How Justice League Can Bring Back A Forgotten Man Of Steel Plot Point

With the Justice League Snyder Cut officially on the way, the movie can provide some resolution to the plot device of the Kryptonian codex from Man of Steel. Arriving in theaters as an assembly of chunks of Zack Snyder’s footage from principal photography and reshoots directed by Joss Whedon cobbled together at the very last minute, Justice League‘s theatrical cut abandoned much of the established mythology from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, leaving a number of dangling plot threads unfulfilled. Now that the Snyder Cut will debut on HBO Max in 2021 as Zack Snyder’s Justice League, those threads may finally get closure.

Over the past two and a half years, more and more details about Snyder’s movie have gradually emerged, showing it to be vastly more in line with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice than the theatrical version of Justice League. Still, even with all that is now known about the Snyder Cut, there’s arguably much more about it that remains to be discovered. With a minimum of two hours of unseen footage to be found in the Zack Snyder’s Justice League, that’s simply to be expected.

This raises the question of the role the codex could play in the movie. The codex has not been among the elements seen in Snyder’s extensive social media teasing of the movie, but with the importance it was given in Man of Steel and with Superman’s resurrection being a key component of Justice League, it’s entirely possible that the Snyder Cut either offers some kind of pay-off for the codex or provides the basis for one to happen. Here are the ways in which the codex is significant to the DCEU and how it could be a factor in the Snyder Cut.

The Codex Is Central To The DCEU Superman Origin

Man of Steel not only incorporated the Kryptonian codex as an element of its version of Superman’s origin, but also placed it right at the core of the movie’s plot. As seen in the film, the codex carried the genetic blueprint of the entire Kryptonian race and with Krypton’s destruction nearing, Jor-El went to great lengths to retrieve it in order to send it to Earth with his son. Once General Zod and his followers caught up with the now-grown Kal-El on Earth later in the movie, its importance to the story became fully clear.

With Zod’s plan to terraform Earth into a new Krypton, the codex was an essential tool for the Kryptonian race to repopulate. However, Jor-El had bonded the codex with his son’s DNA before sending him to Earth, in the hope that Kal-El could eventually act as bridge between Earth and Krypton. Though Superman manages to stop Zod’s plan to remake Earth in Krypton’s image, the tug-of-war between Jor-El and Zod over the codex and the importance it is given from the movie’s opening on Krypton clearly point to plans for it to be revisited somewhere down the line. But as the DCEU has continued forward, one curious aspect of it has been what has happened with the codex since Man of Steel. Or rather, what hasn’t happened with it.

The DCEU Hasn’t Referenced The Codex Since Man of Steel

Batman v Superman acts as direct continuation of the story set up by Man of Steel and places particularly strong emphasis on the consequences stemming from it. However, for as much as it clearly builds on its predecessor, the movie doesn’t make even a single reference to the codex. It’s in good company in this regard, with the only mention of the codex in the entire DCEU being found in Man of Steel alone.

For as much attention as the movie placed on the codex as being critical to the continued survival of the Kryptonian race, and being something that Superman literally carries within himself, it’s obvious that Snyder had something planned for it. However, it could simply be that the codex was a plot device that Snyder didn’t intend to resolve until Justice League, and it could well be something that will finally be addressed again when Snyder’s film arrives on HBO Max next year, among other story points like the Knightmare. With where things left off in Batman v Superman and what is known for sure about the Snyder Cut, a few good educated guesses can be made about the role that the codex could have to play in the movie.

How Justice League Could Use The Codex To Resurrect Superman

With all the set up the codex received in Man of Steel, there’s a real possibility that the Snyder Cut will utilize it despite its complete absence from Justice League‘s theatrical cut. With Kal-El carrying the DNA of his people in his bloodstream, Snyder’s version of Superman’s resurrection is one area where the codex could play a major role in reviving him. Moreover, Darkseid’s involvement in the movie could expand the scope of that even further. The Knightmare seen in Batman v Superman showed the Man of Steel had joined forces with Darkseid after falling victim to the Anti-Life Equation, and the codex could make Superman an even bigger target for Darkseid’s attention, presenting the potential for Apokolips to build an entire army of Anti-Life Equation-controlled Kryptonians.

There’s also the possibility that the Snyder Cut provides a foundation for where Snyder wanted to take the codex in his planned five-movie arc, and the Superman origin series Smallville could actually offer a hint to what this could be. The show’s 9th season set up a plot device similar to the codex with a mechanism carrying the DNA of Zod and other Kryptonians, which brought them back on Earth as clones. It’s possible that Snyder may have intended for the codex to be a means for Zod to return later in a similar fashion. Snyder teased the possibility of Faora returning from the Phantom Zone during his recent Man of Steel livestream commentary, meaning a planned return for Zod is hardly out of the question. Though Zod specified in Man of Steel that the codex carried “the genetic template of every being yet to be born”, this wouldn’t be hard to work around due to Zod being the Kryptonian military’s general, meaning that his own DNA could have been included in the codex as a safeguard against the very calamity that doomed Krypton.

With one of the major complaints leveled at Justice League being how out of step it felt with Snyder’s previous DCEU films, its connection to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman is an issue that will be remedied by the now-impending debut of the Snyder Cut. By the same token, with the movie providing resolution for other plans of Snyder’s (like General Swanwick’s Martian Manhunter reveal), the mystery of what was in store for the codex is a void that can finally be filled by Zack Snyder’s Justice League. What form that will take, and just how much the Snyder Cut itself will utilize it if it is included, are open-ended questions, but the events of Snyder’s Superman story so far do offer a few hints for just what the Kryptonian codex’s pay-off could be.

About The Author

Brad Curran
(716 Articles Published)

Growing up, Brad developed an innate love of movies and storytelling, and was instantly enamored with the world of adventure while following the exploits of Indiana Jones, Japanese kaiju, and superheroes. Today, Brad channels his thoughts on all manner of movies, from comic book films, sci-fi thrillers, comedies, and everything in between through his writings on Screen Rant. Brad also offers philosophical musings on martial arts and the filmographies of everyone from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen on Kung Fu Kingdom, where he’s also had the privilege of interviewing many of the world’s great stunt professionals, and hearing plenty of gripping stories on injuries incurred in their line of work and the intricacies of designing the acts of death defiance he first thrilled to as a youngster. When he’s not writing, Brad enjoys going on a ride with the latest action hit or Netflix original, though he’s also known to just pop in “The Room” from time to time. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradCurran.

See also  Unidentified: Demi Lovato Shares The Experiences Behind The Reality Show

More From Brad Curran