James Gunn Restoring DC Character Zack Snyder Ruined

If you’re not a huge DC comics nerd like Gunn himself, you probably need a little more context about why this picture of fictional cookies is so important. Back in the late 80’s, Chocos were introduced as DC’s legally distinct version of Oreo cookies, and Martian Manhunter quickly developed a taste for these sugary snacks. In one particularly memorable incident, the hero discovered he had a drug-like addiction to these cookies, and when he exorcised the addiction from his body, the addiction itself turned into a new bad guy that attacked the Justice League.

In other words, Chocos are pretty intimately connected to the Martian Manhunter character, so Gunn tweeting out an image of these cookies heavily implies that the hero is coming to the DCU in some way. That seems even more likely when you consider that the image looks like a prop that was already made for a movie or TV show. Assuming that Martian Manhunter will be gracing this new cinematic universe, we need to cross our fingers that he can be redeemed after Zack Snyder wasted the character in the DCEU.

In a truly strange twist, Snyder ended up bringing the character into his cut of Justice League after a fan theory ended up going viral. Back in Man of Steel, there is a scene where Superman approaches a two-way mirror and everyone else backs up except for General Swanwick. This was an improvised choice from actor Harry Lennix … he wanted to show that his very human character had steely nerves, but fans began to theorize that the general might secretly be the shapeshifting Martian Manhunter, someone who naturally wouldn’t be scared of another alien.

Zack Snyder seemed to like this theory quite a bit: while Martian Manhunter didn’t appear in the 2017 Justice League, the director added the alien to his Snyder Cut of the film. Sadly, the beloved character didn’t do much in this director’s cut … basically, he impersonated Martha Kent and revealed that Swanwick was just a human disguise before appearing in his true form near the end of the movie to warn Batman about Darkseid and offer his services to the league. Like so much about the Synder Cut and the DCEU in general, this set up some cool ideas that would never get paid off.

It’s still not confirmed that Martian Manhunter will appear in the DCU, and if he does, it’s not clear where, as the shapeshifting alien could pop up in the Peacemaker show just as easily as the Superman movie. However, we don’t think James Gunn is needlessly teasing us, and dropping such a nerdy little hint is a sign that the new universe might finally get the character right. That’s a good thing because the DCEU ultimately went down in flames, and as all DC fans know, fire is the last thing a green Martian like J’onn J’onzz wants to mess around with.