WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League, now streaming on HBO Max.
After what's felt like an eternity, Zack Snyder's Justice League is finally here, and it's brought with it a much-improved finale. The ending of 2017's theatrical cut left a lot to be desired, ending up as nothing more than a CGI-filled sequence of heroes taking on generic aliens. Fortunately, Snyder's version features a major death before the League heads off to Russia that makes its ending much more impactful.
After Steppenwolf arrives on Earth, he quickly retrieves two of the three Mother Boxes required to form the Unity, a force of energy that will allow the planet to be terraformed into Apokolips. The final box is in the possession of Victor Stone, aka Cyborg, and he, along with the rest of the Justice League, decides to use it to resurrect Superman in hopes he can defeat the impending threat. The only issue with this plan is once they wake up the Mother Box, Steppenwolf will be able to track its location.
Without any other choice, the team heads to the Kryptonian dropship in Metropolis for the next part of their mission. At first, their plan is thrown into disarray, but after some improvisation, the Mother Box connects with the Kryptonian ship and brings the Man of Steel back from the dead. However, during the commotion, the Mother Box ends up in a nearby parking lot, where Victor's dad, Silas, stumbles upon it. Knowing that Steppenwolf is after the object, Silas quickly runs into the nearby S.T.A.R. Labs facility to guard it.
Unfortunately, he runs out of time quickly as Steppenwolf arrives on the scene moments later. The villain can sense the box nearby, so he leaps inside the facility looking for it. What he discovers, though, is Silas stepping inside of a protective box, preparing to shoot the Mother Box with a powerful laser. Before Steppenwolf can intervene, the laser hits the object, killing Silas just as Victor makes his way into the facility. But while Steppenwolf assumed Silas was trying to destroy the Mother Box, it turns out the laser had no effect on it, which allows the villain to escape with the final piece he needs.
Victor breaks down after witnessing his father's death, but he quickly realizes it wasn't in vain. Silas' laser actually left a traceable heat signature on the box that allows the League to track it to the Russian village, giving them an element of surprise they wouldn't have had previously. Silas' death unites the team in a way the theatrical cut never did, giving them, especially Victor, a sense of purpose as they head off to save the world.
What ensues is an emotionally-charged finale that sees Batman give everything he has to ensure his team makes it to Steppenwolf in time, the Flash prove to himself that he's a hero after reversing time to save his friends and Cyborg and Superman successfully pull apart the Unity to finally put a stop the potentially world-ending event. Silas wasn't a great person, but his death made the League realize they could be great heroes.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film arrives on HBO Max March 18.