When Justice League hits theaters on November 17, 2017, we can expect to see Henry Cavill reprise his role as the most famous and beloved hero of all time, Superman. However, this new Superman may have a bit of an edge to him. For those who haven't yet seen Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, (why haven't you?), our hero sacrifices himself at the end of the film to kill the monster Doomsday and save the world, as one does.
At the film's close, we get a shot of the freshly placed dirt on Clark Kent aka Superman's casket and we see a few particles begin to float, as if they're defying gravity. The moment is reminiscent of the scene in Man of Steel when Kent first learns of his Kryptonian heritage and discovers that he has the ability to fly.
In short, we all knew he was going to come back for the upcoming Justice League films. However, that answer begged so many more questions. How would Superman return from the dead? How will this ordeal have potentially changed him? What will he look like?
Cavill himself may have just answered at least one of these questions. Yesterday, Cavill posted a tease of the new suit to his Instagram account.
For those not familiar with the black suit, it made a brief appearance in the comics during the early 90s. After a cataclysmic battle in which both Superman and Doomsday were declared dead, the world mourned the loss of their greatest champion and other, lesser Supermen rose to take his place. In time, the real Superman returned to the world, albeit looking very different. He sported a less-than-popular black suit and flowing black locks of hair.
While adapting that entire story line is unlikely, especially considering that the Justice League film will be busy balancing six other superheroes as part of an ensemble cast, filmmakers may very well borrow bits and pieces from the existing mythology to serve their own narrative purposes. In the comics, it turned out that Superman's Kryptonian physiology allowed him to enter a death-like state, akin to a coma, that allowed him to regenerate his health. By human medical standards, he was dead. In truth, his heartbeat was so faint that it couldn't be detected by such primitive medical devices.
While it remains to be seen if the upcoming films will borrow that plot point as a way of explaining Superman's "resurrection," we can be almost certain that we'll see Henry Cavill don the black suit, at least for a short while, next year. If you can't wait until then, enjoy this fan-made image depicting Cavill's Superman after his return from the beyond. You be the judge. Awesome potential or far-fetched plot?
