James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad was a refreshing if flawed entry to the flailing DC Extended Universe. It showed what is possible for the franchise when Warner Bros just don’t interfere with the production, and it is one of the most popular entries in the shared universe franchise. It came as no surprise that WB wanted more of that same success in the near future and were willing to keep Gunn around to do it. Having already developed a treatment for a Suicide Squad spin-off, Gunn set to work quickly turning around Peacemaker, a sequel/spin-off featuring a lot of what made The Suicide Squad such a big success.
Five months after being left for dead in Corto Maltese, Peacemaker (John Cena) has recovered in hospital and is ready to get back to killing anyone he needs to in order to ensure peace. Contacted by the black ops squad A.R.G.U.S., Peacemaker is brought in to assist with Project Butterfly. Led by mercenary Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), and aided by agents Economos (Steve Agee), Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), as well as Peacemaker’s former sidekick, Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Project Butterfly’s true intentions are kept under wraps to intentionally keep Peacemaker in the dark.
Meanwhile Peacemaker attempts to repair the relationship with his abusive father, (Robert Patrick), as he comes to terms with how he has become such an unlikable person, haunted by the final words said to him by Rick Flag.
Five months after being left for dead in Corto Maltese, Peacemaker (John Cena) has recovered in hospital and is ready to get back to killing anyone he needs to in order to ensure peace. Contacted by the black ops squad A.R.G.U.S., Peacemaker is brought in to assist with Project Butterfly. Led by mercenary Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), and aided by agents Economos (Steve Agee), Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), as well as Peacemaker’s former sidekick, Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Project Butterfly’s true intentions are kept under wraps to intentionally keep Peacemaker in the dark.
Meanwhile Peacemaker attempts to repair the relationship with his abusive father, (Robert Patrick), as he comes to terms with how he has become such an unlikable person, haunted by the final words said to him by Rick Flag.
I went into Peacemaker with low expectations. He was one of the more irritating characters in The Suicide Squad, and the prospect of spending eight forty-minute episodes with the guy wasn’t the most appealing idea. However, Peacemaker may well be the best content that the DCEU has to offer. A delightful parody of the superhero genre, reminiscent of The Boys with its crude humour and gross out gory violence. Peacemaker leans into the flaws of its characters and addresses them in ways that are laugh out loud funny, whilst also saying a lot about some big issues like racism, nationalism, sexism, toxic masculinity, and child abuse. It’s so tongue in cheek that it’s practically ripping through the skin, and it could have gone so disastrously wrong, yet thankfully it doesn’t, and I think a lot of that comes down to some really great performances from Cena, Stroma, and Brooks.
Whilst the plot of Peacemaker concerns itself with Project Butterfly, the real meat and bones of the story is about Peacemaker confronting how horrible of a person he is, and how being raised by a neo-Nazi shaped him into the jingoist vigilante he is today. How his conceptions of what is right and wrong are different to what other perceive them to be, and how his own prejudices have fed into his crimefighting.
It's great to see a superhero show tackle topics like racism in such an unapologetically blunt way. The show is filled to bursting with racial slurs and Arian propaganda, but the way they are tackled with such aggression is refreshing. It beats the persecutors down with the same vitriol that they dish out and it’s so satisfying to watch. Usually by the likes of Brooks or Annie Chang’s Detective Song.
Vigilante offers up a look at a costumed crimefighter who is clearly unhinged and enjoys killing rather than dishing out justice, but does so in a way that is irresistibly likable as opposed to something like Watchmen’s Comedian; and Stroma plays it for laughs brilliantly.
Clocking in at eight episodes the show doesn’t outstay its welcome either and ties things up nicely come the finale. Whilst there’s definitely room left for The Suicide Squad spin-offs to keep branching out, Peacemaker’s journey comes to a satisfying conclusion for all the main characters and doesn’t leave any major threads hanging for a second season. It feels finite, and like it had an actual message, and I really appreciate that in this age of endless sequels, spin-offs, and shared universes.
It is somewhat of a shame that the best the DCEU has to offer is in a The Boys style parody of itself, rather than in one of its tentpole cinematic offerings, but Peacemaker was a genuinely good time and is worth checking out if you have a subscription to Sky or HBO Max.
Whilst the plot of Peacemaker concerns itself with Project Butterfly, the real meat and bones of the story is about Peacemaker confronting how horrible of a person he is, and how being raised by a neo-Nazi shaped him into the jingoist vigilante he is today. How his conceptions of what is right and wrong are different to what other perceive them to be, and how his own prejudices have fed into his crimefighting.
It's great to see a superhero show tackle topics like racism in such an unapologetically blunt way. The show is filled to bursting with racial slurs and Arian propaganda, but the way they are tackled with such aggression is refreshing. It beats the persecutors down with the same vitriol that they dish out and it’s so satisfying to watch. Usually by the likes of Brooks or Annie Chang’s Detective Song.
Vigilante offers up a look at a costumed crimefighter who is clearly unhinged and enjoys killing rather than dishing out justice, but does so in a way that is irresistibly likable as opposed to something like Watchmen’s Comedian; and Stroma plays it for laughs brilliantly.
Clocking in at eight episodes the show doesn’t outstay its welcome either and ties things up nicely come the finale. Whilst there’s definitely room left for The Suicide Squad spin-offs to keep branching out, Peacemaker’s journey comes to a satisfying conclusion for all the main characters and doesn’t leave any major threads hanging for a second season. It feels finite, and like it had an actual message, and I really appreciate that in this age of endless sequels, spin-offs, and shared universes.
It is somewhat of a shame that the best the DCEU has to offer is in a The Boys style parody of itself, rather than in one of its tentpole cinematic offerings, but Peacemaker was a genuinely good time and is worth checking out if you have a subscription to Sky or HBO Max.