Warning: SPOILERS from Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Several characters - heroes, villains, and supporting players - die in Zack Snyder's Justice League, and here's every one of them. In almost every superhero film nowadays, there are always a number of deaths that occur in respective franchises' run. Zack Snyder's Justice League is no exception as the 4-hour version of the DC film raises the stakes by having some characters lose their lives. For anyone who has seen both the theatrical cut and Snyder's 4-hour rendition of what he was originally going to do will see how significantly different those movies are from one another. The HBO Max feature even sees one of the characters that did appear in 2017's Justice League have their fate completely revamped for Snyder's actual product.
When Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon took over the project, they retooled it to be "less dark" which was the studio's initial problem with Zack Snyder's Justice League. Given how many deaths there are in the finished product, this was a huge element that got taken out of the 2017 project. But by doing so, Whedon's Justice League was rendered to being a very child-friendly and stake-less superhero film. It went against the larger storyline that the DCEU had setup through films like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But Zack Snyder's Justice League gives audiences the original game plan that was in store for the DCEU and this interpretation of the Justice League.
Because Justice League was supposed to be the first step in a larger story, one that would've concluded with Justice League 3, several characters die that would've come back later or, perhaps, remained dead. With that in mind, here's every character that died in Zack Snyder's Justice League, both heroes and villains as well as some supporting characters along with a few surprises.
Yalan Gur (in Flashback)
While Hal Jordan nor John Stewart shows up in Zack Snyder's Justice League, the film does include some Green Lantern action. Even though he is one of the more obscure Emerald Knights, Yalan Gur is established in this canon as having been a Green Lantern. Despite the character appearing in the theatrical cut too, the Snyder Cut features him in the accurate version of the infamous History Lesson sequence. Before he became Darkseid, Uxas had tried to invade Earth thousands of years ago but wasn't ready for what awaited him. During the invasion, Yalan joined forces with Atlanteans, Amazons, and humans to stop Apokolips's invasion. However, Yalan is murdered by Uxas and as the ring begins looking for a new hero, the Apokoliptian ruler tries to take it before it takes off.
Elinore Stone (in Flashback)
Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg is one of the characters whose story is restored in Zack Snyder's Justice League. For the HBO Max version, Cyborg's origin story is shown in greater depth and involves bigger implications for his family. It's established that Victor had an accident that almost killed him before the third Mother Box turned him into a cyborg. However, that same accident involved another member of the Stone family; his mother, Elinore, is introduced as part of Victor's backstory as being the parent who was more present for him than his father. After a football match, Elinore and Victor are driving home, discussing the absence of Victor's dad. But in the midst of it, they were hit by another car, and while Victor is hanging on to life, Elinore, sadly, dies.
Silas Stone
Joe Morton plays Silas Stone in both Zack Snyder's Justice League and 2017's theatrical cut. However, a completely different scenario plays out in the new film. While Silas and Victor had a tricky relationship, Silas has a tragic conclusion in the film. As Steppenwolf tries to locate the final Mother Box, Silas seals himself with it inside a chamber while trying to buy some time. In a heroic sacrifice, Silas ends up super-heating the Mother Box, making its core the hottest thing on Earth. Silas realized Steppenwolf would get the box so he used technology to infuse heat signatures to it, which would allow the heroes to locate it before the unity happened. But it came with a high cost; Silas's body was destroyed in the process. Victor had to see his father vanish in front of him.
Steppenwolf
While Darkseid serves as the ultimate puppet master in Zack Snyder's Justice League, Steppenwolf is the main threat the team has to come together to stop. Steppenwolf, who is Darkseid's uncle, was in the theatrical cut. He was taken away by Parademons at the end of the film, after his axe was destroyed by Wonder Woman. However, this is where the Snyder Cut comes in with how different his ending was supposed to be. While Steppenwolf got taken away in the 2017 movie, the Snyder Cut sees him being pierced through the chest by Aquaman's trident before being thrown in the Boom Tube that Darkseid had opened up. But as his body flies away, Wonder Woman also decapitates him; Steppenwolf's head rolls into Apokolips and is stepped on by Darkseid.
