Man of Steel and Batman v Superman star Henry Cavill recently shared on Instagram a photo teasing a black Superman costume he may be donning for the upcoming Justice League.
The black suit hints that the film will again be using an element from “The Death and Return of Superman”, the famous 1992 comic book storyline that saw the hero killed by Doomsday "” the same fate that he met in BvS: Dawn of Justice. His sacrifice inspired Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to begin looking for other powerful metahumans to join them in filling the void left by the Man of Steel.
Check out Cavill’s Instagram post below:
While Superman died in Batman v Superman, his eventual return was not only hinted by dirt rising from his grave at the film’s final moments, but it was also assured by Cavill being confirmed to appear in Justice League shortly after the film’s release. The tease above indicates that the Son of Krypton could be sporting the long-haired, black-costumed look created by writer/penciller Dan Jurgens for his return in “Reign of the Supermen!”
In the comics, Superman’s death saw the rise of four individuals "” Steel, Superboy, Cyborg Superman and Eradicator "” who took up the mantle of Superman, with the latter two claiming to be the actual one. The real Superman then emerged, depowered and wearing a black suit with a metallic “S” emblem and sans cape.
Director Zack Snyder previously teased that Superman could return to the DCEU with long hair. "It should be perfect," he said. "Longer, I guess. That's what the myths are anyway." Snyder and Cavill are both big fans of “The Death and Return of Superman” comic book story arc, which was already referenced with the appearance of Doomsday as Batman v Superman’s final villain. It’s likely that the director will continue to utilize elements from the comics in Justice League.
Fans already began speculating on whether Snyder will recreate the black regenerative suit and shoulder-length hair. Check out this fan art by George Evangelista showing a grizzled Superman:
Aside from a weakened Man of Steel appearing in the DCEU’s big team-up movie, there’s also the potential for Superman becoming the film’s villain (or at least for a part of it). In a 2013 comics storyline, Darkseid (the rumored big bad of the DC movies) created a Superman clone who wears a black suit. Batman v Superman itself had a dream sequence scene showing Superman as an all-powerful tyrant after the death of Lois Lane. There was also a scene with The Flash issuing Bruce Wayne a warning seemingly from the future, telling Batman that he was “always right” about Superman and to “fear him”.
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