The introduction of Steppenwolf in Zack Snyder's Justice League made an additional change to his entrance beyond the villain's design which was a great improvement. The largely reshot version of Justice League that hit theaters in 2017, following Snyder's departure from the film due to tragedy in his family, remains a highly notorious chapter of the DCEU. That became even more true with the eventual release of Zack Snyder's Justice League in 2021, the long-awaited director's cut which restored the film to Snyder's original vision.
This included returning the villain Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) to his originally intended design, while his entry into the movie Boom Tubing to Themyscira for one of the Mother Boxes also made a key change to his arrival. In the theatrical cut of Justice League, a Boom Tube opens in the chamber guarding the Mother Box, with Steppenwolf emerging and a swarm of Parademons following as the battle with the Amazons begins. The Snyder Cut would change Steppenwolf's arrival by giving the villain more of a lead-in through the otherworldly Boom Tube.
In the Snyder Cut, the Boom Tube opens with the Parademons being the first ones to fly out of it, with Steppenwolf finally dropping into Themyscira after them. Aside from Steppenwolf's far more menacing look in the Snyder Cut, he's given much more of a build-up to his first appearance in the movie. The Parademons, clearly not the sole entities being transported to Themyscira, set up a greater anticipation for Steppenwolf's landing through the Boom Tube, as if rolling out an evil red carpet for their general.
The emergence of the Parademons from the Boom Tube in the theatrical cut is rather flat compared to how they lead to Steppenwolf's entrance, the Apokoliptian soldiers rather suddenly flying out. In the Snyder Cut, the Boom Tube is open for several moments before the Parademons even fly through, making their entrance feel more like a coordinated invasion on behalf of the greatest DC villain of all, Darkseid (Ray Porter).
Steppenwolf was seen as a forgettable villain in the Justice League theatrical cut. With the Snyder Cut elevating the entire film and its characters, Steppenwolf was a major beneficiary as both a far more three-dimensional villain and one with a genuinely monstrous look. Still, a smaller detail like his very first appearance in the film is another area where the Snyder Cut was the inverse of the failings of Justice League's theatrical incarnation.
The Snyder Cut has many major differences from its reshoot-filled counterpart, but just as many smaller details can also be found in the film. Both continue to keep the Snyder Cut inescapable for Warner Bros. as fans compare the two over a year after the Snyder Cut's release. In Zack Snyder's Justice League, Steppenwolf gets to make a vastly improved first impression not just with his much better design, but the supervillain-worthy lead time his entrance is given.
