"I haven't seen this man in a month," John said, hitting me hard across the back as we walked into the theatre.
I stumbled forward slightly. "I was making a movie, or have you forgotten that?"
Matt laughed from my other side. "Hope it's not as boring as your last one."
John laughed immediately.
"Because it's true," John added, completely unapologetic.
I stopped walking for a second and looked at both of them.
"You lack taste, you fucking idiots," I said.
They laughed harder as we continued walking inside.
May had arrived, and with it came Man of Tomorrow, the much-anticipated Superman sequel and the last DC movie I'd written with Scott Snyder. The marketing had been relentless and brilliant. Same as the first Superman movie, the campaign had leaned fully into hope, wonder, and the sheer impossible beauty of Superman as a character.
I had seen a child walking around with a Krypto backpack that morning.
Some people at Stardust were convinced it would outperform Justice League, their expectations climbing higher with each movie. I didn't think so, and I'd spent a fair amount of time trying to talk Dave into reining in the more excitable execs before they set themselves up for disappointment.
I was originally supposed to write World's Finest as well, but I'd made the call to step back and write Justice League 2 instead when I went back to DC full time. Setting World's Finest on Warworld had been one of my better ideas. Superman and Batman stripped of their usual environments, thrown into something completely alien. Henry and Jensen were apparently having the time of their lives filming it. I was planning to visit the set next week for the Mongul battle sequence.
But tonight was about Man of Tomorrow.
The three of us were led to our seats as the room began to fill up.
"I have to be honest," I said to John as we sat down. "I've only seen parts of this."
John turned to look at me. "What?"
"I missed most of post-production," I said. "And I didn't go to the premiere."
"So this is basically your first time watching it?" Matt said.
"More or less," I admitted.
The lights dimmed.
The crowd reacted immediately, a wave of cheers rolling through the theatre as the DC Studios logo appeared, accompanied by that low, familiar rumble of the Superman score underneath it.
The movie opened on Krypton.
The planet in its final years. The establishing shot came in wide and slow, sweeping over Argo City, one of Krypton's most advanced settlements. The camera drifted down into a modest but elegant home. Inside, ten-year-old Kara Zor-El was chasing Krypto around the living room. Krypto, here, was a puppy losing his mind over whatever Kara was dangling in front of him.
Everyone reacted accordingly to Krypto's first big-screen debut.
"Of course," Matt muttered. "The dog is going to steal the movie."
"What's your beef with Krypto, man?" I asked.
Krypto had been the surprise centerpiece of the marketing campaign. The toys had sold out within days. But what surprised me more was that the marketing had also heavily featured another character I had not expected them to push so much.
On screen, Kara chased Krypto through the house, laughing as the pup slipped from her grip and ran down a hallway. She followed him, calling his name, until she reached a door slightly ajar. Kara wandered into her father's lab, where Zor-El, played by Hugh Jackman, appeared, drawing laughs as people realized it was him.
"Wait, is that Hugh fucking Jackman?" John whispered, laughing.
"Yep," I said, smiling.
"What the fuck?"
On screen, the massive display flickered with three violet dots arranged in a triangular pattern.
Brainiac.
Kara asked her father if everything would be all right. She said she had heard Uncle Jor and him talking. Zor-El told Kara, with the careful optimism of a man trying to believe his own words, that he had managed to resurrect and enhance an old Kryptonian AI, one that had once helped Krypton chart the universe. He was convinced it would help them save the world.
"This intelligence once helped Krypton explore the universe," Zor-El said. "And now, with the proper guidance, it will help us save our world."
The camera slowly pushed in on the three violet dots.
Kara looked at them.
They pulsed again.
Zor-El's voice softened.
"Everything will be all right."
The dots filled the screen.
Then the violet glow changed.
Metal groaned.
The three dots were no longer on a screen.
They were now embedded in the face of a humanoid robot about three meters in height, tearing through Cairo.
The transition was perfect.
The crowd reacted instantly.
"Oh shit," John said.
Military vehicles burned. People were being evacuated. As the robot was about to attack a group of civilians, it was hit and thrown far away from the city.
