Justice League is a 2019 live action film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot, Travis Fimmel, Garret Hedlund, Damian Lewis, Wes Bentley, Kevin Bacon, Luke Evans, Mark Strong, and Nia Long. The film is a continuation of the following films: The Batman, The Batman Crusade, Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and The Flash. The film was a huge success both critically and financially, becoming the highest grossing movie of all-time both domestically and globally, grossing $611,764,982 in the U.S. and $2,874,134,567 in the world, as well as getting a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cast[]
Heroes[]
- Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/ Superman
- Armie Hammer as Bruce Wayne/ Batman
- Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman
- Travis Fimmel as Oliver Queen/ Green Arrow
- Garrett Hedlund as Barry Allen/ The Flash
- Damian Lewis as J'onn J'onnz/ Martian Manhunter
Checkmate[]
- Nia Long as Amanda Waller
- Wes Bentley as Lex Luthor
- Mark Strong as Maxwell Lord
- Luke Evans as Thomas Merlyn
- Kevin Bacon as Rick Flag
Supporting Characters[]
- Olivia Munn as Lois Lane
- Alan Arkin as Perry White
- Harrison Ford as General Sam Lane
- January Jones as Major Sandra Lee
- Rainn Wilson as Dr. Emil Hamilton
- David Thewlis as Alfred Pennyworth
- Jeffrey Wright as Captain Roger Quentin
- David Strathairn as Senator Daniel Moore
- Kyle MacLachlan as The President of the United States
Director Jon Favreau cameos as the White House Chief of Staff. Both Christoph Waltz and Sophie Okonedo reprise their respective roles as Ares (as a hallucination while fighting Wonder Woman) and Senator Kendra Powell (in a flashback.) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau cameos in the end credits scene as famous DC Comics villain Vandal Savage, foreshadowing his role in future DC films.
Plot[]
In the film's opening, Major Sandra Lee arrives at a LexCorp lab in Star City and is greeted by Lex Luthor. She asks him why he hasn't cleared his current project with the government, and he says that the project doesn't concern the government. She points out that Dr. Hamilton is a government employee, and that Luthor did not get permission to hire him. They both enter the lab, and Major Lee orders Dr. Hamilton to shut it all down. As Luthor tries to get her to change her mind, a black arrow shoots one of Lee's comrades, and a dark archer arrives and kills her soldiers before shooting Major Lee in the shoulder, knocking her unconscious. Luthor is enraged at him for killing them, as the government will know that they were at a LexCorp lab when they were killed. The dark archer's face is shown for the first time, and it is Thomas Merlyn. Merlyn tells Luthor that Checkmate has already taken care of that, but that he will need to kill Major Lee in order to cut off all connections. Luthor says okay, but just as Merlyn is about to kill her, Green Arrow arrives and duels Merlyn. Luthor has his bodyguards take Dr. Hamilton away while Merlyn duels Green Arrow. The two men prove to be equal adversaries as archers, but Merlyn is able to escape by threatening to kill Major Lee. He gets away in one of Luthor's vehicles, and reveals that he injured his shoulder while dueling Green Arrow.
Lee is next shown in a hospital room in Star City, where she is visited by Senator Daniel Moore. She informs him that Lex Luthor was at the lab. Moore is shocked by Luthor's presence, and it is revealed that he is investigating the assassination of Senator Kendra Powell. She explains the arrival of the dark archer disrupted everything, causing Luthor to escape with Dr. Hamilton. Moore states his belief that whatever Luthor was doing with Hamilton was somehow connected to Senator Powell's assassination, as Thomas Merlyn (who was still missing) was a known associate of Luthor. He then vows to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.
At the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Lois Lane tells Clark Kent that she is working on an article about the mysterious attack in Star City in which Dr. Hamilton went missing and Major Sandra Lee was almost killed, which is believed to possibly be linked to the assassination of Senator Powell. Clark is clearly intrigued by the story, especially after Lois tells him that the Star City vigilante known as Green Arrow was at the scene, along with a second archer. Clark then begins researching Green Arrow, but must slip away after hearing that someone is in trouble.
