17 cringeworthy moments toward women in 2017's 'Justice League' that are changed in Zack Snyder's cu

• Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Zack Snyder's Justice League."
• 2017's "Justice League," directed by Joss Whedon, had cringeworthy moments directed at women.
• The "Snyder cut" removed them all and highlighted each character's strengths.

The differences between Joss Whedon's 2017 "Justice League" and Zack Snyder's 2021 version are stark — especially when it comes to women.

When the director Zack Snyder and his producing partner and wife, Deborah Snyder, stepped down from the film after the death of their daughter, the "Avengers" director Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the movie.

Whedon reportedly used 10% of Snyder's footage in the 2017 cut. Many scenes with women in the Whedon version undermine their power, strength, and agency.

Now in 2021, Snyder has been able to make his version of the film. It's remarkable how a slight change in dialogue or shot can dramatically alter the meaning of a scene.

Changes to Wonder Woman's opening scene in 2017 diminished her power and strength as a demigod. The "Snyder cut" fixed that.

Wonder Woman gets hit in the back of the head with a gun in Whedon's film. 

No man ever comes close enough to touch Diana in the Snyder cut. Her speed and strength outmatch every terrorist at the film's start as she tosses them aside and into walls.

Snyder's version of the movie also restores a shot in which Diana looks like an actual god, throwing a bomb upward toward the heavens.

In the same scene, a simple dialogue change between the two films will make fans wonder why Snyder's version was altered. In the theatrical cut, after Wonder Woman stops a barrage of bullets from hitting a group of children, the villain says: "I don't believe it. Who are you?" 

Wonder Woman says, "A believer."

In the Snyder cut, the villain simply says, "I don't believe it," as in he doesn't believe that a woman just single-handedly stopped his men without taking a hit. In response, Diana says, "Believe it," before annihilating him.

It's a small, subtle change, but the alteration delivers a stronger message in championing Diana's strength as an Amazon warrior.

A subsequent moment between a young girl and Diana in the Snyder cut, in which the girl asks whether she can be like Wonder Woman when she grows up, solidifies Wonder Woman's status as a hero.

The Amazons seemed afraid of the villain in the original cut. You're told these women have no fear in the Snyder cut.

In the 2017 film, as Amazons battle Steppenwolf and his Parademons, there are about 24 seconds of battle before a warrior yells out to Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), the queen of the Amazons, that they must retreat and "seal the cage."

It sounds more like an act of desperation than a brave sacrifice as Amazon warriors are slaughtered in the background.

As Hippolyta flees with a Mother Box in tow to keep it safe, Steppenwolf gleefully yells out to her: "Yes. Run."

The line makes it sound like the Amazon is a coward, abandoning her fellow sisters and sprinting for her life with the box. Steppenwolf's odd delivery of the line also makes it sound as if he's relishing in the queen's retreat.

In the Snyder cut, the emotional weight of the Amazon's sacrifice is fully realized, and you feel the gravity of Hippolyta's difficult decision.

The film reinserts multiple lines of dialogue, including where Hippolyta tells her warriors to "prepare for battle." But the biggest moment in the Snyder cut appears to be a knock on the 2017 version.

In the 2021 film, Steppenwolf tells the Amazons he will bathe in their fear. Hippolyta grins before crying out, "Daughters of Themyscira, show him your fear!"

All of the women shout in unison, "We have no fear!"

It's a much more powerful and emotional moment that causes you to rally behind these women.

And when Hippolyta is told they must seal the cage, she doesn't run off right away. Instead, she stays to fight with her fellow Amazons. When she is finally urged to leave, she's encouraged by a fallen warrior to honor them. Steppenwolf never heckles her for running off.

Instead, he shouts "No!" as he's trapped under the weight of a pile of Amazons.

The original movie makes the Amazons who must "seal the cage" come off as nothing more than beautiful women swinging mallets. The Snyder cut fully allows you to appreciate their power.

In Whedon's cut, Hippolyta yells out for the women to "seal the gates" as you hear Steppenwolf tell the queen to "Run." His dialogue is juxtaposed with well-toned Amazons swinging their mallets and showing off their impressive abs. They seem like nothing more than eye candy.

The "Snyder cut" alters Steppenwolf's dialogue and makes him look as if he's at the mercy of the Amazons.

Hippolyta does not tell her fellow warriors to "seal the gates" either. Instead, she tells them to "ready the hammers." Snyder still shows the Amazons with their hammers but focuses on how physically powerful these women are, as every muscle strains to take down the doors and stop Steppenwolf at all costs.

