Most DC Comics enthusiasts are well-acquainted with the vast concept of the multiverse. It’s not just one Earth safeguarded by iconic heroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash; instead, there are countless worlds, each harboring its unique set of heroes and villains. Many of these alternate realities are significantly darker than the core DC Universe we’ve grown to love, with Earth-X standing out as a prime example—a world chillingly dominated by Nazi supervillains.
Recently, interest in Earth-X has surged, largely due to Peacemaker Season 2, which unveiled its own grim alternate universe under Nazi control. To help you navigate this unsettling corner of the DC multiverse, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about Earth-X.
What is Earth-X: DC’s Nazi Universe?
While the core DC Universe often shines with hope, Earth-X offers a stark contrast, arguably ranking as the darkest among all alternate realities. In this world, history took a profoundly grim turn following an early demise for President Roosevelt. This unfortunate event crippled the Allied war effort, leading to a prolonged stalemate where both sides developed atomic weapons simultaneously. The conflict stretched for decades, culminating in the late 1960s when Hitler, utilizing powerful mind control, subjugated the world and established the Nazis as the planet’s dominant force.
Since then, Earth-X has been caught in a relentless war between the Nazi regime and scattered pockets of courageous resistance fighters. Leading this resistance is the patriotic super-soldier Uncle Sam and his dedicated team, the Freedom Fighters. They tirelessly strive to uphold the ideals of the American Dream, even in a world where the traditional America has vanished.
Earth-X in James Gunn’s Peacemaker
The current buzz around Earth-X is largely fueled by James Gunn, co-head of the DC Universe, and Peacemaker Season 2. In this season, John Cena’s character, Christopher Smith, travels through his late father’s Quantum Unfolding Chamber (which the White Dragon had repurposed as an interdimensional arms depot). There, he discovers an alternate universe that initially appears to be a far more idyllic place than his own. In this reality, Chris’s father, Auggie, and brother, Keith, are both alive and are celebrated members of a superhero team known as the Top Trio.
However, the idyllic facade quickly crumbles. Viewers swiftly noticed a disturbing absence of characters of color in this universe. The unsettling truth is starkly confirmed in Episode 6 with the discovery of a U.S. flag emblazoned with a Nazi swastika, revealing that this seemingly perfect world is also under Nazi rule.
A video exploring Peacemaker’s alternate dimension would typically be here.
While Gunn hasn’t explicitly confirmed this dimension as Earth-X, and it does diverge from some comic book traditions, it undeniably presents another version of the DC Universe where Nazis have seized control of America.
It’s worth noting that a more traditional depiction of Earth-X previously appeared in live-action before Peacemaker Season 2. The Arrowverse’s 2017 crossover event, “Crisis on Earth-X,” explored this dark universe, featuring heroes like Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow and Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl confronting their sinister Nazi counterparts.
Interestingly, the Arrowverse’s take on Earth-X also seemed to borrow elements from Earth-3, another prominent branch of the DC multiverse. While Earth-3 in the Arrowverse was simply another world of heroes and villains (not unlike Earth-1 or Earth-38 before their merge), in classic DC mythology, Earth-3 is a realm where morality is inverted. It’s dominated by the malevolent Crime Syndicate—an evil version of the Justice League with figures like Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, and Johnny Quick—where Alexander Luthor, typically a villain, is the greatest hero. Essentially, Earth-3 functions as DC’s equivalent of Star Trek’s Mirror Universe, flipping the roles of heroes and villains.
Earth-X’s Comic Book Origins
The original concept of Earth-X was brought to life by writer Len Wein and artist Dick Dillin in 1973’s Justice League of America #107. This universe emerged during an era when DC Comics actively delved into the multiverse, introducing new realities alongside the main Earth-1 and Earth-2, the home of the Golden Age Justice Society. In this foundational story, both the Justice League and Justice Society journeyed to Earth-X, where they joined forces with the Freedom Fighters to combat the Nazi threat.
Earth-X continued to appear in various DC comics, including New Teen Titans and All-Star Squadron, throughout the subsequent years. However, much like many other alternate universes introduced in the 1960s and 70s, it met its demise during the cataclysmic events of 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths. In an ambitious effort to simplify DC’s convoluted lore, Crisis obliterated the existing multiverse, merging Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-4 (which housed the Charlton Comics heroes), and Earth-S (home of the Captain Marvel family) into a single, unified reality.
Fortunately, Earth-X has experienced a resurgence in recent years, albeit in various new incarnations. DC partially restored the multiverse with 2006’s Infinite Crisis, albeit in a more constrained form. This new multiverse comprised 52 alternate worlds, with Earth-10 presenting a fresh perspective on a Nazi-dominated DC Universe. Here, Superman’s infant pod crash-landed in Czechoslovakia, leading to his upbringing as Overman, the quintessential Aryan soldier. Overman reluctantly commands the Nazis and a super-team called the New Reichsmen, grappling with the brutality of their methods even as he strives for peace through enforced unity.
Most recently, DC revisited the Earth-X setting in the 2018 Freedom Fighters series. It appears the compelling, albeit unsettling, concept of a DC Universe under Nazi rule will continue to be explored and reinterpreted for generations to come.
A video reviewing the early episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 would typically be here.