I’m Convinced The DCU Just Teased the Next Member of Its Justice League

James Gunn’s DC Universe isn’t in any rush to drop a Justice League movie. While releasing Superman first makes one think that the ultimate goal is to have him team up with the likes of Batman and Wonder Woman, that’s not the approach. Instead, the Man of Steel will play a major role in a couple of stories that span the “Superman saga.” Another character could pick up the baton after that’s done, with the Dark Knight, of course, being one of the leading candidates. The DCU has been consistently teasing Gotham and the crime that runs rampant in the city. However, there are other places in the DCU universe dealing with conflict.

Season 2 of Peacemaker, despite not being headlined by a comic book icon, features plenty of connections to the wider DCU. Superman and the Justice Gang appear in the first episode, and while Christopher Smith hopes to join their ranks, he gets shot down, forcing him to return home with his tail between his legs. Fortunately, his friends are there to pick him up, and one of them spills the beans about the existence of a certain Justice League member. Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Peacemaker Season 2.

Peacemaker‘s Vigilante Does(n’t) Know a Thing or Two About Aliens

The end of Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 2, brings all of the 11th Street Kids back together for the first time since defeating the Butterfly invasion. They mark the occasions by drinking beer on Emilia Harcourt’s roof, but Chris isn’t just there to get drunk. He tries to have a heart-to-heart with Harcourt, who brushes him off, leading him to leave the party and travel to another dimension. Everyone else spends the night in Harcourt’s apartment, including Adrian Chase, who is all too ready to share his interesting knowledge with his friends in Episode 3. Harcourt and Leota Adebayo aren’t having any of it, though, so they send him to bother John Economos.

The A.R.G.U.S. agent doesn’t want to play Adrian’s reindeer games at first, but he comes around and starts asking him about spiders. When Adrian gets a question wrong about the number of eyes a spider has, he comes to grips with it by regurgitating another fact he knows: Martians only have one eye. While most DC media will shoot down that idea, that’s not the important takeaway. What Adrian is really saying is that Martians exist and that the people of Earth know all about them. There’s only one character who could be responsible for that.

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The DCU Is Pushing the Martian Manhunter Agenda

The most famous Martian in DC Comics is J’onn J’onzz, aka the Martian Manhunter. The hero must leave his home planet after his brother creates a virus that wipes out all their kind, forcing him to blend in with humans using his shape-shifting abilities. Since he was a police officer back on Mars, J’onn decides to start a career in law enforcement back on Earth, but it doesn’t suit him. Eventually, he embraces his Martian identity as a member of the Justice League of America, helping save the world alongside Superman and the rest of the team. Since the Justice League isn’t around in the DCU yet and the Justice Gang doesn’t make any mention of the Martian Manhunter, the hero seems to be trying out a solo career before joining a group. That’s not a bad idea, since Martian Manhunter is one of the strongest characters in DC Comics.

Strength won’t be the only aspect of J’onn’s character that makes the leap to live-action. Superman confirmed the existence of the hero’s favorite snack, Chocos’ cookies, and Gunn made a post on social media that poured fuel on the fire, saying, “A certain Martian will be happy to hear Chocos Inc is going strong in #Superman.” While it might be some time before Martian Manhunter gets to eat cookies and fight crime on the big screen, there’s no doubt that the DCU has big plans for him. He may even have to pay Vigilante a visit if the anti-hero continues to spread misinformation about his kind.

Peacemaker Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.

Did you catch the reference to Martians in Peacemaker Season 2? Do you hope to see Martian Manhunter in the DCU? Let us know in the comments below!