Is Matter-Eater Lad Making His Official DCU Debut?
And if Peacemaker’s recollection is anything to go off of, he can eat an entire Wendy’s.
<img src="https://comicvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/los-angeles-california-november.jpg” alt=”LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 13: Eduardo Franco attends Netflix’s "Stranger Things" SAG event …”>
For every superhero as popular and inescapable as Batman or Superman or Spider-Man, there are more than a few relegated to an existence as a D-list reject. Throughout the nearly 100 years that both Marvel and DC Comics have been around, they’ve given us more than a fair share of ridiculous characters forever trapped in the realm of D-list obscurity. You’ve certainly heard of Wolverine (because Hugh Jackman has been playing him for over 20 years), but what about the Karate Kid? Or Mr. Immortal? Or even Blue Marvel?
In the case of DC Comics, there’s an entire superhero team made up of D-list characters you’ve never heard of, but it works perfectly in their favor because those characters are all from thousands of years into the future. The Legion of Superheroes, a superhero team made up of metahuman young adults from the 31st century, made their debut in 1958’s Adventure Comics #247,and since then they’ve fought relative obscurity to become a DC Comics mainstay. Even though you may not know of them, there’s a small chance that one of their members might be joining the upcoming Jimmy Olsen spinoff TV show — and he’s arguably the most well-known and ridiculous out of all of them.
DC’s Weirdest Hero Might Be Joining The People v. Gorilla Grodd
On August 21, it was announced that HBO Max would be picking up a full season order for The People v. Gorilla Grodd,a mockumentary/investigative comedy within the cinematic DC Universe. Based on the official synopsis for the series, it follows Jimmy Olsen and the staff of the Daily Planet revisiting the crucial trial of Gorilla Grodd, a genius-level sentient ape (and frequent villain of The Flash) who was convicted of the murder of his own father. While Skyler Gisondo is assumed to lead the cast with Jimmy Tatro set to star as Gorilla Grodd, there are a few other cast members who have been revealed so far, and one of them is of particular note.
Eduardo Franco, mostly known for his roles as Argyle in Stranger Things and Spencer in American Vandal (the previous project of The People’sshowrunners Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault), is confirmed to be in the show, and there’s a rumor circulating that he’s playing a character named “Tenz” who is friends with Grodd. Naturally, the internet has been set aflame with speculation off the claim — Tenz could be short for Tenzil Kem, the alter ego of the Legion of Superheroes’ very own Matter-Eater Lad, who has long been the source of internet exasperation and jokes, one of which came from Peacemakerseason 1. As if to add fuel to the fire, Franco reposted news of his casting on his Instagram story with several stickers of mouths eating, which could certainly be poking fun at the rumor…but does look suspicious.
Who The Heck Is Matter-Eater Lad?
Introduced in Adventure Comics #303, Tenzil Kim is a hero from the far-flung future native to the planet Bismoll, an apparent paradise aside from the fact that it hosted a deadly microbe that made natural organic food supplies inedible. The human colonists who settled Bismoll carried the metagene (DC’s lesser known equivalent to Marvel’s X-gene), and over time their bodies adapted to eating and digesting the poisonous food, only to discover that they were now able to eat and digest inorganic material as well. Thus the Bismollian species over time became capable of eating quite literally anything.
Inspired by the adventures of Smallville’s Superboy (a contentious period of DC canon in which Clark Kent operated under the name Superboy as a teenager), the Legion of Superheroes is filled with characters who at first glance seem ridiculous, but use their ridiculous powers in service of good — naturally, Matter-Eater Lad fit right in. Alongside protecting the cosmos with his fellow Legionnaires, Tenzil also grew to understand the responsibilities of authority when he was drafted as a senator in the Bismoll government, a position that chafed against his duties as a superhero.
While the Silver Age absurdity of a character whose power is eating makes him frequently the butt of a joke, there’s also something emblematic of the imagination of comic books to the idea. And if Eduardo Franco is playing Tenzil in live-action, it’s another example of how much James Gunn loves the inherent silliness of superhero stories. The People v. Gorilla Groddis already a show that’s already leaning into that aspect of the medium while also expanding the world, so wouldn’t it make sense to introduce a hero that’s a perfect example of the unbridled creativity of comic books?
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