The DC Universe officially said goodbye to one of its biggest villains in the most climactic way possible. James Gunn’s DC reboot came in swinging when it kicked off in December 2024 with the animated series Creature Commandos on HBO Max. That show brought to life some of the comics’ most popular antagonists, and subsequent DCU entries have introduced even more compelling bad guys. The latest project in Gunn’s universe debuted yet another mysterious villain, but she unfortunately met her end shortly after being introduced.
DC Studios’ Lanterns introduced one of the DCU’s most compelling antagonists in Poorna Jagannathan’s Zoe Macon, who was killed off in Episode 5 of the Green Lantern story. The series took viewers on a journey through rural Nebraska, where Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart investigate a mystery in the American heartland.
A synthetic creature is hiding in the town of Rushville, masquerading as a human, and the two space cops spend the early episodes trying to unmask it. The evidence initially pointed to William Macon, but a twist in Episode 4 uncovered Zoe as the actual Manhunter, with the entire town in on protecting her identity.
The series establishes Manhunters as synthetic shapeshifters created by the Guardians of the Universe as an intergalactic police force. Their methods were too brutal, though, leaving chaos in their wake in the name of justice, so the Guardians decommissioned them. Zoe was the last one left alive. She ended up on Earth after Abin Sur captured her, breaking free mid-transport and sending his ship crashing near Rushville in 1986. She then killed him, unable to risk him one day revealing her location to the Guardians.
Zoe kept her true identity largely hidden from Rushville as a form of protection, brokering deals with its most important residents in exchange for their loyalty. She healed William Macon’s cancer and eventually married him. She also saved Sheriff Kerry when she was attacked by gangsters and is seemingly behind her “miracle” child, Noah. The townsfolk never got sick because of Zoe either, so they were naturally protective of her, and Rushville became the perfect haven until Hal and John showed up.
Zoe tried her deal-brokering power move on John too, letting him burn in a car crash before saving his life with advanced alien tech. She assumed he was now in her corner, helped along by the fact that the pair had slept together multiple times. But being the soldier he is, John killed her anyway, knowing she was a threat. At the end of Episode 5, he put a sniper bullet through the Manhunter’s head and cut out her heart, which crystallized, confirming what she was.
Episode 5 also claimed William Macon and Antaan, after Hal turned the two against each other. And although Zoe is gone, another Manhunter seems to be lingering in town ten years on, with Kerry’s son Noah the prime suspect. Beyond Lanterns, the DCU is gearing up to introduce villains even more dangerous than a Manhunter in its upcoming projects.
Dangerous Comic Book Villains Set to Feature in Upcoming DCU Releases
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is confirmed to appear in the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, with Nicholas Hoult reprising the role. The villain made his DCU debut in 2025’s Superman, serving as the main antagonist and putting the hero through the wringer. In the sequel, James Gunn has given the Metropolis mogul his warsuit from the comics, a major upgrade that makes Lex far more dangerous than he was the first time around.
Set photos have already shown Lex squaring off against Superman in the armor, with the hero’s suit sporting burn marks. Although Lex will obviously trade punches with the last son of Krypton, the pair will ultimately form an uneasy alliance against an even bigger threat in Brainiac.
Brainiac
As mentioned, the big bad of Man of Tomorrow is Brainiac, played by German actor Lars Eidinger in the character’s first-ever theatrical appearance. What business Brainiac has on Earth remains unknown, since Gunn has kept the juiciest parts of the plot under wraps.
A safe guess is that the alien wants to take over the planet. He’s best known in the comics as the Collector of Worlds, who famously shrank Kandor, the capital of Krypton, and placed it in a bottle. Perhaps he wants to do the same to Earth, which would explain why the film is packed with so many heroes, John Stewart included, making it something of a pseudo-Justice League movie.
The Engineer
María Gabriela de Faría delivered a frightening portrayal of the Engineer in Superman, and she’s reprising the role in Man of Tomorrow. In the first movie, she served as an enforcer for Lex Luthor, going after Superman at every turn. With Lex continuing his feud with the Kryptonian in the sequel, at least for a stretch, the Engineer will probably be at his beck and call.
Superman will be the least of her problems, though. With Brainiac threatening Earth, she’ll likely join the heroes in fighting the alien, even if her disdain for Clark lingers.
Gorilla Grodd
The DCU’s tone has been diverse so far, which makes the villains it introduces unpredictable. Gorilla Grodd was surprisingly announced as an antagonist set to headline his own title in James Gunn’s universe, a genuine shock given he’s a major Flash villain and the Scarlet Speedster hasn’t been introduced in the DCU yet.
Grodd will be the central figure of the HBO Max series The People v. Gorilla Grodd, a true-crime mockumentary from American Vandal creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda. In it, Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen reopens the conviction of Grodd, played by Jimmy Tatro, for the murder of his father, the King of Gorilla City, investigating whether the superintelligent ape was wrongly convicted in one of Metropolis’ most famous trials.
Darkseid
The DCEU first brought Darkseid to live action in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Now James Gunn is introducing DC’s most iconic villain in his own universe, though the debut will come through animation, in Tom King’s Mister Miracle series.
The show pits Apokolips against New Genesis, with Darkseid holding the Anti-Life Equation and his adopted son Scott Free caught in the middle. Gunn has said Darkseid won’t be the big bad of his DC continuity, but with Mister Miracle confirmed as DCU canon, the ruler of Apokolips could still cause havoc beyond the animated show.
Granny Goodness
With Darkseid arriving in Mister Miracle, Granny Goodness is expected to follow, since she’s pivotal to that lore. Jack Kirby created her for Mister Miracle #2 as the warden of Apokolips’ orphanages, where she turned children into loyal soldiers for Darkseid. Her finest graduates became the Female Furies, including Big Barda, the warrior who escaped Apokolips with Scott Free to Earth and eventually married. Goodness is central to the comic the animated series adapts, so her arrival feels like a lock even without an official announcement.
