Warning: This post contains spoilers about the Justice League movie and the post-credits scenes. Check back with us after you’ve seen the movie!
From the Fourth World to Gotham City, the Justice League movie has opened up new chapter for the DC Extended Universe. Earth’s greatest superheroes have finally been united, and we think that they have a bright future ahead of them now that most of the DCEU’s inherent darkness is in the rear-view mirror. Justice League also kept the superhero movie tradition alive with copious nods to the previous films and comics. Today’s Nerdist News is breaking out our Mother Box to tell you about the best easter eggs that you may have missed.
Join host and Queen of Atlantis, Jessica Chobot, as she dives deep into Justice League‘s well of references. Perhaps the most pleasing connections came from composer Danny Elfman, who not only resurrected his own Batman theme, he also reused John Williams‘ classic Superman march at the film’s pivotal points. Alfred has a fun line about “exploding wind-up penguins” that seemed like a callback to Batman Returns, while a security guard during the Flash‘s visit to his father was none other than Marc McClure, the man who played Jimmy Olsen alongside Christopher Reeve in Superman and its sequels.
There were many subtle Batman shout outs as well, including the glimpse of Black Mask’s Janus Cosmetics as well as Ace Chemicals, a company tied to the origin of the Joker. Gotham Central star Detective Crispus Allen even gets a cameo while speaking to Commissioner Gordon about the alien sightings in Metropolis. And the Flash’s line about being able to speak “Gorilla sign-language”? That’s got to be related to Gorilla Grodd. There’s even a Captain Cold nod when a diagnostic screen shows us that the Flash’s suit has a resistance to cold during Bruce Wayne’s visit to Barry Allen’s lab.
As it turns out, there really was a Green Lantern in Justice League, just not in the way that we expected. During that flashback battle, the alien Green Lantern was joined by Zeus and Hercules in the fight against Steppenwolf in ancient times. With the Atlanteans and the Amazons, that’s almost a proto-Justice League right there.
The end-credits scene teased one of the Justice League’s greatest threats: a team of the world’s deadliest villains. But we’re honestly not sure which evil team that we’ll get. The Injustice League is the best guess, but Lex Luthor and Deathstroke could also bring together the Secret Society or even the Legion of Doom. Meanwhile, the mid-credits scene paid homage to the classic Superman and Flash footraces, which Flash has almost always won.
Finally, and this was a deep cut that was easy to miss, Justice League was released on November 17, which was 25 years to the day of The Death of Superman storyline. Considering that the film borrowed several elements from that story, it seemed like a natural choice.
What’s your favorite Justice League easter egg? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Warner Bros.
Unite the Three…Additional Posts!
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- What the post-credits scene means for the DCEU
