Man Of Tomorrow Star Frank Grillo Responds To Claims He's The DCU's Most-Hated Character

Man Of Tomorrow Star Frank Grillo Responds To Claims He's The DCU's Most-Hated Character

Superman star Frank Grillo is shocked to learn Rick Flag Sr. has become one of the DCU's most hated characters, but the actor isn't backing down on his quest for revenge against Peacemaker.

By JoshWilding - Oct 19, 2026 08:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Man of Tomorrow

Frank Grillo made his DCU debut as Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos, and the response from fans was largely positive. However, in Peacemaker Season 2, we saw a completely different, far more villainous side of the new A.R.G.U.S. Director. 

While he rightly wanted revenge on Christopher Smith for his son's death in The Suicide Squad, Flag Sr. took things too far when he got coked up while his men died and made a deal with Lex Luthor in a bid to find Salvation.

In the Season 2 finale, he left Peacemaker on the alien planet to die. It was a twisted move, especially as Chris has found redemption and established Checkmate as a force for good. As for Flag Sr., he's become one of the DCU's most reviled characters, news which shocked Grillo.

"Right now, I am? I didn't know that!" Grillo says in the video below after learning how hated the character is. "Peacemaker killed my son! Let me help you here. He murdered my son, my child." When the interviewer pointed out that Peacemaker had turned over a new leaf, the actor replied, "Whose problem is it, mine or yours? You're crazy."

After a brief role in Superman, Grillo will return as Flag Sr. in next summer's Man of Tomorrow. The extent of his role in the sequel isn't clear, though he'll likely be the one who frees Luthor to take the fight to Brainiac. Whether Salvation comes into play remains to be seen.

In Man of Tomorrow, Superman will be forced to team up with Lex Luthor to battle Brainiac, a threat not just to Metropolis but to the entire world.

Written and directed by James Gunn, the movie stars include David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Lars Eidinger as Brainiac, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr., Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Milly Alcock as Supergirl.

Andre Royo, Matthew Lillard, Sinqua Walls, and Adria Arjona will also star. However, as we mentioned above, we still don't know whether the latter is playing Maxima or Wonder Woman. There's also speculation that Eva De Dominici is playing one of the characters, and there's always a chance the Diana Prince rumblings don't pan out. We'll have to wait and see.

Man of Tomorrow arrives in theaters on July 9, 2027.

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Lisa89
Lisa89 - 10/19/2026, 8:31 AM
I mean Krypto is right there!
Batmangina
Batmangina - 10/19/2026, 8:32 AM
@Lisa89 -

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Batmangina
Batmangina - 10/19/2026, 8:31 AM
Let me be FIRST to say GUNN has accepted the challenge.

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UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 10/19/2026, 10:31 AM
@Batmangina - Gunn has to play someone in the DCU first...

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Batmangina
Batmangina - 10/19/2026, 10:45 AM
@UltimaRex - You CANNOT hate Alex Ross' dad!!!

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UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 10/19/2026, 12:14 PM
@Batmangina - LOL!

I don't. Gunn, on the other hand...
InfinitePunches
InfinitePunches - 10/19/2026, 12:19 PM
@UltimaRex - Do you honestly think that someone like Gunn who calls himself "anti-Religion" would make a Southern Baptist Pastor the protagonist of one of his films? Let alone play the lead role. Or portray a preacher as the savior of mankind?

If anything, Gunn likes the pretty pictures in Kingdom Come. He may borrow an aesthetic element or two, but he's too much of a deconstructionist to ever adapt Waid and Ross' beautiful story.

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Bucky74
Bucky74 - 10/19/2026, 9:05 AM
Grillo is great in just about everything he does. There are a lot of hated characters in the DCU like what they did to John Stewart’s character, but Grillo isn’t one of them. They actually have the opposite problem of making some of their side characters too popular, like how Mr.T (why not) and Guy were more enjoyable to watch than Superman in a Superman film
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 10/19/2026, 9:06 AM
I certainly don’t hate Rick Flagg Sr but I don’t hugely enjoy the character either so he’s just “alright” imo…

I can understand his “heel turn” to an extent since he wasn’t particularly close with the Creature Commandos in the show and had his back broken by a metahuman in Clayface to defend a woman who turned out to be a power hungry villain anyway killed by one of his team (which we don’t know if he’s entirely even aware of the details tbh) , seemed to have respect for Superman atleast but then one of these “heroes” killed a political leader and were beginning to get involved in those affairs amongst also having an intense desire and need for revenge against Peacemaker for the death of his son hence I can understand him being morally corrupted to a degree by making this metahuman prison in Salvation for the “bad ones” but using Chris as his first test subject etc.

He’s an extremely flawed character that we have seen can be manipulated with Ilana first and now Lex & his cronies so while his transformation I do feel is a bit rushed , there’s definitely seeds there that would understandably lead to the choices he’s made even if they needed more watering so to speak!!.

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WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 10/19/2026, 9:37 AM
@TheVisionary25 - he was alright to me, up until the last episode of Peacemaker season 2. When Argus started partying at the end when they caught Chris, I thought it felt out of place. I actually thought a big twist was coming that he and that whole group were being mind controlled or something. He’s almost like a totally different character from Creature Commandos.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 10/19/2026, 11:49 AM
@WruceBayne - I don’t think he’s that different , just consumed more by revenge.

I do agree with you about the last episode though…

That is all being done in montage which means some time has passed but that shift still feels too quick.
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 10/19/2026, 9:19 AM
Its the writers and directors fault, as it was during the snyder reign
TheLobster
TheLobster - 10/19/2026, 9:21 AM
Krypto is pretty shitty but Frank is a goddamn idiot for not going after Wallace who’s truly to blame here.
Loverboy83
Loverboy83 - 10/19/2026, 9:30 AM
Who doesn’t care about him? After Snyder left, all the live-action version of DC characters became a boring piece of shit
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 10/19/2026, 9:41 AM
Really? Grillo’s the most hated character?
I thought it was James Gunn.

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RealTurner
RealTurner - 10/19/2026, 9:55 AM
Which version? The sympathetic honey-trapped loser from CC, the empty political vessel from Superman, or the raging semi-Nazi on a revenge rampage in Peacemaker? Oh, hold on--all the same character? What?
DocSpock
DocSpock - 10/19/2026, 9:56 AM

I don't hate him. He's just one of the c-list characters that we're getting stuck with instead of the important characters we want to see.

HelloBoysImBack
HelloBoysImBack - 10/19/2026, 9:57 AM
Gunn is
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 10/19/2026, 10:42 AM
I came here to post that this is a Josh title.
ClarkJoeKent
ClarkJoeKent - 10/19/2026, 10:47 AM
James Dunn Delusional Cinematic Universe sucks hairy ballz.

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