Just A PhD Candidate With A Quantum Bio-Belt
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is nearing its release and The Snyder Cut Movement is in full fervor and rightfully so. With DC’s big bad Darkseid making his debut, to the not-so spoiler-ish revelation of General Swanwick as Martian Manhunter or the rumors of Green Lantern possibly showing up, there is a confirmed cameo that flew right under the noses of most people. Being overshadowed by the DC comic book biggies is nothing new for this character. When your pantheon has likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash, chances are you might have never heard of the name:
RYAN CHOI (THE ATOM)
Ding Ding Ding Ding. Ring any bells? No?
“The Atom. That’s all you need to know.” ~ Ryan Choi
Who is the Atom?
Think of him as DC’s version of Ant-Man with a PhD and a prestigious job.
“I’m a mind-over-matter type.” ~ Ryan Choi
Who is Ryan Choi?
With the recent boom in diversity and race-change up in the comics, Ryan Choi is the 4th and the latest incarnation of the DC superhero Atom. With the earlier versions being all white American men, Ryan Choi was an Asian man born in Hong Kong.
“Palmer left me the belt, Cyborg.” ~ Ryan Choi
Who is playing Ryan Choi in Zack Snyder’s Justice League?
Zheng Kai, a Chinese actor who has been making it to the ‘Forbes China Celebrity 100’ since 2015, and has mostly starred in Chinese romantic comedies. That being said, he has worked with Hollywood A-listers before. Zheng was cast in a multi-starrer big-budget movie The Great Wall (2016) alongside Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, and Willem Dafoe. Interesting to note that Willem Dafoe and Pedro Pascal went on to become a part of the DCEU as Nuidis Vulko in Aquaman (2018) and Maxwell Lord as Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) respectively. This will make Zheng Kai the 3rd actor from The Great Wall to become a part of the DCEU. It would be interesting to see if Matt Damon also follows in the footsteps of his peers. Maybe they can squeeze him in with his real-life buddy Ben Affleck’s rumored Batman HBO MAX Series as his reel life villain where Jared Leto’s Joker acts as a Nero-esque guide to Batfleck’s Dante-esque Dark Knight in a hellish Arkham Asylum.
“I represent the great and small.” ~ Ryan Choi
What is his role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League?
Ryan Choi will be the Director of Nanotechnology (which makes sense because he can shrink to sub-atomic levels, duh!) at Star Labs. He, alongside Dr. Silas Stone (Cyborg’s father), will be experimenting on the same Mother Box that was given to mankind for safekeeping as explained in Justice League (2017) where he was originally set to appear. Unfortunately, his scenes were removed from the final cut. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between the two play out. Whether he chooses to aid Dr. Silas Stone in saving his son’s life or will his departure cause Dr. Silas Stone to take matters into his own hand. In both the scenarios, he will have ultimately caused the transformation of Victor Stone to Cyborg. BOOYAH!
“I hear we’re both overachievers” ~ Ryan Choi
Will we get to see him in action?
It is highly unlikely that Ryan Choi will be getting his superhero powers in this movie. Given the fact that they are introducing many major DC characters from the lore, his role might have been downplayed in this movie to a mere nod, or at best an introduction of the character in the DCEU. But if you do want to see him in action, you can always watch Arrowverse’s famous 2019 crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths where he is played by Osric Chau. Or if you are into games, he is playable in Injustice 2 via downloadable content Fighter Pack 3.
“Fighting is easier if you know physics” ~ Ryan Choi
Why is “Star Labs” such a big deal anyway?
In the comics, Star Labs is like DC’s version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. It will be the location of a major battle in ZSJL where Cyborg, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman will face off Steppenwolf resulting in Dr. Silas’s death as suggested by the footage of the stunt rehearsals released by Freddy Bouciegues, a stunt coordinator on the movie.
“This looks like a job for quantum physics.” ~ Ryan Choi
The Verdict:
Roping in a local star from a country with the highest population in the world is a pretty good marketing ploy that Zack Snyder seems to be getting a knack of. He has also enrolled Huma Qureshi, a Bollywood actress, for his upcoming zombie heist movie Army of the Dead. It remains to be seen if they decide to cast Bollywood actors in future DCEU movies (you know, because 2nd highest population in the world equals more attention). With the ardent support from die-hard fans who ignited the spark of the Snyder Cut Movement, total artistic freedom handed over to Zack Snyder, and a 4-hour runtime to tell an epic story, all in all, the future looks bright for Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Which makes you wonder if the Snyder Cut is well-received by both, the audience and the critics alike, will Ryan Choi continue to be a part of the DCEU? Tell us what you think.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League releases on Thursday, 18th March 2021 exclusively on HBO MAX.
If you don’t have an HBO MAX subscription, now would be a good time.“My expert opinion is that you’re exaggerating.” ~ Ryan
