Across two seasons of TV and a movie, James Gunn has started to build out his vision for the future of the DCU. Creature Commandos gave viewers a glimpse of how magic works within the universe, while Superman and Peacemaker season 2 hinted at what the US government is planning for the metahumans.
Using Salvation as a metahuman prison is clearly the path forward as far as A.R.G.U.S. and Lex Luthor see it, but what happens to the world if the superpowered heroes and villains are exiled in another reality? Surely that won’t stop extraterrestrial threats, or even threats from other planes of existence.
Luckily, writer Ty Templeton and artist Clément Sauvé came up with this exact scenario in 2003 and introduced DC’s readers to the possible plan in Human Defense Corps. But to see how this six-issue series can fit into Gunn’s plans, it’s important to understand what Gunn has done first.
Where James Gunn Is Taking The DCU
The events that have unfolded in the DCU so far make one thing clear: metahumans are a very big potential threat to how the world works. Creature Commandos sees Amanda Waller sending a team of monsters to Pokolistan to deal with the Amazonian sorceress Circe, only to end with The Bride killing the rightful ruler of that country. In Superman, the Man of Steel intervenes to stop a war, and Hawkgirl takes it upon herself to execute the President of Boravia.
And in Peacemaker season 2, Chris Smith’s access to the Quantum Unfolding Chamber potentially opens Earth to a variety of interdimensional threats, though that isn’t the primary concern for Rick Flag Sr. and A.R.G.U.S., who wish to use the QUC for their own wants.
What is clear at this point is that metahumans have begun to get involved with geopolitics, and this makes the US government, and likely other governments around the globe, uneasy. Add in that at least one team, the Justice Gang, is working for a corporation, and the issue is clear: are these heroes working for the best interests of the people, or the best interests of the shareholders?
This, of course, has been a common issue in the comics. At one time, the Justice League was overseen by the United Nations, but funded by Maxwell Lord (the same man who funds the Justice Gang), and it caused some tension between a few countries, most notably the fictional country of Bialya.
Early in the Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis run of Justice League, Guy Gardner nearly started World War III by invading Soviet airspace, and that wasn’t the first time the hotheaded Green Lantern had done that.
More recently, Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s run on Wonder Woman has seen the Princess of Themyscira uncover a deep conspiracy at the heart of the United States that nearly led to a war with the Amazons. And on more than one occasion, Superman has found himself standing against the US government.
Gunn is taking this common superhero comic concept and expanding on it, turning it into what appears to be the primary driving force behind the first stage of the DCU. And, like in the comics, Lex Luthor clearly plays a big role in all of this.
In Superman, we get a glimpse into Lex Luthor’s thinking. While he clearly hates Superman most of all, Luthor is not a fan of superpowered beings in general. As he says, “I can’t stand the Metahumans, but he’s so much worse.” This is a rather common stance for Lex to take in the comics as well.
While it remains to be seen in the movies and shows, in the comics, Lex Luthor uses his wealth, brains, and power not just to be a constant problem for Superman and the other heroes, but to become President of the United States.
During that period, Lex uses an alien invasion as an opportunity to create a new branch of the armed services, the Human Defense Corps. And it would be shocking if Gunn doesn’t do something similar sooner or later, especially since the miniseries that introduced this concept is filled with amazing ideas.
What Are The Human Defense Corps?
Believing that the United States — and the world — could not trust the superheroes to protect humanity from alien forces, the Human Defense Corps was created to do just that. Made up of some of the best of the best in the military, the HDC is equipped with powerful weapons and given one mission: protect the world from all non-human threats.
In their first mission, the HDC is sent out to find and watch what is believed to be a group of Durlan shapeshifters who are helping rebels in Bulgravia. Soon enough, it becomes clear that the problem isn’t Durlans, it is demons straight from literal Hell. 66 members of the HDC are apparently killed in the mission, with one man, Montgomery Kelly, left to tell their story.
Across the series, readers are given a look at the various problems the HDC deals with. From training for a possible Starro invasion to working alongside scientists from Gorilla City to holding seances, these soldiers are the last line of defense against any superhuman or paranormal threat.
And all of this leads the Human Defense Corps to one shocking objective: invade Hell. While the first piece of this mission to retrieve the 66 soldiers originally thought dead (but actually brought to Hell to be used as bargaining chips), President Luthor and the United States government can’t help but see the pros of having control over Hell.
And this is where James Gunn could really play with the idea. Gunn loves stories about ragtag groups who face impossible odds, and an army battalion being sent into Hell to set up a US base of operations and take control of one of the demon classes that rules the land would be an amazing take to tell in live-action.
The pieces are already set up. Magic exists. The US government has a device that can open portals to other realities. Lex Luthor created Planet Watch, which is not that far off from the Human Defense Corps. And while we can be sure that Gunn has a plan in place, he’s been very open about it being malleable to change.
We also know that Gunn wants the DCU movies to each feel different, allowing for things like Clayface to co-exist with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. And, at one point, there was a Sgt. Rock movie in the works, so he isn’t afraid to dig into a war story.
A story like this also hits on another topic Gunn appears to be interested in: American might being used for less than altruistic motives. His Suicide Squad saw the team being used to try and hide the US government’s involvement with Project Starfish, Creature Commandos has Amanda Waller interfering with a civil war to protect US interests, and A.R.G.U.S. is working with the Pentagon to disappear what it considers to be undesirable people.
With a little luck, maybe Gunn will come across Ty Templeton and Clément Sauvé’s series and see how well the idea fits into his current plans, and how it opens up a whole new avenue for superhero shows and movies. After all, who wouldn’t love to see a movie about soldiers fighting demons in Hell? And the ramifications of the US military taking control of a part of Hell would surely open up a wave of new stories for the DCU’s supernatural corner.
In the least, fans would get a heck of a fun story.
