In Peacemaker's fifth episode, "Monkey Dory," Peacemaker, Vigilante, along with the rest of the ARGUS team are treated to a surprise encounter with the Butterflies' very own "guardian angel," Charlie the gorilla. The Butterfly-controlled ape proves to be no match for a chainsaw, but his appearance still comes as a shock nonetheless.
While a gorilla kicking Peacemaker in the face may seem par for the course for a zany James Gunn production, Charlie's inclusion in the hit HBO Max show is actually part of a long, time-honored DC Universe tradition.
10 Gorillas Are Some Of The Strongest & Smartest Characters In The DC Universe
As is the case in real life, the gorillas of DC can physically dominate any normal human. But with the addition of intellect, enhanced strength, superpowers, superweapons, and more, gorillas can be some of the most intimidating antagonists and supervillains that the heroes and villains of DC ever faced.
Take Titano, for example. Originally a common chimpanzee, Titano became a towering kryptonite-powered kaiju and one of Superman's most underrated threats after surviving many experiments gone wrong.
9 Charlie The Gorilla May Have Been Based On A Silver Age Comic
Since Peacemaker was made by the filmmaker behind gonzo hits like Slither, the addition of a Butterfly-controlled gorilla named Charlie wasn't that shocking to fans of James Gunn's works. What may have taken some viewers aback, though, is the possibility that Charlie wasn't some random joke from Gunn, but a nod to an old comic.
The cover story in Star Spangled War Stories #126 from 1966 featured Sgt. Gorilla, an intelligent and military-trained zoo gorilla named Charlie, who was recruited for the American war effort during WWII. Though Gunn has neither confirmed nor denied this connection, it wouldn't be surprising given his adoration for comics' most obscure heroes and villains.
8 Gorilla City Is A Nation Unto Itself
Because of its name, it's easy to think that Gorilla City is just a secret metropolis filled with sentient and/or telepathic apes. In truth, Gorilla City is a nation with its own culture and political structure that kept itself out of human affairs for most of its existence. This ended under King Solovar's reign, as he believed that Gorilla City could coexist with humanity.
Gorilla City's true might was seen during the crossover event JLApe: Gorilla Warfare!, where King Solovar's assassination at the United Nations provoked the peaceful technological utopia into war. All of this was orchestrated by Gorilla Grodd, who came very close to achieving his goal of global domination and turning humanity into gorillas.
7 Gorilla Grodd Became A Legacy Character
When it comes to DC's gorillas, The Flash's longtime nemesis Gorilla Grodd is undoubtedly the most famous. The details of Grodd's origins tend to change but, generally, he's a power-hungry psychic tyrant who wants to rule Gorilla City before taking over the world. In The New 52 timeline, though, Grodd's origin went to his son.
In the DC reboot, the villainous Grodd that readers are familiar with was retooled as Grodd-Son, the child of King Grodd of Gorilla City. From then all the way to DC Rebirth, Grodd II fought Barry Allen and the other speedsters. For contrast's sake, the pre-52 Grodd's obstacle to the throne was his rival, Solovar, not his father.
6 DC Universe's Gorillas May Or May Not Be Of Alien Origin
Since DC's sentient apes are pretty old, it isn't that surprising to learn that their continuity has been subject to frequent revisions. These days, Gorilla City is acknowledged as a technologically advanced city hidden in the Congo Basin. According to DC history, the gorillas became sentient after they were exposed to a downed alien ship's energies.
However, in DC Super-Stars #14, Gorilla City and all smart gorillas are said to have come from the doomed planet Calor. With Green Lantern's help, Solovar successfully relocated the city to Africa, where he rewrote its history to help the gorillas start anew. DC seems to have retconned this, instead having the gorillas be from Earth all along.
5 Batman Had To Fight A Gorilla Gangster
In the 50s, DC decided that they would add as many gorillas in its stories as they could. One of the resulting apes was Gorilla Boss (a gorilla who was a mob boss). After being arrested by Batman and subsequently being executed, the feared mobster George Dyke had a scientist plant his brain inside of a giant gorilla's body.
Following his failure to transfer his brain into Batman's body, Gorilla Boss settled for being a regular mob boss again. Gorilla Boss only ever appeared in cameos, but he was notably brought down from his towering stature to human size. Instead of super strength, Gorilla Boss now wields guns and surrounds himself with ape-themed goons.
4 DC Thought That Apes Would Increase Sales
One of the strangest moments in DC's history was its sudden obsession with apes. For whatever reason, almost any comic published by DC from the Silver Age (roughly from the late 50s to the early 70s) had an ape of some kind on the cover or in the story. Believe it or not, there was some method to this mad ape business.
In 1951, Strange Adventures #8 - which featured a gorilla-themed cover story - sold really well. Baffled by this, the editors concluded that the issue's ape was what catapulted its sales numbers. From that point onwards, DC mandated that writers should make up more ape characters, or at least feature a gorilla somewhere in the narrative arc.
3 The Ultra-Humanite Wasn't Always A Gorilla
To most current DC fans (especially Millennials), the Ultra-Humanite was a hyper-intelligent albino ape. This is especially true for those who grew up watching Justice League on TV, which introduced a great many people to the villain. Not only was Ultra-Humanite one of DC's earliest villains, but he originally wasn't even an ape.
The Ultra-Humanite debuted in Action Comics #13 in 1939, where he was a human mad scientist and Superman's first true supervillain. When he reemerged in Justice League of America in 1981, he transferred his brain to an albino gorilla's body. Ultra-Humanite's new form was so well-received that, from then on, it became his core visual gimmick.
2 The End Of The Silver Age Ended DC's Ape Mania
After creating apes of all kinds from the former Sinestro Corps member Lorix to the Titan newcomer Gorilla Gregg, DC suddenly stopped adding the hominids to their comics. There are many reasons behind this sudden loss of interest in an otherwise successful gimmick, but they can all be traced back to the end of the Silver Age.
The Silver Age celebrated campy science-fiction but, over time, readers wanted more grounded comics. This led to the Bronze Age, where pre-existing apes were retooled to be more serious-minded characters. Unfortunately, DC stopped making apes just when Planet Of The Apes premiered in 1968, meaning they missed out on capitalizing on a popular trend.
1 Giganta Used To Be A Gorilla
One of Wonder Woman's most iconic nemeses is Giganta, a supervillain who can turn herself gigantic at will. In contemporary DC lore, Giganta was previously known as Dr. Doris Zuel, a mad scientist who found a way to transfer her consciousness into the body of a shapeshifting strongwoman. What the current lore tends to skip was Dr. Zuel's time spent living as a gorilla.
In her 1944 debut and 1966 reintroduction, Giganta was a gorilla-turned-strongwoman. Then in 1987, Giganta was retooled into Dr. Zuel. After failing to transfer her mind to Wonder Woman's body, Dr. Zuel was placed in a gorilla before she found a strongwoman's body. Giganta remains a Wonder Woman mainstay, though her gorilla phase is often downplayed.