If it wasn’t clear from Creature Commandos, James Gunn now confirms his DCU is centered on himself, his politics, and his ongoing grudge against the right after being fired by Disney from Marvel.
The handling of Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2 all make that point.
Superman: Gunn’s Political Take on the Icon
Following Creature Commandos, Gunn’s Superman stirred even more division.
The film injected political undertones, presented a less “super” Superman, and rewrote his origin with a spin that felt closer to the Viltrumites from Invincible.
Gunn called it artistic freedom, but it looked more like an intentional reworking for the sake of pushing his personal style and messaging.
The animals are also more super than the humans.
Peacemaker Season 2: Nazis and “Ignorance”
Now with Peacemaker Season 2, Gunn pushes the politics further.
Spoilers follow.
The story sends John Cena’s Peacemaker into an alternate universe where everything seems perfect—his father isn’t abusive, his brother is alive, he has the love of his life (played by Gunn’s wife), and he’s the hero he never was. But the big reveal in Episode 6 is that in this “perfect” world, the Nazis won and control the United States.
The detail Gunn emphasizes? No people of color appear in any of the alternate-universe scenes until Episode 6 points it out. The episode ends with white people chasing after Danielle Brooks’ character. The clear message: if you didn’t notice, you must be racist.
Gunn’s Own Words
Speaking to GQ, Gunn made it clear the episode was about him doing whatever he wants:
“The show delights me. I really do whatever I want with Peacemaker—and I mean, in one respect, I do whatever I want with anything, because I am able to make my own choices and I’m my own boss. But with Peacemaker, we really let it go. We take chances. We go to places where I think other people are afraid to go. We got a lot of pushback from various sources within the structure, on this episode in particular, and we’re like, “Let’s not be bashful about this. Let’s just do the story that we want to do and I don’t want to have to pull punches with it.”
He then dismissed criticism as racist backlash:
“And it’s interesting because there hasn’t been that sort of… I have a few racists that have called me polarizing, but I’m okay with being polarizing and letting racists fall to the wayside. People have loved this episode the most, so it’s exciting.”
Pushback and Disturbing Content
While Gunn says fans love the Nazi Earth episode, the only actual pushback spotted online (that I’ve seen) had nothing to do with racist fans (worth noting is that Nazis are socialists).
Instead, it was about a shocking Lex Luthor moment suggesting DC characters rape each other in prison—possibly Killer Croc and Doctor Phosphorus.
Still, Gunn gloated that he was cleared by both white and nonwhite friends, bragging that even test audiences didn’t notice the “all white” extras until it was pointed out. His response? That was the point.
It’s also worth noting that Gunn allowed Nazi imagery to slip into Fortnite through the John Cena emote, content Epic Games quickly pulled from its marketplace and is now investigating, given the game’s massive young audience.
What’s Next for Gunn’s DCU
With Supergirl and Clayface on the way, Gunn’s political agendas will likely continue to shape the DCU.
He is also writing and directing Man of Tomorrow, teaming Superman with Lex. Based on his track record, fans should expect more of Gunn’s personal expression, ego, and politics baked into the stories.
Gunn has even admitted he relates more to Lex than Superman. So the real question is: who is Gunn’s “Man of Tomorrow”? Odds are he’ll write Lex as the stand-in for a reluctant conservative, with Superman cast as the enlightened voice dragging him toward so-called progress.
