Peacemaker has released three episodes on HBO Max, and our own Chelsea Steiner posted a review of them this weekend, but as someone who wasn’t really that interested in an entire series centered around the John Cena character from The Suicide Squad, I’ll gladly admit that I was wrong and should have trusted the vision that both John Cena and James Gunn had for the character.
The first three episodes take us into the life of Chris Smith, a.k.a. Peacemaker, after he survived a building falling on him and killing Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad. He’s in a hospital when we first meet him, and the doctor lets him go, not really knowing what to do with him, and so Chris goes back to his home in hopes that he’ll just get to go back to his vigilante job, even if it is questionable and the world sees him as a villain.
But the minute that Peacemaker went to his dad’s house in order to pick up his pet eagle Eagly, I was hooked. Pair that with Peacemaker making fun of how Amanda Waller and company name their projects—after all, Project Starfish was all about a giant starfish, and apparently, Project Butterfly is about … well, butterflies.
More hair bands please
The show is not for young superhero fans, and honestly, that’s fun. Sometimes, we just want a raunchy superhero show that completely takes us in a direction we were not expecting. I’m not going to lie; Peacemaker was not my first choice. I would have rather had a show about Ratcatcher 2 after watching The Suicide Squad, but Gunn has managed to make Peacemaker an interesting look into a character who is too blinded by his patriotism to see his major flaws.
What I like about the show is that it isn’t afraid to make fun of Chris Smith. In the first episode, he’s trying to have sex with his coworker Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and she calls him out, so he ends up sleeping with a girl who looks like she walked out of the ’80s, establishing Smith’s strange obsession with hair bands and a connection to the age of too much hairspray.
In my defense, I just wasn’t interested in watching yet another show that focuses around a problematic character and challenges our ideas of superheroes. With shows like The Boys and Invincible, it just felt like more of the same trend. Again, I’m happy that I’m wrong and that the show is actually making Peacemaker take a look into his tactics and who he is as a person through the characters he finds himself surrounded by. Even though they’re not perfect, characters like Danielle Brooks’ Leota challenge who Chris Smith is, and it makes him question his former ways.
After just three episodes, I find myself wanting to head back into the world of Chris Smith, Harcourt, Leota, John, Clemson, and the rest of the team trying to hunt down those who are part of Project Butterfly and to see just how far Peacemaker is willing to go to change his ideals.
For me the defining characteristic of all of @JamesGunn’s work is joy. @DCpeacemaker is funny, moving, surprising, violent af, but also exudes that joy from every frame. And @JohnCena @jennlholland @steveagee & everyone else I can’t find on twitter are amazing. Highly recommend.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 15, 2022
i just assume if you click “Skip Intro” on the Peacemaker opening credits, your HBO Max deletes itself or John Cena comes to your house and kicks you in the crotch or something
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 19, 2022
#Peacemaker is overall really good through three episodes (finally got to watch Ep. 3!).
The show’s sense of humor is so unusual, not all of it works for me. I still find myself laughing loud, pretty interested in characters, and liking the story’s direction! Show is just wild. pic.twitter.com/S9SGQj347t
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) January 19, 2022
I truly love the horrible little dance they do in the Peacemaker opening credits
— ben mekler (@benmekler) January 19, 2022
Skipping the intro to #Peacemaker is a crime.
— Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) January 15, 2022
Peacemaker airs Thursdays on HBO and is honestly well worth your time.
(image: HBO)
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Published: Jan 19, 2022 02:38 pm