Justice League

Steppenwolf:
Mother, millennia in exile, searching... at last you call me home.

Hippolyta:
You will not like your welcome!

Steppenwolf:
[smiles] Oh, I think I will.

Bruce Wayne:
There is a stranger who comes to this village from the sea. He comes in the winter when people are hungry, he brings fish, comes on the king tide. That was last night.

Arthur Curry:
Talk.

Bruce:
I believe that an enemy is coming from far away. I’m looking for warriors. This stranger, others like him. I’m building an alliance to defend us. It’s very important that I see this man.

Diana Prince:
People said the Age of Heroes would never come again.

Bruce:
It has to.

Arthur:
Strong men are strongest alone, have you ever heard that?

Bruce:
That’s not the saying. That’s the opposite of what the saying is.

Bruce:
Barry Allen. Bruce Wayne.

Barry Allen:
You said that like it explains why there’s a total stranger in my place sitting in the dark in my second favorite chair.

Bruce:
[hands Barry a surveillance camera photo of the Flash] Tell me about this.

Barry:
[pretends to study it] This is a person who looks exactly like me but who is definitely not me.

Bruce:
[sees the Flash suit] Silica-based quartz sand fabric. Abrasion resistant. Heat resistant.

Barry:
Uh, yeah, I do... competitive ice dancing.

Bruce:
It's what they use on the space shuttle to prevent it from burning up on re-entry.

Barry:
I do very competitive ice dancing.

Barry:
Whoever you’re looking for, it's not– [Bruce suddenly throws a Batarang straight at Barry, who uses his super-speed to step out of the way. As he glances at the Batarang, he looks at Bruce in shock, then catches it] You’re the Batman?

Bruce:
So, you’re fast.

Barry:
That feels like an oversimplification.

Bruce:
I'm putting together a team of people with special abilities. See, I believe enemies are coming–

Barry:
[grins] Stop right there. I'm in.

Bruce:
[surprised] You are?

Barry:
Yeah, I... I need... friends. People are difficult, they require a lot of focus. They, uh... they have a rhythm that I haven't quite been able to... like brunch! What is brunch? You wait in line for an hour for, essentially, lunch. I mean... I don't know. People are... a little slow.

Bruce:
I'll try to keep up.

Barry:
[holds up batarang] Can I keep this?

Barry:
What are your superpowers again?

Bruce:
I'm rich.

Commissioner James Gordon:
How many of you are there?

Batman:
Not enough.

Commissioner James Gordon:
Do you really think that... [he turns around to see only the Flash standing behind him, the others have disappeared]

Flash:
Oh, wow, they just, they really just vanished. Huh? Oh. That’s rude. [speeds off]

Steppenwolf:
Just tell me the truth.

1st Scientist:
Please, please just let us go! I have a family...!

Steppenwolf:
Wrong answer. [kills her] Humans, the stench of your fear is making my soldiers hungry. [grabs a second scientist] Shall I feed them? You've been near the Mother Box. Her scent is on you.

2nd Scientist:
Please, we have families! Please...

Steppenwolf:
Why does everyone keep telling me that?

Flash:
[dry-heaving] See, I'm afraid of bugs, and guns, and obnoxiously tall people. I can't be here! It's really cool, you guys seem ready to do battle and stuff, but, for transparency, I've never done battle. I've just pushed some people and run away!

Batman:
Save one.

Flash:
What?

Batman:
Save one person.

Flash:
Uh... which one?

Batman:
Don't talk, don't fight. Get in, get one out.

Flash:
And... and then?

Batman:
You'll know.

Flash:
Okay.

Steppenwolf:
[throws a scientist into the wall] Useless! [picks up Silas Stone] You, then. Where is my Mother Box?!

Silas Stone:
I'll die before I tell you.

Steppenwolf:
At last, one that doesn't whine. But you will scream.

Steppenwolf:
[sees Cyborg] Ah... you were born of her. A creature of chaos.

Cyborg:
Not how I see it.

Steppenwolf:
Give it time.

[Wonder Woman confronts Steppenwolf.]

Steppenwolf:
This one is mine!

[His Parademons withdraw.]

Diana:
You overestimate yourself.

Steppenwolf:
Child, my ax is still slick with the blood of your sisters.

[Diana roars and attacks.]

Cyborg:
[takes control of the Knightcrawler] Thanks, Alfred. But I’ll take it from here.

Alfred:
Uh, do I know you?

[The Knightcrawler fires two missiles at Steppenwolf. He deflects one and catches the other.]

Steppenwolf:
Primitive beings.

[He releases the missile to explode against the ceiling.]

Flash:
What are we under right now?

[Ominous rumbling.]

Batman:
Gotham Harbor.

