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'Batman v Superman' hints at an epic villain for the future 'Justice League' movie

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Batman v Superman."

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The first screenings of "Batman v Superman" have finished and it is a lot to process

While the main villains of the film are Doomsday and Lex Luthor, the film hints at a larger force down the line that DC's finest may have to combat. We've seen it teased in one of the film's previous trailers here.

Last chance to head back before spoilers!

batman desert batman v superman
Warner Bros.

In one of the film's best — and maybe most confusing — sequences, Bruce Wayne has a nightmarish vision of an apocalyptic wasteland which feels straight out of "Mad Max."

Batman's wearing a really cool suit — referred to as the Knightmare Batman look.

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knightmare batman
Here's a good look at a toy version of the futuristic Batman seen in "BvS." Kirsten Acuna/Tech Insider

We see him looking out over a disparate land with a strange Omega symbol. (More on this soon.) If you've been paying close attention to the trailers, this will be familiar.

nightmareworld-batman
Warner Bros. /YouTube

We see Ben Affleck's Batman fighting a bunch of military men sporting Superman patches.

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Warner Bros.

That's not all. The world is littered with mysterious winged creatures, picking up random people.

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Warner Bros.
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Warner Bros.

The Man of Steel has seemingly lost his good-guy edge and is calling the shots in the future. 

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Warner Bros.

He has the Dark Knight tied up, and unmasks him as Bruce Wayne.

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Warner Bros.

When Wayne finally wakes up, he sees a vision of The Flash (Ezra Miller) through, what appears to be, a time portal or breach from another dimension. It could even be from the future (The Flash can time travel). He warns Batman about someone, presumably Superman:

"You're right about him. You've always been right. She's the key, Lois."

What is going on?

This is all a vision — well most of it. That last part with The Flash seems pretty real.

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Costume designer Michael Wilkinson previously told Brazilian site Omelete this is a dream sequence and that it had some inspiration from "Mad Max," another Warner Bros.' film.

"Zack had a great idea of this sort of nightmare-ish vision, almost a vision of the future, a post-apocalyptic vision. It's like a dream that Ben has, so we wanted to, it has almost a Mad Max quality to it where it's like the end of the world, trying to survive and then of course Superman and his minions come, so it's sort of a way of representing the amazing amounts of, the sort of obsessive quality that Bruce Wayne has about the threat of Superman."

In case you're not convinced, remember the name of the Batman toy is called Knightmare Batman. In the film, Batman/Bruce Wayne sees Superman as a giant threat to mankind. The first time he saw Superman was while he was tearing down buildings — including a Wayne Financial tower — at the end of "Man of Steel."

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Warner Bros.
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Warner Bros.

He doesn't know Superman like we do. So it's natural for Wayne to see him as a frightening alien and to consider the worst-case scenario of what may occur if Superman is allowed to continue to roam free without consequences.

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While we know it's a vision, there's one main takeaway, here. 

There are a lot of hints at DC's "Justice League" villain

Those flying creatures seen in the apocalyptic vision are Parademons.

nightmareworld-batman-v-superman
Warner Bros. /YouTube

What are those? They're the minions of an even bigger villain named Darkseid.

Here's how the Parademons look in the comics:

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Oodles of fun. DC Comics

And here's another look at them in animated form going up against Superman:

batman superman parademon
Warner Bros.

Who is Darkseid?

Darkseid's an even bigger villain of Superman's than Doomsday. He's the ruler of a number of planets including his home of Apokolips (get it?). All you really need to know about him is that he wants to rule the entire universe. Naturally, Earth seems like a good place to try and conquer.

darkseid
DC

So back to that mysterious Omega symbol "Mad Max" Batman sees in the ground.

That's a symbol used by Darkseid.

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nightmareworld-batman
Warner Bros. /YouTube

His big power is known as the Omega Effect, which allows him to vaporize anything — person, superhero, or object. He can also send items and people across time and space. Pretty scary stuff. He did it in the comics to Batman in a six-issue series, "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne." On TV series "Smallville" he was also capable of turning people dark. 

Where does the Flash come in to all this?

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Bruce Wayne, trying to process his Darkseid vision and Flash cameo. He's so confused. Warners Bros.

Since the Flash has the ability to time travel, it appears he's traveling back in time to warn Bruce Wayne about a future where Darkseid rules the planet. In order to stop it, it sounds like he has to handle Superman.

We hear the Flash say, "You were right about him." (Not sure why the Flash couldn't be more specific. Come on! Make use of your time travel abilities.) Still, it seems pretty clear he's talking about Supes. He mentions Lois, presumably Lane, and says that she's the key. The key to what? Maybe if she was to die, her death would result in Superman going dark and Darkseid rising to prominence. Or, more likely, her death results in Darkseid rising to prominence and turning Superman against the Justice League.

If that's the case, wow. Lane has a lot of power. The death of one journalist results in the destruction of humanity.

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Save the reporter, save the world? Warner Bros.

It's not certain whether The Flash caused Batman to have this vision or not. Either way, I'm sure we'll learn more about this as the DC Extended Universe continues to unfold on screen.

After "Batman v Superman," Warner Bros. has a full slate of DC Comics movies ready to roll out leading up to a giant two-part "Justice League" movie which will be released in 2017 and 2019. Darkseid may very well be one of the big villains the entire Justice League team will have to face off against together.

"Batman v Superman" is in theaters now.

Movies Warner Bros.
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