At first glance, Peacemaker and Superman are two extremely different superhero stories. The former’s a raunchy, hyper-violent breakdown on how toxic masculinity is something you have to work to overcome, featuring some of John Cena‘s best work as an actor — shining silver helmet included. The latter is a soulful blockbuster about how it’s important to be kind in a cruel world, anchored by David Corenswet‘s performance as Clark Kent. Slowly, the connections between the two projects are starting to become crystal clear. In addition to featuring James Gunn as a creative voice, Peacemaker Season 2 directly builds off the events of Superman and will lead into its upcoming sequel Man of Tomorrow. Peacemaker’s most recent episode, “Need I Say Door,” even sets the groundwork for Ultraman to make his grand return in Man of Tomorrow.
Ultraman Could Return Thanks to the Quantum Unfolding Chamber in ‘Peacemaker’
Ultraman plays a major role in Superman, serving as the right-hand man to Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). He’s also strong enough to match the Man of Steel in combat, handing him the first defeat in his career. It isn’t until the end of the film that the truth is revealed: Ultraman’s a clone of Superman, created and programmed by Luthor to counter his every move. Thanks to an assist from Krypto the Superdog, Superman hurls Ultraman into a black hole that’s created by an unstable pocket universe Luthor brought into being, and it seems like that was the end of his story. Peacemaker proves it wasn’t, especially since Chris Smith’s Quantum Unfolding Chamber plays a huge role in Season 2’s plot.
The Quantum Unfolding Chamber, true to its name, is a seemingly infinite doorway located in Chris’ home; “Need I Say Door” reveals that it’s a piece of alien technology that Chris’ father, Auggie (Robert Patrick), stole from an extraterrestrial visitor he killed. Chris even mentions that he can access 99 dimensions within the Chamber, and most of Season 2 has seen him visiting a dimension where he’s a beloved hero. Alternate dimensions also play a role in Superman, as Luthor’s pocket universe nearly threatens to rip Metropolis apart until Superman and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) shut it down. It’s extremely possible that Ultraman could have wound up in one of those dimensions, giving Gunn the chance to reference his comic book origins. Gunn even hinted that major cameos would take place in the final three episodes of Peacemaker Season 2, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for Ultraman to make a cameo.
Ultraman’s Return Could Lead to Superman & Lex Luthor’s ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Team Up
Since James Gunn has said that Man of Tomorrow will see Superman and Lex Luthor putting aside their bitter rivalry to combat a singular foe, Ultraman more than fits the role. For Superman, he’ll have to face the fact that Ultraman is far stronger than he is. For Luthor, Ultraman is a living reminder of his failures — and the reason why he’ll don his iconic warsuit from the comics. There’s also the fact that Ultraman may wind up transforming into Bizarro, Superman’s backwards-speaking clone. Some incarnations of Bizarro start life as Luthor’s attempts to clone Superman, and Luthor even mentions that Ultraman “might be stupider” than the Man of Steel, which hints at Bizarro’s lower intelligence. It would also make Man of Tomorrow the first Superman film not to feature Lex Luthor or General Zod as a major foe.
There’s also another lingering question: if Peacemaker Season 2 does lead to Ultraman’s return, where does that leave Peacemaker? Chris has been struggling wtih his self-worth in Season 2, not to mention the lingering guilt of killing Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) and trying to spark a romance with Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland). Letting a Superman-level threat into the world could send him spiraling and lead to the groundwork for a potential third season of Peacemaker. James Gunn has all the pieces in place to deliver a major finale for Peacemaker Season 2 and whet fans’ appetites for Man of Tomorrow and future DC Universe projects if he brings Ultraman back.
Peacemaker
- Release Date
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January 13, 2022
- Network
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HBO Max, Max
