Peacemaker continues to embrace the weirder edges of the DC universe. James Gunn typically loves to dive into the bizarre side of the comic book world, as is clear from his use of Rocket and Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Things got wild in his DC debut, The Suicide Squad, too, through the use of Starro and Weasel. While Peacemaker is more grounded than those two projects, Gunn’s continued to pay homage to the stranger corners of the comics.
The HBO Max series reached its fourth episode this week, following the first three episodes dropping last Thursday. Early on, John Cena’s Christopher Smith and Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) discuss whether Adrian Chase/Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) can be trusted or not. Peacemaker admits he’s unsure as his sense of what’s normal has been off ever since he “had a team-up with Matter-Eater Lad.”
This is the latest reference to one of the more bizarre characters in the DC canon. As created by Jerry Siegel and John Forte in 1962, Matter-Eater Lad unsurprisingly has the ability to consume all kinds of matter. Real name Tenzil Kem, he hails from the far future in the comics, as part of the Legion of Super-Heroes, but it seems his DCEU counterpart comes from the present-day if he’s palled around with Peacemaker.
It also sounds like he’s a bit of a douche, too, as Smith mentions how he once saw Matter-Eater Lad eat an entire restaurant after he was unhappy with his fries being undercooked. Tem isn’t the only weird superhero Peacemaker’s allied with off-screen, either, as episode three saw him reference another team-up with obscure shrinking hero Doll-Man. And then there’s episode two’s confirmation that Bat-Mite exists in the DCEU.
Keep watching Peacemaker for more hat tips to DC’s goofier side as it continues weekly on HBO Max.