James Gunn may have just dropped yet another goofy tease for his DCU: a full-blown marketing boardroom setup for Chocos, the fictional cookies famously loved by Martian Manhunter in DC Comics.
Photos posted by Gunn show what looks like a corporate strategy meeting for Chocos, complete with milk bottles, cookie packages, data reports, and custom folders.
One shot even features a mural with giant cookies splashing into milk, like a full-scale parody of Oreo’s marketing.
So what’s going on here?
Update: This might be tied to the Superman movie, which might be the office destroyed by Ultraman. It could also very well tie into Man of Tomorrow.
A Deep-Cut DC Reference
In the comics, Chocos are an Oreo knockoff, and they’re Martian Manhunter’s greatest vice.
Introduced in Justice League International by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, the cookies became a running gag, with J’onn J’onzz developing an outright addiction. He’s been shown hoarding them, obsessing over them, and even requiring intervention from his teammates.
The reference has made its way into animation (Justice League Unlimited, Young Justice), and even video games (Injustice).
But now it looks like James Gunn is bringing it to the forefront of the new DCU.
What the Photos Show
Gunn’s photos include:
- CHOCOs-branded marketing plans labeled “First Quarter – Marketing Strategy / Market Research”
- Graph reports and pie charts with cookie performance stats
- Branded milk bottles (yes, labeled “CHOCOs”)
- Product packaging that mimics Oreos — “So-oh-ohs”
- A display board with flavor variants and charts
- A full room mural with giant cookies bursting through milk
It’s not clear if this is part of a promo, a show set, or just one of Gunn’s classic in-jokes, but it’s detailed and elaborate enough to feel like more than a simple meme.
Is Martian Manhunter Coming to the DCU?
That’s the big speculation.
Gunn hasn’t officially announced Martian Manhunter for the first wave of DCU projects, but this kind of tease — especially one this specific — doesn’t happen by accident.
Whether it’s a nod to fans or a legitimate preview, it’s a sign that Justice League International-style humor and deep lore are on the table, which of course fits with Gunn’s goofy DCU.
And if Chocos are canon… J’onn might not be far behind.
We could see the Martian Manhunter in Supergirl or, more than likely, Gunn’s Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, to add even more goofiness with an essentially drug-addicted MM.
Last we saw of the Martian Manhunter on the big screen was in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, where it was revealed that Harry Lennix’s General Swanwick was actually J’onn. Snyder had to use MM when WB wouldn’t allow him to use Green Lantern John Stewart.
