A classic DC character will reportedly headline his own TV series

James Gunn's DC Universe is about to begin, with the release of the animated show Creature Commandos coming before the end of the year! There are many projects in the works over at DC Studios, some that are known (such as Superman, written and directed by James Gunn himself, which comes out in July 2025) and some that are still shrouded in mystery.

With mysteries comes rumors, and there are plenty of those for DC right now. One such rumor is about a potential animated project starring the supernatural superhero, Deadman. What could the series be about based on the character's extensive history in the comics?

Rumors of an animated Deadman series stemmed from a report by Nexus Point News, which claims that, according to their sources, the show is in early development at DC Studios. The article also explains that as of it's publication there are "no writers or scripts in place" and it "has yet to receive the green light." No other information was revealed about the format of the show, episode count, release date, etc.

DC's Deadman character, explained

The character of Deadman made his first appearance in Strange Adventures No. 205 in October 1967 and he was created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino. The character, whose real name was Boston Brand, was a circus aerialist - one of the best in the world, in fact - who wore a dark red costume and ghastly pale mask while performing his stunts under the name Deadman. One night, however, as he's performing a death-defying leap, Brand is shot. He thought he was okay, but when he tried to speak to people, no one heard him, or even looked at him.

Realizing that he's no longer among the land of the living, Brand goes into a rage, which is silenced by the voice of the Hindu goddess Rama Kushna. Rama Kushna tasks Brand to find the one responsible for his death, whilst giving him the power to possess the living in order to carry out his task. When Brand completes his mission, he would be welcomed to Nanda Parbat. Thus, with his mission laid out before him and white hot vengeance in his heart, Boston Brand became his circus namesake, Deadman, and set out to find his killer and achieve eternal peace.

Deadman went on to interact with and become allies with some of DC's greatest heroes, including Batman, Superman, Zatanna, and many others. He was even one of the founding members of the Justice League Dark, which dealt with any and all supernatural threats that the regular Justice League couldn't handle on their own.

If DC Studios does indeed adapt the Deadman character to television, the creative team would certainly have a lot of material to work with, so what could the potential show eventually be about and / or what they might change for their show?

An Anthology series would work for Deadman

Like most comics of the era, after his origin issue, the character of Deadman went on many adventures while on the trail of his killer. The adventures themselves varied in genre and tone, with some being more light-hearted and others more serious, all the while keeping the supernatural elements of the character present but not the main focus of the character's early years.

Depending on how many episodes a Deadman series could run for, an anthology type series similar to the comics would make for a compelling watch. However, they shouldn't follow the early comics too closely, for as it was mentioned previously, the supernatural elements were in there, they weren't the main focus for many of the early Deadman stories. Most of the stories dealt with detective and criminal encounters that were, shall it be said, run of the mill. Bank robbers, motorcycle gangs, and many more mundane antagonists were ever present in the series, and the show shouldn't exclusively adapt those types of stories.

While the more mundane aspects of the original comics shouldn't be completely thrown out, the animated series would benefit greatly if it focuses on the more supernatural / horror aspects of the Deadman character and the world he inhabits.

A period setting would complement a supernatural approach

Most comic book adaptions take the characters and plant them in the time period that the show or movie was being made. That sometimes means changing things up from the source material (for example, the first Iron Man movie changed the setting of Tony Stark's imprisonment and evolution into Iron Man).

Updating the origins of a character to fit modern times is common practice in most superhero related adaptations, so, would a modern day origin of Deadman work better than the original? This writer believes that the show would benefit greatly from keeping the story during the late '60s and early '70s. Keeping the setting close to the source material would not only make the series stand out from other superhero/comic content, it can give the show a very unique feel appropriate for the time period.

During the early '70s, horror comics and horror media in general were making a comeback due to the fact that certain restrictions on the use of horror and supernatural related elements were relaxed after over 20 years, mainly in order to satisfy the general public's need for more horror and supernatural media during that time period.