The camera turned, and the Superman theme grew in volume as Superman appeared, floating, his cape whipping in the desert wind.
Cheers and applause erupted as Superman flew straight down. The robot recovered and flew upward. They clashed.
The scene shifted to show the fight on a large monitor being watched by Lex Luthor, played by Corey Stoll. There were men and women around him at their own computers. Lex looked angry.
Corey Stoll looked fantastic in the role. Cold, sharp, controlled in the way only a man with a volcanic ego could be controlled. He did not look afraid. That was important. Lex should almost never look afraid. He should look offended that reality had dared to inconvenience him.
Around him, men and women worked at terminals, the room filled with holographic displays, satellite maps, and scrolling data feeds.
On the screen, Superman continued fighting the robot.
Lex stared at it, jaw tight.
"How did this happen?" he asked.
No one answered quickly enough.
His eyes shifted to the people around him.
"I asked a question."
A blonde woman in a tailored business suit stepped forward, her expression professional but tense.
Vanessa Kirby.
There were a few whispers in the audience when people recognized her.
"Sir," she said, "we lost complete contact with the Middle East facility twelve minutes ago. All internal feeds went dark simultaneously. Security teams have not responded. The prototype deployed without authorization."
Lex did not look away from the screen.
"That is not an answer, Miss Graves."
Mercy Graves.
A nice little wave of recognition moved through the theatre.
Mercy's face remained still.
"No, sir," she said. "It isn't."
On screen, Superman ripped one of the robot's arms off and threw it across the desert. The machine adapted instantly, plates shifting, new mechanical components forming where the arm had been.
Lex's expression darkened.
Lex straightened his suit jacket, then turned away from the screen.
"Find out what happened."
"Yes, sir."
"And contain this."
Mercy glanced toward the monitor, where Superman was now lifting the robot high above the desert.
The scene shifted back to Superman fighting the robot. He was able to dispatch it quickly, but was surprised by how durable it was.
He spoke to J'onn J'onzz, asking if he knew where it came from.
The camera cut to inside the Hall of Justice for a moment, showing J'onn watching Superman on a number of screens, sitting in front of a supercomputer.
"Initial analysis shows it contains LexCorp tech," J'onn said.
Superman sighed. "Of course." As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's out of character for Lex to do this so openly, especially since he's under investigation."
"Can you look into it?"
"I already am," J'onn said.
Superman smiled faintly. "Thanks."
He looked like he was about to say something else when his expression changed.
"Oh, I'm late," he muttered.
The audience laughed again.
Then he shot into the sky.
The music swelled as he flew higher and higher, past clouds, past the atmosphere, into the edge of space.
The Earth curved beneath him.
The Superman theme hit its full crescendo.
And then the title appeared.
MAN OF TOMORROW
The next scenes showed Clark returning to Metropolis and being late for work. Perry scolded him, but Lois covered for him, saying he had been doing something for her. It was revealed that they had been dating when Perry said she couldn't always cover for her boyfriend.
There were some scenes with Jimmy Olsen, though there weren't many Clark and Jimmy scenes like in the last movie. Scott and I were saving that for the third one, which would be more emotional, considering the subject would be the Death of Superman.
Lois said she was looking forward to their special date as they left the meeting.
"I'm looking forward to our special date," she said. "The last one was very memorable."
Clark gave her a look.
"You mean when you jumped off a building?"
There was laughter immediately in the room.
Lois smiled. "I had a theory."
"You had a theory?"
"I was right."
"You could have just asked."
"I did ask."
"And I planned to tell you that day."
Lois raised an eyebrow.
Clark hesitated.
"I did."
"Sure."
"I did."
"Of course."
The laughter echoed through the hall.
Lois leaned in and kissed him, saying, "I believe you promised me something unforgettable."
Cut to Lex in his office as he investigated the person he believed had infiltrated his systems. Lex had his sleeves rolled up, his tie loosened, staring at streams of information as if the data had personally offended him. He was able to discover, much to his shock, that everything pointed to extraterrestrial activity. He tracked a large spacecraft entering the solar system.
