The sixth episode of the second season of Peacemaker truly delivered a surprising twist. As Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, prior to his role in Black Adam, once famously said: “The hierarchy of the DC Universe is about to change.” Though it might sound exaggerated, so was the original assertion.

**Spoilers ahead for Season 2 Episode 6 of Peacemaker, now streaming on HBO Max**

If you caught the latest episode of the HBO Max series starring John Cena, you’re likely still in shock after witnessing Rick Flagg Sr., portrayed by Frank Grillo, make his way to Belle Reve, a supermax prison often mentioned in DC lore. He seeks assistance from a prisoner who, as the episode unfolds, is revealed to be none other than Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult.

Initially, as Flagg is grappling with the mysterious vanishing of Peacemaker (Cena) and his unconventional team — consisting of Adebayo (Danielle Brookes), Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), Economos (Steve Agee), and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) — he determines that the key to locating them and their elusive portal lies in Luthor’s knowledge of parallel worlds, a central theme in Superman. Although Flagg doesn’t immediately disclose his target’s identity at Belle Reve, viewers are eventually clued in when Hoult’s character makes his entrance into a prison communication room, leaning on a cane.

The pair briefly go back and forth, discussing the situation involving Peacemaker, which leads to Lex coughing up information that might come in handy to Flagg. You see, while Lex may have been carted off to Belle Reve at the end of Superman, he still has a pretty massive inventory of weapons and other technologies that could (and will) help him out.

Lex, knowing it’s his only bargaining chip to get out of Belle Reve — which also houses the Creature Commandos, another James Gunn DC series — tells Flagg that he may have a device that could detect Peacemaker, but he’ll only reveal the location if he can get something out of it. Ultimately, this results in his relocation to “Van Kull,” another supermax prison located just outside Metropolis. The deal now also means that Flagg and ARGUS are in league with the DC villain, who we already know will play a major role in the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow.

While it certainly comes as a surprise to anyone watching at home to see Lex in Peacemaker, it’s not fully unexpected as the two DC projects are becoming increasingly intertwined. Peacemaker and Flagg both appeared in Superman, and earlier in the season, Hawk Girl (Isabela Merced), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) each appeared as their Superman characters.

Additionally, there’s major speculation that Superman himself, David Corenswet, will guest star in Episode 7 or Episode 8, as the projects shot consecutively and Brooks posted a photo to her social media pages with the actor. Cute crossover moment or tease for what’s to come?

We’ll just have to wait to find out. In the meantime, we’ll just be over here reveling in the appearance of one of our favorite bad guys of the DCU.

The first six episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 are now available to stream. New episodes drop on HBO Max at 9 p.m.

If you’re new to HBO Max, you can sign up for as low as $9.99/month with ads, but an ad-free subscription will cost $16.99/month. If you subscribe via Prime Video, you can also take advantage of a seven-day free trial.

If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the discounted Disney+ Bundles with Hulu and HBO Max. With ads, the bundle costs $16.99/month and without ads, $29.99/month.