James Gunn Teases Charlton Comics Takeover of the DCU as More Heroes Join Peacemaker and Judomaster

If you have been watching Peacemaker season 2 and wondering who else might wander into James Gunn's new DCU, you are not alone. And based on Gunn's latest hint, fans of the old Charlton Comics crew might want to get their hopes up.

The quick hint that launched a thousand fan-casts

Over on Threads, a user named 'ericdscroggs' asked Gunn point-blank if more Charlton characters were headed to the DCU, name-checking the original Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and The Question, and tossing in a little praise for recent DCU outings while he was at it.

"Will we see more Charlton characters, like the original Blue Beetle or Captain Atom, The Question, etc in your new DCU? I really enjoyed Superman, Peacemaker, and Creature Commandos. You're doing an awesome job!"

Gunn's reply was short and very on-brand:

"You might be in luck."

Charlton 101 (aka: where Peacemaker actually came from)

Peacemaker is one of the flagship faces of Gunn's DCU, and his scene-stealing co-star Judomaster is right there with him. Fun twist: both characters started life outside DC at Charlton Comics, a publisher DC bought and folded into its universe years ago. So when Gunn teases more Charlton, he is talking about a surprisingly deep bench.

The roster and the Watchmen connection

Here is the short list of Charlton standouts that matter for this conversation, plus the very nerdy (and very cool) footnote that many of them inspired the Watchmen equivalents you know:

• The Question — faceless vigilante; inspired Watchmen's Rorschach by way of the archetype
• Nightshade — a shadow-powered hero; counterpart to Silk Spectre in Watchmen's mapping
• Captain Atom — a nuclear-powered heavy hitter; the blueprint for Doctor Manhattan
• Sarge Steel — adventuring soldier and spy mainstay
• Peter Cannon/Thunderbolt — super-genius strategist; Watchmen's Ozymandias parallel
• Ted Kord, the Silver Age Blue Beetle — the gadgety hero whose DNA runs through Nite-Owl
• Peacemaker — yes, our guy; the tonal match for the Comedian
• Judomaster — Peacemaker's fellow Charlton alum currently punching above his weight on TV

If that feels a little inside baseball, it is. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons famously used the Charlton lineup as the jumping-off point for Watchmen, which is why the parallels are so clean.

Who is already in the DCU pipeline

Beyond Peacemaker and Judomaster, one Charlton-adjacent thread is already tugged: Gunn has said Xolo Mariduena's Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle is likely sticking around after the 2023 film. That movie also teases the Charlton-era Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, with Jason Sudeikis voicing Kord in a stinger. So if Gunn follows through on that Threads tease, Ted feels like a very plausible next domino.

Bottom line

Gunn did not spill names, but "You might be in luck" is about as clear as a wink gets. If you are a Charlton fan, keep your eyes on The Question, Captain Atom, Nightshade, and (yes) Ted Kord.

Meanwhile, Peacemaker season 2 is rolling out new episodes every Thursday on HBO Max.