Every Ridiculous Character Who Is Now DCEU Canon Thanks To Peacemaker
When they say, "Get you a man who can do both," they're probably talking about James Gunn. That is, if the conversation is about getting someone that can deliver a fun superhero movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, but also still packs as much of an emotional punch as it does a physical one. In other words, whether it's "Guardians of the Galaxy" or "The Suicide Squad," he manages to tell complex and sometimes dark stories about real people (from this planet and otherwise) while still honoring the underlying playful nature of the superhero source material. Unfortunately, that's not something that every filmmaker that tackles a comic book adaptation keeps in mind, but Gunn clearly having a blast doing it.
One of the clear indications that he's having so much fun is the massive amounts of Easter eggs in his films. Last I checked, there's even still one "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" Easter egg that fans haven't found yet. In the DC Extended Universe, Gunn's Easter eggs typically pop up in the form of obscure characters getting small cameos or name drops. For instance, Kaleidoscope, Calendar Man, and Double Down make brief appearances in Belle Reve.
Naturally, this trend continues in the HBO Max original series "Peacemaker." Gunn takes obscure characters such as Vigilante, Judomaster, and the White Dragon and makes them integral parts of the story. He also drops names like Mad Hatter, The Joker, The Riddler, and various members of the Justice League throughout the first season. However, there are some next level references that are both confusing and hilarious scattered in there as well. So thanks to Gunn's unrelenting commitment to having a good time, here are a few absolutely ridiculous characters that are now canon in the DCEU thanks to "Peacemaker."
Bat-Mite
In the second episode titled "Friends For Never," John Economos is patching up Peacemaker after his escape from the one-night-stand-turned-alien-encounter. Due to Chris Smith's incessant name-calling, Steve Agee's character goes on a rant about who he'd rather be paired up with on a mission with instead of Peacemaker. He lists Harley Quinn, the Weasel, and Bat-Mite. When the titular "hero" played by John Cena asks who that is, Economos say that Bat-Mite is a "two-foot-tall interdimensional imp who stans Batman."
Bat-Mite was created in 1959 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff. He's often depicted as a small, mischievous child in an ill-fitting Batman costume. Using highly advanced technology from the fifth dimension that is often mistaken for magic, Bat-Mite would create strange events that would give him an excuse to run into his idol, Batman. And though he's sometimes compared to Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite is more of a nuisance than a supervillain. Like Economos says, he's just a Batman Stan. Unfortunately, after the Dark Knight creators decided to take a new, more brooding direction with the character, Bat-Mite went the way of the dodo. Thankfully, creators have found ways to bring him back in comics and cartoons from time to time.
Doll Man
At the start of episode 3 "Better Goff Dead," Team Peacemaker are preparing to head off to assassinate Senator Goff and his family. As they load up the truck, Peacemaker talks about his displeasure for homunculi. Adebayo is unfamiliar with that word, so Economos explains that it's the plural form of homunculus and it refers to a tiny, miniature person. That's when Peacemaker brings up Doll Man, who gives him the heebie jeebies.
Doll Man's origins begin in the Golden Age of Comics. In 1939, the legendary Will Eisner created the original Doll Man, a research chemist named Darrel Dane, for Quietly Comics before it was acquired by DC Comics in 1956. The hero was dubbed "The World's Mightiest Mite" and possessed a formula that would allow him to shrink to a height of six inches while still retaining his full strength.
When the Quietly characters were relaunched as part of "Justice League of America," Dane was on the Freedom Fighters' roster. But thanks to "Crisis on Infinite Earths," he was also a part of the All-Star Squadron, a WWII era team from Earth-2. Eventually, it was revealed that all the years of taking his size-altering formula caused damage to his brain, so Dane was committed to a mental institution and Lester Colt took up the Doll Man mantle thanks to the creative team of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.
Department of Extranormal Operations
After Peacemaker hesitates and misses his chance to complete the mission, the team has to remain in their positions and stake out the Goff residence in order to get another opportunity to take the shot. While Adebayo, Murn, and Economos are in the van, Smith and Harcourt remain in the bushes outside and the pair share a brief moment of guard-dropping as they wait for their targets. Earlier, she shared her trail mix, then he offered her a drink from his water bottle. Eventually, they start sharing how they got started in this line of work and she mentions that she spent a couple of years in the D.E.O. before joining Amanda Waller's team at A.R.G.U.S.