Lex Luthor and Merlyn soon arrive at a lab, and have Dr. Hamilton, who now realizes that he is working with dangerous people, with them in handcuffs. They have henchmen bring Dr. Hamilton into a dark room, then Luthor notices Merlyn's injury from his duel with Green Arrow, and asks him if Queen got the best of him. Merlyn groans and walks away. Dr. Hamilton is shown in the room, tied to a chair, when a door across from him opens and reveals Amanda Waller. Waller asks him what he knows about her organization so far. Dr. Hamilton, clearly afraid, tells her that he is guessing that whatever their organization does is "not, strictly speaking, legal." She smirks and says that he is somewhat correct, and tells him that they are called Checkmate, and that they are willing to do what the governments of the world aren't: risk destroying billions of innocent lives in order to achieve a greater purpose. She tells Dr. Hamilton that Checkmate's goal is to end all war and international conflict by creating one sole government on Earth, and that they need his help in order to do that. She presses a remote button that reveals a TV screen, and shows Dr. Hamilton a green man inside a cryogenic chamber. She tells Dr. Hamilton that the man whom he is looking at is from Mars, discovered here on Earth several decades ago. She then tells him that when the so-called "Superman" showed himself in Metropolis, Checkmate worried that their time was running out to proceed with their plan, so they brought in Dr. Hamilton to help them, but Major Lee ruined their plans, along with Green Arrow. She pulls a gun out and points it at Dr. Hamilton's head, and tells him that they want him to use the martian's DNA to create an army of superpowered soldiers.
The film then shifts to Gotham, where a man walks out of a bar and begins smoking a cigarette. Just as he begins lighting it, a batarang knocks it out of his hand, and Batman shows himself and takes the man onto the roof of the building. Batman asks the man, who turns out to be a guard at Blackgate Prison, about the day Edward Nigma was killed, because he knows that he had something to do with it. The man says that he was offered $1 million to lend his uniform to a fake guard and to get him clearance into the prison.
Later, in the Batcave, Bruce Wayne tracks the bank account activity of the guard, and is able to trace the $1 million transfer to an offshore account belonging to the estate of Robert Queen. Alfred, who startles Bruce with his sudden appearance in the Batcave, tells Bruce that Robert Queen has been dead for some time. Bruce then remembers that his son, Oliver, was recently revealed to still be alive. Bruce then crosschecks the transfer, and sees that it came after Oliver returned to Star City.
The setting then changes to the headquarters of the Star City Police Department, where a cop enters the office of Roger Quentin, who has been promoted to captain and now heads the Major Crimes Unit. The cop hands Quentin a note, which requests that he turn over all of the files that Senator Powell had pertaining to her investigation into Queen Financial Corp, with the letter signed "G.A.", indicating Green Arrow. We then see Quentin being driven to a designated meeting place in a dingy alley in the middle of the city, where Green Arrow is waiting for him. He now has to use a cane to walk to due to the injury to his leg, but says that it is only "temporary". He hands Green Arrow a flash drive, which contained digital copies of every bit of information Senator Powell had on both Queen Financial Corp and Checkmate. We next see Green Arrow arrive at Senator Moore's office, where he gives him the flash drive, telling him that she was killed because she "knew too much", and was about to expose a very dangerous plan that was going to hurt a lot of people. Moore then recalls a phone conversation he had with Powell shortly before she was killed, in which she told him that the Queen investigation was "bigger than she could have ever imagined". Arrow then informs Moore that, now that he had this information, he was no longer safe, and that he needed to get out of Star City as soon as possible.
Oliver Queen is next shown returning to his mansion. He suddenly gets a feeling that there is someone else there, and begins looking around. He cannot find anyone else, but is suddenly shoved against the wall by Batman. Batman demands to be told what he knows about the money transfer to the man who killed Edward Nigma. Oliver is then able to break free of his grasp, and begins trying to fight Batman. However, the two are equally matched, and Oliver is soon able to convince Batman that he did not transfer any money to anyone by telling him that he knows who Nigma was working for. Batman does not trust him, until Oliver opens a hidden compartment in the mansion, revealing a green leather suit and a bow and arrow, and Batman figures out that Oliver is Star City's Green Arrow. Oliver tells him that he is a long way from his home in Gotham, and that he thought the Batman was just some vigilante thrill-seeker, but that he now sees that they are after the same thing: Checkmate. Batman is confused, as he doesn't know what Checkmate is. Oliver then shows him the files on the flashdrive, including the file on Edward Nigma, along with those on Slade Wilson and Thomas Merlyn, who transferred the money when he was in control of Queen Financial Corp. Batman then reveals his identity to Oliver, and tells him that whoever these Checkmate people are, they killed Jessica Dent, whom he loved, and that he wants to bring them down. Oliver and Bruce then shake each other's hands.
