Justice League is going to answer a big question: is Superman alive? The Man of Steel died at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but his return was teased. So, what exactly is he going to be doing in Justice League?
The Wait
It’s very likely that Clark won’t be showing up until the third act of the film. He’s been teased in trailers for the movie and it definitely seems like he’s being saved for a big finish.
We’ve seen a memory of him from Lois Lane‘s point of view and we’ve gotten a scene with Alfred talking to an unknown figure. That’s almost certainly him. From what we’ve seen, Justice League is definitely going to save the Last Son of Krypton for the final reel.
But, what will he be like when we do see him?
Back in Black
Henry Cavill posted this picture to his Instagram account. It set fans flying. Is that a black Superman suit? If so, it hearkens to an iconic look from the character’s comic history.
In the landmark series The Death and Return of Superman, Kal-el was killed by the monster Doomsday. After a while, a number of Supermen began to crop up in the comics. Was one of them the resurrected Clark Kent? Well, no. They were all pretenders to the throne, but the real Superman did finally come back. And when he did, he was sporting an uncharacteristically black and silver suit with no cape.
Resurrection
So, how will Superman’s return be explained? If we go by the comic canon, it can go one of two ways. In The Death and Return of Superman, he enters a sort of coma state that seems like death. In this state, his body is put into a regeneration matrix until it is healed.
That probably won’t be the route Justice League takes. Instead, another method of revival comes from the way Superman gains his powers. The radiation from our yellow sun is what gives Kal-el many of his fantastic abilities. It’s possible that this version of Superman was killed but could revive after soaking in more of the yellow sun radiation.
We guarantee that you’ll see Metropolis’ favorite son in Justice League. And odds are on him showing up in the climactic battle as a big surprise. Exactly how the DC Extended Universe intends to use him after that remains to be seen.