The Department of Extranormal Operations or D.E.O. is a government agency that monitors superpowered activity. It was created by Dan Curtis Johnson and J.H. Williams III for "Batman" #550 in 1998, but is likely more familiar to fans of the Arrowverse because they play a prominent part in "Supergirl." Kara's sister Alex Danvers works for them and they handle rogue extraterrestrials and the occasional metahuman or terrorist threat.
While the D.E.O.'s existence in the DCEU isn't exactly that obscure, the implication that their Executive Director Mister Bones exists is. He was a lower level villain that rose through the ranks of the organization by starting at a regional branch and working his way to the top. And he dressed like it too because he's frequently depicted as a chain-smoking skeleton wearing a suit. Post-New 52, Bones became obsessed with capturing Batwoman because he believes that he's the illegitimate son of her father, Colonel Jacob Kane. Bones also kidnaps Beth Kane and blackmails Batwoman into uncovering the secret identity of Batman for him.
Obviously, James Gunn didn't think about Mister Bones when he dropped that line into the script, but the character is said to be coming to a future season of "Stargirl." Since he sounds like the perfect twist of weird and dark that Gunn is used to handling in his run with DC, maybe the show should give him a call to play with Mister Bones for an episode or two.
Matter Eater Lad
The fourth episode "The Choad Less Traveled" features probably the most ridiculous character introduced to the DCEU by Gunn yet. Well, introduced in "Peacemaker," anyway, because Weasel is still out there somewhere. When the team returns to their headquarters after being tortured, capturing Judomaster, and eliminating the Goffs (for the most part), Murn pulls Peacemaker into his office to confirm that Smith's head is still in the game because, as Murn puts it, "the world needs a son of a b****" and you're the only one I got." Although, now the team has Vigilante, for better or for worse. That's when Peacemaker brings up his team up with Matter Eater Lad, during which the latter ate an entire Wendy's restaurant because they messed up his fries.
Though Peacemaker calls him a "f***ing" lunatic, Tenzil Kem AKA Matter Eater Lad is a hero from the future. Matter Eater Lad is a member of the Legion of Superheroes that possesses the power to eat matter in all forms. This is due to the microbes on Matter Eater Lad's home planet of Bismoll making food inedible, so Matter Eater Lad's people evolved with the ability to eat all matter as a survival measure.
After his creation in 1962 by Jerry Siegel and John Forte, Matter Eater Lad was rarely used in storylines because writers couldn't find a believable way to incorporate his powers into a fight. That's why Matter Eater Lad became a senator on his home planet thanks to the fame he garnered from being in the Legion of Superheroes. Matter Eater Lad has been involved in a few storylines since that plot device was crafted for Matter Eater Lad in the '80s, but as James Gunn proved, just saying Matter Eater Lad's name over and over again in conversation (or in an article on a website) is kinda funny in and of itself.
Kite Man
Finally, the last ridiculous character comes to us in the sixth episode, "Murn After Reading." While Peacemaker is talking to Jamil the janitor's daughter's class for Show And Tell Day, he reveals how he took out Kite Man with "his two fists, a desert eagle, and two rocket launchers." It was his first big victory as a superhero, so to mark the achievement, he has a framed newspaper clipping about his heroism hanging in his trailer.
In his first appearance in 1960 courtesy of Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, Kite Man used tear gas attached to his kite to steal a ruby from mobster Big Bill Collins. He also nearly kills Batman and Robin with this contraption. From that point on, he mostly deals with robberies or acts as a henchman in other villains' gangs. Well, until DC Rebirth in 2016 when Charles "Chuck" Brown was given an incredibly dark backstory involving being a divorced father and alcoholic with a fascination with wind. When The Riddler kills his son with poison, Brown becomes Kite Man to join The Joker in The War of Jokes and Riddles. Truly, an insane 180 for the character. But let's not remember him that way.
At this point, thanks to the animated HBO Max series "Harley Quinn," Kite Man isn't that obscure anymore. But Chuck Brown and his kite-themed weaponry is still very silly and incredibly ridiculous. I'm sure that James Gunn couldn't pass up an opportunity to get a reference to the character in the show somewhere.
With a lot to wrap up in the season finale, it's unlikely that we'll get too many more ridiculous references in "Peacemaker" this year. However, since the show got picked up for a second season, who knows what other strange and unusual references Gunn can dig up. No matter what they are, it'll definitely be fun to look for them.