June Finch

June Finch
Real name	June Finch
Alias(es)	Junebug (by Lex Luthor)
Species	Human
Nationality	American
Gender	Female
Deathdate	November 12, 2015
Affiliation(s)	United States Senate Democratic Party
Status	Deceased
Appearances
Film(s)	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Comic(s)	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Senator Finch
Actors/Actresses
Portrayed by	Holly Hunter

"The world has been so caught up with what Superman can do that no one has asked what he should do."

―Senator Finch on the Superman Debate^[src]

Senator June Finch was a member of the United States Senate, who chaired a committee tasked with investigating the activities of Superman and the destruction of Metropolis caused in his confrontation with General Zod.

Biography

June Finch grew up on a farm in Kentucky, later ultimately becoming a junior Democratic Party Senator from that state.

Forming the Superman Study Committee

Finch and the committee discuss Superman.

Shortly after the debut of Superman, Senator Finch set up a meeting with her fellow senators and General Elkins. At the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., Finch led the committee on the subject of Superman. General Elkins presented a CGI simulation of a male Kryptonian attacking a city such as Metropolis, fighting against F-35s. Senator Stearns defended Superman's intentions on Earth, due to the latter having saved the planet from his own invading people, and, more recently, saved hundreds of lives from a forest wildfire in Stearns' state. After the group began heatedly debating, Finch promptly calmed things down, stating that before an ultimate decision regarding Superman was made, the issue of his existence had to be approached objectively, and she therefore advocated for the creation of a committee to study and learn more about Superman, to which the majority of those present agreed. As everybody left, Finch asked General Elkins for everything he had on Superman.

Nairomi incident and meeting Lex Luthor

"Let the record show that this committee holds him responsible."

―June Finch^[src]

After hearing testimony from Kahina Ziri regarding Superman saving the life of Lois Lane in the war-torn country of Nairomi in Africa, Finch decided to officially hold Superman responsible.

Senator Finch visiting LexCorp

Shortly thereafter, Finch and her colleague Barrows met LexCorp Industries billionaire CEO Lex Luthor, who proposed the idea of using the recently acquired Kryptonite xenomineral as an official deterrent against Superman, to hold him in check if the alien superhero were to ever decide to turn against humanity. In order to forge such a "silver bullet", Lex requested Finch to grant him an import license for the large piece of Kryptonite lying in the Indian Ocean (at the wreckage of General Zod's World Engine). Finch left, considering the request, while Barrows stayed, intent to continue a discussion with Lex.

The Red capes are coming

"Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? Can I call you June?"
"You can call me whatever you like. Take a bucket of piss and call it granny's peach tea; take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence. You won't fool a fly or me. I'm not gonna drink it. "

―Lex Luthor and Senator Finch^[src]

Lex and Finch discussing about the xenomineral Kryptonite

Several days later, Finch was escorted into Lex's study by his assistant, Mercy Graves. While Lex was initially excited to see her, Finch promptly told him that she'd decided not to grant him the import license. Lex was visibly irritated, beginning to nervously tap his fingers, but Finch physically stopped him, letting Lex know that she saw right through his altruistic façade, telling him that he could fool others into believing his lie of creating a potential deterrent against Superman, should he become malevolent, but that she was not fooled into seeing its true nature as a means of assassinating the Man of Steel. Lex gave her a sinister grin, stating that he had considered turning an old picture of his father's (depicting a battle between Heaven's angels and Hell's demons) upside down, enigmatically telling her that "the Red Capes are coming". Finch then promptly departed.

The Superman question

"Must there be a Superman?"
"There is."

―Finch^[src]

As Superman continued his career as a superhero, the world continued responding to Superman and what his existence meant to the world, with the media referring to it as "The Superman Question". The question sparks quite a bit of controversy worldwide, with many being quick to express their opinions.

Finally, Senator Finch was interviewed on the matter, with her interviewer wondering aloud if it was really surprising that Superman, as the most powerful man in the world, was viewed as a figure of controversy. He proceeded to ask her whether, in her position of power, she would feel comfortable telling a grieving parent that Superman could've saved their child, but the government had disallowed him. Senator Finch responded by admitting that Superman's engagement in state-level interventions (notably recently in Nairomi) should indeed have given them all pause. However, she proceeded by saying that the problem was not Superman's actions, but rather, that he should not be carrying them out unilaterally. Her interviewer concluded that the ultimate question was "must there be a Superman?", to which she simply replied that "there is".

Capitol bombing

"Today is a day for truth."

―June Finch^[src]

Concerned at how Superman could be seen by the public, due to his constant acts of vigilantism, Finch sent a public announcement to him, inviting Superman to speak in a committee to defend his actions at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Despite media speculation to the contrary, Superman arrived to speak and answer at Finch's committee. Shortly before the trial began, Lex Luthor arrives, asking Mercy Graves to reserve him a seat, and speaking to Finch with an air of thinly-veiled condescension. Shortly thereafter, the committee began, with Finch pointing out to Superman a witness/victim of his actions - Wallace Keefe, who had lost his legs in the Black Zero Event. Finch then suddenly noticed a jar of urine standing on her desk, labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" (the same epithet that she herself had used to humiliate Lex during their "Red Capes" talk), which visibly startled her, making Finch pause mid-speech. At that moment, a bomb (secretly planted inside Keefe's wheelchair by Lex) exploded, killing all present (except for the invulnerable Superman), including Finch.

Personality

June Finch was a fairly reasonable individual, capable of seeing that Superman means well, and going out of her way to refrain from making an ultimate decision regarding how to approach the existence of the alien superhero from a subjective viewpoint, and thus advocating for the creation of a prerequisite committee to study and learn more about Superman before making any sort of decision. June was also extraordinarily perceptive, being one of the very few people to swiftly (partially) see through the deceptive charade of supergenius Lex Luthor when the latter advocated the use of Kryptonite as a deterrent against Superman, which made her refuse Lex an import license on the xenomineral. Finch would ultimately, however, be outwitted and killed by Lex, before being able to significantly affect his villainous grand plan.

Relationships

Allies United States Senate Superman study committee Senator Barrows † Senator Stearns † United States Armed Forces Secretary of Defense Calvin Swanwick General Elkins Superman - acknowledged ally Wallace Keefe † - constituent Kahina Ziri † - deceiver turned ally

Enemies LexCorp Industries Lex Luthor - rival and killer Mercy Graves †

Trivia

• In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, June Finch is being interviewed by Charlie Rose on national TV while discussing Superman. In the corner of the screen it says Finch is a Democrat from Kentucky. Lex Luthor also mentions Finch is a Kentucky Girl in a previous scene.