Justice League: Everything Revealed About Darkseid's Invasion Flashback

The first teaser for Zack Snyder's Cut of Justice League teased an ancient battle with a young Darkseid, but there's a lot already known about this conflict that was cut from the theatrical version of the movie? For all that is known about the last-minute paint job that Justice League underwent, only a fraction of what Snyder had assembled for the history lesson (and everything else) remained intact when the movie hit theaters. Like the rest of the film, much of what the theatrical cut did use also came with its own alterations.

In the theatrical cut's history lesson, the forces of Apokolips launch an invasion of Earth under the leadership of Steppenwolf during a point in ancient human history. Various human armies, along with Greek Gods, the Amazons, and the Yalan Gur Green Lantern, succeed in driving the invasion back. Presented as a historical montage narrated by Diana Prince in the theatrical version, Snyder had intended it to be a far longer and much more in-depth look back in time to Earth's first encounter with Apokolips.

With the Snyder Cut officially on the way, all of this will be seen when the movie hits HBO Max in 2021. In the time between Justice League's theatrical release and the Snyder Cut's announcement this past May, a great deal has come to light about how much material from the history lesson was left on the cutting room floor, along with characters and plot elements meant to have had their foundations laid here that were ultimately left out of the film altogether.

Darkseid (Uxas)

Among the most dramatic differences from the History Lesson in the theatrical version of Justice League will be in the inclusion of Darkseid, played by Ray Porter. Despite being the League's famed arch-enemy, Darkseid's intended presence in the film was completed removed, with the exception of Steppenwolf intoning "For the Unity! For Darkseid!" in one scene. The two versions of the history lesson also offer a perfect display of how altered Justice League ended up being.

In the theatrical version, Steppenwolf leads the charge against Earth in the history lesson, while the Snyder Cut's version will feature Darkseid front and center. Not only that, but Darkseid will also still be under his birth name of "Uxas" at this point, while Snyder has described him as "a baby" here as well, indicating a younger and not yet fully powered version of the character. This also leads into another of the attributes of the Snyder Cut's history lesson omitted from the theatrical version.

More Action With The Gods Of Olympus

Aside from the young Darkseid/Uxas leading the invasion of Apokolips, the history lesson seen in the Snyder Cut will also feature a greater level of direct involvement from the Olympian Gods. While they were only fleetingly seen in the theatrical version, the ancient Greek inscription on the mural seen by Diana in the Snyder Cut tells that they were instrumental in driving back the Apokoliptian invasion. The Olympian Gods' involvement proves to be the factor that swings the battle back in Earth's favor, but that's also not the end of the story.

One god in particular will also have an especially noteworthy role in this section of the movie. Specifically, per the mural's translation, the history lesson involves Zeus sending Ares to battle Darkseid. In all, Snyder's history lesson was meant to be presented as a war led by Old and New Gods, but this is also an area where the movie establishes some connective tissue with Wonder Woman.

More Wonder Woman Cameos

While the Amazons are present in Justice League's theatrical cut, battling Steppenwolf when he arrives to retrieve the first Mother Box in Themyscira, they were also intended to be big players in the history lesson. Connie Nielsen has specifically pointed out that a major stunt she performed as Hippolyta was cut from the movie, which may possibly have been in the history lesson, while Robin Wright's Antiope was also cut entirely. Moreover, the greater involvement of the Amazons in the history lesson has also been indirectly verified with the Snyder Cut's first teaser.

The teaser shows Diana with a look of visible terror on her face as she gazes up a mural of Darkseid. This clearly points to not only the Amazons having a greater role in battling Darkseid's army, but also that the legend has been passed down to the successive generations of Amazons, including how vicious and formidable the young Darkseid showed himself to be here. However, while the Amazons and the Olympian Gods are heavy hitters in Snyder's history lesson, it will also include much heavier human presence, as well.

All The Armies Of Men

Justice League Darkseid Uxas History Lesson

In addition to the presence of Gods, Amazons, Parademons, Darkseid, and Yalan Gur, a wide collection of human armies were also present to fight back against the invasion from Apokolips. As with most aspects of the history lesson, this was retained in the theatrical version, albeit in a very truncated capacity.

Among the various forces of man joining in the battle against Apokolips were intended to be such human armies as Vikings, Mongols, Zulu, and many others. While not all were seen in the theatrical cut, the role of the different factions of humanity will be another of the numerous elements of the history lesson to be greatly expanded upon in the Snyder Cut. Meanwhile, another of the most crucial restored components of the Snyder Cut's history lesson will be something first teased in the Knightmare in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Snyder's planned Superman-centered five-part story.

The Anti-Life Equation

Anti-Life Equation In Justice League Flashback History Lesson

With Darkseid being on a quest to subjugate the free will of all life, the Anti-Life Equation was the tool he sought to accomplish his ultimate goal. The sign of the Anti-Life Equation is seen when Steppenwolf slams his ax into the ground, causing a pattern to form in the Earth, with Snyder having pointed to this as being intended to be the Anti-Life Equation. The major difference is that Snyder's version of this moment will feature Darkseid in the place of Steppenwolf.

Additionally, Snyder has also revealed that his plan for the Anti-Life Equation in the DCEU was for Superman to fall under its influence and join forces with Darkseid after the Lord of Apokolips murdered Lois Lane in the Batcave. In turn, this provides the set up for the Knightmare future, with The Flash's appearance in the Batcave being the unsuccessful first attempt of the future Batman to warn his younger self of the coming disaster.

With all the differences the Snyder Cut will present from Justice League's theatrical cut, the history lesson could end up being one of the areas of the movie to receive the most consequential upgrade in terms of running time and significance to the story. Paradoxically, for as much that it now known for certain about it, the full breadth of how the history lesson will play out is still something that the world will not fully see until the movie's HBO Max release next year. Then again, such is the story about virtually everything when it comes to Zack Snyder's Justice League.

NEXT: Justice League: Every Villain In The Snyder Cut