Samaritan Ending, Explained: Who is Nemesis? Is Joe Really Samaritan? – Sylvester Stallone plays the title character in Julius Avery’s 2022 American superhero movie Samaritan, which also stars Javon Walton, Pilou Asbaek, Dascha Polanco, and Moises Arias. It was written by Bragi F. Schut. The story was originally turned into the Mythos Comics graphic novels by Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta, which have been hailed as a dark, fresh twist on superhero movies.
In their production, Balboa Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer collaborated. The plot centers on a little child who discovers that a famous superhero who was believed to have vanished after a titanic battle 25 years prior may perhaps still be alive.
Let’s examine the big bombshell from Samaritan’s conclusion to clarify everything. There will, of course, be significant spoilers if you haven’t seen the film yet.
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Samaritan Movie Plot Synopsis
The twin brothers with tremendous power who resided in Granite City were the superhero Samaritan and the villain Nemesis. In the end, Nemesis is killed in a fire that was started during their fight in the city’s power plant. Although the Samaritan prevailed, he disappeared. The Samaritan continues to be beloved by many people, and there are claims that he is still alive.
Sam Cleary, 13, tries to assist his mother with their current financial situation. He agrees to work for the Reza-led gang. Even though the scheme fails, Cyrus, the genuine gang leader, is impressed and personally presents Sam with $110. Later, in retaliation for Sam, Reza and his pals attack him, but Joe Smith, a garbage collector who resides in the flat next door to Sam, stops them. Sam suspects Joe is the Good Samaritan because of his superhuman power to fend off the bullies.
Cyrus discovers Nemesis’s hammer in the meantime and declares himself the new Nemesis, causing riots and mayhem throughout the city.
Sam observes Joe before confronting him. Reza, who is still seeking retribution, hits Joe with his automobile despite his denial that he is the Good Samaritan. Sam witnesses Joe’s recovery after suffering severe injuries. Sam discovers that employing Joe’s healing abilities leads Joe to overheat to dangerous levels, necessitating a cooling down period. Sam is told to maintain his secret by Joe. They become buddies, with Joe teaching Sam how to fight. Cyrus also extends Sam an invitation to join his group, but Sam is troubled by what he learns about their violent antics.
When Joe protects a young girl from an explosion brought on by Cyrus’s group, tales of the Samaritan’s return start circulating. When Cyrus learns who Joe is and how he is related to Sam, he kidnaps Sam to entice Joe.
During their conflict, the Samaritans perished in the power plant fire. Joe is Nemesis, who overcame and became a decent person after being motivated by his brother. Joe kills Cyrus while also smashing his hammer. Sam bursts open a pipe to spray him with water as he nearly overheats due to his healing abilities and the expanding fire. Joe can recuperate enough to escape a window and get away with Sam. Sam affirms Joe’s heroic deeds. Sam telling the press that a “Samaritan” saved him is what Joe heard before he left.
Is Joe Really A Samaritan?
Sam gets into Cyrus’ bad books after belittling Reza (Moisés Arias) in front of him. He is cornered by Reza and his boys, who intend to beat him up. Joe notices this while riding the bus to the pawn shop daily and decides to speak up. He protects Sam from harm by tossing Reza and his gang around like they were composed of nothing. Sam observes the blade crumpling like a piece of paper in Joe’s grasp as Reza attempts to stab Joe.
That thus supports his idea that Joe is a Samaritan in reality. Sam continues to snoop on Joe even after he leaves the area and sees burn scars on his back. He guesses it came from his intense battle with Nemesis and rushes to “Samaritan Lives” writer Albert (Martin Starr) to show him where the superhero is.
According to Albert, a broken knife and burn marks are insufficient evidence to support the assertion that Joe is a good Samaritan. Therefore, Sam enters Joe’s home and steals his scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings about the Good Samaritan to obtain some “evidence.” The most significant piece of evidence, however, comes when Joe is struck by a car being driven by Farshad (Jared Odrick), one of Reza’s thugs, after reclaiming his scrapbook from Sam.
And rather than passing away as a normal man would, he gets back up, his bones fix themselves, and he begins to release steam. He dashes back to his house to cool off and eat some ice cream to prevent a fatal heart attack. Sam comes to the idea that Joe is a Samaritan due to this. However, Sam’s theory may be a little off, given how Joe consistently avoids talking about Nemesis.
Samaritan (2022) Ending, Explained: Who is Nemesis? Is He Dead?
In the title sequence of the film, we learn that Samaritan and Nemesis were twin brothers who eventually turned into sworn foes. The crucial incident occurred when residents burned down their homes as children in retaliation for the devastation their powers were creating.
The twins escaped the fire, but their parents perished in it. The Good Samaritan later rose to prominence as Granite City’s guardian, but Nemesis desired to suffer for everyone, including his brother. To destroy Samaritan, Nemesis built a hammer powered by his hatred for the man.
It’s vital to remember that, just as the hammer is the only item that could injure the Samaritan, it is the only item that, if used against Nemesis, could equally harm him.
To accomplish this, Nemesis threatened the lives of Granite City residents at the nearby power plant to trick Samaritans into falling into a trap. However, it was ineffective because a massive explosion was said to have killed them both.
After sneaking into the police evidence safe 25 years later, Cyrus discovers this hammer and resolves to assume the role of Nemesis. He motivates Granite City residents to rebel and “take back what is yours,” which sparks widespread theft and riots.
Sam makes numerous unsuccessful attempts to convince Joe to revert to being Samaritan before Cyrus makes the error of abducting Sam to murder Samaritan and “complete what Nemesis started.” Samaritan attempts to enter Cyrus’ warehouse, but the bad guy prevails thanks to the hammer.
When there is no hope left, a Samaritan halts the fatal blow and makes the startling disclosure: “You continue to refer to me as the good man. The good man is not me. The terrible guy is me.”
Yes, Joe is Nemesis rather than a Samaritan, and we now have a clearer understanding of the significance of the flashbacks to that crucial night 25 years ago.
Samaritan had the advantage, but she resisted using the hammer to kill Nemesis. After he hurled it out, the ceiling collapsed, killing Samaritan despite Nemesis’s best efforts to save his sibling.
Since Nemesis threw away both masks, everyone else assumed they had perished in the explosion. But he’s not entirely evil, as he kills Cyrus and rescues Sam.
Sam is sure that Nemesis can change because he has witnessed him mending broken objects, but he has no desire to become a superhero. “If it was only bad people doing bad things, it’d be easy to get rid of them. But the real truth is good and bad live in everybody’s heart and it’s going to be up to you to make the right choice,” he tells Sam,” he informs Sam.
Nemesis watches as Sam is interviewed live on television following the dramatic events before slinking back into the night and a life of obscurity once more. Instead of telling the truth when asked who saved him, Sam screams that “Samaritan survives.”
Samaritan was made available for streaming on Prime Video on August 26, 2022, by United Artists Releasing and Amazon Studios. Critics gave the movie a variety of ratings.