If the potential animated series kept the setting the same as the early comics, they could create stories that center around much of the anxieties and fascination with the supernatural and how normal people must come to terms with the new reality (or something along those lines.)

A different animation style per episode

If DC Studios adapted Deadman in the anthology format and have the show itself be animated, what if they were to allow different styles of animation with each episode?

Using different styles of animation for an anthology type series is nothing new, which was the case with the series Star Wars: Visions, which saw various animation studios working on each episode within the series. We also saw that in 2008's Batman: Gotham Knight. It's a very unique and compelling way to tell stories and have each episode stand out from each other.

Showcasing the character of Deadman and his world through various animation lenses would be a very enticing watch, because some episodes could be spooky with an air of dread, while others could be melancholic and dreary, dealing with real world problems like feelings of hopelessness, and so on. They could even have some more light-hearted designs for less-serious episodes. There could be many possibilities with how the show could look (whether it's in the form of one consistent style of animation or even if it went into live action), but we'd have to wait and see.

A chance to reinvent his origins

Spoilers ahead for the true identity of the killer! Throughout the original comic run, Deadman was on the trail of his killer who's only known alias was The Hook. After many trials and tribulations, Deadman discovers that The Hook was a member of the League of Assassins, and he killed Deadman because it was a apart of his initiation into the League, and The Hook himself had no direct or personal connection to Deadman. Essentially, Deadman was chosen out of a hat as target practice for The Hook.

The League of Assassins should sound familiar, for it's the same League that's run by famous Batman villain Ra's Al Ghul, but Ra's never went head to head with Deadman in the original comic run with The Hook. As a side note, during the same time that horror was making a comeback into pop culture during the publication of these stories, so too did the Kung Fu and general martial arts craze sweep the nation. It also found its way into comic books, and the Deadman series was likewise swept up in that.

The Kung Fu aspects that the Deadman series partook in was, in retrospect, corny and unfitting for the character. Most Deadman stories after the original run dealt with more horror and mystical themed stories, and these themes fit better than martial arts fights. In the original comics, Deadman would posses one of the assassins and fight them while spouting corny one liners and jokes. It's not inherently bad to have corny ideas in these comics, but for a modern audience, when they hear about a show called Deadman, they'd expect it to deal with death and horror, not Kung Fu.

With that in mind, DC Studios could take this opportunity to rework the origin of Deadman and the reason why he was killed in the first place. They should leave out the connection with the League and The Hook and make Deadman's death much more personal. Maybe Deadman was killed because he angered criminals out to take over the circus he calls home, or maybe an ex wife or lover caught him cheating and ordered a hit on him or killed him themselves. Whatever way they write the origin, they shouldn't have the League of Assassins as the main contributing factor.

A Deadman series could lead to a future in the DCU

For argument's sake, let's say the show does happen, and that it becomes successful for DC Studios and James Gunn, what happens to the character of Deadman?

For the show itself, it would be great if Warner Bros. Discovery ordered another season of the show, That would be obvious if the show found success, but outside the show there could be a lot of potential for Deadman. The Deadman character for most of his comic run has been a lone wolf, operating on his own with the occasional team up between other heroes' and characters. Fairly recently, however, Deadman became a founding member of the team Justice League Dark.

Members of the Justice League Dark include Zatanna, John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Black Orchid, and many more. If the Deadman show were to come out before James Mangold's Swamp Thing movie, the Swamp Thing character could make a cameo appearance in the show, or any of the multitude of mystical characters within the extended DC comic universe could be in the show in a cameo role, as a guest star, or even referenced in an Easter Egg etc., but the future of Deadman wouldn't be tied only to his show, for the character has a lot of potential in other films or shows within James Gunn's DC Universe - especially now that we know it its shared universe will be connected through films, TV, live-action, and animation. If Deadman gets an animated series, he may even make his way to live-action in a future project. How great would that be?

What do you think? If there is going to be a Deadman animated series, would it work? What would you want the show to focus on? Do you have any other theories that weren't discussed here?