In Washington DC, Rick Flag goes into General Sam Lane's office at the Pentagon, where he is greeted by the general's secretary, Diana Prince. Diana tells Flag that the general is busy at the moment, so Flag leaves. However, as he leaves, he drops a piece of paper from one of the folders he is holding, and Diana tries to pick it up for him, but Flag grabs it right away, as if he is hiding it from her. Diana gets a quick glance at it and realizes that it is a photo of one of Ares's attacks, and becomes suspicious of Flag.
Diana breaks into Flag's office to find out what he is up to. She is able to find more folders under lock and key involving the attacks by Ares. She also finds records of his emails to the 'Black King' involving the attacks, and decides to try and figure out who the Black King is. She hacks into Flag's other e-mails and finds a coded message. She calls Steve Trevor for help in decoding the message, and soon finds that whoever the Black King is, he recently made a trip to Central City.
In Central City, the Flash stops a street gang from robbing a gas station. He goes then goes back home, where he gets a phone call from the police station saying that someone broke into his forensics lab. He rushes over to the station to see if anything was stolen. He soon finds that the records of Dr. Ira West's project that gave him his powers were taken. He then looks around suspiciously to figure out who it was.
Back in Star City, Oliver and Bruce are looking through the Checkmate files from Oliver's flash drive. Oliver tells Bruce that he checked up on the location of their headquarters that the flash drive revealed to him, but that it was abandoned, meaning that they likely relocated once Xu Tao ran away with the flash drive. Bruce points out that all of the members listed in the organization's records are dead, with the exception of Thomas Merlyn. Oliver tells Bruce that he suspects Lex Luthor of also being involved, as he was at the lab with Merlyn.
Clark Kent arrives in Star City to look into the lab attack and find the Green Arrow. He interviews several residents who claim to have seen Green Arrow before, but most of them are either lying or insane. He similarly asks several city officials what they know about the assassination of Kendra Powell, but most of them are forbidden from divulging such sensitive details. He calls Lois and asks her to look back into the attack. She asks why he is so interested in it, and he tells her that he feels like this story could be his big break (which is clearly a lie). She is very suspicious of her mysterious co-worker, but helps him out anyway. She e-mails Clark a list of all of the white collar criminals in Star City who were taken down by Green Arrow. Clark tries to find a correlation between all of them, and it all points to them being involved with Queen Financial Corp.
Barry Allen arrives in Washington DC because he was able to get a quick glimpse of Diana Prince stealing the information from the lab. He tries to get into the Pentagon, but is unable to get security clearance. He then uses his ablities to sneak in quickly. After looking around, he learns that she is the secretary of General Sam Lane. He goes to the general's office, where he finally finds Diana. Diana asks who he is, and he lies and tells her that his name is 'Jay Garrick', and that he is with the FBI. He tells her that the Central City branch suspects her of breaking into a forensics lab for the Central City PD. She then realizes that he is actually Barry Allen, whom she knows from the files she stole. She then takes him to a room where she says he can question her, but when they get there, she attacks him. He evades her with his speed, and she accuses him of working with the Black King. He has no idea what she is talking about, but she doesn't believe him.
Back in Star City, Clark arrives at the Queen mansion, but no one is home. He uses his x-ray vision to inspect the area, but can't find any useful information. Oliver and Bruce (in their guises of Green Arrow and Batman) go to the Star City LexCorp lab that was attacked at the beginning of the film to find evidence. A Checkmate agent is then shown at the Checkmate headquarters, and tells Waller that the two vigilantes are at the lab. She commands the agent to set off explosives.
The lab then begins to explode from the explosives. Green Arrow and Batman try their hardest to get out in time, but it appears that they will not be able to. Clark, shown arriving at the lab to investigate the attack, changes into Superman and goes to see if anyone is in danger, and saves both Batman and Green Arrow. Despite saving their lives, there seems to be a sense of mistrust between the three of them. Batman is suspicious about why Superman was on the other side of the country of his home city of Metropolis. Superman tells Batman that he could ask him the same question. Green Arrow asks Superman how he knew that they were there, and he tells them that he has some special abilities, as he is sure they already know. Batman, however, suspects that the whole thing was a setup, and that Superman is somehow behind the building explosion. Superman tells them that he was there to find out about the attack that left Major Sandra Lee critically injured, and that based on what he already knows about the two of them, he assumes that they were there for the same reason. Green Arrow suggests to Batman that they may need to trust Superman, as he may be telling the truth. Batman insists that he will not trust anyone who is powerful enough to destroy the Earth. Superman then tells them that due to his enhanced-hearing, he could hear every word that they said, and also reveals that he knows both of their identities due to his x-ray vision. Green Arrow, feeling threatened, points his bow at him. Superman tells him that he should know that he won't be able to hurt him with an arrow. He tells them that he is on their side, and in an effort to earn their trust, he tells them that his name is Clark Kent, and that he is from Smallville, Kansas. Green Arrow lowers his bow, and tells him that he knows all about the kryptonite-missile from Superman's fight with Brainiac, and that if Superman does anything to show he can't be trusted, he'll use the kryptonite against him. Superman decides that it is fair enough, and raises his hand to shake Green Arrow's. Green Arrow shakes his hand, but Batman refuses, and demands that he tell them what he knows about the attack and about Checkmate.
