James Gunn’s New 'Superman' Spin-Off Has To Acknowledge This Unseen DC Superhero

One of the defining aspects of James Gunn‘s DCU has been the volume of content that has either been released, greenlit, or openly confirmed by Gunn as in the works. Considering how many of these releases have been successes on both critical and financial fronts, such as Creature Commandos, Superman, and almost all of Peacemaker Season 2, before the divisive finale, it offers Gunn the leverage to take bigger and bigger swings moving forward. One of these swings is the announcement of a new TV show following Skyler Gisondo‘s Jimmy Olsen, which could be the very next release for the DCU, even before Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock. The show will not only be an expansion of Gunn’s universe, but its premise for Season 1 sets up big implications for the introduction of an iconic DC character, and to ignore him would be a disastrous mistake.

James Gunn’s Jimmy Olsen Show Will Explore The Flash’s Villain, Gorilla Grodd

Variety recently reported that DC Studios and HBO Max are working on a true-crime-styled mockumentary series with Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen as a host, which they are calling DC Crime. As always, Gunn and Peter Safran will serve as executive producers, with American Vandal creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault writing the scripts. Seemingly exploring the different villains that have plagued the DCU in the past, it has also been announced that Season 1 will focus on Gorilla Grodd. For those unfamiliar, Grodd is a super-intelligent gorilla best known as a villain of The Flash.

With what can be assumed to be a past-tense focus on the villain, it serves as a huge opportunity to introduce the most famous speedster in all superhero lore. Grodd is inextricably linked to Flash, not just because of the comics, but because of the interesting ways he poses a challenge to the hero. While you would assume a gorilla-based villain is a brawler, Grodd’s main strengths are not only his intelligence, but also his telekinesis and telepathy that he gained when he came into contact with an alien race. This distinction sets him apart from other speedster villains that Flash faces, such as Reverse Flash, and better showcases the range of The Flash’s abilities. The Flash must use his powers creatively, not just for speedy attacks, but also to overcome different challenges and obstacles Grodd throws at him.

The DCU Needs to Start Introducing the Core DC Heroes

Justice League standing together in Justice League: Doom.

Despite already taking huge leaps in terms of making the DCU a vibrant and dense universe, with Superman showing some of the supporting characters in the world, like the Justice Gang of Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Gunn’s cinematic universe could do with introducing some of the core members of DC canon. While the desire to make sure that characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Martian Manhunter are portrayed correctly is admirable, the idea that metahumans have existed for 300 years does make one wonder where the most powerful ones are hiding. Not only would revealing the Flash generate a boost of fan excitement for the DCU overall, but it would also make DC Crime, a relatively small-scale premise, a must-watch event.

‘DC Crime’ Wouldn’t Have To Over-Analyze The Flash

DC Crime offers a unique opportunity that few properties provide when it comes to introducing significant characters into a narrative. The Flash would not have to be a fully fleshed-out character just yet. With Olsen as the host of the series, The Flash could be introduced primarily through his actions, requiring only a few lines of dialogue. This approach would establish the character’s tone and presence without placing undue pressure on Yacenda or Perrault to set up future projects.

Overall, the necessity for The Flash comes down to one simple thing. You cannot have a Flash villain without The Flash. Nobody wants a repeat of something akin to Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson), where you take a Shazam (Zachary Levi) villain and forcefully try to frame him as someone else’s adversary for the sake of it. If Olsen is to be set up as one of the DCU’s top reporters, then for him not to cover who defeated Gorilla Grodd would not make sense, and for that person to be someone other than The Flash would be a true folly.