James Gunn May Have Given An Odd Batman Character A New Supervillain Origin

It's still very early days in Peter Safran and James Gunn's DC Universe, but now that we're into season 2 of "Peacemaker," which premiered a month after the blockbuster theatrical launch of "Superman," fans are speculating with reckless abandon as to how and where a variety of characters will fit into the upcoming movies and television shows. And Gunn is reaching deep into the comics' deep bench of supervillains to, blessedly, give viewers a bit of variety instead of sticking to the overused main bad guys.

One of the most intriguing elements of "Peacemaker" season 2 premiere was the brief appearance by Brey Noelle as the White Rabbit. The quite bad character first turned up over a decade ago in "Batman: The Dark Knight #1," but she might be put to different use in Gunn's world, given that her introduction is a departure from the comics. It's way too early to say, but Noelle's the White Rabbit (aka Jaina Hudson) might play for the good guys in this universe.

White Rabbit is a fun character with one very cool superpower, so whichever way she breaks, she'll be a fun addition to "Peacemaker" and the DCU on the whole. But given the manner in which Gunn has plopped her into this superhero circus, joining up with the powerful Justice Gang might be her best option — even though they just rejected her.

In the comics, White Rabbit breaks out of Arkham Asylum and is a new-to-Batman villain. White Rabbit's origin story is incomplete on the page; we don't really know how she obtained her powers or what motivated her to become a villain.

By having her audition for the Justice Gang, the implication is that she wants to be a do-gooder. But if she was subjected to the same kind of careless humiliation that Peacemaker received (i.e. being allowed to hear Guy Gardner, Maxwell Lord, and Hawkgirl disparage her via a hot mic goof that is totally the fault of Gardner), it's possible she might hold a grudge and seek to get even with her clumsy tormentors.

Interestingly, in the comics, White Rabbit tried to inject Batman with a super steroid while he was trapped under a knocked-unconscious Clayface (who will be getting his own movie next year), so maybe Gunn will find a way to get her involved in Clayface's big-screen story arc. The possibilities are plentiful, but I'd personally like to see White Rabbit be a force of chaos in the DCU, someone who veers between good and bad depending on how it serves her purposes. Gunn's already pulled some unexpected twists in the DCU, so it's impossible to predict how she'll be deployed.

In the meantime, new episodes of "Peacemaker" season 2 hit HBO Max on Thursday nights.