WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League, now streaming on HBO Max.
The theatrical cut of Justice League is riddled with issues, and chief among them is the film's villain, Steppenwolf. Heading to Earth in search of three Mother Boxes that will allow him to terraform the planet, Steppenwolf spends the majority of the movie being nothing but a doomsayer, speaking of an impending apocalypse that never comes to pass. Fortunately, Zack Snyder's cut of the film refuses to follow suit when it provides the villain with clear motivations for wanting to take the Earth in the name of Darkseid.
Zack Snyder's Justice League kicks off by revealing Superman's death causes the Mother Boxes on Earth to awaken and call to Steppenwolf. The villain then takes a Boom Tube to Themyscira, where he wipes out plenty of Amazonians and makes off with their Mother Box. It's at this point, however, where things take a turn for Steppenwolf.
After traveling to the Russian village where he plans to build his fortress, he contacts Desaad, Darkseid's right-hand man. Steppenwolf informs Desaad about what he's discovered on Earth, but Desaad doesn't seem impressed because, as he explains, Steppenwolf has fallen out of favor with Darkseid. Desaad goes on to reveal that years ago, Steppenwolf betrayed his master in his conquest to gain power, and now, he's traveling the cosmos in search of 50,000 planets to conquer in Darkseid's name.
While Steppenwolf hopes taking the Earth, the only planet to ever escape Darkseid's warpath, will help his master trust him again, that becomes easier said than done after the Justice League catches wind of his plan. He's able to steal the second Mother Box from the Atlanteans and discovers the planet houses the Anti-Life Equation, something Darkseid has been searching for, but the situation becomes all the more complicated when Batman and Co. use the final box to resurrect Superman.
During the chaos caused by Superman's return, Steppenwolf grabs the final box, but what he doesn't realize is Silas Stone marks it with a powerful laser at the time of his death in order to give the League its location. Steppenwolf returns to Russia to form the Unity and is mere moments away from taking the Earth, only for Cyborg, Aquaman and Wonder Woman to burst in and disrupt the process. Then, after Superman makes his grand return, it's only a matter of moments before Steppenwolf is down for the count. To add one final insult to his injuries, with Darkseid and the armies of Apokolips looking on, Wonder Woman decapitates Steppenwolf and sends him back from where he came.
This ending for Steppenwolf, which differs greatly from the theatrical cut, makes him a much more tragic villain. He spends the majority of Snyder's film grasping for something he may never get, but that doesn't stop him from giving it his all. In one of the biggest turnarounds in comic book movie history, Steppenwolf may have gone from forgettable to one of the better villains in the DC Extended Universe.
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.