Is PEACEMAKER Hinting at DC Comics’ Darkest Universe?

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Peacemaker finished its next-to-last episode of season two with Christopher Smith’s friends successfully bringing him back from a dimension controlled by Nazis. Once he returned to his Earth, he handed the Quantum Unfolding Chamber over to Rick Flag and Argus. This gives the U.S. government access to this incredibly powerful technology from another world. The preview for the season finale shows them intending to use it, with multiple doors opening to strange and unusual dimensions. Could this mean the DCU is moving towards its own Multiverse story? Or is Peacemaker suggesting that something even more ominous is coming for the DCU?

We initially believed that James Gunn would avoid exploring alternate Earths so early in building his DCU, considering it’s only two projects in, especially since Marvel Studios is already heavily involved with their own Multiverse Saga. However, Gunn has emphasized that season two of Peacemaker will set the stage for significant events within the DCU. With the season concluding with the U.S. government gaining unrestricted access to a portal leading to infinite worlds, it seems likely that DC is preparing for its own large-scale Multiversal story. But what might that look like? The comic books offer many possibilities.

DC Comics first created its Multiverse in the early 1960s with the comic The Flash. This introduced Earth-2, a world where the original, Golden Age DC heroes lived. Soon after, they added Earth-3, home to the villainous Crime Syndicate, Earth-S, where the Shazam heroes resided, and many more. Eventually, the number of alternate Earths became too complicated, so DC combined them all in the massive 1985 event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Over the last forty years, DC has repeatedly expanded, shrunk, and reimagined the Multiverse. They’ve also explored it in live-action TV shows like the CW’s Arrowverse, and in the 2023 The Flash movie. This raises the question: can James Gunn successfully focus on the Multiverse again with the new DCU? We believe he has a fresh approach in mind.

We believe James Gunn will incorporate the Peacemaker Quantum Unfolding Chamber into his DCU, but we don’t anticipate seeing multiple versions of established heroes-similar to the MCU’s concept of variants. This means we likely won’t see heroes from the DCEU interacting with their DCU equivalents, like a meeting between David Corenswet’s Superman and Henry Cavill’s Superman. We suspect one of those doors leads to a world unreachable through conventional space travel-Apokolips, ruled by Darkseid. In fact, we think Gunn might portray Apokolips and New Genesis as alternate versions of “our” Earth. Jack Kirby’s Fourth World utilizes familiar English names, Earth imagery, and symbols. Therefore, Gunn may position them as Earth’s counterpart in another dimension. In the comics, Darkseid frequently aims to cover Earth with his fire pits, turning it into a new Apokolips. Perhaps in a different dimension, he succeeded in doing so.

The powerful sound the portals create in the Quantum Unfolding Chamber suggests they might work like Boom Tubes. This is the transportation technology used by characters in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World to travel through space and time. Was the Chamber built by these characters originally, or did someone copy and recreate their technology? Zack Snyder hinted at Darkseid’s appearance in his Justice League movie, but didn’t give him much dialogue. James Gunn has the freedom to develop his own version of Darkseid and properly introduce a significant DC villain. Plus, Darkseid is confirmed to be included in the upcoming Mister Miracle animated series, letting us know he’s on his way. The Quantum Unfolding Chamber could be how Earth reaches this dangerous realm. We’ll likely learn more when the season finale of Peacemaker airs on HBO Max next week.

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2025-10-04 00:33