Introduction Into The DCU - How Chapter 1 Can Establish A New Universe (UPDATED) (2025)

This week marks the debut of Creature Commandos, a series that currently seems like a quasi-sequel to The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.It has beenrevealed some elements from both projects will carry over, but not everything will make the transition. This could lead to confusion in Joe Audience(read: the general audience member), who doesn't know how all the pieces will fit together. To counter this confusion, Gunn could repeat what he did with Guardians of the Galaxyand The Suicice Squad: introducingtheir respective worlds through the context of it's protagonists' stories.

Within the next year, three James Gunn-created projects will see the light of day. Thefirst official project withinthe DCU will be the animatedCreature Commandosshow. As such, it has the task to establish the new universe. It will then followed by Superman, arguably the more important project, as it is a movie starring one of the most popular superheroes of all time. Finally, Peacemaker will follow suit, who's first season -except for the Justice League scene-is confirmed to be canon. Thus, these projectswill provide thecontext through whichthe widerDC universe is going to be introduced.

Introduction through context

Before taking over DC Studios, Gunn had already played in the DC sandbox withThe Suicide Squad. The opening sequence follows Savant from Belle Reve to his death. Through Savant, Joe Audienceis introduced to Task Force X, that it has been operating for some time, what their goal is, who it employs and who runs it. Most importantly, this sequence shows that multiple superpowered people already exist in this world. So, through thepoint-of-view character, where everything is introduced in context of their perspective, Joe Audiencequickly learns about the what, the who, and the why of this world.

The Suicide Squadis not alone in employing this technique. Star Wars: A New Hopestarts with C-3PO and R2-D2 and follows them from the Tantive IVdown to Tatooine wherethey meet Luke.The Last of Usstarts with Sarah and keeps the focus on her during the first moments of the outbreak. The Hobbitstarts with Bilbo in the Shire, until Gandalf is introduced who in turns leads the Dwarves to enter Bilbo's life and perspective. Gunn's own Guardians of the Galaxyeven does it, as it starts with Star-Lord on Earth, then Morag and eventually Xandar, where he meets the other future Guardians and villains.

This also works when the story unfolds in sequential order, thusnever giving away information earlier to Joe Audiencethan to the main characters. When it does, it is relevant to, logically follows from, or is interlaced withan in-narrative story, similar to A- and B-plots in tv shows. In case of The Suicide Squad, A New Hope, and The Last of Us, it starts with another character, but through their POV the real main character is introduced. However, there is room for hints that inform of larger worlds or additional POVs, likeFuryin Iron Man 1 & 2, as long as it doesn't distract from the hero's journey.

Introduction to the DCU

What The Suicide Squadshows is that Joe Audience can quickly be introduced to the moving elements, once they become relevant, ofan already developed universe. Superman could follow a similar path, With multiple superheroes confirmed to appear, the film could introduce them gradually through Superman’s perspective, allowing Joe Audience to encounter these characters only when the context has been provided for their appearance and they become relevant to Superman's story, or Superman part of theirs.This keeps the focus on Superman while simultaneously expanding the DCU.

One complication with Gunn's approach to the DCU is that it's not a full reset, so the new projects must also establish what has carried over. For instance, Waller remains, but as Frank Grillo hinted, her role will be filled by Rick Flag Sr. One potential solution is to acknowledge that the universe has changed. For example, Peacemaker might be the only character aware that something -like a different Justice League showing up at the end of season 1-has changed, leaving him confused. Without explaining how the universehas changed, context is provided for Joe Audience to know it has.

In conclusion,Creature Commandos, Superman and Peacemakerseason 2 each play a role in introducing Joe Audience to the new DCU. Through the POV of a main character, context is provided bytheir relations and situations -without turning it into exposition dumps. This way, Joe Audience rapidly catches on with the what, the who and the why of that world. Like Gunn did with The Suicide Squadand Peacemaker, it could then build from there.In this case,Creature Commandosand Superman setup the world, whilePeacemaker again takes a deeper dive into it's inner workings.