--Steppenwolf, Zach Snyder's Justice League
Among its many storytelling and characterization triumphs over the wholly inferior theatrical version of Justice League, Zach Snyder's Justice League uses what is ultimately a fairly small number of scenes to reveal several key details about the direct antagonist Steppenwolf. Though Steppenwolf dies at the end, as is the norm in this genre, all it took were a handful of lines to portray the extraterrestrial warrior as a much more conflicted, weary, emotionally vulnerable being that only wants to have what appears to be an extremely prolonged exile come to an end. Without even needing more than several lines placed strategically, Zach Snyder's Justice League adds much greater moral and psychological complexity to its central villain and exemplifies how to deepen characterization without relying on numerous, lengthy scenes.
As Steppenwolf makes progress in collecting objects called Mother Boxes, he periodically communicates with a fellow alien from the planet Apokalips, DeSaad, a servant of the world's ruler Darkseid. The film already hints that Steppenwolf hopes to appease Darkseid and regain favor with him, though when he brings it up, he does not clarify just why he has been, in a sense, tossed aside. It is when he provides information to DeSaad that more of his backstory is verbalized. Saying Steppenwolf was hindered by his own pride, DeSaad insists that he could have been beside Darkseid if only he had not stooped to a temporary betrayal of Apokalips's leader.
An almost moralistic tone in DeSaad's voice comes out when he emphasizes that this betrayal was done to family, as Darkseid is a relative of Steppenwolf (the New Gods, the natural residents of Apokalips, have varying but humanoid appearances). Steppenwolf says he repented of his mistake and then killed some of Darkseid's enemies who tried to seize his throne, only for DeSaad to remind him that, as a way of "atoning" for his betrayal, he still needs to conquer 50,000 more planets for Apokalips before Darkseid will perhaps forgive him and allow him to return to his homeworld. It is never mentioned how many planets have already fallen to Steppenwolf, but upon hearing this, Steppenwolf looks like he is on the verge of tears.
It is also not specified whether Steppenwolf rededicated his allegiance to Darkseid due to thinking the ruler of Apokalips morally deserves loyalty or because it was pragmatic for his own survival, but he expresses what appears to be genuine regret even in private moments where he is not looking at or speaking with anyone but himself. When he makes his quiet comment about how he hopes Darkseid will again be pleased with him soon after arriving on Earth, he is alone. This is before DeSaad speaks with him about the reason for his exile and the conditions of his possible, eventual acceptance back into Darkseid's presence. Just these moments alone solidify Steppenwolf as a far more tragic figure than he is in the theatrical film, wanting to go home to an enormously selfish and cruel megalomaniac despite how he has been treated by him.
In a scene around the middle of the much longer Zach Snyder's Justice League, Steppenwolf interrogates a human as he searches for one of the Mother Boxes. The human pleads with him, saying that the captives have families, to which Steppenwolf replies, "Then you have weakness." Whether or not this was on his mind at the time, Steppenwolf's own relationship with family is a very painful one, so he is experientially aware of how having a family can torment someone. In the context of the rest of the film, which reveals parts of Steppenwolf's past and motivations, this threat to a captured human echoes his own vulnerabilities. Zach Snyder's Steppenwolf is not as developed as the likes of Thanos or certain other recent villains inside or outside the superhero genre, but he is elevated to a much higher class of antagonists merely for a selection of his lines. No one needs hours and hours to develop a character well.
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