James Gunn’s Superman will have a blend of classic DC characters and some a little bit more obscure. The world knows Superman of course, but in that mix is Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen. All have their pivotal roles to play in the film. But Superman is not the only superhero in it. Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Metamorpho, and Mr. Terrific are set to join the Man of Steel. They won’t be alone however because an even more obscure character will join the fray; The Engineer from the Authority. The Engineer is a part of The Authority, a brutal superhero team, under the Wildstorm print within DC. This character seems to be off the mark a bit solely due to her being such an unknown character, even within some circles among the comic book community. However, her inclusion in Superman does set up The Authority film that is coming down the line. There could be another movie that she could be setting up as well with her inclusion. A film that includes another superhero group that is much more famous. Here’s a theory.
For those unfamiliar with The Authority, they are a superhero team that fights the good fight. Members include Apollo, Midnighter, The Engineer, Grifter and more. What separates them from other standard superhero teams is their extreme prejudice to crime and evil. Instead of being preservers of justice, they are enforcers of justice. Their brand to guarantee justice is on the side of being harsh. If The Authority deems an enemy too dangerous, they will exterminate them. They do not shy away from getting rid of their enemies permanently. That is definitely in their arsenal. Obviously, this mentality goes against the morale that guide other superhero groups. Since The Authority operate this way, even though they are heroic, it could still put them on a collision course with other heroes.
Both in recent comic books and the upcoming Superman film, Superman does have and will have a relationship with The Authority. One of the members will be one of the villains for the new movie. On the comic book side of things, in a recent storyline, Superman is a mentor type of presence for the team. In that version, The Authority is a bit depleted, which probably called for Superman to step in as a powerhouse and someone experienced. Yet this theory involves the movie. If The Authority film does take place after Superman, then Superman will obviously be aware of them through The Engineer. He would be fully away of their approach to crime. Since he operates in a more polite fashion, Superman may not appreciate how they go about protecting the world. However, he does see the impact that the whole team has on the world. Something that stays in his mind.
So the theory is, The Authority are the prominent superhero team in that universe. In James Gunn’s announcement video, a Justice League project wasn’t revealed but a project involving The Authority was, an obscure team. A really obscure team in the presence of the Justice League. Regardless, The Authority are going to serve as this universe’s main group of superheroes. If there is a problem, at the least they will do what they can to get details about it. At the most, they will intervene and solve the problem. If a threat arises, the world will look at The Authority to stop that threat. The world, the government may not like how the team performs their own brand of justice, but since no other superhero team has formed, the world has to settle with The Authority. Whoever the villain is in that film, be it one of their own, one of Superman’s, even one of the Justice League’s, the team and the villain will have that classic back and forth fight. Villain wins first and possibly second fight. Then The Authority will summon what they know, rely on each other even more and pull out the miracle of defeating the villain. It would seem that they did the job until an even more powerful villain, perhaps on the scale of Darkseid or Darkseid himself, shows up, forcing The Authority to ready for another fight. But, right away, the villain shows that they are in a class above the previous villain. Riding the momentum they got from the previous fight, The Authority believes that they could conquer the new villain, but this new one continues to beat them down. Since, they do have some history with Superman, he would arrive to help them out. But at that time, it’s too late. The villain has won. The Authority is defeated. Superman sees one member have enough breath to hear a message. Something along the lines of the world needs heroes.
Even though Superman disagrees on how The Authority does it, he does agree with why they do it. This persuades him to form another group of superheroes to replace the role The Authority created. Obviously, he seeks out members of the Justice League. He starts with the support cast around him such as Hawkgirl, Metamorpho, Mr. Terrific, and Green Lantern. Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, and Metamorpho decline for their reasons as does Green Lantern but Green Lantern does refer Superman to other Lanterns. Superman continues to search for them. He manages to get most of the classic lineup such as The Flash, the aforementioned Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and possibly Martian Manhunter. The one that Superman debates to include is Batman. Since Batman does have that dark cloud above him, Superman does hesitate. Knowing the results Batman is able to achieved though, Superman does invite him to be a part of the team. Batman, being the recluse and the paranoid type, refuses at first. It isn’t until a threat comes down or the same threat returns until Batman decides to join the team to at least get the team on the same page. Once the smoke clears, all the members realize that they are in fact stronger together. They all agree, including Batman, to reunite whenever an enemy comes down to threaten Earth.
Even though James Gunn has mentioned the DCU won’t be as linear as the MCU, there are some stories leading into each other. Guy Gardner will show up again in the Lanterns show. The Batman that just appeared in Creature Commandoes is the DCU Batman. So the threads may not be as clear as the MCU but threats connecting stories nonetheless. It was a surprise to get a project including obscure teams such as The Authority and Creature Commandoes and to some degree the Teen Titans without having the Justice League involved. This theory, if true in some capacity, could open the door for them to enter in an organic way.
