The Knightmare scene from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has been analyzed over and over by DC fans ever since the movie came out in 2016. As cleared up by director Zack Snyder since then, it saw Bruce Wayne receive a vision of a dystopian future Earth subjugated by Darkseid, where Superman had been corrupted by the Anti-Life Equation following the murder of Lois Lane, which he blames Batman for.
But there’s one mystery that we’ve been left to guess about: why is Supes wearing his classic red and blue suit in the Knightmare future? If it takes place after his resurrection, why isn’t he in his black and silver outfit instead? One fan asked Snyder this on Vero, and the filmmaker gave a brief explanation, saying that “when he succumbs to anti-life he returns to the red and blue suit.”
Well, I guess that does the job of filling in this plot hole. Obviously, the real-life reason is because the black suit was only created for Justice League and it was easier for them to reuse the classic suit for this brief scene. We’re now left to wonder why the corrupted Supes didn’t stick with the black one though, as it would’ve better suited his new mood. That said, the Injustice Superman kept his usual colors, too, so clearly dressing in black is not mandatory for the hero when he goes bad.
We’re fully expecting to get some more insight into the Knightmare future in the Snyder Cut of Justice League. We won’t get the whole story, as that would’ve played out across the director’s planned trilogy, but we’ll hopefully begin to see how Darkseid could come out on top in one version of the timeline. Snyder’s already confirmed that there’ll be a return to the Knightmare timeline in the movie, but will it give us another glimpse at the dark Superman? We’ll have to wait and see.