Easter Eggs & DCU References Explained

At the beginning of this new Peacemaker episode, John Economos claims he and Rick Flag Sr. are old pals.

This is a reference to last year’s Creature Commandos, the DCU’s first animated project, which saw Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag leading Amanda Waller’s brand-new Task Force M to Pokolistan. That said, Rick Flag Sr. doesn’t seem to consider himself a friend to John, given how close Economos is to Peacemaker.

Corto Maltese & The Death of Rick Flag Jr.

Leota Adebayo warns Chris that Rick Flag Sr. is the new head of ARGUS and has it out for Peacemaker, and has Chris’ house monitored for unusual energy readings on par with what was seen in Metropolis during Superman.

During this conversation, Peacemaker asks Leota if he knows that Chris killed his son, Rick Flag Jr. in Corto Maltese. This is a reference to the events of 2021’s The Suicide Squad, further confirming that the events of James Gunn’s first DC movie are still canon in the new DCU continuity.

Apparently, Rick Flag Sr. was able to look at the classified reports since becoming the new director of ARGUS, putting Chris Smith directly in his crosshairs.

LordTech Phone

After accidentally killing the alternate universe version of himself, Chris calls Vigilante to help him dispose of the body he hid in the Quantum Unfolding Chamber. Chris’ phone is confirmed to be made by LordTech. This is the major tech company run by CEO Maxwell Lord, who funds the Justice Gang and was featured in Peacemaker season 2’s premiere (played by Sean Gunn).

Jitters Coffee

Returning home, it’s revealed that Leota’s wife Keeya has been working at Jitters Coffee. Jitters is a classic coffee chain from the original DC Comics, and one of the shops was prominently featured as a recurring set in the Arrowverse’s Flash series on the CW. Furthermore, a Jitters coffee was also featured in downtown Metropolis in James Gunn’s Superman.

Back To Gotham

Struggling with Adebayo’s new career path and aspirations, Keeya elects to move back to Gotham City, where the couple used to live before Peacemaker season 1.

Ahead of an actual DCU Batman project, Gotham City has been referenced a few times in the DCU thus far, and was a major Easter egg in James Gunn’s Superman. However, it was also shown during the flashbacks to Doctor Phosphorus’ origins in the animated Creature Commandos series.

11th St. Kids

Reuniting and celebrating due to John Economos’ return from working at Belle Reve (Creature Commandos), it’s confirmed that Peacemaker & Co. are still calling themselves the “11th St. Kids” in the DCU canon. The name is inspired by the song from Hanoi Rocks (James Gunn’s favorite band).

Beaker

Angered by a woman at the pharmacy, Emilia Harcourt calls another customer, “Beaker”. Humorously, another woman standing nearby can’t help but agree, admitting that the comparison certainly wasn’t a good one. Humorously, Beaker is the scientist partner to Bunson from The Muppets franchise.

The Plural of Pokémon

Custom Image by Bruno Yonezawa

While monitoring Chris and Adrian Chase’s Vigilante, Tim Meadows’ Agent Fleury says that Adrian looks like he captured all the “Pokémen”. Hilariously, Economos then corrects him with the confirmation that the plural of Pokémon is the same as the singular, prompting a minor yet hilarious argument between the two ARGUS agents.

Norma Bates

Emilia and Economos joke that Adrian may very well have the corpse of his dead mother in his house “Norma Bates style”. This is a reference to the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho where serial killer Norman Bates indeed had his mother’s corpse in his room, whom he believed was still alive and talking to him.

Encino Man

One of Fleury’s nicknames for his operatives is “Encino Man”, a reference to the agent’s resemblance to the classic Brendan Fraser movie about a frozen caveman dethawing and having to adjust to modern life.