James Gordon:
Nice to see you playing well with others.

Aquaman:
Dressed like a bat... I dig it.

Batman:
[through gritted teeth] May be temporary.

Aquaman:
Dressed like a bat, You really are out of your mind.

Batman:
I’m not the one who brought a pitchfork.

Superman:
So, how do I help?

Batman:
[indicates Victor] We buy him some time, he can stop that box from destroying all life on Earth... we hope.

Superman:
Well, I knew you didn't bring me back 'cause you like me.

Batman:
[awkwardly] I don't... not...

Superman:
[flying alongside Flash] Slowpoke.

The Flash:
Oh, it's on!

Cyborg:
Superman! We gotta pull these things apart. A couple more seconds, you'll see your opening.

Superman:
Any blowback?

Cyborg:
Big time. But I think we can take it.

Superman:
Good. 'Cause I really like being alive.

Cyborg:
So do I.

[after the Mother Boxes explode]

Batman:
Clark.

[The smoke clears, revealing Superman and Cyborg knocked flat.]

Superman:
I take it back. I wanna die.

[They laugh weakly.]

Cyborg:
Man, my toes hurt! I don't even understand the physics of how my toes can hurt!

[They laugh louder.]

Wonder Woman:
Children. I work with children.

[Diana destroys Steppenwolf's ax.]

Steppenwolf:
No! This cannot be!

Aquaman:
You recognize that smell?

[All the Parademons turn to Steppenwolf.]

Batman:
Fear.

Superman:
[seeing plant-life growing] I'm glad I didn't miss this.

Wonder Woman:
So am I.

Batman:
Yeah, Now she's glad.

Lois:
I wish you could stay a little longer.

Clark:
Why?

Lois:
Because now I have to send you away.

Clark:
Bruce.

Lois:
He needs you.

Clark:
I guess I owe him one.

Clark:
"Thank you" is not enough for what you did.

Bruce:
I just undid a mistake, that's all.

Clark:
How did you get the house back from the bank?

Bruce:
I bought the bank.

Clark:
The whole bank?

Bruce:
It's like a reflex with me, I don't know.

(in a mid-credit scene, Superman and Flash are about to have a friendly race)

Superman:
If I win, Bruce said something about you having to take us all to brunch?

Flash:
Oh see, now that's cold, that's a betrayal. I feel stung by that... Okay, but if I win I get to tell everyone.

Superman:
(they shake hands) Deal. Which coast?

Flash:
You know, I've never seen the pacific. (Superman points to one direction) Which is that way, because... The sun, and it's...

(they get on their marks as Flash lights up small firecracker and tosses it in the ground. Immediately after it blows up, they speed up for their race)

Lois Lane:
I was hoping it was gonna take you longer to recover.

Clark:
Why?

Lois:
Because now I have to send you away.

Clark:
Bruce.

Lois:
He needs you. Fate of the world. I think that's the deal. He was pretty tense.

Clark:
Well, I guess I do owe him one.

Aquaman:
Honestly... I think we're gonna be dead way before that. And you know what? I don't mind. It's an honorable end. But we've gotta shut Steppenwolf down. Superman's a no-show. [looks at Batman] You've got no powers, no offense. [looks at Cyborg] This guy might be working for the enemy. We don't know. [looks at Flash] You're tripping over your feet, and mine... [looks at Wonder Woman] Whuf, you're gorgeous, and fierce... and strong.

[Everyone is surprised.]

Aquaman:
I know we went to war with the Amazons, but that was before my time. You know what? I don't wanna die. I'm young. There's sh*t that I wanna do. I just feel like... I didn't really embrace the sea or the land. I've been a loner my whole life. But being part of something bigger, like this... maybe I'm scared because... I'm meant to...

[Batman gestures to Aquaman, who realizes he sat on Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth. He angrily tosses it back to her.]

Wonder Woman:
I think that was beautiful.

Aquaman:
[to Flash] You say a word about this, you'll meet every piranha I know.

Flash:
I honestly didn't hear anything after "we're all gonna die."

[Barry is queuing at the prison parlor.]

Barry Allen:
[Gives the prison guard his ID card] Here to see Henry Allen.

Prison guard:
[Takes Barry's ID card from him] Sign.

[Barry picks up a sharpie and uses it to sign a sign-in form.]

Man:
Hurry it up, will you? [Barry turns to him] What, you got a problem?

Barry Allen:
[Uses his super speed to draw glasses, a mustache, and a surgical staple line on the man's face] No, there's no problem.

Man:
Hmph. Better not be.

[Barry turns back to the form. He writes down the initials "B.A." on it.]

Prison guard:
You know where to go.

[As Barry goes to talk to his father, the prison guard looks at the form, then secretly uses his phone to send out a notification.]