Next we see Waller meeting with Maxwell Lord and Lex Luthor at the Checkmate headquarters. Lex is angry that the LexCorp Star City lab was blown up, but Waller explains that it needed to be done, as both Batman and Green Arrow were there. Lord asks her if they are dead, but Waller says that she doesn't know, but reminds them that thanks to Thomas Merlyn, they know that Green Arrow is Oliver Queen, and that she believes it is time to eliminate him.
Clark, Bruce, and Oliver are then shown together at the Queen Mansion, where Oliver has just told Clark that he suspects Lex Luthor of being apart of Checkmate. Clark tells them that he has had his suspicions about Luthor, as it is no secret that his company has done many controversial projects for the military. Bruce then points out that Luthor made his billions in what seems like overnight. One day, nobody knew who Lex Luthor was, and the next, he was among the biggest entrepreneurs in the world.
Suddenly, mercenaries are shown outside the Queen mansion, sneaking all around the place. Waller is then shown ordering their leader to invade. The mercenaries break in, and search for Queen. Clark hears them using his enhanced hearing, and warns Bruce and Oliver. He tells them to get out, and that he'll take care of them. Bruce objects, still not trusting him, and asks what they would be doing there, and blames Superman. Oliver tells Bruce that Superman isn't the reason that the mercenaries are there, as if he is hiding something from them. Oliver then changes into his Green Arrow outfit, and Bruce does the same with his Batman outfit, and the three of them go up and face the mercenaries. They all fight them off, and after a long battle, Batman throws one of them against a wall and asks who they are working for. The mercenary presses a button on his belt, and the mansion begins blowing up. Superman gets Oliver and Bruce out in time, and the three of them watch as the Queen mansion burns to the ground.
Bruce asks Oliver what it is he isn't telling them, and what it has to do with the soldiers coming after them. Oliver tells Bruce and Clark that Merlyn knows his identity, and that the soldiers were likely sent by Checkmate. Bruce is furious because Oliver didn't tell them this before, but Oliver tells them that he didn't think it was relevant. Clark, however, reveals to them that he took the radio of one of the soldiers, and asks Bruce if he would be able to trace it's source. Bruce says yes, but that they'd need to go to his place in Gotham.
Back in Washington DC, Diana is trying to find Barry, who evaded her at the Pentagon. He eventually sneaks up behind her using his speed and asks her what she wants with Ira West's files. She gives up trying to fight him, and tells him that she suspects that an Air Force colonel named Rick Flag is up to something with someone codenamed 'Black King', who recently made a trip to Central City and was interested in Dr. West's research. He tells Diana that it was Dr. West's research that gave him his abilities, and she says that she can see that. She then tells him that she will return Dr. West's research to him in exchange for his help in finding out what it is that Flag and the Black King are up to. Barry asks Diana why she trusts him all of a sudden, and she tells him that it is because she is guessing that he doesn't want anyone knowing that Barry Allen is Central City's 'The Flash', which she now knows. He is surprised at Diana's manipulation of him, but seems to have gained much respect for her because of it, and agrees to help her.
Senator Moore is next shown arriving in Washington D.C. Waiting for him is an armored car and two security guards. Moore asks to be taken to Capitol Hill. However, the car drives in the opposite direction. Moore demands to know what was going on, and the security guards reveal that they are, in fact, mercenaries working for Checkmate, who reveal that they are aware that he has Senator Powell's files, and that they were taking him somewhere that nobody would find him.
