Warning: possible spoilers ahead for Zack Snyder's Justice League! You've been warned!
You cannot have DC's most iconic superhero team without Superman, and while Zack Snyder's Justice League does feature Henry Cavill's Man of Steel, he has been noticeably absent from the film's marketing campaign in the months leading up to release. However, now that the film has opened in theaters, it looks like DC and Warner Bros. have finally embraced the Last Son of Krypton and included him on the film's poster. Check it out below.
This picture does not really seem very different from other promotional images that we have seen from Justice League so far. The only real difference is the obvious inclusion of Henry Cavill's Superman (seemingly without his CGI upper lip) front and center with the rest of the DC heroes. Supes' inclusion in the movie was a poorly-kept secret from even the earliest days of the film's production (Cavill himself shared a shot of his suit before anyone knew he would come back) but now it seems that DC is going all in on getting Superman back into action.
Seeing Superman standing alongside the other members of the Justice League is obviously insanely cool, and this modified poster for the film goes a long way towards reminding us of the comic book inspiration for Justice League's marketing. Specifically, the poster shares a striking similarity with a now iconic work of art by longtime comic book artists Alex Ross. You can take a look at some of his work below to see how it stacks up to the movie poster.
It is not hard to understand why DC wanted to try and keep Superman's presence in the film a secret -- even if it was pretty much impossible to do. Clark Kent's death at the end of Batman v Superman was meant to foreshadow a dark and desperate time on Earth, and the lack of a symbol of hope was the prime motivator to bring Batman (Ben Affleck) out of the shadows to properly form the Justice League. Keeping the most powerful member of the League out of the film instantly raised the stakes, and that is what needed to happen to make the threat of Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) credible.
Justice League is now in theaters, so make sure to check it out and see the Man of Steel stand alongside the other members of the League on the silver screen for the very first time! If you're looking for more information on what we thought of the film, you can check out our in-depth review, as well as our To 3D guide, to get a better sense of which ticket is worth your money.
