Justice League: Who Dies in the Snyder Cut?

After four years of anticipation and fan campaigns, the Snyder Cut of Justice League has officially been released to the masses. The four-hour film made its debut on HBO Max on Thursday, providing Zack Snyder’s definitive and incredibly ambitious take on the DC Comics universe, all while establishing one of its premier super teams. Even with its surprising moments and overall sense of optimism, Zack Snyder’s Justice League did have a fair share of heartbreaking ones, including character deaths that fans definitely weren’t expecting. And while Snyder has continued to stress that the canon of his “SnyderVerse” might not stick within the larger DC Films universe, the deaths are still decisions that will probably stick with fans for a while.

So, which characters become casualties in Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Keep reading to find out. Obviously, major spoilers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League lurk below! Only look if you want to know!

A Lot of Amazons

One of the first big action sequences within the film — and one that shows the true carnage of Steppenwolf (Ciran Hinds) — is the villain’s arrival to Themyscira, where he steals the Motherbox that the Amazons have been guarding for years. Along the way, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and the other Amazons go to some epic lengths to defend the Motherbox, but a number of them, including Venelia (Doutzen Kroes), die in the process.

Yalan Gur

Once Steppenwolf attacks the Amazons, and Hippolyta sends Diana a signal within man’s world, we’re clued in on the first time that Earth was faced with such a formidable threat, when Darkseid (then known as Uxas) attacked the planet many years ago. At the time, all of the tribes of Earth — the Amazons, the Atlanteans, the old Gods, the humans, and even a Green Lantern named Yalan Gur — banded together to fight Uxas, successfully sending him back to Apokolips.

Before that happens, however, Yalan Gur appears to be killed in the fight, and his Green Lantern ring soars into the cosmos to find a successor, whoever that might be.

Elinore Stone

As the film goes on, we begin to learn more about the backstories and origins of the other League members — including the heartbreaking one of Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher), which was only hinted at in the theatrical cut. As we learn, Victor was a star college student and football player, only for him and his mom, Elinore Stone (Karen Bryson), to get caught in a serious car accident while driving home from a game. Elinore doesn’t survive the accident, and Victor just barely does, prompting Silas Stone (Joe Morton) to begin experimenting on him with the Motherbox, eventually turning him into Cyborg.

Silas Stone

Later in the film comes one of the more shocking deaths — one that is nowhere to be found within the film’s theatrical cut. When Steppenwolf inches towards getting the Motherbox of man’s world, which the League has taken to the crash site of General Zod’s ship in order to resurrect Superman (Henry Cavill), Silas makes a last-ditch effort to help the League. Silas takes the Motherbox into a sealed room to strike it with a ray of light, allowing it to radiate a heat signature that the League is able to track down to Steppenwolf’s makeshift headquarters. In the process, the light essentially disintegrates Silas, as Victor watches in horror.

Steppenwolf

Silas’ plan works, and the League — joined by Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) — make their way to Steppenwolf’s makeshift lair, which is in an abandoned nuclear silo. An epic fight ensues, all while Darkseid, Desaad, and Granny Goodness silently watch on through a boom tube. Ultimately, Wonder Woman is the one to deliver the final blow to Steppenwolf, decapitating him with her Godkiller sword and sending the pieces of his body through the boom tube. To add insult to injury, Darkseid then proceeds to place Steppenwolf’s severed head literally under his boot, before crushing it.

Lois Lane (Knightmare Timeline)

While Steppenwolf is defeated by the film’s end, it’s abundantly clear that the fight isn’t over, as multiple sequences of the film showcase a “Knightmare” timeline where Darkseid ultimately succeeds. In a series of brief shots, we see what it would take for him to do so, including the apparent death of Lois Lane (Amy Adams). A scene shows Superman crying over a burnt skeleton that appears to be Lois, just before Darkseid manipulates him and his grief into doing his bidding.

Wonder Woman (Knightmare Timeline)

Another of the more brutal deaths in the Knightmare timeline comes to Wonder Woman, who can be seen laying on a burning funeral pyre as the Amazons mourn her.

Aquaman (Knightmare Timeline)

And rounding out the deaths in the film’s initial Knightmare sequence is Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa), who appears to be brutally killed by Darkseid while both are underwater.

Kilowog (Knightmare Timeline)

One of the more blink-and-you’ll-miss-it deaths in the film is also featured in the Knightmare sequence, as the body of the Green Lantern Kilowog is shown dead. Given the fact that one of the earliest reported endings for the film involved Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) being visited by Kilowog and fellow Green Lantern Tomar Re, his role in the future events of the Knightmare timeline does make. sense.

Harley Quinn (Knightmare Timeline)

And finally, the film’s Knightmare-set epilogue reveals one of the more surprising deaths — of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). While never shown onscreen, Harley’s death comes up in the war of words between Batman and The Joker (Jared Leto), with Batman revealing that Harley used her dying breaths to make him promise to brutally kill The Joker at just the right moment. While this might not be the Knightmare role that some fans had hoped Harley would have, as rumors throughout the last year had suggested that she might physically appear in the sequence, it still adds a complicated layer to Batman and The Joker’s dynamic at that moment.

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