Coming out of seeing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, you may have had some questions. It’s a massive movie with a lot of story, so questions were inevitable, but in using the Man of Steel sequel to also tee-up the beginning of the Justice League, director Zack Snyder also scattered numerous references to the DC Comics superhero team throughout the film. His main conduit for this was a series of Batman dream sequences, or “Knightmares”, in which we may or may not have been given a glimpse at a possible future as a tease for one or both Justice League movies.
However, you may be wondering just exactly what it all means. Not to fear—we’ve got you covered. But to understand just what it was that Batman was seeing, we must first delve a bit into the backstory of DC Comics villain Darkseid. Long-rumored as the primary antagonist of Snyder’s Justice League, which is on track to start production next month, Darkseid is essentially the DC Universe’s equivalent of Marvel’s Thanos. The character is an alien tyrant who rules the planet of Apokolips, with aspirations of conquering the known universe by removing free will.
Beside the fact that Earth is in the universe, what does Darkseid want with our planet? One of the character’s means of eliminating free will is to unravel the mysterious “Anti-Life Equation,” which gives its user control over the thoughts and emotions of every living thing. Darkseid believes that humans possess a great deal of the fragments of the Anti-Life Equation, so by targeting humanity he aims to take control of this powerful weapon, which of course puts him directly in the path of the Justice League.
So how does Darkseid come into play in Batman v Superman? In the first extended Batman “Knightmare,” we see an armed-up Batman scavenging a post-apocalyptic landscape, where we can clearly see Darkseid’s Omega symbol.
In the comics, Darkseid is very fond of all things Omega, with his eye lasers dubbed “Omega Beams,” his power source known as the “Omega Effect,” and strikingly his “Omega Sanctions,” which trap adversaries in a series of increasingly worsening alternate realities. Could this Knightmare not be a nightmare at all, but a glimpse at an alternate reality? Or is this the future? And is this sequence even taking place on Earth? These are questions that remain unanswered, but will hopefully be addressed in Justice League. But wherever/whenever this takes place, clearly Darkseid is in control and he may or may not have Superman as an ally, as the sequence also gives us a look at Darkseid’s flying minions, deemed “Parademons,” seen below:
The closing shots of Batman v Superman further allude to Darkseid with Lex Luthor talking about his upside-down painting, which shows demons coming from above. Again, heavy foreshadowing here and, given the Parademons, we’ve already seen what some of this looks like.
But the interactions between Batman and Superman in this first Knightmare are particularly notable. Not only does Superman have soldiers, but he straight-up murders Batman’s two companions while blaming him for taking “her” away from him. There are two special ladies in Superman’s life, Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane), so he could be referring to either one. But given how the next Knightmare plays out, it’s safe to assume he’s talking about Lois.
Indeed, Batman’s other dream/hallucination sees a battle armor-clad Ezra Miller as The Flash stepping through a portal to deliver an urgent message to Bruce Wayne at his terminal in the Batcave. The dialogue in this sequence is a bit muddled, but he says Bruce was "right about him," meaning Superman, and that Lois Lane is the key, and her survival is crucial to…something. Flash also acknowledges that he’s “too early,” seemingly referring to the fact that he’s come across at the wrong point in time to deliver this message.
So…what’s up with that? This feels like it will have a strong connection either to Justice League or the planned Justice League Part Two, and could connect to the first sequence in which Superman seems to be blaming Batman for Lois’ death. The Flash—who has interdimensional and time-travel abilities—seems like he’s trying to right a wrong from a future in which the Justice League is in poor shape, and given his warning, it’s safe to assume Lois Lane plays a key role in whatever overarching plans Snyder and Co. may have for the DC Expanded Universe at large.
In an interview that will be on Collider soon, producer Deborah Snyder revealed to us that this Flash sequence didn't become part of the movie's script until the middle of production, when Zack Snyder and Co. were in the midst of developing the outline for Justice League and Snyder sparked to the idea of including this bridge of sorts between the two movies. So this makes us think that we'll get to see the other side of this Flash sequence in that 2017 superhero team-up film.
The big question is whether the first Knightmare is a dream, a glimpse into the future, or an alternate reality, as any of the three could be plausible. Again it’s unclear at this juncture, but clearly Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio were aiming to tease the larger DC Expanded Universe and contention between Batman and Superman beyond this first film. How will it all play out? Perhaps we'll find out when Justice League hits theaters on November 17, 2017.
For more from the Batman v Superman cast and crew, click the links below.
- Exclusive: Zack Snyder Reveals ‘Batman v Superman’ Deleted Scenes Included on R-Rated “Ultimate Cut”
- These Two Batman Villains Came Close to Being in ‘Batman v Superman’
- ‘300’ Sequels Could Go Beyond Greece, Says Zack Snyder
- Zack Snyder Teases ‘Justice League’s Official Title and Production Schedule
- Zack Snyder Gives His Thoughts on ‘Watchmen’ Director’s Cut vs. Ultimate Cut
