In last night's episode of Peacemaker, the truth about the parallel reality was revealed when we discovered that it's Earth-X (or Earth-10). The swastika on the American flag is a big giveaway, but what exactly is this Nazi-filled world, and what does it mean for the weeks ahead?
In the comics, it was introduced in 1973's Justice League of America #107 by Len Wein and Dick Dillin. The premise was pretty simple; the Nazis won World War II, leaving only the Freedom Fighters to try and overthrow the Nazi regime and restore America to being the land of the free.
Grant Morrison did a lot of work on Earth-10 in the pages of The Multiversity, introducing a version of Superman—Kal-L—who was adapted by Adolf Hitler and became the villainous "Overman."
Of course, many of you will know Earth-X best from its appearance in the Arrowverse crossover, Crisis on Earth-X. In the four-part event (which played out across Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl), Nazi versions of familiar heroes, including Dark Arrow and Overgirl, attacked Barry Allen's world during his wedding day.
In the DCU, we don't know whether Peacemaker, Blue Dragon, and Captain Triumph are the world's only heroes. Still, an appearance from Overman would be a fun excuse for David Corenswet to play a very different version of the Man of Steel.
James Gunn has said repeatedly that Peacemaker sets the stage for Man of Tomorrow, but how? Lex Luthor earning his freedom seems the most likely possibility, but could that movie be a Multiversal tale with Superman, Peacemaker, and Lex forced to fend off a Nazi invasion? That doesn't sound like the best of ideas, particularly as moviegoers have grown tired of alternate realities.
We should, however, point out that in one recent iteration of Earth X, Brainiac serves the Nazi regime, and is distributed among hundreds of drones which can operate independently or join together into larger units. Perhaps that's how the villain becomes aware of the DCU?
The best possible ending for Peacemaker season 2 would surely be for our heroes to return home alongside Rick Flag Jr. (who could be revealed as the leader of the Sons of Liberty), with Flag Sr. dispatching G.I. Robot to dispatch those Nazis.
Time will tell, but following last night's sixth episode, it turns out the truth about Earth-X may have been staring us in the face all along...