The scene continued with Lex discussing the problem with Mercy. He set a trap for the infiltrator in his systems, but suddenly, his entire system was taken over by Brainiac, who revealed himself and introduced himself to Lex.
Brainiac said he had been utilizing Lex's infrastructure to study Earth.
"You are, by far, one of the most advanced human minds on this planet. Naturally, you were the optimal access point."
Brainiac continued, saying he also needed information about Kal-El, his capabilities, and Earth's potential for... collection.
"Superman," Lex said.
"Yes," Brainiac confirmed. He said he was coming for Kal-El and the other Kryptonian.
"There is only one," Lex said.
Brainiac did not answer, but instead asked Lex for a partnership.
"I offer you a choice, Lex Luthor. Assist me in collecting Earth's knowledge and containing the Kryptonians, and I will provide you with technology beyond your current comprehension. Resist, and you will be bypassed. Irrelevant."
Lex stared at the screen.
Then he smiled.
It was not a good smile.
"You've made a mistake, Brainiac."
"Elaborate."
Lex stepped closer, hands behind his back now.
"You think because you have studied my systems, you know me. You think because you have crawled through my networks and played with my toys, you understand what I am."
The smile faded.
"You don't."
The lights in the room flickered again.
Lex did not blink.
"You should have stayed hidden," he said. "You should have watched from the dark. You should have taken what you needed and left without letting me know you existed."
Brainiac said nothing.
Lex's voice became colder.
"Because now I know you exist."
The screens abruptly shut off.
The scene shifted to Superman and Lois in the Fortress of Solitude, where he gave her a tour. The Sun-Eater scene happened, the one from the first teaser for the movie.
"It's not as bad as it sounds."
"Clark."
"It's young."
"It's the size of a stadium."
"For its species, that's young."
The audience laughed loudly as Superman fed it a small sun he had made.
"It likes you," Lois said, watching as Clark fed it.
"I think so."
This led to them going in for a kiss, but they were interrupted when the Fortress's computer told Clark that a Kryptonian vessel had exited the Phantom Zone and was heading for Earth.
Clark turned to Lois.
"I have to go."
"Go." Lois prompted.
He shot out of the Fortress and soon found the ship descending toward the planet. He caught it, then safely landed it.
Inside, he saw a girl, a blonde teen, unconscious, with a dog in her arms.
The next scene showed her in the Fortress as Clark and Lois watched over her.
She woke up wary of him and everything around her, then spoke in Kryptonian, panicked and disoriented.
Clark answered in the same language.
She said her name was Kara Zor-El and asked about another ship like hers.
"My cousin. He's just a baby... Kal. Kal-El. He was inside it."
Clark then slowly broke it to her that a ship had come to this world carrying her cousin, but that it had arrived thirty years ago. He revealed that he was Kal-El.
She was shocked and in denial. She refused to accept it and tried to get away from him. Clark tried to calm her, but she hit him.
"You are not him."
"I am."
"No!" she shouted.
She moved so fast that even Clark did not expect it.
Her fist hit him square in the chest.
"Clark!" Lois exclaimed, running to his side.
The punch sent him flying back several feet, crashing into one of the crystalline structures hard enough to crack it.
The audience gasped.
Kara jumped off the platform, breathing hard, ready to fight. She looked at the unconscious Krypto, and her expression changed.
Clark stood slowly, hands raised.
"I don't want to hurt you."
Kara's eyes filled with tears.
"Stay away from me."
She was ready to fight him, but then she fell to the ground, clutching her head. Her newly activated senses were clearly overwhelming her, every sound and sensation hitting at full volume with no filter and no training to manage any of it.
Clark calmed her.
The next scenes showed Kara explaining what had happened. Her mother and father had sent her away, as they knew Jor-El was sending Kal away as well. She had been supposed to protect him and take care of him. She had tears in her eyes as she told them how Krypton had been destroyed.
Clark said he got lucky and was found by two kind people.
Kara was still sad, but said she was glad.
