Endgame VS. The Snyder Cut Pt. 2: The Snyder Cut
“I knew it before BvS, when we made Man of Steel. Marvel is doing something else. They’re doing, at the highest level, this popular action-comedy with a heart. And they have that nailed. An effort to duplicate that is insanity because they’re so good at it. What DC had was mythology at an epic level, and we were going to take them on this amazing journey. Frankly, I was the only one saying that.”
And I couldn’t agree more. In the short time it’s been out, I’ve seen Zack Snyder’s Justice League more times than I have Avenger’s: Infinity War or Endgame, and it’s precisely because of its epically immersive mythology that it appeals to me so much.
A Worthy Foe
Feel free to disagree, but I’ve always felt that DC has better villains than Marvel. They’ve consistently felt more nuanced and compelling, and the same applies when comparing Steppenwolf to Thanos—I genuinely think Steppenwolf is the better, more fully developed character.
My biggest issue with Thanos lies in his motivation. He falls into the tired trope of the “ruthless savior,” the kind of villain who believes the only way to save humanity is to destroy it. It’s a concept that’s been done so many times, it’s become almost generic. Even worse, his reasoning isn’t grounded to anything personal or unique to him—it’s simply presented as a matter of fact because he said so. That makes his plan feel interchangeable. You could theoretically swap Thanos out with any other character and nothing would change.
Steppenwolf, on the other hand, has a motivation that’s distinctly his own. We learn he once betrayed Darkseid and now seeks to conquer Earth as a form of redemption—to prove his worth and earn his place back in Darkseid’s favor. That goal is deeply personal and specific to him. If you removed Steppenwolf from the story, the plot would have to change entirely. Even Darkseid, who is arguably more comparable to Thanos, has a motivation rooted in personal revenge after being defeated in his first attempt to conquer Earth.
Ultimately, Steppenwolf became a more fleshed-out, emotionally driven character in a single film than Thanos managed to become in two.
(And let’s be honest—Steppenwolf’s armor is badass.)
A Battle of Character
In Part One, I talked about how one of the major issues with Endgame’s finale is that it lacked direction and a definitive goal for a significant portion of the battle. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, you can’t root for the protagonist to achieve their goal when they have no goal.
In contrast, Zack Snyder’s Justice League gives us a clearly defined objective for both sides. The Justice League lays out their plan en route to the battle, so we know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish. Steppenwolf’s objective is just as clear—he orders his army to “defend the unity.” Not only does each side have a clear goal, but the characters themselves have defined roles to help them succeed. We know everything going into this battle all the way down to the geography of where they need to go. With all this information at hand, the audience can contextualize even the smallest of engagements to the side in which they favor. Knowing where there’s wins and losses, and how they affect the overall battle, is vital to the audience’s understanding and enjoyment of gestalt-style action.
When it comes to building real tension and uncertainty about the heroes’ fate, The Snyder Cut delivers in a way few superhero films do—because the heroes actually lose at first. The Mother Boxes synchronize, and EVERYTHING is destroyed. It’s only when The Flash taps into the Speed Force that we get a true sense that our heroes might win. It doesn’t come until the last second and is arguably the most powerful moment in the entire DCEU—made even more so with Barry finding serenity in his father’s words.
But the character moments don’t stop there. When Victor connects with the Mother Boxes, they connect with him too. Instead of achieving victory at face value, he has to first come to terms with his father’s actions and accept himself as the Cyborg he now is. It’s a battle not just affected by the character’s actions, but their personal growth. And their initial failure is what makes the end victory so much more meaningful.
I know these last two entries make it sound like I hate The Avengers, but I don’t. I thoroughly enjoy the MCU. But it’s hard to talk about the flaws of Endgame without sounding like you’re just tearing it apart. My only goal here was to explain why I think The Snyder Cut is better. And yes, I honestly think it’s better.