At the Pentagon, chaos erupts as squadrons of capitol police are suddenly deployed onto the streets. Diana asks one of the officers what was going on, to which he replied that Senator Daniel Moore failed to check in and was now missing, and they were going to look for him. Both Diana and Barry change into their Wonder Woman and Flash costumes and begin their own search, believing that Moore's disappearance had to do with Flag. Moore is then shown tied to a chair in the basement of an abandoned hotel, where he is being beaten by the mercenaries, who demand that he hand over Senator Powell's files. Moore constantly refuses, and continues to be beaten. Wonder Woman and Flash finally arrive and fight off the mercenaries. Flash offers to escort Moore to the Pentagon while Wonder Woman finishes off the mercenaries. Using the Lasso of Hestia on one of them, Wonder Woman demands to know who he is working for, and he reveals that he was acting on orders from Colonel Rick Flag. Flash then returns, tells her that Moore is safe, and she in turn tells him about Flag's involvement.
Bruce, Clark, and Oliver arrive in Gotham, and Bruce brings them to the Batcave. While Bruce tracks the source of the radio, Oliver walks around in awe of all of his high-tech resources. Bruce is soon able to track it's last transmission to Washington DC. Oliver and Clark are both stunned at Bruce's ability to track it so fast, and Bruce tells them that it should be a few hours before he is able to get the exact location of the transmission. Clark asks Bruce if he's ever considered giving his resources to the FBI or CIA, but Bruce says that he can't risk them falling into the wrong hands. Clark asks Bruce why he doesn't trust anyone, but Oliver can sense tension rising between the two, and separates them from each other before it gets out of hand.
At the Checkmate headquarters, Waller demands to be told by her agents whether or not Queen and Batman were killed in the attack. An agent tells her that they sent a recovery team to check in, but that they only recovered the bodies of their own soldiers. Dr. Hamilton is then shown working on the martian, who all of a sudden wakes up. Dr. Hamilton is amazed, and calls Waller to let her know.
Clark, Bruce, and Oliver are shown in the Batcave awaiting the results of the search for the transmission. Clark all of a sudden gets a splitting headache and falls to the ground. Oliver runs over to his aide. Clark gets up and flies away. Bruce and Oliver are both confused, and just as they try to get a grip on what just happened, Bruce's computer reveals the location of the transmission.
Waller is shown walking into the lab, where Dr. Hamilton is working on the martian. He shows her that he has woken up, but won't say anything. Flash and Wonder Woman are then shown outside the building, where Wonder Woman tells Flash that she recieved some type of message through her subconscious telling her that someone here needed help (the same message that Superman recieved). Waller commands Dr. Hamilton to take a sample of his DNA, which he does, reluctantly. Flash and Wonder Woman are shown beating up Checkmate's security guards while breaking in to the building. Maxwell Lord sees them on the security feed, and decides to go after them himself.
Superman arrives at the building, and uses his x-ray vision to examine and see where the distress call in his head came from. He is able to find a room in the building that is completely covered with lead, thus rendering him unable to see through it. He suspects that this is the room with trouble. Dr. Hamilton takes the DNA sample and gives it to Waller. She takes it, then pulls out a gun to shoot him. However, she hears commotion outside the room, and tells Dr. Hamilton to wait there while she checks what it is. She opens the door and sees Flash beating up her guards. She shoots at him, but he evades the shots with his speed. He then knocks her out and goes into the room.
Wonder Woman, meanwhile, hears the gunshots and tries to get over to see if Flash is okay, but she is met by Lord. He tells her that he has been looking forward to meeting her, and that he was a big fan of what she and her 'friend' did at the capital a few months prior. His reference to her battle with Ares makes Diana suspect that he is the Black King. She brings it up, and he confirms it, saying "I am called that from time to time, but I'd prefer if we were on a first name basis." He introduces himself as Maxwell Lord, and asks for her name. She kicks him in the head and demands that he tell her why he is so interested in the Ares attack. He laughs at her, and begins patronizing her.
Flash is then shown walking into the room with Dr. Hamilton and the martian in it. Flash asks Dr. Hamilton who he is, and he tells him that his name is Emil Hamilton, and that he was kidnapped by these people to work on the martian. A guard is about to shoot Flash from behind, but he is knocked out by Superman, who has arrived. Superman is relieved to see Dr. Hamilton alive and asks him what is going on, and why he received a distress call through his mind. The martian suddenly wakes up and tells Superman that he sent a distress call to the only signs of extraterrestrial life he could find through his mind and mental abilities. He found Superman because he is a fellow alien, and Wonder Woman because she is the only other person on Earth who is not human. The martian introduces himself as J'onn J'onnz, the only remaining survivor of the planet Mars. Dr. Hamilton then explains to Superman and Flash that he was brought here by Lex Luthor, and commanded by Amanda Waller to operate on J'onn and use his DNA to power an army of supersoldiers.