Lois recommended that they take Kara away from the Fortress, maybe to the Kent farm.
The movie continued with the reveal of Brainiac's ship. A skull-shaped vessel drifted through deep space, impossibly large and silent, its surface covered in shifting plates of black metal and green-violet light.
Inside, Brainiac stood before a massive viewing window, his eyes set on Earth as he smiled.
The theatre was completely silent, taking it all in.
The scene shifted back to the Kent farm. Warm sunlight, fields, the old farmhouse, Martha Kent bringing lemonade out to the porch while Kara sat stiffly beside Lois, clearly unsure what to do with herself. The Kents fussed over Kara as Clark was contacted by Manhunter and told of the ship approaching Earth. Manhunter said it had the same signature as the robot Superman had fought in Cairo.
Clark left Kara and Lois with his parents and headed to space, where he finally met Brainiac.
One thing I could see everyone was impressed by, as was basically expected from a DC movie, was the CGI. Superman flying through space toward Brainiac's ship, the shots were amazing. Him stopping in front of the skull-shaped ship as it opened for him to enter.
Inside, Clark finally came face to face with Brainiac. My choice in casting Chukwudi Iwuji as Brainiac was in my top five casting choices I'd made, because the man could act, and he acted his ass off bringing Brainiac to life.
Brainiac greeted Superman.
"Kal-El," Brainiac said.
Superman stopped several feet away from him.
"Brainiac."
Brainiac inclined his head slightly.
"My apologies for assessing your strength through proxy. It was not a proper first impression."
Superman's eyes narrowed.
"So it was you."
"Yes," Brainiac said. "That was merely a test. A means of gauging your capabilities under Earth's yellow sun."
He took one slow step forward.
"Impressive. You exceed baseline Kryptonian parameters by a considerable amount."
The scene continued with Superman being shown Brainiac's ship and then taken to a room filled with glowing orbs. Brainiac explained that he was a Kryptonian AI made for data collection, created during the golden age. He said Zor-El, Clark's uncle, had remade him in Krypton's final days so that Krypton could live through him.
"I was born during Krypton's golden age," he said. "An intelligence designed for data collection, exploration, and preservation. I watched your people reach for the stars, then retreat into arrogance. They feared what I could become."
Superman followed him, cautious.
"So they shut you down."
"They limited me," Brainiac corrected. "Zor-El restored me in Krypton's final days. He understood what the others could not."
The orbs glowed brighter around him.
"Krypton could still live."
Superman looked around at the orbs.
"Through you."
Brainiac nodded.
Superman did not seem convinced.
Brainiac lifted one of the glowing golden orbs from the air. It floated toward Superman, stopping in front of him.
"These contain the accumulated knowledge of civilizations across the galaxy," Brainiac said. "Worlds that have risen and fallen. Species now extinct. Without my intervention, they would be utterly forgotten."
Superman looked at the orb.
Inside it, images shifted too fast to understand.
Brainiac said, "Touch it. Experience Krypton as it was."
Superman hesitated, but touched it, and then he had a vision of Krypton.
The screen went white.
For a moment, Superman was no longer on Brainiac's ship.
He stood on Krypton.
A city under Rao. People walking through bright streets. Children playing. Ships crossing the sky. Music in the air. Banners moving in the wind. A world of science, art, pride, and beauty.
Clark stood in the middle of it, stunned.
Then the vision stopped.
Clark was back on the ship, his hand still hovering near the orb.
Brainiac continued, "You and Kara Zor-El are not as alone as you believe."
At Kara's name, Clark's head snapped toward him.
Brainiac's face remained calm.
"Yes," he said. "I know she has arrived."
Superman's voice became dangerous. "Stay away from her."
"I have no desire to harm her. She is Kryptonian. Like you, she is a remnant of something valuable."
Brainiac gestured again.
The gallery shifted.
The walls opened further, revealing rows of entire cities contained within glowing bottles, each one suspended inside protective fields. Alien cities. Beautiful cities. Strange cities. Some full of towers. Some built into mountains. Some floating on water.
