DCU Chapter 1: Gods and monsters – The complete guide

🦇 This hub is part of our DC Universe Hub — the Nolan Trilogy, the old DCEU, the new DCU, the Elseworlds films, and the Batman Arkham games.

The reboot nobody expected to work this well

DC fans have been burned before. The old DCEU spent ten years alternating between genuine greatness and studio-compromised disappointment, never quite deciding what kind of universe it wanted to be. When Warner Bros. Discovery hired James Gunn and Peter Safran as DC Studios co-chairmen in 2022 and announced a complete reboot, the reaction was somewhere between cautious optimism and exhausted scepticism.

Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters is, to the surprise of many and the vindication of a few, working.

It’s working because Gunn has a coherent creative vision, because he’s been given genuine autonomy to execute it, and because the early projects — Creature Commandos, Superman, the integrated Peacemaker Season 2 — all demonstrate a consistent tone and a consistent interest in specific broken people operating in an extraordinary world. This is not a franchise assembly line producing content to schedule. It feels, so far, like a creator building something.

The comparison to Marvel’s Phase 1 is obvious but useful: like the MCU from 2008 to 2012, Chapter 1 is a universe where the foundation-laying is genuinely exciting rather than obligatory. Whether it holds over a longer run remains to be seen. For now, DC is making things worth watching.

The Gunn continuity: What Chapter 1 actually is

Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters is James Gunn’s specific name for the first phase of the rebooted DCU — a unified continuity spanning every medium. Films, series, animated projects, and confirmed video games all exist in the same world. A character who appears in Creature Commandos is operating in the same reality as Superman. Amanda Waller’s operation crosses formats.

This is more ambitious than the MCU’s Phase 1, which was largely film-only. It’s also more potentially coherent, because Gunn is acting as a genuine showrunner for the entire universe rather than delegating to independent creative teams. Every project reflects a consistent vision.

The two key structural principles of Chapter 1:

The animated projects are real continuity. Creature Commandos is not a side project or a promotional extra — it is the first official DCU release, predating Superman by several months, and its events are canonical. James Gunn has been explicit that animated and live-action projects share the same universe in Chapter 1.

Characters carry across formats. Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller appears across Creature Commandos and connects to the wider operational world. The Peacemaker team from Season 1 (technically a transitional project) is formally integrated in Season 2. These aren’t brand licences; they’re the same characters, same continuity.

The old DCEU vs. The new DCU

The relationship between Chapter 1 and the old DCEU (2013–2023) is a clean break. There is no narrative continuity — no multiverse bridge, no subtle hand-off. David Corenswet is Superman. Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent is over. The old universe ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December 2023; the new one began with Creature Commandos in December 2024.

The one genuine exception is structural rather than narrative: James Gunn’s own characters. The Suicide Squad (2021) is the film that introduced Gunn’s specific register to DC — R-rated, absurdist, emotionally grounded, character-first — and several of its cast members carry directly into Chapter 1. Peacemaker (John Cena), Weasel (Sean Gunn), John Economos (Steve Agee), and Viola Davis’s Waller all bridge the gap. The film itself is not DCU canon, but its creative DNA is.

For viewers coming fresh to the new universe: Superman (2025) requires nothing. Creature Commandos benefits from having seen The Suicide Squad. Peacemaker Season 2 requires both The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1. The barrier to entry is low and the order is clear.

What Chapter 1 still needs to prove

Two projects in, Chapter 1 is promising rather than proven. The universe has a consistent tone, a confident entry point in Superman, and genuine emotional depth in Creature Commandos. What it doesn’t yet have is the kind of cumulative payoff that made the MCU’s Phase 1 compelling in retrospect — the moment when the projects start speaking to each other in ways that reward watching all of them.

Supergirl (2026) was that test, and the answer is a genuine yes. Built around Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s landmark comics run, with a lead character who is explicitly not the warm, optimistic version the public knows best, it bombed at the box office and split critics — but it proved Chapter 1 is willing to take real creative risks once the foundation is laid, rather than just repeating Superman’s formula with a different cast.

Lanterns Season 1 took that creative confidence into prestige television. Instead of a cosmic space opera, Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof delivered a grounded, gritty detective mystery in Nebraska that earned a 4.5/5 from us. The finale also firmly sets the chess pieces for Chapter 1: Guy Gardner remains the Green Lantern Corps’ official operative on Earth, while John Stewart claims independence with Hal Jordan’s ring — positioning Stewart directly for Man of Tomorrow.

The animated arm needs more projects. Creature Commandos Season 2 is confirmed. The universe will be richer if animation is a genuine creative pillar rather than a single experimental series.

For now: five projects, consistently strong results (including Lanterns at 4.5/5), a coherent creative voice, and a clear direction. After a decade of the old DCEU, that’s enough to be genuinely excited.

What comes next is no longer guesswork: we have mapped every DC movie and TV show scheduled through 2028, release date by release date, so you can see exactly how thin or how crowded the road to that payoff actually is.

The Dadnology Take: Finally a DC universe worth investing in

The old DCEU asked for investment across sixteen films, delivered genuine greatness in perhaps five of them, and ended without a completed arc. Chapter 1 is, so far, asking for investment across a more carefully designed system of projects and, so far, making good on it.

Superman (2025) is the kind of superhero film that works as a family watch because it’s built around values rather than spectacle. Creature Commandos is emphatically not a family watch, but it’s a show with genuine emotional intelligence about what it costs to become a weapon. Peacemaker Season 2 is the bridge between Gunn’s old DC work and the new universe, and it navigates that transition with real skill.

For dads who burned out on the old DCEU’s inconsistency: Chapter 1 is worth a second look.

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All reviewed DCU Chapter 1 projects are below, in release order.

Build it: from the Adam West Classic TV Series Batmobile (76328) to the Batman Logo (76330), the Dark Knight has a brick for every era.

What order should I watch the new DC Universe?

Release order: Creature Commandos Season 1 (December 2024) first, then Superman (2025). For Peacemaker: watch The Suicide Squad (2021), then Peacemaker Season 1, then Season 2. The Suicide Squad is not technically DCU but is essential context for Peacemaker and Waller. Supergirl (2026) is next.

What is Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters?

The first phase of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe — a unified continuity spanning films, series, animation, and games. Unlike the old DCEU, every Chapter 1 project exists in the same single continuity. Gunn acts as creative lead across the entire universe.

Is the new DCU connected to the old DCEU?

No — it is a full reboot. New cast, fresh continuity, no narrative bridges. The only carry-overs are James Gunn’s own characters (Peacemaker, Weasel, Economos) and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman — all are over.

What is the best entry point for the new DCU?

Superman (2025) is the most accessible and the theatrical cornerstone. It works completely as a standalone with no prior knowledge required. If you want the full Chapter 1 picture, watch Creature Commandos Season 1 first — it predates Superman and establishes the wider universe.

Is the new DCU better than the old DCEU?

Too early to say definitively — the old DCEU ran 16 films across 10 years. Chapter 1 has three major projects. But the consistency of tone and quality across those three projects is already better than the DCEU managed across its entire run. The creative direction is clearer, the vision is more unified, and the best projects to date are more immediately enjoyable. Cautiously optimistic.