Green Arrow and Batman arrive at the base in Bruce's new "Batwing", and Green Arrow dives from the jet and attacks guards on the roof. Inside the building, Wonder Woman suddenly sees Ares, and she is clearly haunted and confused. She tries to fight him, but to no avail. It soon becomes evident that this is an illusion created by Lord, but Wonder Woman does not realize this, and she believes that she is losing her mind.
Waller wakes up and calls for a red alert to security. Superman gets J'onn and Dr. Hamilton out of the building, while Flash searches for Wonder Woman. Green Arrow enters the building and takes on more guards, and is soon helped by Batman. Flash finds Wonder Woman, and can see that she is clearly mentally unstable as a result of Lord's toying with her mind. Lord runs away, and Flash comes to Wonder Woman's aide. The two of them soon come across Green Arrow and Batman and join in their fight with the guards. Flash tells them that Superman has already been here and took what Checkmate was after, so the four of them leave.
Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Flash, J'onn, and Dr. Hamilton all meet up at a remote location. Batman demands to be told what is going on, and Superman tells them all about the message that he telepathically received from J'onn. Green Arrow asks who J'onn is and where he came from. J'onn then tells all of them about a civil war on his home planet of Mars thousands of years ago, which resulted in him being the planet's sole survivor. He arrived on Earth after the war, and was in suspended animation for all of those years, not waking up until earlier that day. Dr. Hamilton tells all of them that Luthor and Waller forced him to operate on J'onn and take a sample of his DNA for them to power an army of supersoldiers. Batman asks if they got the sample, and Dr. Hamilton tells him that he had no choice but to give it to them.
At the White House, the President of the United States meets with Amanda Waller (who the audience learns for the first time is actually a high ranking government official), who tells him that a lab controlled by ARGUS (Advanced Research Group United Support) was attacked by the famous vigilantes from all over the country. The president is curious about why he wasn't aware of this lab's existence, and shares his disdain for Waller's secret operation. Waller tells him that there is no secret operation, and that ARGUS just has to keep some things under wraps, even from the government. The president tells her that there will be no more secrets kept from the government, and that if he finds out anything more that Waller is hiding from him, then she'll be prosecuted and ARGUS will be shut down. She lies and says that there is nothing else.
The heroes are then shown again, as they discuss how to move forward. However, Batman makes it no secret that he does not trust any of them and that he isn't sure that it is the best idea for them to work together. He leaves, but Superman approaches him as he is leaving. He tells him that if what J'onn and Dr. Hamilton are saying is true, then they need all of the help that they can get. Batman tells him that he isn't a team player, and never has been, but Superman asks him if it really is that he isn't a team player that is stopping him, or if it is that he feels inferior to superhuman beings. Out of anger, Batman takes out a piece of kryptonite that he had been hiding in his belt. Superman begins feeling weak, and Batman tells him that he was easily a match for them before putting the kryptonite away. Superman, trying his hardest to gain Batman's trust, tells him about how he didn't even find out who he was until a year prior, just before the attack by Brainiac, but that until he did, he always had hope that somewhere there was a world that he belonged to, not on Earth where his abilities made him an outsider. He explains that he found out that his home planet, Krypton, was destroyed, making Earth his only home, and that he will not let it be destroyed by Waller and Checkmate. Batman, who for the first time seems to have respect for Superman, gives in and agrees to stay and help the others.
The president then meets with General Lane, and asks for his opinion on Superman and the other vigilantes. Lane responds that he didn't trust Superman at first, but given the fact that it has been a year since he revealed himself and hasn't posed a threat to the Earth, but instead has actually been helping out, he doesn't see him posing any immediate danger. The president asks Lane if he knew about the attack on ARGUS the previous night, and the general says that he didn't. The president fills him in on how a lab was severely damaged by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Arrow, and that the government now has reason to suspect that the five of them are working to send some type of message to the US government that they cannot control them. Lane asks the president what he wants him to do, and the president asks how much kryptonite they can get their hands on.
