In February 2023, James Gunn announced the plans for the new DC universe that Peter Safran and he are leading, and that it would include a large slate of content that has yet to be covered in any form in the DCEU. The writer and director has not only explained what films and TV shows will be in their first chapter, but also that the collective will be named “Gods and Monsters.” So why exactly is DC chapter 1 titled “Gods and Monsters?” Here is everything you need to know.
Why the DCEU Has Named Chapter 1 “Gods and Monsters”
DC has titled chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters” to differentiate itself from the MCU “Phases” and as a way to indicate a thematic idea behind all the characters that will appear in the different movies and TV shows. Thinking about the title and every project Gunn announced, it might look easy to differentiate between those God projects and those Monster projects.
Superman and Supergirl have always been seen as Gods by humans, so that is an easy one. Paradise Lost is a story that happens in Wonder Woman’s Themyschira before she’s born, and the mythology of the Amazonian has deep ties with the Greek Gods (Ares was the big bad in the first Wonder Woman film).
The monsters part of the title probably refers to literal monsters like Swamp Thing and Creature Commandos, while also mentioning those who are metaphorical monsters, because of their amorality and violent acts like Amanda Waller and Damien Wayne.
Many projects don’t fit that neatly in the title, the Green Lanterns or Booster Gold, so it might be necessary to watch them before understanding what’s their place in this first DCU chapter. Knowing Gunn and how much he likes to play with expectations, it might not be so clean-cut, and many morally grey characters might end up surprising fans. For now, only the writer-director and Safran know the answers.
Now that you know why is DC chapter 1 titled “Gods and Monsters”, you can look for more DCU content on Twinfinite. As you can see below, we have all the answers.