Then Brainiac showed him one city in particular.
A city beneath a red sky, elegant and vast.
Kandor.
Superman walked toward it slowly.
"Kandor. Capital city of Krypton. Preserved before planetary collapse."
Clark stared at it.
"You saved it," Superman said quietly.
"Yes."
Brainiac offered both Clark and Kara an opportunity to come with him, to explore the universe and be with their own people.
Clark almost considered it as he looked at the golden orbs.
"There are people inside."
"Yes."
The theatre was dead silent.
Superman turned back to Brainiac.
"Release them."
Brainiac looked genuinely puzzled by the request.
"Impossible. Outside controlled preservation, many would perish. Civilizations destroy themselves when left unregulated."
Superman asked if he planned to do the same for Earth, and Brainiac said yes. Why shouldn't he?
"Earth is unstable," Brainiac said. "Your species accelerates toward collapse. Earth is rare. Its knowledge must be preserved before its inevitable failure."
"You misunderstand my intentions, Kal-El," Brainiac said, seeing Superman's changing attitude turn to one of hostility.
"No, I understand perfectly," Superman said, and attacked.
Brainiac struck Superman with his free hand, sending him crashing through the gallery floor and into the lower levels of the ship.
The fight erupted.
Superman recovered quickly, launching himself upward and tackling Brainiac through a wall. They smashed through chambers, sending fragments of alien machinery flying.
"Oh shit," someone yelled out.
Superman was basically manhandled by Brainiac, who said he had learned much about him, including his weaknesses. Brainiac revealed red sun radiation, bathing Superman in it as mechanical hands pinned him down.
"You cannot stop me, Kal-El. I have studied you well. I know your weaknesses."
Superman struggled, fighting with everything he had. With a desperate burst of strength, he ripped one arm free, then the other. The restraints snapped apart as he forced himself up against the red sun radiation, every movement clearly painful.
The music swelled.
He fired heat vision directly into Brainiac's face.
Brainiac staggered back, the beam striking him hard. For a second, it looked like Clark had him. Then Brainiac raised one hand and bent the heat vision away before slamming Superman down with a brutal strike that cracked the floor.
Brainiac stood over him.
"Your resistance is noted."
Superman coughed, struggling to rise.
Brainiac gestured, and more mechanical arms moved toward him. But Superman, barely holding himself together, looked toward the side of the chamber. He saw one of the ship's outer hull panels, damaged in the fight. Beyond it, stars.
He focused, then unleashed a full-force blast of heat vision, not at Brainiac, but at the damaged panel.
The hull exploded outward. Everything not locked down was sucked toward space.
Brainiac turned, irritated.
Superman used the moment. He forced himself up and launched toward the opening, tearing free from the last mechanical hands as he escaped into space.
Brainiac watched as Superman fell toward Earth, the Man of Steel beaten.
=========
The movie continued with Kara at the Kent farm with Ma and Pa Kent. She was getting used to being on Earth. She talked with Lois and both Kents as she dealt with nightmares of Krypton being destroyed.
"I was supposed to protect him."
Lois listened to her.
"He was a baby. My aunt and uncle trusted me. My parents trusted me. I got in the ship, and then..." Her voice shook. "Everything went wrong."
Lois spoke softly. "Clark spent most of his life thinking he was alone. Finding you means more to him than he probably knows how to say."
Kara looked at her.
"He has you."
Lois smiled softly. "He does."
"And..." Kara said as she looked at the Kents outside the house. "They are kind."
"They're the reason he is."
Their conversation ended when, on TV, they saw a large skull-shaped ship descend on Metropolis.
Superman woke up in a facility.
He was lying on a medical table, still in his suit, but weak. His face had cuts across it that were already healing, but slowly. Too slowly.
A familiar voice spoke before he could fully focus.
"I dreamed of this moment, you know."
Superman turned his head.
Lex Luthor stood above him, smiling down.
The audience reacted immediately. Some laughter. Some cheers.
Lex continued. "Superman helpless at my mercy. Dependent on my brilliance for survival."
He sighed.
