Among the many jobs Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was tasked with earlier this year was introducing the concept of metahumans to the DC Extended Universe. Although moviegoers met this universe's Superman three years before in Man of Steel, the second DCEU entry revealed that there are a number of other "gods among us," namely through Lex Luthor's secret computer files. While the movie touched on the basics of the "metahuman thesis," now you can delve deeper into what entails though a new BvS 101 installment.
While longtime DC Comics readers know all about metahumans, this new video, narrated by DC All Access host Jason Inman, lays out to non-comic book fans how the term is basically applicable to any mighty figure on our planet, whether they're a scientifically-altered human, demigod or a humanoid-looking alien. What they all have in common is that they've been gifted with powers, separating them from mere mortals. Just like with normal humans, there are both good and bad metahumans, which is why it's up to organizations like the Justice League and ARGUS to keep the peace. We already know the former will band together on the big screen late next year, but whether the latter will be introduced to the DCEU remains to be seen.
As far as the DC movie continuity, metahumans are still only a theory, but thanks to Superman's public debut in Man of Steel, many suspect other powered individuals are living amongst us. One of the proponents of this theory is Lex Luthor, who kept records of metahumans on his private server in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Batman eventually hacked into these records and emailed them to Wonder Woman, who can also be classified as a metahuman due to the fact that she's a demigoddess from Themyscira. Along with her, the files contained information about Aquaman, a half-human/half-Atlantean warrior; Flash, a regular human who gained super speed after being struck by lightning and chemicals; and Cyborg; another regular human who was turned into a cybernetic being by his father in order to save his life.
Including Superman, that makes five heroic metahumans in the DCEU right now (sorry, Batman), but they're just the first moviegoers will meet. We know multiple Green Lanterns and Shazam are on the way, and there are also the powered villains these heroes will have to battle either solo or as a team. With plenty of other characters from the DC Comics library who could be brought into the cinematic world, it's clear that this metahuman thesis is no longer hypothetical; it's reality. Now we'll just have to wait and see how the revelation of their existence will further affect society.
Both the theatrical cut and the "Ultimate Edition" of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be available to buy digitally on June 28, and the Blu-ray and DVD copies will hit shelves on July 19.
