If you saw the new Supermanchances are you caught that brief glimpse of the mural in the Hall of Justice honoring the 300 years of metahuman lore James Gunn’s new DC is founded on. While there’s been speculation about which characters were fleetingly depicted, Gunn has since shared the mural online for fans to pore over themselves and guess accordingly the who’s who of this new DCU.
As these are, indeed, some deep-cut characters, we’ve analyzed the data and are at least 75% sure we’ve identified each hero of yesteryear officially canonized. Here’s our guesses and guide from left to right.
You asked for it, you got it. Here’s the full mural honoring the History of Metahumans in the DCU adorning the Hall of Justice in #Superman. pic.twitter.com/GUALUPFsR0
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 25, 2025
Sister Symmetry/Madame Xanadu
If we haven’t missed our guess, the first hero to exist in the DCU is Sister Symmetry, a relatively new creation introduced in the pages of Justice League Dark back in 2019. Technically an enchanted cloak with a revolving door of alternating hosts who wear it, the entity possessed the Tarot card-reading soothsayer, Madame Xanadu, which, as you can see in the mural above, the character is haloed by. Not a bad start for this brave new world with such people in it…
Silent Knight
Next up is Silent Knight, the occasional time-traveling medieval hero from sixth-century Britain introduced in the very first issue of The Brave and the Bold in 1955. Created by Robert Kanigher, the character is secretly Brian Kent, the son of a feudal lord killed in a jousting tournament. While the character has had adventures with King Arthur, Morgaine Le Fey, and the Knights of the Round Table, his namesake derives from his refusal to speak while wearing his red and white suit of armor so as not to betray his secret identity to anyone—even his lady love, Celia.
Exoristos
An Amazon exiled from Themyscira for her poor behavior, Exoristos traveled the world for several years, becoming something of a legend for her numerous adventures—including one notable chapter in which she was turned into a vampire by Cain, the first murderer of the Bible, who also hosts his own horror anthology published by DC Comics. Happily, she would eventually find herself back in her fellow Amazons’ good graces after participating in the American Revolution. Good for her!
Black Pirate
First appearing in Action Comics #23 in 1940, the hero known as Black Pirate was secretly Jon Valor, a privateer working under the King of England who fought against his arch nemesis, the wicked Don Carlos, sometime during the 16th century. Another occasional time traveler, Valor was once brought to the year 3786 by the wicked Epoch. His ghost would also become a notable supporting character in the pages of James Robinson’s Starman during the 1990s.
Miss Liberty
A Paul Revere-inspired hero from the American Revolution (presumably putting her in contact with Exoristos, above…), Bess “Miss Liberty” Lynn would also be spirited away to the year 3786 by Epoch, where she would meet her colleague, Black Pirate. As you can see, a pattern begins to form…
Whip Whirlwind
Though we’re not 100% certain, the crouched character below Miss Liberty appears to be Max Mercury in his “Whip Whirlwind” disguise. Perhaps he had to rebrand himself as a new hero after his secret identity was exposed by a sitting president? (See below…)
Super-Chief
The buffalo-masked Super-Chief was once the (Iroquois) warrior, Flying Stag, who was granted a powerful amulet by the (Algonquian) spirit, Manitou, after falling helplessly into a pit. Over the years, the amulet would fall into the hands of three other young men who’d take on the same mantle for opposing purposes.
The devil
Essentially DC’s answer to Zorro, the man who would become El Diablo was once the improbably named Lazarus Lane, a bank teller who was (also improbably) struck by lightning while escaping a band of thieves. Luckily, a Native American shaman named Wise Owl would nurse him to health, inspiring him to begin his campaign of revenge.
Unidentified Shirtless Man/Slam Bradley/Amazing-Man I
After some debate and deliberation, we really can’t agree on who this shirtless pugilist is meant to be. The quick-to-violence private detective, Slam Bradley, is a good bet, though he boasts no metahuman powers himself. As another Amazing-Man appears further along the mural, the character may also be the original Centaur Publications hero who slipped into the public domain and also didn’t like to wear a shirt, ever.
Ghost of Flanders
A soldier believed to have been killed in WWI, pilot Rip Graves became a masked crimefighter in WWII called the Ghost of Flanders, who operated in a subterranean base beneath the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Naturally, his calling card is a red poppy to commemorate the Second Battle of Ypres at Flanders Fields.
Sandman
The Golden Age Sandman was, naturally, Wesley Dodds, a crime-fighting hero with no metahuman powers of his own but who wielded a gas-firing handgun that could put his enemies to sleep. Debuting in New York World’s Fair Comics #1 in 1939, the Sandman would later enjoy his own series, Sandman Mystery Theatrein the ’90s.
