Justice LeagueSave

We open with a brief funeral montage. Superman has been dead since the end of Batman v Superman (2016). The world is in mourning. Crime rates have spiked across multiple cities. Lois Lane is grieving in solitude. Bruce Wayne is recruiting metahumans to form a defensive team in case 'the worst' arrives.

Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) tracks down Aquaman in an Icelandic fishing village. Aquaman tells Bruce he isn't interested. Bruce visits Cyborg (Ray Fisher) in his Detroit apartment. He visits Barry Allen, the Flash (Ezra Miller), in his Central City apartment. Wonder Woman, who has been operating quietly in Paris since Wonder Woman (2017), joins Bruce. The team assembles.

The threat: Steppenwolf, a New God general working for the Cosmic Tyrant Darkseid, has arrived on Earth to retrieve three Mother Boxes — ancient cosmic artifacts that contain energy capable of terraforming entire planets. Steppenwolf attacks the Amazons of Themyscira and the Atlanteans, taking their Mother Boxes. He retrieves the third from Cyborg's home laboratory (his birthplace).

The team realizes Steppenwolf is consolidating power for Darkseid's invasion. They need Superman. The plan: use the Mother Box that gave Cyborg his powers, combined with the Kryptonian Genesis Chamber from Man of Steel (2013), to resurrect Superman. The plan works — partly. Superman returns but is initially confused, hostile, and dangerous. He fights the entire team in a Metropolis street brawl that nearly kills them. Lois Lane arrives. Her presence stabilizes him.

Steppenwolf activates his three Mother Boxes simultaneously at a Russian location — beginning Earth's terraforming. The team and Superman launch a counter-attack. The final battle is in a Russian abandoned-village location with Steppenwolf's parademon army versus the Justice League. Superman, fully restored, is the deciding factor. Steppenwolf is defeated and pulled back through a Boom Tube portal to Apokolips.

The film closes with the team formally established as the Justice League. Bruce restores Wayne Manor. The Watchtower satellite is operational. The world has its heroes. Mid-credits scene: the Flash and Superman race each other across the prairie. Post-credits: Lex Luthor, escaped from prison, recruits Deathstroke for a 'league of our own.'

Justice League (2017) grossed $657 million globally on a $300 million budget — a critical and commercial disappointment. The film was widely cited as the moment audiences lost confidence in Warner Bros.'s DCEU direction. Snyder's eventual Snyder Cut (2021) was released on HBO Max four years later. Joss Whedon has not directed another superhero film since.