Although Blue Beetle isn’t the beginning of Chapter One, Gunn confirmed that the movie is directly tied to Gods and Monsters, so we will see more of Jaime Reyes in the future. While Ted Kord was the big tease in the post-credits scene, there’s something else at work that could lead straight to Batman, Superman, and possibly the Justice League.
The film’s plot centers on Victoria Kord pulling an Obadiah Stane and attempting to craft the world’s most advanced military mech suit. Dubbed OMAC (One-Man Army Corps), she puts the armor on her personal soldier, Carapax. Instead of the comics’ OMAC, Carapax resembles a combination of MCU villains — Iron Man’s Iron Monger and Iron Man 2’s Whiplash, which was likely on purpose. While it may appear that the OMAC Project died with Victoria and Carapax, a screenwriter could resurrect the concept easily enough.
With comic ties to Batman and in light of Gunn’s Superman: Legacy character reveals, OMAC and Brother Eye could have major roles to play going forward. That should have you keeping tabs on these issues.
OMAC #1 (1974)
Created by Jack Kirby, the original OMAC, Buddy Blank, was basically a cyborg. Set in a sci-fi future, Brother Eye could transform Blank into OMAC when the Global Peace Agency needed an operative. As the story goes, Kirby imagined the character as more or less a futuristic Captain America.
Truth be told, the concept sounds like fertile ground for an animated movie or series. If we see more of OMAC and/or Brother Eye in the DCU’s Chapter One, this could be a hot issue.
THE OMAC PROJECT #1 (2005)
After falling into obscurity, the OMAC idea was reimagined ahead of Infinite Crisis. In this version, the OMACs were created by nanotechnology that could be activated remotely. Adjacent to that, Batman crafted the Brother MK I satellite to keep tabs on all metahumans. As part of Alexander Luthor Jr.’s Infinite Crisis schemes, he gave the satellite’s AI sentience, and it was renamed Brother Eye. Maxwell Lord, the same guy who murdered Ted Kord, then initiated his own protocols. After Wonder Woman killed him, Brother Eye activated over a million sleeper OMAC units and ordered them to exterminate the metahumans.
As the OMACS invaded Themyscira, Batman recruits a team that should trigger a few lightbulbs. Joining him to defeat Brother Eye and the OMACs is Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, and Blue Beetle among others. Remember that Gunn previously announced that Terrific, Metamorpho, and a Green Lantern (we still don’t know which Green Lantern) would be in Superman: Legacy. If Jaime is suddenly added to the cast, it could mean Gunn is pulling from The OMAC Project for his Legacy plot.
THE DC CRISIS
If the 2005 OMAC Project is adapted for Superman: Legacy, that might lay the groundwork for a future Infinite Crisis movie. It would help explain why Blue Beetle is technically part of both the former DCEU and the upcoming DCU rebrand. With the OMAC Project established in BB, it could lead to Batman or possibly Lex Luthor creating Brother Eye to track the emerging superheroes and villains.
With Legacy depicting a young Superman new to the superhero world and The Brave and the Bold featuring a grizzled, experienced Batman, the Man of Steel’s arrival could prompt either Luthor or Batman to use Brother Eye and the OMACs as a fail-safe against a potential metahuman threat.
It would definitely make sense of Gunn’s casting choices and make for an interesting movie.
