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This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the most recent DC Extended Universe content. You have been warned. |
- "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
- ―Senator Finch[src]
Senator June Finch[1] 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., Senator 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.[2]
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Nairomi Incident
- "Let the record show that this committee holds him responsible."
- ―June Finch[src]
Finch hears evidence from Kahina Ziri[3], about Superman saving the life of Lois Lane in war torn Nairomi, Africa. Finch decides to officially hold Superman responsible.
Meeting Lex Luthor
Shortly thereafter, Finch and her colleague Barrows meet LexCorp Industries billionaire CEO Lex Luthor, who proposes 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 requests 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 leaves, considering the request, while Barrows stays, intent to continue a discussion with Lex.
The Red Capes are Coming!
- "The Red Capes are coming!"
- ―Lex Luthor, mocking Finch[src]
Several days later, Finch is escorted into Lex's study by his right-hand assistant Mercy Graves. While Lex is initially exited to see her, Finch promptly tells him that she's decided not to grant him the import license. Lex is visibly enraged, beginning to nervously tap his fingers, but Finch physically stops him, letting Lex know that she sees right through his altruistic façade, telling him that he can "Take a bucket of piss and call it Granny's peach tea, take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence", but that she wouldn't "drink it." Lex gives her a sinister grin, and states that he has considered turning an old picture of his father's (depicting a battle between Heaven's angels and Hell's demons) upside down, and enigmatically telling her that "the Red Capes are coming." Finch then promptly departs.
The Superman Question
- "Must there be a Superman?"
"There is." - ―Finch[src]
As Superman continues his career as a superhero, the world continues responding to Superman and what his existence means 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 is interviewed on the matter, with her interviewer wondering aloud if it is really surprising that Superman, as the most powerful man in the world, is viewed as a figure of controversy. He proceeds to ask her if, as a US Senator, Finch would be personally comfortable with saying to a grieving parent, that Superman could have saved his/her child, but that on principle, the US government had not wanted him to act. Senator Finch responds by admitting that Superman's engagement in state-level interventions (notably recently in Nairomi) should indeed give them all pause. However, she proceeds by saying that the problem is not Superman's actions, but rather, that he should not be carrying them out unilaterally. This makes her interviewer conclude by saying that the overall question is in fact, “must there be a Superman?”; to which she simply replies that “There is”. Clark himself sees this interview on television, and is visibly dismayed.
Hearing in Washington
- "Today is a day for truth."
- ―June Finch[src]
Concerned at how Superman may be seen by the public, due to his constant acts of vigilantism, Finch sends 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 arrives to speak and answer at Finch's committee. Shortly before the trial begins, Lex Luthor arrives, asks Mercy Graves to reserve him a seat, and speaks to Finch with an air of thinly-veiled condescension. Shortly thereafter, the committee begins, with Finch pointing out to Superman a witness/victim of Superman's actions -Wallace Keefe, who had lost his legs in the Black Zero Event. Finch then suddenly notices a jar of urine standing on her desk, labelled "Granny's Peach Tea" (an epithet that she herself had used not along ago), which visibly startles her, making Finch pause mid-speech. At that moment, a bomb (secretly planted inside Keefe's wheelchair by Lex) explodes, killing all present (except for the invulnerable Superman), including Finch.
Personality
June Finch is 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.[2] June is also remarkably perceptive, being one of the very few people to swiftly see through the charade of 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.
Relationships
Allies
- United States Senate
- Superman Study Committee
- Senator Barrows †
- Senator Stearns †
- United States Armed Forces
- General Elkins
- Superman † - acknowledged ally
- Wallace Keefe †
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Enemies
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