James Gunn Introduced A Major Superman Villain In A Peacemaker Season 2 Easter Egg

Like any James Gunn superhero project, "Peacemaker" season 2 is filled to the brim with fun little allusions and Easter eggs. Gunn, being a guy who has no problem putting ultra-obscure DC characters like Weasel (Sean Gunn), Ratcatcher II (Daniela Melchior) — or, for that matter, Peacemaker (John Cena) — front and center, some of the figures who exist on the periphery of his stories can be outright peculiar. One such character is a supervillain who's actually quite mighty, but incredibly easy to miss. 

Near the end of "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 1 — titled "The Ties That Grind" — Peacemaker, aka Christopher Smith, finally decides to venture deeper into the parallel universe he accidentally discovered some time ago. There, he's not only a well-respected and wealthy superhero, but his father, Auggie "White Dragon" Smith (Robert Patrick), and brother, Keith (David Denman), are both alive and extremely supportive of him. Together, the three Smiths fight crime as the Top Trio, and based on the honors on the shelves of the alternate-universe Peacemaker's study, the public absolutely adores the team. 

With all sorts of awards and keys to the city hogging attention, it can be easy to overlook a newspaper clipping that singles out a very specific Top Trio triumph: Namely, their victory over the comparatively little-known but nevertheless very dangerous DC villain called the Ultra-Humanite. Combine this with the episode's dimensional imp references that may very well hint at the existence of the powerful Mister Mxyzptlk, and it seems that "Peacemaker" season 2 loves to stealthily introduce some of DC's most dangerous threats.   

With having lost to the Top Trio, the Ultra-Humanite keeps himself scarce from the screen (at least, for now). However, he's an extremely apt villain for a variant of Peacemaker and his family to defeat. Essentially a very smart and large white ape with a gigantic head and mind control powers, the villain fits the tradition of simian "Peacemaker" antagonists started by Charlie, the Butterfly-controlled gorilla in the season 1 episode "Monkey Dory." What's more, the Ultra-Humanite is also the exact kind of villain James Gunn likes to nod at. In the comics, the character debuted in 1939 and soon established himself as a body-swapping super genius who became notorious for being the very first recurring member of Superman's rogues gallery. In fact, he's easily one of Superman's strongest villains. 

Though the ape body is arguably his best-known form, the Ultra-Humanite's consciousness has been known to take over famous actresses, dinosaurs, and others. Outside comics, the ape incarnation of the Ultra-Humanite is likely best known as one of the villains on "Justice League: The Animated Series," voiced by Ian Buchanan. Here, the antagonist is such a massive fan of arts and culture that it's effectively his villain gimmick, and both Batman (Kevin Conroy) and the Flash (Michael Rosenbaum) learn how to pull his strings. 

Right now, the Ultra-Humanite is little more than one of the many "Peacemaker" Easter eggs. Still, should the character make a physical appearance during the events of "Peacemaker" season 2, the art-lover approach would be an interesting one ... if only because that version of the Ultra-Humanite would almost certainly abhor the 11th Street Kids' penchant for hair metal. 

New episodes of "Peacemaker" season 2 begin streaming on HBO Max every Thursday.