Their sacrifice is amplified when the Penetralium falls into the ocean. In the original film, it stays standing.

In the original movie, Steppenwolf tells the Amazon women they'll love him when he conquers the world. This is cut from the new film.

When he finally acquires the Mother Box, Steppenwolf tells Hippolyta in the 2017 movie: "Noble queen, why do you fight? After the unity, you will join my legion and you will know the righteousness of power. You will love me."

He then turns to the rest of the Amazon women riding toward him and says, "You all will," before transporting out of Themyscira. You know, because women love being conquered and ruled by a man who seeks to destroy them.

This moment doesn't exist in the Snyder cut.

Before Steppenwolf leaves in the Boom Tube he simply tells Hippolyta that the great darkness begins now that he has a Mother Box.

Almost every Amazon of color is scrapped in the original movie. Not so in the Snyder cut.

"Zack Snyder's Justice League" makes it a point to focus on an Amazon warrior of color, seen above, who is just a glorified background character in the 2017 theatrical cut. 

Snyder's version also steps back to show other women of color living in harmony (and being total badasses) on Themyscira when Steppenwolf and the Parademons invade.

The 2017 cut portrays a random woman as "crazy." This isn't in the 2021 movie.

As Parademons are rounding up hostages, a news broadcast shown at The Daily Planet says "Aliens Stole My Husband."

A local news reporter says, "On the local scene, this janitor's wife had some strong words for the aliens she says stole her man."

The woman — who is correct in stating that aliens took her husband — is not only used as a gag but is further portrayed as mentally unfit as she unnecessarily goes into an expletive-laden rant.

This moment was meant to be funny. It's not.

This woman isn't even in the Snyder cut.

In the theatrical cut, Lois Lane is stripped of her duties as an investigative reporter and put on puff-piece duty. In the new version, she's still processing her loss and hasn't returned to work.

A scene between Martha Kent and Lois Lane was reshot for the Whedon cut.

Here, Lois returns to work while she's still grieving the loss of Clark. We learn she has been taken off of reporting more investigative news pieces in favor of what she calls "fluff pieces about kitten grooming."

It seems slightly thoughtful of the paper until a random colleague enters the scene trying to get one of Lois' hard-earned sources for his own story.

Lois tries to wave him off by saying, "It's my source."

The man then tries to guilt trip and pressure her into giving up her source again by saying he was "tapped" for the story. (She doesn't, but Lois makes a face to show that she's incredibly annoyed.)

In Snyder's cut, Lois doesn't return to work after Superman's death. She's depressed and is having trouble processing his loss. The film is more respectful of Lois and her need to take time for herself.

Martha Kent accidentally tells Lois Lane that Clark always said she was the "thirstiest young woman he ever met." This scene doesn't appear in Snyder's version.

This is one of the most unnecessary bits of dialogue from the original film. 

The line clearly makes Lois uncomfortable as Amy Adams goes through a range of emotions until Kent quickly corrects herself and says "hungriest." 

This conversation is nixed from the Snyder cut.

In the 2021 update, the two discuss Kent foreclosing on her home and share a tender moment in which Lois says she'll never love anyone the way she loved Clark.

Kent reminds her how the world still needs Lois Lane to report the news just as much as the world needed Superman. Kent (who we now know was secretly Martian Manhunter) tells Lois to "come back to the living."

Whedon's cut doesn't acknowledge that Wonder Woman is smart enough to disarm Bruce Wayne's security system. With a simple line, Snyder's fixes that.

In the 2017 movie, when Bruce tells Diana he paid "millions of dollars" for his building's security, she just quips that "it looked expensive."

It's unclear whether Diana disarmed or destroyed it. 

The line is more specific in the Snyder cut. Diana tells Bruce it took her "almost a minute to disable it," showing how impressive she is with dismantling complicated tech.

Another one of Wonder Woman's lines is changed when she goes head-to-head with Steppenwolf. In the 2017 film, the line removes the character's agency.

In Whedon's cut, when Steppenwolf tells his Parademons, "This one is mine," in reference to Wonder Woman, she simply says, "You overestimate yourself."

In the Snyder cut, the moment lands differently. Steppenwolf says, "This one will be mine."

In response, Diana stands her ground and says, "I belong to no one."

The Flash awkwardly falls onto Wonder Woman's breasts in the original film. The 2021 Snyder cut doesn't bother with this nonsense.

