Zack Snyder’s Justice League Has a Touching Flashpoint Easter Egg

The Snyder Cut of Justice League is officially out to the masses, and its impact on DC Comics fans is continuing to be felt. The four-hour film is clearly a love letter from Zack Snyder to the larger DC universe, and is chock full of meaningful Easter eggs and references throughout. Even lines of dialogue within the film provided some compelling allusions to decades of DC Comics lore — including a surprisingly meaningful reference to Flashpoint. Spoilers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League can be found below! Only look if you want to know!

As Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) set out to recruit other superpowered beings to join their alliance, both research more information about Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa). As Diana reveals to Bruce, her “people” — meaning the Amazons — previously fought the Atlanteans that Arthur is a descendant from.

Later on in the film, as the League works to exhume the corpse of Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill), Diana and Arthur stand off to the side and bond. Even as they acknowledge the war that the Amazons and Atlanteans previously waged against each other, they quickly find a common ground, and even learn that both of their cultures have the same parable.

The idea of a war between the Amazons and the Atlanteans is a pretty clear homage to the original Flashpoint storyline, as Diana and Arthur led their respective kingdoms in a pretty harrowing battle throughout the events of the series. As those who have read the event will remember, that conflict would spawn some powerful imagery, including Diana decapitating and killing Mera.

The initial reference to the Amazon/Atlantean War in Zack Snyder’s Justice League made sense at the time the project was initially filmed — both to strengthen the lore and history of the DC universe, and to potentially tee up their conflict in The Flash solo movie, which was briefly called Flashpoint. In the years that have followed, it’s been clear that what The Flash does adapt from Flashpoint will differ slightly from the comics, which means fans probably shouldn’t count on seeing that grisly battle between Arthur and Diana in live-action. Still, the acknowledgement of that history in Zack Snyder’s Justice League still proves to be oddly touching, and adds significance to their bond as the film goes along.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is now available to stream exclusively on HBO Max.