Movies

I Want Earth-Two in the DCU

James Gunn needs to go outside the box with the DCU and best way to do that is to introduce Earth-Two.

A split image of the cover to The Flash #123, featuring Barry Allen and Jay Garrick and the Justice Society - Hawkman, Power Girl, Green Lantern, Star-Spangled Kid, Wildcat, Jay Garrick, andEarth-Two Robin
DCU Earth-Two

I’m a huge fan of James Gunn‘s DCU work. The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker were excellent, combining deep characters, action, and plot in beautiful ways. Creature Commandos was just as great: that last episode was a heartbreaker, and the show did a brilliant job of setting up what the landscape of the new DCU is. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I’m extremely excited for what comes next.

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Gunn obviously has a deep love for DC and it shows in all of his work. That’s why I, another fellow lover of DC, have a simple request to the filmmaker: give us Earth-Two in the DCU. In fact, I think that he should go completely pre-Crisis with it, and there are lots of great reasons for this. I think the world is ready for a true superhero franchise multiverse, and Earth-Two is the perfect place to start.

Earth-Two Is the Best Alternate Earth in Comics

The Justice Society of America - Batman, Superman, Spectre, Hawkman, Hourman, Jay Garrick, Wildcat, Mister Terrific, Johnny Thunder, Starman, Wonder Woman, Alan Scott, Sandman, Atom, Doctor Mid-Nite, Dr. Fate, Robin, Red Tornado 1 and 2, nd Black Canary

Multiverses are all the rage nowadays. It’s an amazing concept that doesn’t always get used well, but bringing Earth-Two into the DCU, along with the rest of the pre-Crisis multiverse, could finally show people just how well a multiverse can be used in superhero stories. Earth-Two is the home of the Justice Society of America, a world where the age of superheroes began in 1938 when Superman first allowed himself to be known to the public. There are decades of superhero history on Earth-Two, and those decades could be mined for films and TV shows.

Earth-Two’s heroes aren’t doppelgangers of familiar characters, they are rich characters on their own. Jay Garrick/Flash is the quintessential superhero; Wildcat is the gruff bruiser with the heart of gold; Hawkman is an ancient warrior; Starman is the prototype for every superhero scientist that came after him; the Spectre is an inhuman force trying to remember being human; Johnny Thunderbolt is the mascot; the Sandman is the detective; Hourman became addicted to his superpower pills; Black Canary is the woman who can beat up all the men, and Mister Terrific is the polymath who pulls out the victory in the nick of time. Earth-Two Batman is a more happy version of the Caped Crusader, a Bruce Wayne who didn’t allow the darkness of Gotham to suck him down — he even married Catwoman eventually. Earth-Two Superman is probably my favorite Superman variant, a man of the people who didn’t just fight the supervillains, but also worked hard to help the common man, going after crooked government officials and those who would take advantage of their power. Earth-Two Wonder Woman is a warrior for peace and truth, something that doesn’t always come across in more modern portrayals.

Any of these characters could have brilliant adaptations. Alan Scott wrestling with his sexuality during the ’30s and the ’40s has so much potential as a movie or TV series (see the recent comic series for an example). Hourman dealing with his addiction to both Miraclo and being a superhero is a look at superheroes that is quite unique. You can even just straight-up adapt Sandman Mystery Theater, the detective thriller series starring the Sandman. Look at the success of The Penguin; Sandman Mystery Theater has the potential to be even better than that. A Justice Society movie has “blockbuster” written all over it, and going in that direction means that the DCU can do crossover movies between the heroes and villains of the different Earths. And that leads to a very important place in DC history: Crisis on Infinite Earths.

One day, the DCU is going to need to have its Infinity War/Endgame moment the road to that is paved through Earth-Two. Introducing the DC Multiverse through Earth-Two not only allows the DCU to tell superhero stories very different from what has come before, but it sets out a road map for the future. Earth-Two means that Earth-Three, the world where evil always wins, can come next. We can see Earth-X, the world where the Nazis won WWII and the only resistance is from the superhero team known as the Freedom Fighters. There are infinite ideas out there and DC has already proven many great ones on the comic page, that are now ready for the screen.

Earth-Two in the DCU Is a Win-Win

justice-society-of-america-dc.jpg

The DCU, in my opinion, is going in the right direction. DC Comics have always been more fantastical and weird, and Creature Commandos captured that. The DCU slate goes in some great directions that show off the true breadth of DC Comics. I feel that bringing in Earth-Two and going in a pre-Crisis direction would build on that.

The DCU has to set itself apart from Marvel immediately, and Earth-Two gives it a chance to do that. Superhero movies are in danger of getting stale, and the best way to combat that is to not do what everyone else has done. And from where I’m standing, that’s Earth-Two.

Creature Commandos is streaming on Max. The first DCU film release will be Superman on July 11th.