The DC Universe isn’t afraid to introduce teams. Despite being only a few projects in, the franchise has been working hard to bolster the Justice Gang, as it appears in both Superman and Peacemaker Season 2. Now, the group’s members aren’t exactly goody two-shoes, working for billionaire Maxwell Lord and picking missions they believe will make them look good. The Justice Gang isn’t a team of villains, but it’s not too far off, which puts them in a bit of a predicament because the DCU already has a couple of groups full of shady characters, with the most prominent, of course, being the Creature Commandos.
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While Rick Flag Sr. leads the monsters in the animated series, he’s onto bigger and worse things. As the head of A.R.G.U.S., he’s been working with Lex Luthor to devise a plan to rid the world of dangerous metahumans in Peacemaker Season 2. The rails fall so badly that a good chunk of Flag Sr.’s subordinates jump ship and start Checkmate, a spy organization that wants to do things better than A.R.G.U.S. While Flag Sr. might view Checkmate as a threat in and of itself, he should be looking in another direction because his plan might pave the way for another dangerous team.
Salvation Run Is All About Villains Teaming Up
Getting his hands on the Quantum Unfolding Chamber means Flag Sr. can search for a habitable planet, one that doesn’t have any strings attached. That way, rather than rounding up metahumans and letting them rot in a jail cell that they’ll eventually escape, he can send them to a different reality. He calls the mystery planet “Salvation,” which has a history in DC Comics. Amanda Waller and Rick Flag devise a similar plan in the source material, using the Suicide Squad to gather the worst of the worst and send them to a planet millions of miles from Earth.
The usual subjects end up there, including Lex Luthor, The Joker, Catwoman, and Clayface. While everyone bickers at first, it becomes clear that they have to work together if they want to survive, as DeSaad, one of Darkseid’s closest allies, is planning to use them as food for his Parademons. Fortunately, Abra Kadabra, a member of the Rogues, a group of villains that consistently pick fights with The Flash, learns of a safe zone that provides at least a little bit of comfort. Whenever Salvation returns in the DCU, the Rogues could be present to offer Peacemaker a helping hand. Their return to live-action would be welcomed with open arms because the last time they appeared, they didn’t get the moment they deserved.
The Arrowverse Doesn’t Know What to Do With the Rogues
The CW’s Arrowverse never tackles the Salvation Run storyline, but it doesn’t miss its chance to utilize the Rogues. In the first season of The Flash, Heatwave and Captain Cold cause plenty of trouble for the titular hero, as their weapons render his powers useless. Team Flash devises a plan to take them down, and it works for a little while. Of course, being villains, the duo gets back on the horse and prepares to commit more crimes. The only reason they don’t is that they get recruited by Rip Hunter to come aboard the Waverider and help him stave off a dark future. Heatwave and Captain Cold get redemption arcs in the Arrowverse, and other members of the comic book Rogues, Mirror Master and Kadabra, have to face The Flash on their own.
The DCU can make up for the Arrowverse’s mistakes by having the entire group together when they arrive on Salvation. It’s not like James Gunn and Co. have been afraid to show villains before their heroes, as Batman’s enemy Doctor Phosphorus plays a major role in Creature Commandos. While it remains to be seen what project Salvation returns in, since another season of Peacemaker doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now, a place that can house a handful of Flash villains makes the most sense because the Rogues can do for the planet in live-action what they did for it in the comics.
Peacemaker Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.
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