Amazing-Man
Olympian-turned-janitor Will Everett became Amazing-Man after a lab explosion granted him the power to mimic the properties of whatever substance he touched. Unfortunately, J. Edgar Hoover revealed his identity to the public sometime in the 1950s, forcing him to step down as a superhero, so he shifted his sights to furthering the Civil Rights Movement.
Reward
Debuting in Action Comics #1 alongside Superman, the crime-fighting magician Giovanni Zatara could essentially manipulate reality in any way he pleased by speaking backwards. During his (supremely entertaining) golden age adventures, Zatara had a penchant for bringing inanimate objects to life and scaring the hell out of petty criminals. He’s the father of his much more popular crime-fighting magician daughter, Zatanna.
Liberty Belle
Introduced in the very first issue of Boy Commandos in 1942, the patriotic hero Liberty Belle—coincidentally named Libby Lawrence in her civilian life—would gain enhanced speed, strength, and stamina each time the Liberty Bell was struck. As her Wikipedia page notes, “some believed the sonic vibrations of the bell triggered a metahuman gene,” while others believed it was due to her mystical connection to the Spirit of America shared by fellow heroes Uncle Sam and General Glory.
Bulletman and Bulletgirl
Rejected from the police academy, Jim Barr instead got a job in ballistics, where he designed a conical helmet allowing him to fly. Christening himself Bulletman, Barr would then build a second helmet for his girlfriend, Susan Kent, who took on the mantle Bulletgirl. The two would go on to become comics’ greatest firearm-themed crime-fighting power couple.
Max Mercury
An obscure golden age hero with super speed, Max Mercury—who went by a number of aliases over the years, including Windrunner, Whip Whirlwind, and Lightning—would eventually be reinvented by Mark Waid as a mentor to his fellow “speedsters,” Wally West and Bart Allen (the third and fourth “Flash,” respectively).
TNT and Dan the Dyna -Mite
The heroes TNT and his sidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite are secretly chemistry teacher/track coach Thomas N. “Tex” Thomas and his favorite student, Daniel Dunbar. While playing around with radioactive salts one day, the pair discover they’ve been charged with negative energy. Designing a pair of rings to keep the energy dormant until they’ve been touched together, Wonder Twins-style, the duo embark on their campaign against the forces of evil with the power to generate heat and electricity, respectively. It’s pretty obvious why James Gunn picked these guys.
Phantom Lady
Debuting in Police Comics #1 alongside her fellow crimefighters Plastic Man and the Human Bomb, the scantily clad Phantom Lady is secretly Sandra Knight, the rebellious daughter of a U.S. senator. Utilizing the power of black light projectors to blind her enemies, Phantom Lady would go on to become a founding member of the Freedom Fighters alongside the diminutive Doll Man, the illuminating Ray, and the aforementioned Uncle Sam.
Atomic Knight/Shining Knight
Formerly the futuristic leader of the Atomic Knights, the heroes of a post-apocalyptic future in which all animal and plant life has been destroyed, Gardner Grayle was later retconned to exist in the present era, where he joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory as the armored, raygun-wielding Shining Knight.
Freedom Beast
The antecedent to the better-known B’Wana Beast, Freedom Beast was Dominic Mndawe, an activist fighting against apartheid in South Africa with the ability to fuse different animals together into ungodly chimeras. He made his live-action debut in an episode of Titanswhere he was played by actor Nyambi Nyambi.
Wildcat
Former world-class heavyweight boxer Theodore “Ted” Grant would find a second life dressing up as a cat and fighting crime on the streets of Gotham as the two-fisted hero, Wildcat. Not unlike Popeye, his unique combination of traits—i.e., being a crotchety old man who loves to fight while dressing up like a cat—makes him an especially memorable character.
Vibe
Vibe! We all know Vibe by now, right? The breakdancing metahuman hero of the 1980s who became the second lead on the CW’s Flash TV series…
Gunfire
…which brings us directly into the 1990s with Gunfire, a gun-toting vigilante who debuted in Deathstroke Annual #2 during DC’s ill-fated Bloodlines event—a company-wide crossover meant to introduce no less than 24 brand-new superhero characters to the DC Universe, yet not a single one of which stuck around longer than a few months (barring Garth Ennis’s Hitman, who still pops up occasionally).
Maxwell Lord
Finally, the last member of the mural appears to be the Justice League’s own financier, Maxwell Lord, formerly played by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984but now played by James Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, in Superman. We’ll see where this leads down the line.
So, what do you think of the DCU’s superheroic heritage? Do you think we misidentified anyone? And just who might that one shirtless guy be? Let us know in the comics! I mean, the comments!
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
