look into
what exactly the Anti-Life Equation is in the comics.
If you thought calculus was the worst kind of math out there, then you haven't seen anything
yet.
Jack Kirby came up with the concept of the Anti-Life Equation in 1971. At its core, it's
a mathematical formula that proves the futility of existence, allowing the person who knows
the theory to subjugate beings to their will. Whoever knows the equation, most often Darkseid,
can effectively create an army of soldiers that bow down to his every whim. Think of
it as a McGuffin in the same vein as the six Infinity Stones from Marvel Comics. It's something
the villain wants, that will allow him near-total dominion over the universe.
As for the exact formula? You might want to grab a pen for this. The anti-life equation
is:
Loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding
× guilt × shame × failure × judgment, n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death,
self=dark side.
"By Jove, he's got it."
"What does it mean?"
Cheery stuff, right? All Darkseid has to do is speak this formula to an individual, and
they fall under his control, and he's done so several times in various comic book storylines.
In Final Crisis, Darkseid and the New Gods use the equation to enslave humanity, and
turn Earth into New Apokolips. This series is famous for the panel where Batman is killed
with the villain's Omega Beams, which we can briefly see him use in Atlantis in Zack Snyder's
Justice League.
More recently, the formula was used as part of the DCeased storyline, where Darkseid used
the Anti-Life Equation to essentially turn humans into zombies by exposing billions to
it via the internet. With the comics in mind, it's easy to see how Snyder planned to expand
upon this reference in a potential Justice League 2.
"Because of the promise I've made them over the course of the two other movies, it has
created this movement that said 'We need to know how it ends.'"
We've known for a while now the broad strokes of how Zack Snyder's planned Justice League
series would've gone down. Basically, Justice League 2 would've seen the heroes face off
against Darkseid, only to lose when he likely gains control of the Anti-Life Equation to
enslave Superman and the rest of humanity — not unlike the ending of Avengers: Infinity
War, where all hope seems lost.
Justice League 3 would've involved the heroes making one last stand against the ruler of
Apokolips, ultimately leading to Batman dying at the hands of Darkseid.
With this outline in place, it's clear Snyder wasn't just adding the Knightmare sequences
in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League for fun. He was offering a
glimpse at the dystopia that was to come when Darkseid rules Earth, as well as establishing
a potential solution for the heroes with Flash traveling back in time to warn Batman that
Lois Lane is the key.
Snyder's plans for his sequels also involved Darkseid killing Lois Lane, which likely would've
made Superman susceptible to the influence of the Anti-Life Equation. This explains why
he's been trying to kill Batman in the Knightmare sequences we've been able to see.
Finally getting to see the Snyder Cut, it makes a lot more sense as far as where the
director planned the franchise to go. It all could've been a setup for one of the most
epic finales ever put into a superhero film, which makes the miraculous release of Zack
Snyder's Justice League all the more bittersweet.
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