Yes, because I think it's a plot hole!
Set-up
As a fan of Zack Snyder's work and one of the many who helped campaign for Zack's cut of Justice League - I ponder about things in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Recently, a fan posted what may be a controversial tweet which started a discussion in one of my group chats. The subject of the Tweet isn't that important, but talking about the film, in general, led to what I think is a plot hole in the movie.
Thesis
Throughout the film, there are many monologues explaining the history of the DC Universe and how it relates to Darkseid and the current events unfolding. Diana explains that Darkseid waged war on Earth during his conquest five thousand years ago and found a secret power hidden in the infinity of space - the Anti-Life Equation. For Darkseid to conquer a planet, the Mother Boxes had to synchronize and join to create The Unity. The Unity cleansed a world with fire, transforming it into a copy of the enemy's. Before The Unity could synchronize, the defenders of Earth fought Darkseid off, attacking as one, causing him to retreat to his home universe without the boxes. On Earth, the Mother Boxes grew weak - dogs without masters falling asleep, awaiting the return. The Boxes faded from the enemy's view - anonymous among a trillion worlds. Five thousand years later, Darkseid finally decides to ready his armada to collect his great prize at the film's end. It begs the question: why did it take Darkseid five thousand years to return to Earth - and did the Mother Boxes have anything to do with it?
Body
Argument 1: Mother Boxes and Boom Tubes.
The film starts with Superman's cries of death waking the Mother Boxes; one calls out to the dark place - to one of Darkseid's conquerors - this leads mighty Steppenwolf to collect the three Mother Boxes and conquer the world for Darkseid. It's unknown whether the Amazon's Mother Box summoned the Boom Tube to Themyscira or if it just called to Steppenwolf, and he summoned one on his side. There are more than three Mother Boxes in the comics, and they are commonly used to activate Boom Tubes; we also know that Steppenwolf owes Darkseid conquered worlds and that Steppenwolf would need to get to those worlds somehow. There are likely more than just the three boxes left on Earth, like in the comics, and that is how Steppenwolf Boom Tubes around the Multiverse.
Also, since Steppenwolf and DeSaad thought nothing of random Mother Boxes on a random planet, there are more than three Mother Boxes in the DC Universe. If there were only three, universal travel would be more challenging, but it would alert Steppenwolf and DeSaad that the Anti-Life Equation is on Earth straight away.
Argument 2: Needle in a haystack.
Some people have tried to explain it away: needle in a haystack - one planet amongst the Multiverse. While on the surface, that seems reasonable, you wonder how Darkseid navigated across the Multiverse in the first place. One theory suggests that the Mother Boxes were Darkseid's navigation, and once they were lost, he could not return to Earth again. The information was lost. So how did Darkseid make his way back home? If my theory about the Mother Boxes creating the Boom Tubes like in the comics is true. Then, how did he manage to return to his universe without the Boom Tubes? And if they can return there without the Mother Boxes, they do have navigation of some sort, in which they should have a record of where Earth is.
Argument 3: Darkseid forgot/didn't remember.
Another theory I saw says Darkseid wasn't paying attention, and when they left, he was injured, so he didn't know what planet it was. But, again, I have to mention his navigation system. I am sure Darkseid and his armada were not aimlessly floating throughout space until they found a random planet to attack in random universes. They would need to know how to return to their home. Maybe Darkseid didn't remember or was not looking at the navigation system when he arrived on Earth - but something was flying and running the command ship. There wasn't a way to check the logs?
Others have noted that Earth's invasion was five thousand years ago, so maybe the records were lost to time. But, the planet holds the key to achieving Darkseid's quest. You wouldn't want to lose that information. You would like to make sure it's always remembered and a goal to achieve - get to the planet with my "great prize!" It didn't have to be five thousand years.
Conclusion
So what stopped Darkseid from coming back to Earth? It can't be the lack of Mother Boxes, given it sounds like they could have many of them. It can't be the lack of transportation since they managed to get home, Steppenwolf could go world to world, and Darkseid says, "fine. We will use the old ways. Ready the armada," meaning they can travel there. And I don't think it is the navigation as it sounds dumb. "The ships didn't have navigation or a way to find out where they were and how to get back there" sounds like a cop-out excuse. So, I don't actually have an in-universe reason for why Darkseid never returned.
The real-world explanation I have is: It's just a plot hole. Chris Terrio, Zack Snyder, and Geoff Johns broke down the story on whiteboards plot-by-plot, then wrote an extensive Outline of the film, a little more expanded than the plot points, then the Script phases. I feel like the Darkseid issues came into play when connecting story elements on a whiteboard got translated into an Outline. This is usually where most plot issues happen - early in the writing phase, using plotting and outlining. When you have multiple plot points on opposite sides of the story and know where you are going, you sometimes miss a critical connection that can help the viewer understand how those two points link. Terrio and Zack knew where they wanted it to go, so I am sure this tiny thing was accidentally missed early in the writing phase and made it to the final film released last year.
If any have more theories to add or story elements I missed in my search for this answer, please feel free to let me know in the comments or on Twitter @AfterHoursMedYT.
Relevant Information
Here is the relevant information I found while watching the movie that I used to try and create an explanation in-universe for what happened:
Diana explains:
As Darkseid waged war on Earth, he found a secret there - a power hidden in the infinity of space. He called forth mystics who worshipped and controlled three objects - the Mother Boxes. Indestructible living machines, made from a Science so advanced it looks like Sorcery.
To conquer - three boxes have to synchronize and join together into The Unity. The Unity cleanses the planet with fire, transforming it into a copy of the enemy's world. But before The Unity could synchronize, the defenders of Earth attacked and fought as one.
The three Mother Boxes never synchronized. The Unity never came to pass. But, in their retreat, the boxes were left behind on Earth. They grew weak - dogs without masters falling asleep, awaiting their return - fading from the view of the enemy - anonymous among a trillion worlds.
The defenders of Earth made a vow. Men, Atlanteans, and Amazons. Each would enshrine and guard one of the three sleeping Mother Boxes according to the rights and rituals of their culture in case a box should ever wake again to call out to the planet Apokolips to return and conquer the only world Darkseid had ever lost.
Something woke the box my people guard. It called out to the dark place - to one of Darkseid's conquerors.
Steppenwolf explains:
Before mighty Darkseid came to the throne, he searched the universe for the ultimate weapon. The Anti-Life Equation. The key to controlling all life and all will throughout the Multiverse. He found it hidden on a primitive planet, but before --
DeSaad asks Darkseid, "my master, now that the Mother Boxes have been destroyed, how will you retrieve your great prize?"
Darkseid replies, "Anti-Life is found, DeSaad. And we will stop at nothing to possess it. Ready the armada. We will use the old ways."
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