If the expansive arc from the comics is to be followed, Amanda Waller is going to have a busy day ahead at DCU. With the latest direction of the franchise with Black Adam and the introduction of James Gunn’s Peacemaker arc, it seems that David Zaslav’s vision of a long-term continuity may soon be gathering pace. A new theory now looks into the possible future narratives that can take shape in a world dictated by overlapping stories within the fresh-out-of-the-oven DC Universe.
Also read: 10 DCEU Characters That Need A Spin-Off Series Like John Cena’s Peacemaker
Amanda Waller’s Intricate Role in the New DC Universe
The mastermind behind much of the sanctioned evil wrongdoings in DC has been conducted under the banner of Amanda Waller. The trend continues into the future as a new possibility now arises, especially after the Peacemaker expose, for Waller to make use of Wayne technologies to steer the ship during the unfolding of the Checkmate events. Let’s deep-dive into the how and why of that theory.
After Amanda Waller is exposed in Peacemaker, a series hailed by James Gunn who now also controls the DC Films narrative, it is quite possible that she’ll be brought to trial for sanctioning Task Force X and her illegal experimental programs, which then constitutes the narrative for the Checkmate series. But Gunn had also hinted that a Janus Directive arc, which is effectively an all-out espionage war between government agencies, may be adapted from the comics and thrown into the mix. If that idea indeed gets green-lit at WB, who better to spearhead an anti-hero team than Amanda Waller herself?
Waller’s involvement in the DCU remains a matter of permanence, unthreatened by limitations of the law. In the Checkmate series, this will prove momentous for the narrative to move forward affecting multiple years of DC’s future. As per the Checkmate comics, the OMAC Project is an active nanotech program that is built to keep track of the metahumans and to immobilize them if they pose a threat. This project, created with the aid of Bruce Wayne’s Brother Eye satellite tech, is then a weapon of great importance to Amanda Waller, given how the DCU has shown her ability to stay in contact with members of the JSA and Justice League in real-time.
But all is not as it seems when it comes to Waller, the master manipulator. If Checkmate proves to threaten her shadowy presence within the government and if she indeed has ties or authority over the Brother Eye tech and the OMAC Project, Waller could single-handedly unleash hell on the DCU’s metahuman community with one push of a button.
Also read: DCU Reportedly Bringing Back Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke as a Member of Amanda Waller’s Checkmate
The Importance of the Janus Directive Arc in DCU’s Future
Upon removing the comics from the picture and after considering the current DCU aspects, this is where it gets tricky. If Waller is put on trial for her illegally sanctioned Task Force X (after the events of Peacemaker) and she also wields the kind of authority to have Superman at her beck and call (as per Black Adam), then there needs to be a figure at the forefront to direct the villainous narrative without which DC is simply cattle fodder.
The Janus Directive gives that much-needed impetus to the story in development since the ultimate evil group has been a long time coming. Lex Luthor has been preparing a team of sinister villains, probably the Legion of Doom, ever since the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. If by feeding misleading intel, Luthor is able to stage the events of the inter-governmental espionage war, it’s something that is sure to impress the likes of Waller. Together, with Luthor’s finances and Waller’s Brother Eye tech, they’d be able to establish the CADMUS program which can pose as the Thanos-level big bad for the first phase of David Zaslav’s new DCU.
Granted a person of Luthor’s status will not be exploited as a simple Peacemaker or Checkmate subplot, it is also within Zaslav’s wishes to deliver quality over quantity, as per his latest statement. This could mean that instead of expanding the DCU projects to deal more with Luthor’s plan coming into formation, the new world-building could include a density of plots and arcs that can give way to an intricately formed narrative. Whatever the case may be, it will be a misfire if DCU doesn’t make use of the open arc left behind by Luthor in the SnyderVerse in a way that can pit his Legion of Doom against the Justice League sometime in the near future.
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