"But damn fate. Never on my side when I actually need it."
That got a laugh from the room.
Superman's eyes narrowed, and he pushed himself up too fast. He nearly collapsed, catching himself on the edge of the table.
Lex did not move to help him.
"Careful," Lex said. "You fell from orbit. Even you should take a moment."
Superman forced himself upright.
"Luthor."
Lex smiled. "Superman."
Superman's expression hardened.
Lex raised one hand. "Relax. I'm not here as your enemy."
Superman stared at him. "Considering how you've acted for the last three years, I have a hard time believing that."
The audience laughed.
Lex looked mildly offended.
Lex and Superman talked, with Lex explaining that he knew about Brainiac and had a score to settle against him. He then showed Superman that Brainiac had arrived above Metropolis. On screen, people were evacuating the city. Flash's orange lightning streaked through the streets as he raced through it, the chyrons showing that the Justice League was there, but Superman was absent.
Superman tried to fly away, but Lex said he was too weak. Brainiac had done that to him.
Superman asked if Lex knew how to defeat Brainiac.
Lex smiled and said he couldn't do it alone, unfortunately.
The audience cheered as both enemies accepted being temporary allies. They shook hands, with Lex saying, "Don't think this means we're friends."
Clark returned to Kara and the others, and Kara told him about Brainiac, how her father had revived the ancient AI and how Jor-El had been against it. Clark taught Kara how to use her newfound powers as they worked with Lex to defeat Brainiac.
The movie continued at a good pace, with Clark, Lois, Kara, and the Daily Planet team in Metropolis getting screen time as Brainiac descended on the city, trying to raise it from the Earth. All the scenes got a good reaction. Scott and I had struggled with this part of the script, but now, seeing how well it had come together, I was very glad.
On screen, they enacted their plan as they all met at the LexCorp building in Metropolis. Lex revealed he planned to come with them.
Superman looked at him. "You don't need to come with us."
Lex smiled.
"I disagree."
The floor opened behind him, and a platform rose.
On it stood the warsuit.
The audience erupted in cheers.
"FUCK YEAH!"
The suit was very comic-accurate, with the green and purple color scheme, along with some changes to make it look even better, in my opinion.
"I was planning to use this against you," he said.
Superman stared at him.
Lex shrugged slightly.
"Alas. Here we are. On the same side."
Honestly, with how Henry and Corey played the roles, this Lex and Clark pairing was now basically at the top of Lex-Clark pairings.
The battle began as Superman and Kara, who still wore her white space suit, attacked Brainiac above Metropolis while Lex flew toward the main ship still in orbit, battling several robots.
The scene was action-packed as Brainiac unleashed his city-taking machines. J'onn updated Superman that the rest of the League was handling high-risk areas.
Kara confronted Brainiac, asking why he was doing this. Her father hadn't built him for this.
Brainiac said, "That is exactly why."
He explained that Krypton had been doomed, and he had saved it by preserving its knowledge and its last remaining pieces.
"I preserved Krypton's knowledge. Therefore, Krypton endures."
Kara stared at him as the realization hit.
"You saved yourself."
Brainiac said it had been the only way.
Kara angrily attacked.
The entire sequence had Brainiac and Lex fighting in the ship in space while Brainiac's main body fought Kara and Superman in the city below. It ended with Lex unleashing a virus.
"Mercy," Lex said through comms, "patch the disruption sequence through now."
Mercy's voice responded from LexCorp.
"Uploading."
Brainiac's voice echoed through the ship.
"Lex Luthor. Your intrusion is noted."
Lex smiled. "Then stop me."
Brainiac continued, "You possess intellect beyond most humans. Assist me, and your species will be remembered."
Lex landed in front of a central data column pulsing with violet light.
"Remembered by whom? You?"
"By eternity."
Lex scoffed.
"Eternity is a poor audience."
He drove one armored hand into the data column.
The virus uploaded.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then every system flickered at once. Lights failed. The city-taking machines above Metropolis froze mid-process. The containment field destabilized. The glowing orbs within Brainiac's collection chamber began flashing red.
