It looks like Zack Snyder’s Justice League may have accidentally used an icon or emblem from the Halo franchise.

It all started when Twitter user Geoff Reeves visited an exhibition that shows off the costume of Deathstroke (as played by Joe Manganiello) as featured in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. He spotted an emblem on Deathstroke’s sword, which was presumed to be a reference to Batman villain Ra’s Al Ghul and his League Of Shadows.

Checking out @ZackSnyder ‘s #justiceleague display in Dallas & saw this little gem on #Deathstroke ‘s costume worn by @JoeManganiello! The bottom symbol over the shoulder is Ra’s al Ghul! I hope a Deathstroke movie w/ Joe happens. It’s such a Great backstory!#attdesigndistrict pic.twitter.com/zVo1uWzcby

— Geoff Reeves (@GeoffReeves) March 11, 2021

However, Twitter user @TheBatstan later pointed out that the icon on Deathstroke’s hilt is actually an emblem from the Halo franchise.

So is no one going to point out that that's a symbol from the fucking HALO multiplayer? https://t.co/AatkFUZejV pic.twitter.com/gpAvZnUwJ7

— TheBatstan (@TheBatstan) March 12, 2021

So how did a Halo multiplayer icon wind up in Zack Snyder’s Justice League?

One theory is that someone involved in the costume or weapon’s design did a Google image search for “Ra’s Al Ghul logo” and the first result is that image.

According to veteran Bungie artist Christopher Barrett, he originally designed that emblem (with the original Adobe Illustrator file to prove it) decades ago:

I still have the original illustrator file pic.twitter.com/0nRieKXHHE

— Christopher Barrett (@cgbarrett) March 14, 2021

The story of how a Halo emblem came to be associated with Batman’s Ra’s al Ghul is even more interesting. A fan-fiction creator may have been responsible, as an author on the fandom-crossover wiki Comic Crossroads used a slightly modified version of that Halo icon to represent the League Of Shadows in an alternative comics universe named Earth-5991. In that universe, a fusion of Marvel’s Daredevil and DC’s Batman, Matt Murdock (not Bruce Wayne) becomes the Dark Knight.

In the meantime, you can check out my own review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League here, or if you don’t have the four hours to spare and watch the movie later this week, head on over here for my breakdown of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (along with the biggest changes).