DCEU'S The Authority: Everything we know after James Gunn's new slate announcement

DC Studios head James Gunn recently revealed that he is working on a movie based on the DC comics team The Authority at the DC Burbank Event on January 31, 2023.

At the event, Gunn and Peter Safran also revealed that they were setting up an eight-to-ten-year plan for DCEU and their first chapter will be called Gods and Monsters.

Just like how Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy was an obscure name before the film adaptations, The Authority is an obscure antihero team in DC comics. Gunn's fantastic work on the Guardians of the Galaxy films has proven that he can take obscure characters from comics who are unknown to the general audiences and make them household names in pop culture.

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The Authority: Who are they? What is their story?

The Authority (Image via DC Comics)

The Authority comic book series was originally a creation of Wildstorm comics, prior to their acquisition by DC Comics. They were created in 1999 by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch. The comic series was published shortly after DC's acquisition, which technically made the comic part of DC's property.

The comic book series centers around The Authority, a group of antiheroes who are dedicated to saving the world by any means necessary. The team consists of characters who were part of Ellis' Stormwatch comic book series, which was also published by Wildstorm comics. The team cares little about politics and law, choosing to accomplish tasks in their own way.

Originally, the team was part of a separate universe within the DC comics multiverse. Following the Flashpoint reboot in 2011, dubbed "New 52," two years after the end of the Wildstorm imprint, the team was then integrated into the mainstream DC Universe.

The antihero team's decision-making process makes them very similar to the DC Animated Universe's Justice Lords from the Justice League animated series. They are an evil version of the Justice League that decided to take over the world and make all the decisions for humanity, even if they were drastic, following the Flash's death.

The following are the team members:

• Jenny Spark: An immortal being born in 1900 who can control electricity.
• Midnighter: A super-soldier who became one of the most recognizable characters of Stormwatch and is often compared to Batman.
• Swift: A man who has wings, very similar to DC's Hawkman.
• The Doctor: A character that can use magic, similar to DC's Doctor Fate and Marvel's Doctor Strange.
• The Engineer: A T-1000 cyborg who can turn into liquid metal.
• Jack Hawksmoor: A man who can create a symbiotic relationship with any city he visits, which grants him heightened senses.

The Authority, much like Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. organization that has a Helicarrier, has its own superhero base called the Carrier, which is an interdimensional vehicle capable of traveling through the space-time continuum. The team's base also has a life of its own similar to an AI (Artificial Intelligence) and can talk to them.

Originally, much of the team's stories took place outside of the DC Universe following the "New 52" reboot. However, The Authority began interacting with other DC heroes like Martian Manhunter on a regular basis.

Those who want to know more about The Authority prior to their upcoming film can read the Stormwatch comics that were published in 2011.

Other projects that are part of James Gunn's DCEU include:

Films:

• Superman: Legacy
• The Brave and the Bold (Batman-related project)
• Swamp Thing
• The Authority
• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

TV Shows:

• Waller
• Lanterns
• Creature Commandos
• Booster Gold
• Paradise Lost

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James Gunn earlier revealed via Twitter that his DC Universe will take inspiration from Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's DC Animated Universe, which began with Batman: The Animated Series (1992) and ended with Justice League Unlimited (2006).