Prison guard:
[To the man, whose face has a drawn glasses, mustache, and surgical staple line] Are those prescription? Or are you just trying to look brainy?

[The man figures out that Barry drew glasses, a mustache, and a surgical line on his face.]

[Barry is talking to his father.]

Henry:
Because you're holding yourself back. You're going in circles. You're working three dead-end jobs, going on four. Where do you even have the time?

Barry:
I make the time.

Henry:
And this is all to pay for a criminal justice degree, huh?

Barry:
Okay, I really don't wanna talk about this again. The investigation was botched.

Henry:
[Puts his hand on the glass] Give me your hand, man. [Barry puts his hand on the glass] I want you to listen to me, Barry, because I mean this. I want you to give all that up. And I want you to stop coming to see me. I am a drag on your life.

Barry:
Please don't ever say that to me again. Please?

Henry:
You can be whatever you wanna be. You're brilliant, man. Absolute best of the best. I can't sit here and watch you run in place in Central City for some old dude who's not going anywhere.

Barry:
Dad, that's not true.

Prison guard:
It's time.

Barry:
That's not true.

Prison guard:
Let's go, Allen. Allen!

Henry:
I want you to make your own future. [The prison guard grabs him and pulls him up] You're living in the past. Make your own future. [Hangs up the phone and waves to his son]

Prison guard:
Open gate!

[As the prison guard leads Henry away, Barry hangs up the phone and starts thinking about making his own future.]

Diana Prince:
They called him Steppenwolf, the end of worlds. He lived only to conquer. Millions fell before his blade, or rose again as his Parademons. Nightmare creatures who feed on fear.

Bruce Wayne:
Yeah, I think I met one. We didn't hit it Off.

Diana Prince:
Here in Gotham?

Bruce Wayne:
They're all over. They're looking for his… boxes?

Diana Prince:
The Mother Boxes.

Bruce Wayne:
Mother Boxes. I guess Steppenwolf took the one your people were guarding. That leaves two more.

Diana Prince:
I'm impressed.

Bruce Wayne:
Don't be. I have no idea what's in them. A weapon? Some kind of power?

Diana Prince:
They don't contain power. They ARE power. Carried from planet to planet, the Mother Boxes combine to form the unity. An apocalyptic power that not only destroys worlds, but transforms them into the primordial hellscape of Steppenwolf's birth world. We should have died. But we formed our own unity. Amazons, Atlanteans, all the tribes of men fought side by side. Warriors of legend, allies from other worlds, even the gods themselves all acted as one. Laying down their lives to drive Steppenwolf away. Some say it drove him mad. The disgrace of his first retreat. He swore our alliance would crumble. That darkness would cover the Earth. And that he would return when it did. Left behind, the Mother Boxes were too dangerous to be kept together. One was entrusted to the Amazons. One to the Atlanteans. Both sealed and guarded in secure strongholds. The Box of Men was buried in secret so that no tribe would be tempted to use its power over another. Such harmony out of such horror. It was truly an Age of Heroes.

Bruce Wayne:
Something tells me we're not getting the band back together.

Diana Prince:
The Atlanteans were forced undersea, and the Amazons to an island they can never leave.

Bruce Wayne:
Well, I wouldn't count on the tribes of men. We tend to act like the Doomsday Clock has a snooze button. How long until--

Diana Prince:
--Days. At most. Steppenwolf's mistake last time was attacking us. He wanted to make the Earth kneel before he destroyed us.

[Bruce and Barry, who is carrying a pizza box, go to Bruce's car.]

Barry:
It's like this layer of dimensional reality, and it seems to manipulate space-time. I call it the Speed Force. Causes me to burn a tremendous amount of calories. So I'm just a black hole of snacks. I am a "snack" hole. How many people are on this special fight team?

Bruce:
Three, including you.

Barry:
Three? Against what?

Bruce:
I'll tell you on the plane.

Barry:
The plane?

[Bruce and Barry get into the car.]

Barry:
What are your superpowers again?

Bruce:
I'm rich.

[Bruce starts the engine of the car. He and Barry drive off.]

Bruce:
And that's what science is for: to do what's never been done. To make life better.

Diana:
Or to end it. Technology is like any other power. Without reason, without heart, it destroys us.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
I think it's something more. Something darker.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
Arthur Curry. Also known as Protector of the Oceans. The Aquaman. I hear you can talk to fish.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
Superman was a beacon to the world. Why aren't you? You're an inspiration, Diana. You don't just save people, You make them see their better selves.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
He was more human than I am. He lived in this world. Fell in love, got a job, despite all that power. The world needs Superman. And the team needs Clark.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
[Blasting Parademons with the Knightcrawler's weapons] Sorry, guys. I didn't bring a sword.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
[Blasting Parademons with the Knightcrawler's weapons, in the Snyder Cut only] My turn.

