New Justice League Poster Pays Homage to Fan-Favorite Superman Storyline

Today, HBO Max released a trio of promotional posters for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, as well as the official release date and a new synopsis that slightly modifies the synopsis used for the movie portion of the film. One of the three posters, however, stays true to the reality of fans: the image on it pays homage to one of the most emblematic comic book covers of the past 30 years. The cover — Superman #75, Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding — was the cover of The Death of Superman and has also been used as the cover for numerous anthologies of the story since its first release.

It was one of the best-selling songs of all time and remains a cultural touchstone to this day. The story of unleashing the apocalypse in Metropolis and Superman’s sacrifice has been told many times, including in two animated films (“Superman: The Apocalypse” and “The Death of Superman”) and a live blockbuster (“Batman vs. Superman: The Dawn of Justice”). In the case of the new poster, however, the subtitle – “Resurrected” – corresponds to the Justice League story, in which Superman returns from the dead.

The tattered cape that graced the cover of Superman Issue 75 is one of the most recognizable images of fans’ favorite Superman era, an era that began in the mid-1980s after the events of the Infinite Lands Crisis and lasted until the turn of the century. The cover – and the death of Superman altogether – was the subject of a visual communications campaign last year during the CW adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

I can’t tell you how much I love it. #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague pic.twitter.com/6gWEykaRQd

– Russ Burlingame (@russburlingame) January 29, 2021

@thedanjurgens, @JonBogdanove, @JerryOrdway and many others not on Twitter have made this era of Superman and this story in particular a defining comic book experience for an entire generation of readers. Not surprisingly, it was also published in #CrisisOnInfiniteEarths pic.twitter.com/Y2rsCI7a6G

– Russ Burlingame (@russburlingame) January 29, 2021

Snyder’s Justice League vision also features Superman returning from the dead wearing a black and silver Kryptonian “recovery” suit instead of the standard Superman suit to help his body get back on its feet. These images are also from the Death and Return of Superman stories in the comic books.

In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is determined to obtain the ultimate sacrifice from Superman (Henry Cavill). He teams up with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) and sets out to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from a threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce had imagined, as each of the recruits must confront the demons of their past to overcome whatever held them back and unite to finally form a never-before-seen league of heroes. Now reunited, Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSad and Darkseid and their terrible intentions.

Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” will be available on HBO Max on March 18.