Who are the characters in the nightmare scene in Zack Snyder’s Justice League?

If you have recently watched Zack Snyder’s Justice League, got through four hours of the movie with no problem, but then reached the ‘nightmare’ dream sequence at the end of the film and suddenly become confused, this post will help you out. I appreciate that some scenes in the movie can be a bit confusing, and I know that the dream sequence is one of them.

So, let me run through who all the characters that appear in the nightmare scene, and let me explain why they appear in this sequence.

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Who are the characters in the nightmare scene?

Towards the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, seven characters appear in a sun-bleached dream sequence that concludes the movie. The seven characters who appear on screen include:

• Batman
• The Joker
• Mera
• The Flash
• Cyborg
• Deathstroke
• Superman

The first six characters on this list, appear to be working together. The final character on the list, who appears last in the dream sequence is Superman; and he arrives just as the dream concludes, to become the villain of the story.  

So, what gives?

Well, this scene depicts a dream that Bruce Wayne is having, which in itself is a ‘potential’ vision of the future. In this nightmare scenario, Superman has turned evil, and Batman, Joker, Mera, Flash, Cyborg and Deathstroke are the only ‘heroes’ left to challenge him.

Wonder Woman is not amongst this gang of heroes, and neither is Aquaman or Martian Manhunter. Only Batman, Cyborg, and Flash remain from the Justice League, and they have banded together with Mera, Deathstroke, and the Joker.

Both Mera and Deathstroke had previously appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, while the Joker (as played by Jared Leto), had previously appeared in 2016’s Suicide Squad.

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What does the dream mean?

The dream predicts a potential future which may yet come to pass. In this future, something significant (and potentially tragic) has happened to Lois Lane and Superman has turned to the dark side as a result.

All of Earth’s heroes and villains are no more, and only this make-shift Justice League remain. Without this rag-tag bunch of heroes, Earth is doomed.

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Will we ever see this nightmare future play out in full in another movie?

This nightmare future is something which was first hinted at in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). It was designed to be an ongoing story beat that could be returned to in future DC movies, after the release of 2017’s Justice League – aka the shorter, theatrical cut of Justice League.

However, the original release of Justice League was not a hit, and plans to continue with this nightmare storyline were shelved. Its inclusion in Zack Snyder’s Justice League – aka the longer cut of Justice League – is merely a hint of what could have happened, had there been a sequel.

All clear? Great stuff!

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Thank you for stopping by I’ll Get Drive-Thru to read this post about the DC characters who feature in the nightmare dream scene in Zack Snyder’s Justice League – I hope it proved useful. For more DC-related content, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.

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