The DCU Just Set Up a Villain Team That It Can’t Screw Up Worse Than the Arrowverse

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The DC Universe is quickly building up teams of heroes and anti-heroes. Even with only a few movies and shows released so far, the franchise is establishing the “Justice Gang,” which appears in both *Superman* and Season 2 of *Peacemaker*. This group isn’t made up of traditional heroes; they work for the wealthy Maxwell Lord and choose missions based on how they’ll be perceived. While not outright villains, the Justice Gang operates in a morally gray area, creating a potential problem since the DCU already features several groups of questionable characters – most notably the Creature Commandos.

In the animated series, Rick Flag Sr. isn’t just leading monsters – he’s secretly working with Lex Luthor. As the head of A.R.G.U.S., he’s developing a plan to eliminate all dangerous metahumans, as we see in *Peacemaker* Season 2. This plan goes so awry that many of his team members leave to form Checkmate, a new spy organization aiming to improve upon A.R.G.U.S.’s methods. Though Flag Sr. sees Checkmate as a problem, he’s overlooking a bigger danger – his own plan could actually create an even more formidable threat.

Salvation Run Is All About Villains Teaming Up

If Flag Sr. obtains the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, he’ll be able to find a suitable planet without any restrictions. Instead of imprisoning metahumans only for them to eventually break free, he intends to send them to another reality. He’s named this potential new home “Salvation,” a planet with roots in DC Comics lore. This plan mirrors a previous scheme from the comics, where Amanda Waller and Rick Flag used the Suicide Squad to collect dangerous individuals and exile them to a distant planet.

The prison holds many familiar villains, like Lex Luthor, The Joker, Catwoman, and Clayface. Initially, they argue amongst themselves, but they quickly realize they must cooperate to survive. DeSaad, a key follower of Darkseid, intends to feed them to his Parademons. Luckily, Abra Kadabra, a villain who frequently battles The Flash as part of the Rogues, discovers a relatively safe haven. When Salvation returns to the DC Universe, the Rogues might be there to help Peacemaker. Fans would likely be excited to see them again, as their previous appearance didn’t give them the spotlight they deserved.

The Arrowverse Doesn’t Know What to Do With the Rogues

Although The CW’s Arrowverse didn’t adapt the ‘Salvation Run’ storyline, it did feature the Rogues. In the first season of *The Flash*, villains Heatwave and Captain Cold repeatedly challenged the hero, their weapons designed to neutralize his superpowers. Team Flash managed to temporarily defeat them, but the duo quickly resumed their criminal activities. However, they were then recruited by Rip Hunter to join the Waverider and help prevent a grim future, giving them a chance at redemption. While Heatwave and Captain Cold found new paths, other Rogues members like Mirror Master and Kadabra faced The Flash as individual villains.

The new DC Universe (DCU) has a chance to learn from the issues with the Arrowverse by bringing the whole team together right away on Salvation. James Gunn and his team have already proven they’re willing to introduce villains before their heroes, as seen with Doctor Phosphorus in *Creature Commandos*. Although it’s unclear which project will bring us back to Salvation—another season of *Peacemaker* doesn’t appear to be happening—it would make sense for it to be a hub for Flash villains. The Rogues, in particular, could translate their comic book impact to live-action on this new planet.

Peacemaker Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.

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2025-10-12 20:42