Warning: SPOILERS below for Justice League!
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In Justice League, the stakes were literally the fate of the world. Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), the End of Worlds and the general of the legions of Apokolips, returned to Earth to finish the mission he began five thousand years ago: to use the power of three Mother Boxes to form 'the Unity' and terraform our world into another Apokolips. Back then, he was foiled and banished by an alliance of defenders comprised of Atlanteans, Amazons, Greek gods, the tribes of Man, and a Green Lantern. But in 2017, Earth has far fewer defenders - until Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) formed the Justice League.
As Steppenwolf raced around the world to gather the Mother Boxes, the League scrambled to stop him. Realizing even their combined powers were proving to not be enough to beat Steppenwolf and his Parademons, the League decided to use the power of the third Mother Box to resurrect Superman (Henry Cavill). With Superman taking his rightful place with the Justice League, our heroes faced the alien invaders in a final showdown in a small village in Russia. Steppenwolf was using an abandoned nuclear reactor as his base of operations for the Unity, having acquired the third and final Mother Box while the League was dealing with Superman's confusion after his rebirth.
Related: Does Justice League Have a Post-Credits Scene?
HOW THE JUSTICE LEAGUE BEAT STEPPENWOLF
The keys to the Justice League's ultimate victory were Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and the Man of Steel. The technology that comprises Cyborg's mechanical body came from the Mother Box, which gives him a unique connection and understanding of it. Even then, when Cyborg interfaced with the Mother Boxes, he couldn't separate the Unity. Thankfully, Superman was available to lend a hand with his brute strength and his invulnerability, which allowed him to survive the power surge erupting from disrupting the Unity. Superman and Cyborg together broke apart the Mother Boxes, saving Earth from being turned into another Apokolips.
Superman was also the deciding factor in defeating Steppenwolf himself. Steppenwolf was able to hold off Wonder Woman, Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and The Flash (Ezra Miller), but Superman's Kryptonian might turned the tide. Once Wonder Woman was able to shatter Steppenwolf's battle axe after it was frozen by Superman's freeze breath, the alien conqueror experienced true fear for the first time. His Parademon legions prey on fear; once they sensed it in Steppenwolf, they turned on and swarmed on their former master. With Steppenwolf struggling against his rabid Parademons, the Apokoliptian forces Boom Tubed away from Earth. The Justice League won and the world was saved.
AFTERMATH
The aftermath of the Justice League becoming a unified force defending the world opens up a new universe of possibilities for the individual heroes and the DCEU. The Justice League went their separate ways and returned to their private lives, but their victory also cemented their alliance as a more permanent thing.
Back in Gotham, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince surveyed the ruins of Bruce's ancestral home Wayne Manor and made plans into converting it into the League's headquarters. Bruce envisioned a round table in the center of the Manor's main hall with seating for six."But with room for more," Diana suggested. The fact that Batman, who occasionally rued the very idea of the team he gathered to Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons), not only wants the League to continue but plans to devote his resources to the League's success is a huge breakthrough for the Dark Knight.
The Batman has been firmly a loner for an untold number of years, likely since the Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) killed Robin and left Batman the Boy Wonder's vandalized costume. Bruce smirked when Barry Allen admitted he needs friends, but the Batman has come to the same conclusion about himself. Now that Superman is back (which was largely his doing) and the League is in place, Batman has a newfound sense of hope, which is something his butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons) can take solace in.
Wonder Woman was also changed for the better by her experience with the Justice League. Batman had forced her to confront the century she had chosen to not engage in her role as protector and beacon of hope to the world. Wonder Woman accepted the leadership of the League and the responsibility that comes with it when she led them into the final battle with Steppenwolf. After foiling a robbery at the British Museum at the end of the movie, Wonder Woman met with the public for the first time, accepting her role as an ambassador for both the League and the Amazon way of life. It was time at last for the world to get to know Wonder Woman.
Justice League possibly marks the last time for a few years fans get to see the modern incarnation of Wonder Woman. Unless she cameos in either Aquaman or Shazam, the next time we see Diana will be Wonder Woman 2, which is rumored to take place in the 1980s. (However, Wonder Woman 2 could also have modern day framing sequences like the original film.)
Related: Flashpoint Movie Will Depend of Justice League's Reception
The Kent Farm was bought by a Kansas bank after Clark Kent's death, but Bruce Wayne bought it back for the Kents (by buying the bank itself) to help make up for his actions in Batman V Superman. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) returned to the Daily Planet in her role as a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter while her fiance Clark, now back from the dead, also returned to Metropolis. Clark had a new look, or rather, returned to a more classic look, wearing a suit and tie. Upon catching a new crisis with his Super Hearing that would be a job for Superman, Clark ducked into an alley and opened his shirt to reveal his S shield. The Man of Steel truly has returned - the brightest symbol of hope in the DCEU.
Justice League dodged the tricky matter of how Clark Kent could turn up alive after his death, and the coincidences of him dying at the same time as Superman and now returning at the same time Superman has returned. Most likely, this issue will be avoided entirely as there is no official announcement yet for Man of Steel 2 or Justice League 2, which would be our next opportunities to see Superman on the big screen.
Barry Allen visited his father Henry (Billy Crudup) in prison with great news: Barry now has a permanent job as a forensic scientist in the Central City Police Department. Barry had spent several years holding down odd jobs while designing his persona as The Flash and searching for a way to free his father from prison. Newly confident now that he has successfully done battle and experienced world saving victory as The Flash, Barry is now Central City's superhero defender. The Flash's planned solo feature, Flashpoint, can't arrive fast enough.
In the mid-credits scene, The Flash also met Superman for a friendly race to determine which of them truly is the Fastest Man Alive. If Barry lost the race, he would have to buy brunch for the entire Justice League. We'll have to just imagine who won the race unless the sequel reveals who is really the fastest.
Aquaman had spent years bitter about his Atlantean origins, never understanding why his mother Queen Atlanna abandoned him on the surface world. Aquaman's brief interaction with Mera (Amber Heard) in Atlantis dropped seeds about the answers the King of the Seven Seas will find in his own feature film in 2018. As for Cyborg, he reconnected with his father and received an upgrade on his mechanical body. Cyborg no longer hides in the shadows now that he's part of the Justice League.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The Justice League would naturally create a cause and effect, as the forces of evil would rise to meet this heroic imbalance. After being transferred from prison to Arkham Asylum at the conclusion of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, we learned in the post-credits scene that Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) has escaped. Luthor meets with Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) on board his luxury yacht to discuss Superman's rebirth, the Justice League and their future plans. "Shouldn't we have a league our own?" Luthor muses. And with that, we now have the promise of a brand new threat to face the Justice League in the sequel - an Injustice League!