Wonder Woman (in Knightmare)
Cyborg has a vision of the Knightmare reality in Zack Snyder's Justice League where he witnesses the grim future that could happen if they resurrected Superman. While it was always established that a few of the Justice League members would have fallen in the future, it wasn't clear which ones had been defeated. But during Victor's vision of the future, he sees a dead Diana being carried away to have her body burned. While the Amazons and Queen Hippolyta are present, it's not under the circumstances that one would think. Seen all around them, they are surrounded by Parademons and ships from Apokolips, implying that Darkseid defeated Themyscira while the warriors grieved the loss of Hippolyta's daughter. Given how powerful Wonder Woman is, it's almost a safe bet to say that Darkseid was the one to kill her.
Aquaman (in Knightmare)
Another hero in Zack Snyder's Justice League that would meet his demise in the Knightmare timeline is Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman. Even though Cyborg doesn't see how Diana dies, he does see exactly the way that Aquaman was murdered. During the sequence, Aquaman and Darkseid are battling underwater as the King of Atlantis as well as Atlantean soldiers. Darkseid not only defeats all of Arthur's warriors, but he executes Aquaman with his own trident that is pierced into his chest. With Superman now turned against the planet and two of the most powerful Justice League heroes killed, it explains a lot why it became possible for Darkseid to eventually invade Earth. Arthur's trident can be seen in the ruins of the Justice League's Hall of Justice along with Diana's shield.
Lois Lane (in Knightmare)
For anyone who has followed the history of Zack Snyder's Justice League, it was always a fact that Lois Lane would be killed by Darkseid. That's how he would manage to make Superman succumb to the Anti-Life-Equation and become a slave for Apokolips as they take over Earth together. Victor's vision, which is triggered because of their attempt to revive Clark Kent, shows Superman holding Lois's decimated skeleton, grieving the loss of the woman he loves. Darkseid can be seen behind Superman with his red eyes flaring, meaning that he had just used his Omega beam that killed Lois. This is followed by Darkseid putting his hand on Superman's shoulder as Kal-El is suddenly calmed, hinting that this was the moment Darkseid corrupted him with the Anti-Life-Equation.
Kilowog (in Knightmare)
Surprisingly, Yalan isn't the only Green Lantern that gets a cameo in Zack Snyder's Justice League. During Cyborg's vision of the Knightmare future, it's a blink-and-miss appearance from another Emerald Knight. As Victor sees the destruction that Apokolips has caused to Earth, the Green Lantern Kilowog is seen dead among the ruins. It's unclear when he died and who murdered him, but it's possible that the corrupted Superman may have been the one to take Kilowog down. At some point in the future, Kilowog became one of Earth's defenders against Darkseid before unfortunately passing away.
Harley Queen (in Knightmare)
Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn isn't in Zack Snyder's Justice League, but her fate is revealed by Batman. During his one-on-one talk with The Joker, Bruce decides to bring up the person that Joker cares for the most. While he's never clear when it happened or what caused her death, Bruce tells Joker that he held a dying Harley in his arms in her final moments of life. As a way to taunt Joker, who brought up the death of Robin, Batman says that Harley begged him to kill the Crown Prince of Crime slowly when that day ever comes. Joker shrugs it off thinking that Bruce was just making it up, but based on Batman's tone alone, Harley died at some point throughout the Knightmare timeline. Despite the Snyder Cut not being set in the DCEU (that includes Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad), there's the potential that Harley became a full-fledged hero in this new continuity.
Everyone Else
Besides the heroes and villains that die, there are more casualties throughout Zack Snyder's Justice League, even if they aren't big characters in the story. For starters, there are the Atlanteans, Amazons, and humans who died during Darkseid's first attempt to conquer Earth. There are also a couple of Atlanteans that get killed by Steppenwolf and his Parademons during the search for the Mother Boxes. The same can be said for Themyscira when Steppenwolf and Parademons take on what must have been hundreds of Amazonians, all of whom lost their lives trying to protect their Mother Box. While the exact number is unclear, there were many Amazons that died at the hands of Steppenwolf's invasion.
While there is definitely no direct sympathy for the Parademons, presumably thousands of them die throughout the Snyder Cut. Even if they're villainous, it's important to remember that Parademons are actually other species from different planets that have been, against their wills, transformed into these creatures. They're transformed through brainwashing and torture, so they're victims just as much as the people of Earth would be. Even during the Knightmare scenes, the visuals alone make it clear that many human lives were lost through Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips.
