'Justice League': 5 burning questions from the film

— -- After less than glowing reviews from critics last week, "Justice League" earned the top spot at box offices this weekend, despite pulling in less than expected at an estimated $96 million domestically.

In contrast, the film's predecessor, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" earned $166 million domestically last year.

But unlike "Batman v Superman," fans thought this film was more upbeat and according to Rotten Tomatoes, the audience favored the lighter "League" at a score of 85 percent compared to just 63 percent for the darker 2016 film.

But what was similar, as is with all superhero movies, are the questions raised regarding the plot and what they mean to future films. The DC universe is still somewhat young compared to its Marvel counterpart, but fans have already seen the likes of Aquaman, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman on screen.

So, what's next?

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD

1 - Superman's return

OK, this is no surprise as the end of "Batman v Superman" definitely teased his comeback.

But the way the Man of Steel returned raised its fair share of eyebrows, nonetheless. In "Dawn of Justice," Superman dies saving the world from Doomsday, this hybrid Kryptonian/monster made from the dead body of his former enemy and fellow Krypton General Zod. (Get all that?)

In "Justice League," Batman gets the idea to use a Mother Box (a crazy energy-filled entity), the Flash's ability to conduct lightning and Zod's crashed Kryptonian ship to bring him back. (Yeah, that's right and a lot of people are scratching their heads right now.)

As expected, the team is worried that he'll be like Doomsday and come back a monster, but he only comes back a bit confused. After a dust up with the team, Batman calls in "the big guns," a.k.a. his love Lois Lane, to bring him back to sanity. The question here is will a future Superman movie investigate these side effects further?

Anytime a hero comes back in shows or movies, there are always lingering consequences for manipulating the forces of nature. Only time will tell if this is again the case.

2 - Superman or Wonder Woman?

Tons of fans are probably asking this question!

In "Batman v Superman," both Wonder Woman and Superman fight toe-to-toe with Doomsday and they both looked pretty even in power and strength.

Then in "Wonder Woman," the audience found out Diana Prince is actually a God! While Superman is this all-powerful alien, he's still just that; an alien who draws his powers from the yellow sun.

In "Justice League," Wonder Woman is holding her own against Steppenwolf, the main villain, but not really winning the battle by any means. It's not until Superman steps in and basically takes him down single-handedly that the good guys prevail.

So, who is really more powerful? (This is also a big debate in the comic books.) This is a difficult question to answer, but fans might be confused given the backstory in previous films.

3 - Batman's future

Given the hints in the film and the fact that Ben Affleck is 45 years old, should fans expect more of Batman in the DC extended universe?

Bruce Wayne talks about not being able to "do this forever" and even hints at Wonder Woman being the true and future leader of the team.

Rumors continue to persist about Affleck in the role long-term -- and reports have actors like Jake Gyllenhaal poised to step in.

The solo Batman film has seen it's share of hiccups. It has a 2019 release date, but even if Affleck stays the course, what's his and his character's future? Will he hang it up and leave it up to say, a Nightwing (his former partner Robin all grown up) or someone else?

4 - The post-credit scene

This was another head-scratcher.

In the post-credit scene, Lex Luthor escapes jail and recruits Deathstroke, played by Joe Manganiello, to be part of his team, which appears to be an Injustice League, the evil counterparts to Superman and Batman's crew.

This scene seems to be a tease to the next Batman or Superman stand-alone film, but with neither solidified at the current moment, what should fans expect? Is it a throw away now? Was this scene planned months before? Or will these characters really appear again?

As mentioned prior, Affleck is slated to star in "The Batman" in 2019, but he recently stepped down as director of the film and rumors of his departure persist. If he leaves, will Manganiello do the same?

Fans were excited to see another DC villain take the screen, but what does this really mean?

Also, the Flash's solo film has seen directors come and go, so there are questions regarding that picture too.

5 - Darkseid and Green Latern

This is a two-parter. In this film, Steppenwolf mainly says he wants to take over this world and turn all humans into Parademons, but he doesn't really expand on his allegiance to big baddie Darkseid that has been teased previously.

Steppenwolf does mention the "mother," which may be tied to Darkseid, who is DC's counterpart to Marvel's Thanos, the main villain the team has to face for their greatest challenge yet.

But when is this going to happen and why? Steppenwolf didn't say much, whereas in Marvel, audiences know Thanos is after the Infinity Stones.

Maybe now that the team bested Steppenwolf, one of Darkseid's allies, he will come out of the shadows to face the "League." But that's a guess, at best.

The second part of this question is the Green Lantern. (Nope, not the horrible Ryan Reynolds version.) At least one version of the Lantern is part of the League in most stories, so if and when will DC introduce him or her into this universe?

The Green Lantern was teased at the beginning of this film as well, so it appears there could be plans for a solo project or an introduction of some kind. Or are there?

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