SPOILERS: BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Ultimate Edition - 10 Awesome Easter Eggs You May Have Missed
It may only feature an additional 30 minutes of footage, but the Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition is crammed full of new Easter Eggs which reference everything from Man of Steel to Watchmen...
Regardless, this Ultimate Edition definitely brings a lot to the table, and that includes plenty of awesome new Easter Eggs. None of these factored into the regular version of the movie, and that's a shame, because many are even cleverer and more satisfying than what we got a few months back.
So, with that in mind, what you'll find here are the ten best Easter Eggs, references, and cameos from the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition. It goes without saying that potential spoilers follow for those of you who haven't watched it yet, though you really should have done by now...
10. "The End Is Nigh"
We saw a nod to 300 in the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, so it should come as no surprise to learn that there's a Watchmen Easter Egg in the Ultimate Edition. When a couple of cops (who were previously only seen inside the building where they confronted the Caped Crusader) respond to some suspicious activity in a nearby building, we get to see that they're stationed in the Gotham Seaport.
That's made clear by a sign which has been vandalised and is now covered in graffiti reading, "The End if Nigh." That's clearly a nod to the sign carried through the streets of New York City by Rorschach's alter-ego in Watchmen, and while something like "Who Watches The Watchmen?" would have been a more obvious reference, this is a cool wink to fans of the filmmaker's big screen adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's classic graphic novel.
9. Talon
This could very well be a coincidence, but as Talon is one of my favourite characters to come out of The New 52, I'm going to assume Zack Snyder feels the same way. Following the murder of CIA agent Jimmy Olsen, we learn that the agency has been monitoring the whole thing, and that they're sending in troops to clean things up. Their leader is Python (a character from Sandman), while Jimmy was dubbed Talon.
Seeing as Talon has become a fairly prominent part of the DC Comics Universe - he even had his own series for a while - it's hard to believe that the director and writer Chris Terrio didn't know what they were doing when they gave Olsen this name. Could this have in fact been a nod to the Court of Owls and a hint that Olsen will be brought back from the dead by them somewhere down the line? Probably not, but this apparent hat tip to Talon is still pretty cool if deliberate.
8. Prisoner A-C-23-19-40
Eagle eyed fans no doubt already noticed that the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice revealed that Lex Luthor's inmate number was "TK-421", a reference to Zack Snyder's fun Twitter war with Star Wars: The Force Awakens helmer J.J. Abrams. However, the Ultimate Edition takes things one step further by having the guard approaching the villain's cell refer to him as, "Prisoner A-C-23-19-40."
That may seem meaningless at first glace, but take a closer look at you'll notice that it essentially spells out Action Comics #23 (which, you guessed it, was released in 1940). What's the significance of that comic book? Well, it featured the first appearance of - and don't pretend you didn't see this coming - Lex Luthor. As Easter Eggs go, it's pretty on the nose, but a nice way to homage the source material be writer Chris Terrio and the director.
7. Father Leone Returns
In the Ultimate Edition, Clark Kent's funeral in Smallville gets quite a bit more attention. Take a closer look at the service taking place at Kent Farm, and you'll spot Deborah Snyder making a cameo appearance as one of the mourners and the return of Man of Steel's Joseph Cranford as Pete Ross. However, an even more surprising return likely missed by most is that of Father Leone (Coburn Goss).
He's the man who Clark spoke to in that church in Man of Steel when he was trying to decide whether or not he should reveal himself to the world as Superman, and the priest can be seen here welcoming Perry White and later delivering a sermon during Clark's funeral. Interestingly, Isaiah 26:15-19 is a Bible verse which talks about the arrival of heaven on Earth and the return of those who have died. Say what you will about Snyder, but continuity is something he pays attention to!
6. Jenet Klyburn
After all the hype and speculation, The Hunger Games' Jena Malone ends up having less than a minute's worth of screentime in the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As you no doubt already know, she's neither Batgirl nor anyone of any significance from the comic books and is in actual fact only S.T.A.R. Labs scientist Jenet Klyburn. Introduced in the pages of Superman #304, she does actually have red hair, but Malone went blonde for her cameo appearance.
However, as insignificant as her helping Lois Lane may seem on the surface, Snyder could have been setting something bigger up here. Recent Justice League set visit reports revealed that scientists are being abducted by Parademons in that movie (including one from S.T.A.R. Labs according to Cyborg), so it will be interesting to see if Klyburn is among them and gets a bigger role in the superhero ensemble.
5. Some Familiar Names
We only spend a few more seconds with the two cops who go after Batman during his first scene in the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but that's more than enough time to notice the fact that they have some familiar names. It turns out that these two are Officers Mazzucchelli and Rucka, two characters clearly named after comic book artist David Mazzucchelli and writer Greg Rucka.
The former is responsible for the incredible artwork seen in Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, while the latter having a cop named after him is very appropriate considering the fact that he was behind the Gotham Central series which inspired the TV show currently airing on Fox (he also had a well received run on the main Batman title which included the "No Man's Land" arc). A lot of Batman comic book writers and artists deserved to be referenced, but seeing these two here was fitting.
4. "52"
The "52" Easter Egg has become a staple of shows like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, but is it now creeping into the DC Films Universe? The two cops mentioned in the previous slide are watching the football game many expected would reveal the origin story of Cyborg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it's there that we see a player on the bench with the number 52 on his back.
That normally wouldn't have any significance, but its the only number visible during this scene, so has to be a fun nod to the fact that the DC Multiverse is made up of 52 Earths. Oddly enough, this sequence also appears to include another reference to Watchmen. It's hard to say for sure, but one of the players seems to be holding up a picture of Richard Nixon as he appeared in that movie. What, if any, significance does this have? I honestly have no idea...
3. ACE Chemicals
The Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice offers up a few new shots of the Gotham City skyline, and it's here that we get to see an iconic location from the comic books which will factor into Suicide Squad in a major way. No, it's not Arkham Asylum, but ACE Chemicals. That is of course the place where the Red Hood was transformed into The Joker, and somewhere where the Clown Prince of Crime will take Harley Quinn for a transformation of her own when the aforementioned David Ayer helmed release comes out on August 5th.
Interestingly, the logo used for the building is very similar to the one from the Arkham video games, though it's hard to say whether or not that's deliberate. Oh, and talking of Arkham Asylum, that does at least get a mention when Batman reveals that he's arranged for Lex Luthor to serve his sentence there.
2. Terrio Janitorial
Among the many extended scenes in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's Ultimate Edition is Lois Lane's kidnapping at the hands of the villainous Anatoli Knyazev/KG Beast. As she's loaded into a van by Lex Luthor's men, we see that it's been marked as being from a company called "Terrio Janitorial." Does than name ring a bell?
It should, because Man of Steel scribe David S. Goyer wrote Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but was later replaced by Argo's Chris Terrio when Ben Affleck joined the project and brought the Oscar winner with him. It's thought that Terrio essentially cleaned up Goyer's script, and that begs the question of whether this Easter Egg was a reference to that or just a cool way to having the writer's name appear on the big screen in a fun way. Either way, there's no denying that this was a nice way to pay tribute to the Justice League scribe.
1. Nods To Detective Comics
Zack Snyder didn't forget to include the year either, as the address Officers Mazzucchelli and Rucka go to where they find that human trafficking operation and a certain Caped Crusader waiting in the shadows in 1939 Harbour Way. That is indeed the year the hero first appeared, and as you can now tell, this entire sequence is crammed full of nods like this, an impressive feat by the filmmaker, that's for sure.
Which of these Easter Eggs from the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition was your favourite? Have we missed any others? As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.