The next day, news is reported that the president has requested Superman's presence at the White House immediately. Superman is confused, as the president has never requested a meeting with him before. Oliver advises that Superman meet with him, since it is most likely about the incident at the Checkmate headquarters. Superman flies to the White House and greets the president outside the Oval Office. The president invites him inside and asks about his involvement with the vigilantes in the attack on the ARGUS lab. Superman asks the president what ARGUS is, and he explains to him that it is a government agency that they keep more low profile than the CIA and NSA. Superman tells the president that there was someone being held captive inside the lab, and that he needed to rescue him. The president asks who it was, but Superman is hesitant to tell him. The president tells him that when he made his presence known to the world a year prior during his battle with Brainiac, the American government and the governments around the world didn't know what to make of it, since they had never dealt with aliens before. However, the president had been willing to give Superman the benefit of the doubt since he saved them from Brainiac, and had continued to save humans for the past year, but now that he is using his powers to cause damage to government property, he can no longer look the other way. Superman tells the president that he has no intention to harm America or anyplace on Earth, but the president tells him that he is in no position to take him at his word. Superman gives in and tells the president that ARGUS had a martian being held and planned to use his DNA to power an army of supersoldiers. The president asks him where he is getting his intel from, but Superman tells him he is not at liberty to reveal the identities of the other people involved.
Senator Moore then suddenly bursts into the Oval Office and informs the president that Superman was telling the truth. Both the president and Superman are surprised at Moore's sudden arrival, but Moore explains that he had just viewed the full contents of the flash drive given to him by Green Arrow, and reveals that, when Senator Powell convinced Thomas Merlyn to turn over everyone that Queen Financial Corp had illegal dealings with, he had, accidently, given her much more: an entire digital archive containing all of Checkmate's plans and operations, including everyone involved, and that Amanda Waller was calling all the shots. She even predicted her own death, adding a digital annotation stating that, "If I turn up dead, I want it to go on record that Amanda Waller had me killed."
Meanwhile, back at the Checkmate headquarters, Waller, Luthor, Flag, and Lord are shown overseeing J'onnz's DNA being mass produced and injected into several men who appear to be dead or unconscious. After a while, the men begin waking up. Waller gives Lord a look, and he closes his eyes and enters their minds all at once. The men then all fly away.
The league is then shown again as they discuss what they plan to do next, and what the president wants with Superman. J'onn then feels something in his mind, and alerts the rest of them that they are too late, and that the army is ready. The scene then changes back to the White House, where the Secret Service enters the Oval Office and tells the president that they need to get him to the bunker immediately. Superman looks out the window and sees hundreds of men flying toward the White House. He turns and superspeeds both the president and Senator Moore into the bunker, and tells him that the army is ready.
Batman flies his batwing (with Green Arrow in shotgun) toward the White House, where the number of supersoldiers has been increasing rapidly. Wonder Woman and J'onn both fly there, while the Flash runs. They all meet up with Superman, who tells them that since the number of supersoldiers could be infinite, they have to find a way to stop them all at once. J'onn is able to sense that all of their minds are being controlled by a central source. Wonder Woman deduces that Lord is controlling them, just as he did her the previous night. Superman tells Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Arrow to go after Lord, while he, Batman, and J'onn stay and hold off the supersoldiers.
A long and intense battle ensues in front of the White House and all throughout the streets of Washington DC. Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Arrow break into Checkmate's headquarters, where they are immediately greeted by Merlyn. Green Arrow tells them to go ahead, and he'll take care of Merlyn. The two archers duel each other once again, and Oliver tells Merlyn that he'll kill him for what he did to his father.
Flag begins shooting at Flash and Wonder Woman. Flash evades the bullets and begins fighting Flag, while Wonder Woman continues her search for Lord. She eventually finds him, kicks him in the back of the head, causing him to briefly lose connection with the supersoldiers. She taunts him and tells him that she guesses he can't control both her and the army all at once, but he smirks and soon shows her that he indeed can.
Waller and Luthor both see that three of the heroes are back at the headquarters, and they both decide that they should try and escape. However, they come into the crossfire of Wonder Woman trying to fight off Lord's control, and she hits a pipeline which catches fire and burns Luthor's right hand and part of his hair off. Waller rescues him and takes him to the roof, where there is a helicopter. Luthor gets on, but Waller gets stuck as the building begins falling apart. Luthor leaves Waller behind and escapes by himself.
Merlyn appears to have the upper hand in his duel with Oliver, but then Oliver begins having flashbacks of when his father died, so he gains inspiration and shoots arrows through both of Merlyn's shoulders, causing him to collapse in pain. Oliver points an arrow at his head and tells him that just before his father died, he swore to him that he'd right his wrongs, and that it's time to keep that promise, before shooting Merlyn through the head.
