Matt O’Connor
(Spoilers Ahead)
After coming off of the praise of Superman, James Gunn’s next superhero project transitions the world of Peacemaker from one universe to another. Peacemaker Season 2 follows up on the first season which was released back in 2022. While most of his previous comic book projects pretty unanimously hit the nail on the head, many felt that this new season failed to live up to the high standards of Season 1.
What’s Different From Season 1?
Originally, the first season of Peacemaker took place in the “DC Extended Universe”, which was DC’s old cinematic universe that lasted from 2013 to 2023. But when James Gunn and Peter Safran took the creative helm in 2024, a brand new cinematic universe now known as the DCU with the release of the first season of Creature Commandos. Peacemaker Season 2 marks the third project in the DCU and all three projects have been written by James Gunn. Throughout the new season, several threads are tied to connect the first season into this new universe and retcon anything connected to the old one. This transition was a bit confusing for general audiences. So after a three year wait and shifting into an entirely new universe, how did Peacemaker Season 2 turn out?
The Cast
Like with the first season, the cast of the show are a very entertaining bunch. John Cena delivers another spectacular performance as Chris Smith a.k.a Peacemaker. While he’s got a lot of great comedic moments, Cena’s most defining performance was during the final episode of the season where he broke down in front of his friends. He is definitely the best wrestler turned actor and really nails how Peacemaker has become a broken man who holds so much guilt. Danielle Brooks kills it as Leota Adebayo, with some of her best scenes of the season being her buddy cop style interactions with Peacemaker. Both Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee deliver great performances as Emilia Harcourt and John Economos respectively, with both having their fair share of strong character moments. But for many, the best character of the show is Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase a.k.a Vigilante. Stroma’s comedic interactions with the cast are always a delight to watch as the other characters react to his twisted sense of humor.
The Story
The main plot of Season 2 revolves around Peacemaker being hunted by A.R.G.U.S and Rick Flag Sr. for the death of his son. The pacing is pretty slow at first, but it picks up dramatically towards the halfway point. The multiverse also plays a major role in this season, with Chris traveling to “Earth-2” to both escape Flag and to experience the perfect life, although this world isn’t as perfect as it seems. One major criticism for this season that many fans share is that Chris barely suits up as Peacemaker throughout the majority of the season outside of the intro. He briefly wears it in Episode 1, but it isn’t seen much afterwards. When he is wearing a costume, it’s the one from “Earth-2.” The final episode of the season was also generally considered to be a disappointment, with the pacing being extremely slow and a good chunk of the runtime being dedicated to James Gunn basically showing off his admittedly exquisite taste in music. Overall, the story is still enjoyable, but it’s not as entertaining and/or investing as the first season.
The Twists
Getting into spoiler territory, the main twist of this season is that Earth-2 is actually Earth-X. In the comics, Earth-X is a parallel Earth where the Axis Powers won World War II. This twist was hinted at numerous times, but the execution was still done well and caught many viewers off guard. Episodes 6 and 7 dive into the history of this world and further delve into Chris’s psyche. In order to track Peacemaker and his friend, Rick Flag visits Belle Reve and makes a deal with Lex Luthor. Nicholas Hoult returns to play the character and his interaction with Flag made for a memorable scene. The final big twist comes at the very end of Episode 8 where Chris is captured by Flag and dumped into an unknown universe. This universe is known as “Salvation”. In the comics, this world was used to exile DC’s supervillains onto a distant planet as a form of imprisonment. With Chris trapped in this world, the stage is set for him to return.
Now What?
James Gunn’s next confirmed project for the DCU is Man of Tomorrow, which is scheduled to release in 2027. Gunn has stated that this film will follow up on multiple past projects including both Superman and Peacemaker Season 2. As of right now, Gunn has said that there are currently no plans for a Season 3 of the show. While the season definitely had its glaring issues, it was still a solid watch through and through and continues the sentiment that James Gunn is unmatched in the director’s chair when it comes to comic book adaptations.