Outside, Brainiac stopped in the middle of the fight.
His head turned sharply.
"What have you done?"
Inside the ship, Lex grinned, saying Brainiac had made one mistake: he had underestimated Lex Luthor.
Brainiac completely lost it as the virus incapacitated the city-taking machines and erased his previous knowledge. Now completely infuriated, he attacked Kara and Superman with everything he had and said he would destroy them, then the planet, for their insolence.
Brainiac brought his ship closer from space as he released a glowing red sphere from it, introducing it as Solaris, their doom. Both Superman and Kara were weakened by the red light from Solaris as it began to descend toward Earth.
"HOLY SHIT!"
Everyone was surprised inside the theatre when they saw Solaris, as he definitely had not shown up in any trailers. There had been some theories that he would be in the movie, but this was a complete surprise for everyone.
The movie finale came with Superman and Kara splitting up, Kara going after Brainiac as Superman went after Solaris.
The first scene showed Lex still on the ship as Brainiac himself completely beat him down, angered by the loss of his precious knowledge. Kara came in and saved Lex, then fought Brainiac.
Solaris began to attack Earth, beams erupting from its eyes and beginning to boil the oceans.
"Behold the strength of Solaris," it boomed.
Superman flew toward it, slower than normal, fighting through the red radiation with everything he had.
"Solaris!" he shouted.
The living sun turned toward him.
Another red beam fired.
Superman barely dodged, the blast grazing his side and sending him spinning. He recovered, breathing hard, clearly weakening the closer he got.
"Stop this," Superman said.
Solaris laughed again.
"If Brainiac is controlling you, we can help."
"Controlling me?"
Solaris's eyes flared.
"I am no one's prisoner."
Superman stopped, hovering unsteadily in front of the burning sphere.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Behind him, something moved through the clouds.
At first, it looked like a shadow. Then the shape became clearer.
The Sun-Eater.
The theatre exploded in cheers, as many had already expected this to happen when Solaris was revealed.
The Sun-Eater moved toward Solaris, its enormous body unfolding from the clouds, tendrils reaching forward. The affectionate, strange creature from the Fortress was now terrifying as it was seen in full.
The Sun-Eater covered Solaris completely and began to consume it. Superman floated nearby, the red radiation weakening as the Sun-Eater drained Solaris's power. His strength began to return.
Then Solaris began to glow.
Brighter.
And brighter.
Superman's eyes widened.
"Wait."
The Sun-Eater kept feeding.
Solaris's body destabilized, red light pulsing wildly, energy building inside it like a bomb.
The Sun-Eater screamed again.
This time, it was pain.
Superman moved instantly.
"No!"
He flew toward them, but he was too late.
Solaris released a violent burst of energy.
The blast threw Superman backward.
When the light cleared, Solaris was still there, smaller, weakened, burning unevenly. But the Sun-Eater was drifting away, its body torn apart by the blast.
The audience gasped. Some people yelled, "No!"
"Motherfucker," John said, hitting me on the arm.
"Ow," I said.
Superman's head slowly turned.
His eyes glowed red.
The atmosphere in the theatre changed instantly.
"Oh," Matt said quietly. "He's pissed."
"You killed him."
Superman flew at Solaris and began dismantling him. Solaris begged for mercy. Superman looked terrifying in the moment, his eyes glowing.
He punched Solaris again, sending it falling toward Metropolis.
The city below had been mostly evacuated now, the streets empty except for scattered emergency vehicles and debris.
Solaris crashed into the middle of a wide avenue, tearing a crater through the street.
Superman landed in front of it.
"Mercy," Solaris said, its voice distorted and broken.
Superman stopped and was about to spare him when Solaris attacked again. This time, Superman threw the punch, destroying Solaris.
Back on the ship, Kara was losing her fight against Brainiac. Lex took something from the array of tech, then saw Brainiac about to kill Kara. She called for help.
Lex shrugged and then jumped down to Earth.
"You are like your father," Brainiac said.
Kara clawed at his hand, choking.
Brainiac's eyes glowed.