Bruce Wayne / Batman:
[as Steppenwolf leaps onto the Nightcrawler] Jesus... he is tall.

Clark Kent / Superman:
[To kids filming him] My fa– a man I knew once said, that hope is like your car keys. Easy to lose, but if you dig around, it's usually close by.

Clark Kent / Superman:
[While choking Batman] Tell me, do you bleed?

Clark Kent / Superman:
[To Steppenwolf] Well, I believe in truth, but I'm also a big fan of justice.

Clark Kent / Superman:
[To Flash] Slowpoke.

Lois Lane:
[Writing a story for the Daily Planet] Darkness, the truest darkness, is not the absence of light. It is the conviction that the light will never return. But the light always returns to show us things familiar, Home, family, and things entirely new, or long overlooked. It shows us new possibilities and challenges us to pursue them. this time, the light shone on the heroes coming out of the shadows to tell us we won't be alone again. Our darkness was deep and soon to swallow all hope. But these heroes were here the whole time to remind us that hope is real. That you can see it. All you have to do is look, up in the sky.

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
You should move on from mourning for your parents.

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
We're asking people we don’t know to risk their lives.

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
You wanted me to be a leader. But leaders get people killed. So I follow, always.

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
Children. I work with children.

Barry Allen / The Flash:
[To a little girl] Dostoevsky.

Barry Allen / The Flash:
[Scarfing a whole pizza] It's like this layer of dimensional reality that seems to manipulate space-time. I call it the Speed Force. It causes me to burn a tremendous amount of calories, so I am just a black hole of snacks. I am a snack hole.

Barry Allen / The Flash:
[Sees the Bat signal shining in the sky] Oh, awesome. That’s the Bat signal, that’s your… Ooh, ssh. Sorry. That’s your signal, that means we have to go now.

Barry Allen / The Flash:
[seeing Superman alive again but has not regained his memories] Pet Semetary!

Barry Allen / The Flash:
[After Cyborg briefly leaves during the first battle against Steppenwolf] Did he just bail?

Barry Allen / The Flash:
[After he defeated the robot bugs] Yes! That was gross!

Arthur Curry / Aquaman:
This is crazy. Honestly, I think we’re all going to die.

Arthur Curry / Aquaman:
[To Flash] You say a word about this, and you'll meet every piranha I know.

Victor Stone / Cyborg:
Booyah.

Victor Stone / Cyborg:
You should probably move.

Alfred Pennyworth:
[To Bruce] One misses the days when ones biggest concerns were exploding wind-up penguins.

Alfred Pennyworth:
[To Bruce] I don't recognize this world.

Steppenwolf:
The Kryptonian's death plunged this timid world into such terrors. Amazons, Atlanteans, each stands and falls alone.

Steppenwolf:
And my exile will come to an end. I will take my place among the New Gods.

Steppenwolf:
[To his Parademons] Find the last one. Its power will cleanse this world. For the Unity! For Darkseid.

Steppenwolf:
[To Hippolyta] Noble queen, why do you fight? After the Unity you will join my allegiance and you will know the righteousness of power! You will love me. You all will.

Steppenwolf:
[In a deleted scene] No protectors here. No Lanterns. No Kryptonian. This world will fall like all the others.

Steppenwolf:
[Superman arrives in the final battle] Kryptonian!

Steppenwolf:
I am the end of worlds! Who are you to defy me?! This world is my right!

Steppenwolf:
I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!

[Mera creates a bubble around herself and Arthur.]

Arthur:
You took a hell of a hit. You all right?

Mera:
[Chuckles] At last. The firstborn of the beloved Queen Atlanna.

[Arthur starts to leave.]

Mera:
[Stops Arthur from leaving] Wait! Please. I knew her.

Arthur:
Well, that makes one of us.

Mera:
When my parents fought in the wars– she took me in.

Arthur:
What a saint.

Mera:
You dare speak of Queen Atlanna that way?

Arthur:
Your queen left me on my father's doorstep and never gave me another thought.

Mera:
Your mother left you to save your life. Cannot imagine how it hurt her. What it cost her. But you're not a defenseless child now. It would have been her responsibility to follow that monster to the surface and stop him. Now– it's yours.

Arthur:
Then I'm gonna need something from you.

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:
You were pushing me to lead the team– but leaders get people killed. I fought, always, when I was needed. But to lead, to step into the light, and to say to people "This is worth your life." When it's your fault– they're all Steve Trevor.

Arthur Curry / Aquaman:
[Rescues a man from drowning; takes a bottle of whisky] It's on him.