Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Everything The Chapter Titles Reveal About The Story

The official title chapters for Zack Snyder’s Justice League give a good idea of what’s in store for the four-hour movie. The long-awaited Snyder Cut restores the original footage Snyder shot when the film was initially in production back in 2016. Much of that story was cut and/or reshot in order to bring the film down to just two hours, which is the version that released in theaters in 2017. But now, Snyder has the chance to tell the story he originally planned, along with the inclusion of chapter titles.

Snyder and HBO Max were previously looking into releasing Justice League as a four-part TV series, which would’ve included a Mother Box-intro for the show. Since that’s no longer happening, likely due to contractual issues, the intro was released as a promo. But while the story won’t be split into multiple parts, it will be broken up into chapters – six, to be specific. Each one will tell a core part of the story that will culminate into an ultimate showdown between the new League heroes and the Apokoliptian villains.

Although there’s only a few weeks remaining until the film comes out, HBO Max has revealed the six chapter titles, which reveal quite a lot already. Given that the Snyder Cut is a four-hour adventure, it makes sense to have chapters installed. This likely also how the four-episodes format would have looked like, with either similar or those exact titles. This is everything that each respective title reveals about the massive plot in the Justice League Snyder Cut.

The Chapters. Part 1: “Don’t Count On It, Batman”

When the first trailer came out for Justice League in 2016, it made it clear that Ben Affleck’s Batman would be working hard on building an alliance. “Don’t Count On It, Batman,” indicates that the opening will put Bruce Wayne in the focus as he’s trying to build the Justice League. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Lex Luthor had files on metahumans, including the members that will be founding the team. While Bruce never had problems getting Barry Allen on board, the same could probably not be said for the other two new members of the team. Part 1 really indicates that he’ll have some trouble getting everyone to sign up, most likely with Aquaman and, perhaps, also Cyborg.

Part 2: The Age Of Heroes

One of the biggest elements of Justice League is the History Lesson plot that would explore Darkseid’s initial attempt to invade Earth. This would focus a lot on Uxas, the New God’s real name before calling himself Darkseid. In the theatrical cut, Darkseid is nowhere to be seen, as is the original design for Steppenwolf. But Zack Snyder’s Justice League will restore that and give the real version that fans were supposed to see. “The Age Of Heroes” is likely referencing the warriors that defended Earth against the Apokoliptians the first time when Amazons, Atlanteans, Green Lanterns, and Olympian Gods came together to take on Uxas’ army. The title of this chapter can also reflect the next age of heroes that will come in the form of the Justice League.

Part 3: Beloved Mother, Beloved Son

Another corner that is key to the Snyder Cut is the return of Henry Cavill’s Superman after his death in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. What “Beloved Mother, Beloved Son” could be hinting at is likely something to do with Clark and his mother Martha Kent. But the title isn’t limited to just focus on them as it could also explore something about Bruce’s mother since his parents’ murders always haunt him. One of the characters that was cut from the theatrical version was Cyborg’s mother, Elinore Stone, played by Karen Bryson. With Victor Stone’s origin story set to be a key part of the Snyder Cut, it’s possible that the chapter refers to them too. “Beloved Mother, Beloved Son” could also apply to The Flash, whose mother was murdered when he was a kid; he’s since been trying to get his father, who was framed for the murder, out of prison.

Part 4: “Change Machine”

While Batman v Superman gave a taste of Cyborg’s origin story, it’s been known for years that he would be an important character in Justice League. With that in mind, the “Change Machine” chapter title refers to both the Mother Box and, presumably, Cyborg’s backstory finally being explained (in detail). This is also likely the part where Elinore’s death will be seen as part of the film’s Cyborg focus. “Change Machine” also could be where the team starts to come up with the idea to try and bring Superman back from the dead, using the Mother Box to do so. Even though the resurrection won’t be happening in this chapter, it’s possibly where Silas Stone will be killed, which has been seen in the initial Snyder Cut trailer.

Part 5: All The King’s Horses

Batman v Superman had a horse motif that symbolized the coming of death and/or even tragedy, in a similar way to the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. But the title “All the King’s Horses” is a reference to the Humpty Dumpy nursery rhyme, “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.” While an interesting choice for a chapter in this story, it alludes to something big revolving around Superman’s resurrection. By all means, this indicates that this is where the team executes their attempt to try to revive Superman. However it goes, this chapter will be where Lois Lane discovers that Clark is alive again rather than what went down with her in the 2017 cut, when the League battled Superman after his resurrection.

Part 6: “Something Darker”’

For the sixth chapter, which will see the finale of the Snyder Cut, “Something Darker” has to be where they include the big showdown between the Justice League and Steppenwolf. But it wouldn’t stop there as Steppenwolf’s fate would, literally, open the way for the League to discover Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips. This will likely also be where they tease Darkseid’s coming conquering of Earth that will begin the Knightmare timeline that has been a huge component of Snyder’s overall vision. Jared Leto’s Joker is set to be part of the Snyder Cut and “Something Darker” could very well be where he officially makes his appearance during the Knightmare arc.

Epilogue?

But despite all six chapters having their titles fully revealed, there is one more part that Snyder has said will be in the film – an epilogue. Given that the Knightmare sequence doesn’t happen until much later in Justice League, the epilogue has to be taken place in that timeline in some capacity. Due to the fact that the Snyder Cut ends with a cliffhanger, it’s likely fair to assume that an epilogue would be used to show how darker it’s about to get. After all, Justice League 2 was confirmed to take place entirely in the Knightmare reality. But perhaps the epilogue will also be a way where there is some sort of conclusion. Whether or not the epilogue will have a title remains to be seen as nothing has been revealed. It must just be called “Epilogue” and not have a chapter title at all. But an epilogue will still not be a proper ending to Snyder’s Justice League trilogy that he had planned this whole time.

Even though he has stated that Warner Bros. has no interest in continuing his series, the Snyder Cut wasn’t even supposed to happen either, according to some. And yet, fans showed their investment and passion to see the original Justice League cut released. It’s hard to imagine that the studio would refuse to continue this particular version of the DC Universe should the Snyder Cut be a massive success on HBO Max as well as all over the world. The Snyder Cut is an enormous moment in cinema history because of how the director and the original film were treated back in 2016 and 2017. Should it be a success, and all sides are interested to take part in continuing the story, then there may be a chance Justice League 2 could happen.

About The Author

Andy Behbakht
(1040 Articles Published)

Andy is a senior writer at Screen Rant as he has covered the world of entertainment journalism since 2010, including superhero/comic book media. In addition to his work as a reporter, Andy co-hosts The Flash Podcast while running and producing the entire DC TV Podcasts network. He is also the founder/editor-in-chief of The Marvel Report since Fall 2015. Andy has previously written for sites such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It’s Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more.

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