"Weak."
Kara tried to fight, but the red solar pulse in the chamber intensified. Her strength faded.
Just then, Superman arrived with the corpse of Solaris and threw it against the ship as Kara and Superman stood together. Brainiac rose from the wreckage, his body repairing itself.
For the first time, he looked cornered.
Superman and Kara attacked together.
And the scene was glorious. They both worked together to defeat Brainiac, cheers erupting with each punch as one of the best scenes in the movie played out, both cousins manhandling Brainiac.
Superman slammed him into the floor.
Kara hit him from above.
Brainiac tried to fire a red solar blast, but Superman used a piece of broken hull as a shield while Kara ripped the emitter out of the wall.
Brainiac was finally defeated when Kara activated the Phantom Zone drive in the ship, sending it to be wrecked in there.
It was finally over.
Applause filled the room as the scene ended.
The movie ended with Metropolis and other cities being repaired. News reports showed Lex Luthor at the forefront, being hailed as a hero alongside Superman. The camera showed the Kent house living room TV displaying Lex getting a medal from the President in the Oval Office as he smiled, his eyes wandering to the President's desk.
"Prez Luthor," Matt whispered.
The audience reacted with nervous laughter. Someone shouted, "Oh no."
At the Kent farm, Kara was playing with Krypto, who had now properly recovered, his first scene flying in the DCU.
Three figures watched. Clark was standing with Diana and Bruce.
The audience cheered loudly as they saw all three together, probably the biggest reaction of the night.
"A flying dog. Great," Bruce said dryly.
Clark laughed.
Diana said, "Kara will make a fine Amazon. She is welcome in Themyscira if she wants to hone that strength of hers."
Clark thanked Diana. She then asked about the cities they had rescued, to which Clark said he would find a way to save them all one day. Until then, they would be safe with him.
Bruce said, "Two alien invasions almost a year apart."
"We won, didn't we?" Clark said.
Bruce replied, "I'll accelerate work on the Watchtower," as he walked off.
Diana smiled at Clark as Lois approached. She followed Bruce.
Lois and Clark shared a moment and kissed.
Then Ma Kent said she had a gift for Kara.
"I hate to interrupt," Martha said, smiling, "but I have something for Kara."
Kara landed awkwardly nearby, Krypto touching down beside her with much more enthusiasm than skill. He slid across the grass and bumped into Clark's legs.
Clark looked down.
"Still needs training."
Kara was given her own suit, similar to Clark's. She took it with a huge smile.
"I don't know if I can be what you are, Kal," she said to Clark.
Clark smiled.
"I didn't either."
The movie ended with Superman and now, officially, Supergirl flying through the air and then toward the setting sun as the Superman theme played.
The final shot held on them as they flew into the light.
Then the screen cut to black.
Huge applause erupted as the credits rolled.
On screen, the credits appeared.
Written by Daniel Adler and Scott Snyder
More applause.
Directed by Brad Bird
Even more applause.
Then the cast names began appearing.
Henry Cavill
Cheers.
Milly Alcock
Big cheers.
Rachel Brosnahan
Corey Stoll
Chukwudi Iwuji
"That was great," John said.
"Settle down, the end-credit scene is coming," Matt said.
The end-credit scene played as the applause silenced.
The screen went black.
Then a new image appeared.
A desolate planet.
A dead world under a pale, sickly sky. The ground was cracked and gray, covered in dust and ancient ruins. Lightning flashed in the distance without rain.
The camera moved across the landscape, slowly approaching an abandoned facility half-buried in rock and ash.
Inside, everything was dark.
Then a computer flickered on.
One screen.
Then another.
Then another.
The same symbols appeared.
Brainiac's symbols.
The theatre went completely silent.
Then a roar was heard in the distance.
The audience went insane.
People shouted. A few jumped out of their seats. Someone screamed, "DOOMSDAY!"
John slapped my arm again as he laughed.
"Oh fuck, you're gonna kill him off in the next one," Matt said, looking at me.
"It's gonna be fun," I said with a grin as I watched the credits roll by.