As Flash and Flag continue to fight, Flash begins running in circles around him, thus creating a vortex and making it difficult for him to breathe, knocking him unconscious. Back in front of the White House, Batman appears to have battling the supersoldiers through his batwing under control, until one of them manages to attack the batwing and cause it to fall. Superman rushes over and saves Batman's life, and Batman clearly begins to fully trust Superman for the first time. The two then return to the battle to aid J'onn.
Wonder Woman struggles keeping her consciousness in check with Lord playing mind games with her, but gains the strength she needs when he shows her mental images of the rest of the league dying, infuriating her. She runs right at Lord, grabs him by the head and snaps his neck. At the White House, the supersoliders all collapse due to Lord being killed. Superman, Batman, and J'onn all congratulate each other. Flash and Green Arrow are able to find Wonder Woman and see that she is clearly shaken at having killed Lord. They support her and tell her that she had no other choice. They then hear noise outside and check it out, They find Waller, alive, who tells them that they ruined the chances that humanity had. Wonder Woman grabs her and tells her that she must now face justice for her crimes, and Green Arrow adds that by now, Senator Moore will have delivered the information that Kendra Powell died for to the president, thus exposing Checkmate once and for all. Superman is then shown going into the bunker and tells the president that it is over.
Luthor walks into his office, and then puts a black glove on his burned right hand. He then looks in the mirror and shaves what is left of his hair, and sees Superman waiting outside his office window. Luthor presses a button and the glass slides over. He asks Superman if he can help him with something. Superman replies that Luthor may have found a way to keep himself from falling down with the rest of Checkmate, but that is not to say that he still won't face justice. Luthor tells Superman that aside from their differences, they are both great and powerful men who are capable of destroying each other. Superman tells him that no matter what he attempts to do from here on out, he will always be there to stop him. Luthor smirks and says that he is prepared for a war. Superman's eyes heat up, and Luthor ducks away in fear of Superman burning him, but gets up to see Superman flying away, and then turns and sees an 'S' burned onto his desk.
The president is then shown giving a speech to the nation about how over the past couple of years, their country has become aware of some extraordinary beings, and that until now, they weren't very sure how to view them. Many viewed them as vigilantes, or as aliens, or just flat out criminals, but now, thanks to all of them, America and the rest of the world is safe, and that they must all now accept the fact that several events have happened and will continue to happen that will require the attention of these 'Heroes'.
While he is giving the speech, a montage of scenes are shown: Waller is arrested and brought into the custody of General Lane; Clark returns to Metropolis, where Lois is suspicious about where he has been, then looks at a picture of Superman, then again at Clark, and raises her eyebrows; Bruce returns to the mansion and is greeted by Alfred; Diana returns to her office, where General Lane tells her that he has been appointed to a new position and asks for her to come with him to continue being his assistant. She asks what the position is, and he tells her that he is the new director of ARGUS; Senator Moore is showing laying a bouquet of flowers at Senator Powell's grave, telling her that "We won"; Oliver, having fulfilled his promise to his father, puts all of his archery gear away and locks it up; Barry returns to his crime lab and sees that Dr. West's research has been returned along with a note from Diana, reading "Keep up."; finally, J'onn is shown standing on the moon, looking on at his home planet of Mars, and then at his new home of Earth, and smiles.
During the end credits, a man wearing a hood enters a cave with a couple of henchmen while holding a torch. He looks around for a while, and then seems to find what he is looking for: a mace with a hawk helmet next to it. One of his henchmen ask what this means and address him as 'Mr. Savage'. The man (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) removes his hood and tells him that it means war.
The End
Reception[]
The film was critically acclaimed, with a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised the delivery of the storyline that had been set up through all of the movies. They also praised the great chemistry the actors had with each other, particularly Porter and Hammer playing the rivalry-turned-respected allies relationship between Batman and Superman to perfection.
The film became the highest grossing movie of all time, both domestically and globally.
Future[]
The president of Warner Bros. Studios confirmed that all of the individual franchises would continue after the film, along with a Justice League sequel. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who appears in a post-credits cameo as legendary DC villain Vandal Savage, said in an interview that he had signed on to appear in four future films, and confirmed that one of those films would indeed be Justice League II. Warner Bros. also confirmed plans for a Hawkman film, hinted at during the post-credits scene, and that the Hawkman character would play a major role in the Justice League sequel. Director Jon Favreau said in an interview that the next Justice League film would depict the heroes having to "rise from ashes" and "regain their own individual strength and determination" after each suffering individual failures.