Is Superman Actually In ‘Justice League’?

The new Justice League trailer dropped today and while it brought fans their first look at Clark Kent in the film, it also posed a new question about Superman‘s role in the movie.

We’ve known that Henry Cavill would return for Justice League, despite Superman being killed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Fans have mostly assumed that this meant Superman would be resurrected and come to the Justice League‘s aid in their battle against Steppenwolf. But what if Cavill is only actually in the movie as Lois Lane’s memory of Clark Kent?

The trailer show Lois (Amy Adams) standing on the porch of the Kent family farm. She looks out at a field of grain and sees Clark standing there. He asks if she said yes, in regards to the ring on her finger. It’s then that Lois wakes up alone in bed, revealing the entire scene was just a dream.

Could this be Superman’s entire role in Justice League? Not necessarily confined to that particular scene, but as a series of dreams or memories in Lois’ head. That would mean no resurrection for the Man of Steel in Justice League, but perhaps in a film that seems as much about Superman’s legacy as anything else, this would make sense.

This isn’t to say that Superman isn’t going to be resurrected eventually. There’s is no way that Warner Bros. is going to continue with the DC Extended Universe movies without bringing one of its most iconic symbols, and most profitable merchandising properties, back to the forefront. Justice League just may not be when it happens.

Another scene in the Justice League trailer shows the front page of a newspaper with the headline “World Without Hope.” This seems to be a reference to World Without A Superman, which started off as the tagline for the “Funeral for a Friend” storyline that followed Death of Superman and was then later used as the title for the collected edition of the story.

World Without a Superman

World Without a Superman is a story that examines how the heroes of the DC Universe mourned their friend and how they pressed on without him in his memory.

Perhaps Justice League is meant to do the same, though in an obviously more bombastic and action-packed style.

Instead, it is possibly that Superman won’t make his return until the sequel to Justice League, or at best in a post-credits scene in the first film, making Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a structural adaptation of The Death and Return of Superman. Superman dies in the first act, is absent from the second act, and returns int he third act.

Perhaps, and this is pure speculation, we even get a clone or replacement Superman storyline as part of the Justice League sequel. After all, who knows what Batman is up to with that hologram in his cave.

Legacy

On the other hand, maybe Darkseid is the one who resurrects Superman and then brainwashes him into becoming loyal to Apokolips, much like the two-part “Legacy” episode of Superman: The Animated Series, which is something that Batman’s Knightmare vision in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice could have been foreshadowing.

This plotting would help explain why DC Films has been so secretive about a resurrection that everyone knows is coming. This may be bad news for Superman fans eager to see their hero back in action, but it does open up some interesting storytelling potential.

Justice League currently has a 4.18 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation rating making it the second most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. Let us know how excited you are for Justice League by giving the movie your own personal ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating below.

Justice League opens in theaters on November 17, 2017. The film will be followed in the DC Extended Universe by Aquaman on December 21, 2018, Wonder Woman 2 on December 13, 2019, Shazam in 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020.