Perhaps the most cringeworthy moment of the 2017 film was when the Flash unnecessarily fell on Wonder Woman's chest in a quick moment for nothing more than laughs.

This is reportedly a scene that Gadot refused to film. Her stunt double filmed it instead.

This moment isn't in the Snyder cut.

One of the first lines Lois Lane says to the love of her life, Superman, when he returns from the dead in the theatrical cut is, "You smell good."

Setting aside that Superman just came back from the dead — after being underground for months, tossed in alien water to be resurrected, and fighting the entire Justice League — and definitely doesn't smell good, this line is dumb.

As Martha Kent points out, Lois Lane is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. She would be able to conjure better words than how good her back-from-the-dead fiancé smells. 

In the theatrical cut, the line plays like a joke, further undercutting Lois' intelligence and the pair's relationship.

In the Snyder cut, this scene is altered. Instead of commenting on how Clark smells, she's amazed to hear him speak for the first time. She then leads him indoors to gently put a shirt on him.

The 2017 film added scenes in which Wonder Woman's butt is front and center in the frame. The 2021 movie doesn't bother with these cheap shots.

As Decider points out, the Whedon cut had several "creepy shots" of Wonder Woman. In scenes when Diana enters the frame, the camera shoots her from behind at a low angle. One moment from the 2017 trailer, in particular, became famous for showing Gal Gadot's butt (the scene isn't seen on the home release of the film).

A few of the same shots are still in the "Snyder cut," but the lighting is darker, so there's less focus on Diana.

In Snyder's version, a new scene with Wonder Woman also showcases the Amazon raiding a tomb effortlessly while walking — and landing flawlessly — in white heels.

If anything, it could be argued that the men are more sexualized in Snyder's version — both Aquaman and Superman are seen shirtless throughout the film.

Wonder Woman is the only one who doesn't want to bring Superman back from the dead in the Whedon cut. In 2021, all the heroes are in agreement.

Her wishes get ignored by each of her male counterparts in the 2017 version of the film until she sort of goes along with the plan.

The film makes it seem that her opinions don't weigh as heavily as the rest of the group's. Aquaman tries to agree with her right before they bring Superman back to life, but it's a little too late.

Ultimately, the decision puts Diana and Bruce at odds.

In the Snyder cut, the entire team comes to the conclusion to bring Superman back to life together. Wonder Woman's insight is valued.

Wonder Woman's lasso is used against her as a gag for Aquaman to call her gorgeous.

In the 2017 film, Aquaman gets brutally honest with his fellow heroes before the group heads into battle against Steppenwolf.

He points out every hero's weakness until he gets to Diana. 

"Oof. You're gorgeous and fierce, and strong, and mmm," he says. 

Wonder Woman, who is about 5,000 years old, appears confused as the camera cuts to Bruce who also gives Aquaman a look as he continues to ramble on about Diana.  

Diana makes a knowing, silly face as she realizes Aquaman is saying all of this because he's sitting on Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth. When he tosses it back to her, Diana says she thinks his speech was "beautiful." 

He gives her a hard stare as if it's her fault for leaving the lasso out in the open.

Diana would never carelessly allow something so important to be sat on by another human. This moment is not in Snyder's version of the movie.

Whedon's cut grounds Wonder Woman on the sidelines for most of the final battle. In Snyder's version, she can fly.

In a watch party for the film, Snyder said he always believed Diana could fly but chooses to use ground-based fighting techniques. In the Snyder cut, it's hinted Diana flies in a few scenes, including when she saves Batman from a Parademons and when she soars alongside the other Justice League members in a hero shot (seen above).

Whedon took every moment in which it was hinted Wonder Woman could fly out of the theatrical cut.

Wonder Woman is denied her right to finish off the villain in the theatrical cut.

In 2017's "Justice League," Wonder Woman looks as if she needs help fighting Steppenwolf. She strains to hold Steppenwolf with her lasso, and Aquaman needs to come in to help her. Though she gets one really good blow in the 2017 cut, she takes big hits from the villain.

In Snyder's film, Wonder Woman leads Aquaman and Cyborg into battle against Steppenwolf.  Wonder Woman looks like a god as she fends off several blows before getting knocked aside, only to quickly return to battle in an overhead moment that's not in the original version of the film (seen here).

And this time, when Diana needs Aquaman's help, it seems more like teamwork.

In the end, the theatrical cut merely shows Wonder Woman destroying the villain's weapon until he's torn apart by his own henchmen. In the Snyder cut, Wonder Woman gets the final blow, killing Steppenwolf by slicing his head off.

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