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 always been more nuanced and intriguing, and the same goes for Steppenwolf when compared to Thanos, I think he’s a better villain and an overall more developed character.
My biggest issue with Thanos is his reason and motivation. He’s given the annoyingly overused villain trope that boils down to the argument, “the only way to save humanity, is to kill humanity.” It’s such an overused concept at this point that it’s almost generic. But even worse, due to his reasoning being no more specific than because he said so, he becomes a villain whose objective is not unique to him. Thanos himself could theoretically be switched out with anybody and nothing would change.
Steppenwolf on the other hand has a clear purpose that is unique to him. We learn that he betrayed Darkseid long ago and he wants to conquer Earth as a form of payment to earn his way back into Darkseid’s good graces. If Steppenwolf were to be switched out, the movie would be completely different. Even Darkseid himself, who is even more akin to Thanos, has a motivation that is unique to him, as he wants revenge for being defeated when he first tried to conquer earth.
But my main point here is that Steppenwolf managed to became a much more developed character within one film than Thanos did in two. (Also, Steppenwolf’s armor is badass)
A Battle of Character
In Part One, I talked about how a problem with Endgame’s finale was that it lacked direction and a definitive goal for almost half the battle. At the risk of repeating myself for what would actually be the third time now, I can’t root for the protagonist to achieve their goal when they have no goal.
We know the Justice League’s goal because they review their plan while on their way to the battle. We know Steppenwolf’s goal because he explicitly 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, we 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 the tension and dread, and the implied question of whether or not the heroes win, The Snyder Cut definitely has it because they actually lose at first. The Mother Boxes synchronize and EVERYTHING is destroyed. It isn’t until The Flash taps in to the speed force that we get a true sense that our heroes might win. It doesn’t come until the last second, and it’s probably the most powerful moment in the entire DCEU, made even more so with Barry finding serenity in his fathers words. But the character moments don’t stop there, when Victor is connected to the Mother Boxes, the Mother Boxes are also connected to him, and 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 that’s not the case. I thoroughly enjoy the MCU. But it’s hard to talk about the flaws of Endgame without sounding like you’re just tearing into it. My only goal here was to explain why I think The Snyder Cut is better. And yes, I honestly think it’s better.
