Rumor: Zack Snyder's 'Justice League' Villain Is Not Who You Think

Shortly after the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, fans were surprised to see that Warner Bros. quickly released a deleted scene from the movie. The scene in question revealed just how Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) came to be apprehended and imprisoned for the later scene when he's confronted by Batman. However, it also raised more questions because it featured a previously unseen character with some levitating Mother Boxes briefly appearing before disintegrating and flying away from the scene. But if a new rumor about who the Justice League villain will be is true, we now know who this mysterious character is.

For those who may have missed the Batman v Superman deleted scene, here it is again:

The scene seemed to confuse even the most hardcore of DC Comics fans, mostly because this character didn't really look like anyone they knew from the comics. However, considering Lex Luthor's menacing monologue that hinted at the arrival of Darkseid sometime in the future, along with the Knightmare sequence, many assumed that this was likely the call to the galactic villain that Earth was his for the taking now that Superman was dead.

However, some fans did theorize that this unknown character may be the villain Steppenwolf. The being in this scene doesn't look like the older incarnations of the villain, but it does somewhat resemble newer versions of the character. Here's an image from the New 52 line of DC Comics for reference:

The armor certainly shares some similarities, specifically the horns, but in the deleted scene the character looks more alien than human. However, if this new rumor is true, then we don't need to wonder anymore, because according to Birth.Death.Movies, the character in that Batman v Superman deleted scene is indeed Steppenwolf.

Steppenwolf, who has nothing to do with the rock band who brought us "Born to Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride," is the military leader of Apokolips, the fictional planet that is ruled by the aforementioned villain Darkseid. Steppenwolf also happens to be Darkseid's uncle, because villainy is commonly a family affair in comic books.

Since this version of Steppenwolf doesn't seem to be taking any cues from the older appearances of the character, Birth.Death.Movies hypothesizes that the New 52 storyline will inspire what the villain does in Justice League. In his most recent incarnation, Steppenwolf leads an invasion of Earth, bringing Darkseid's parademons with him. Since those are the creatures we saw in the Knightmare sequence in Batman v Superman, that makes the most sense.

What will likely happen is Steppenwolf will invade Earth with his Apokolips' alien forces, and Justice League will be there to try to stop him. However, the rumor says the superhero team is not be enough to defeat him, and they end up needing the return of the Big Blue Boy Scout to help out. More than likely the presumed resurrection of Superman is what finally gets Darkseid's attention and he'll come to Earth in the second Justice League movie.

Steppenwolf is a formidable foe with plenty of superhuman strength, speed, endurance and reflexes to give the Justice League a run for their money. Add his experience as a military leader, a cable-snare in which he can entrap an opponent, and from which he can fire lethal radion beams, and an electro-axe, and he's quite the super villain.

This sounds like an unexpected route for Justice League to take, but hopefully it will allow the DC Comics universe to take shape a little more coherently. With Zack Snyder on board, who knows what changes he has in store for this character and what impact it will have on the DC expanded universe, but maybe Ben Affleck becoming involved as an executive producer will help guide the film in the right direction.