Earth-X, a parallel nightmare world long established within DC’s multiverse, appeared in Peacemaker Season 2. However, James Gunn revealed that its depiction in the show was not inspired by the comic’s original lore but rather by an unrelated alternate history narrative. This distinction clarifies the source behind the show’s depiction of an Earth where Nazis won World War II, differing from the classic DC Comics origin of Earth-X.
In DC Comics, Earth-X was first introduced in 1973’s Justice League of America Vol. 1 #107. The storyline emerged following a cross-universe teleportation accident involving the pre-Crisis Justice League and Justice Society. The defining moment occurred when President Franklin D. Roosevelt, rather than dying of a heart attack after World War II, died during the war in 1944. This shift created a power vacuum among the Allied forces leading to infighting and allowing Nazi Germany to gain a technological edge, notably developing an atomic bomb. Consequently, the Nazis prolonged their control well into the late 1960s.
DC Comics’ Historical Context and Naming of Earth-X
The comics further detail how Hitler’s forces ended the war with a method far more sinister than conventional warfare: deploying a global network of mind-control satellites starting in 1968. These satellites maintained human pacification and compliance in this alternate reality. Originally called Earth-[Swastika], the name sparked objections from DC editor Julius Schwartz due to its offensive symbol. Writer Len Wein shared in the introduction to the 2004 Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 3 trade paperback how this led to renaming the world Earth-X by simply erasing the swastika’s crossbars.
“I went through the list of Quality characters and settled on the six you’re about to meet, including one of my personal favorites, Uncle Sam. But since the Quality characters had known their heyday mostly during the Second World War, I contrived a way to set my story in a world where that war had ended very differently. I titled this year’s extravaganza ‘Crisis on Earth-⟨swastika symbol⟩’ and turned the script in to Julie. He loved it…with one small exception.”
Len Wein recounting his original creation of Earth-X
“Having lived through WWII, Julie had a rightly understandable antipathy toward the symbol of Nazi tyranny. ‘No story I ever edit will include that symbol in the title,’ he told me, even as he scratched it out.”
Len Wein recalling Julius Schwartz’s objection
“’But after Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-3, and all the others, it seemed the perfect choice,’ I argued. ‘If we can’t use the swastika, what do we call the world?’ Julie thought about it for a moment, then used his pencil to erase each of the crossbars on the swastika. ‘There,’ he said proudly. ‘Earth-X is as good a name as any.’”
The naming story emphasizes the sensitivities around using Nazi symbolism and the evolution toward the now-standard Earth-X designation.
Earth-X’s Role in DC’s Expanding Multiverse
Over the decades, DC’s multiverse conception has frequently been reshaped, with several Earths created, merged, or erased. Among these, Earth-X, also referred to as Earth-10 in recent multiverse versions, has consistently appeared. It was recently the setting for the 2019 Freedom Fighters Vol. 3 comic series, cementing its place within DC’s broader narrative landscape. Despite its recurring comic book presence, the version of Earth-X featured in Peacemaker reflects a very different creative origin.
James Gunn Clarifies Peacemaker’s Alternate Earth Inspiration
During an interview following Peacemaker’s Season 2 reveal, Entertainment Weekly’s Sydney Bucksbaum asked Gunn about the source of inspiration for bringing Earth-X into the series. Contrary to expectations, Gunn attributed the concept not to DC Comics but to the speculative fiction of Philip K. Dick. Specifically, he referenced Dick’s novel The Man in the High Castle, which explores an alternate Earth under Nazi rule.
“Honest to God, it’s not from the comics. It’s from Philip K. Dick’s Man in The High Castle, which is a book I’ve always really liked.”
James Gunn explaining the alternate inspiration behind Earth-X in Peacemaker
“I’m a huge Phil K. Dick fan, and that was the first book of his I ever read. It’s about an alternate Earth where the Nazis won World War II, and that was more what inspired me for this. It just seemed to be a natural outcome of Chris dealing with his personal journey. He goes and he gets everything he desires, but it is a monkey’s paw because there are a lot of things about this place that are — and even though people think he went to our Earth, it really is worse than our Earth. It is. He’s finding out the complexity of all that. Everybody thinks that means everybody there is a Nazi, everybody there is bad, but you find out that things are not that simple in the next episode.”
Gunn described how the alternate world fits within Christopher Smith’s character arc, highlighting complexities beyond a simple good-versus-evil depiction.
Timeliness and Themes Behind Earth-X’s Depiction
Bucksbaum pressed further, asking if recent real-world events influenced the decision to include Nazis in the season, given the resurgence of white supremacist groups. Gunn responded cautiously, acknowledging the cultural climate but emphasizing the story’s focus on character development rather than political commentary.
“Well, I can’t say for sure.
Obviously there’s been more neo-Nazi white supremacists in the forefront of our culture, more so than in the past, so definitely that probably has some sort of effect upon me. But I don’t think of it like that.”
He continued by stressing the personal dynamics central to Peacemaker’s narrative:
“I really do come from a place of storytelling and what’s Christopher Smith’s journey, and at the end of the day, despite all of this big stuff, and I know Adebayo is in a lot of danger at the end of the episode, the core of the show is really the scene between Harcourt and Peacemaker. It’s about these characters and their relationships to each other and what is their destiny as a group of friends. To me, that’s the core of the season, and what are the lessons that Peacemaker has to learn about himself going through this very f—ed up journey.”
Gunn underscored that Peacemaker’s emotional and interpersonal struggles remain at the heart of the season, even within the context of expansive worldbuilding.
Current Status and Future Episodes
Peacemaker’s second season, including its Earth-X storyline, continues to unfold on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering every Thursday. As the narrative develops through its final two episodes, viewers can expect further exploration of Christopher Smith’s journey and the complex realities of the alternate Earth he encounters.
