The Illuminerdi breaks down everything we know about Peacemaker and what it could mean in anticipation of DC Fandome and the first teaser trailer for the HBO Max series.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Peacemaker even before James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad hit theaters and HBO Max. Following The Suicide Squad, DC fans became even more excited for the spin-off series after being introduced to John Cena as Peacemaker, a man who will do whatever it takes to achieve peace no matter how many people he has to kill.
In The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker is revealed to be a plant within Task Force X with a secret mission to destroy the evidence of Project Starfish at any cost. Peacemaker betrays his team, killing Rick Flag and nearly killing Ratcatcher 2, attempting to fulfill this mission. However, Bloodsport saves Ratcatcher 2 by shooting Peacemaker and the team leaves him to bleed out from his wound.
It’s revealed in the post-credit scene that Peacemaker actually survived his seemingly fatal gunshot wound and was saved by ARGUS. John Economos and Emily Harcourt, much to their annoyance, are tasked with working with him on a new mission, saving the world. Although not much is known about the plot of Peacemaker this scene did reveal that the series will be set after The Suicide Squad. Gunn has also said that the series will explore the origins of Peacemaker.
Everything We Know About Peacemaker!
PEACEMAKER TO EXPLORE THE CHARACTER’S ORIGINS
In an interview with Variety, Gunn points to a small moment in the film that plants the seed for Peacemaker. When Bloodsport describes his father and how he treated him as a child, Peacemaker nods. Robert Patrick will be playing Peacemaker, aka Christopher Smith’s father Auggie Smith, and this small moment in The Suicide Squad seems to hint at Auggie’s parenting style which is likely a big part of Christopher’s origins and why he became Peacemaker.
We exclusively revealed character details about Auggie Smith last December which could bring further insight into how Christopher grew up. Auggie Smith is described as “a strongly opinionated, vulgar, small-town racist who is powerful and cunning.” With Christopher’s father being such an important part of his origins, it will be interesting to see how that plays out on screen. Will Peacemaker explore the relationship through flashbacks, will Auggie somehow come into play in the current mission, or could Gunn pull from the comic book origins with his father in the series?
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In the comics Christopher’s father, Wolfgang Schmidt, was a Nazi who ran a concentration camp during WWII. Once Wolfgang’s crimes came to light he committed suicide, Christopher was traumatized by his father’s actions and would become haunted by visions of Wolfgang in an SS uniform berating him which would steer him for his entire life. This would be an interesting way to incorporate Christopher’s father in to the series and even dig into his decisions in The Suicide Squad when he killed Flag, a man he respected, and nearly killed Ratcatcher 2, a young unarmed woman.
THE NEW TEAM
The first clip teased the dynamic of Peacemaker’s team as Christopher arrives at a restaurant where the others are waiting in full costume, or uniform as Peacemaker corrects, an American flag painted car, with his pet Eagle, Eagle-y, in the back seat. There are also two new team members sitting at the table, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) and Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji). Murn is a mercenary hired by Amanda Waller to lead the team.
A bit more about the other team member, Leota Adebayo, has been revealed with Gunn explaining in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, that she “has a very different political view of the world” compared to Peacemaker. In December 2020 we exclusively revealed details about Leota Adebayo, she is described as “smart, driven, full-figured and capable, but with her fair share of insecurities…a newcomer who isn’t treated well by others.”
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Gunn himself has said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “She isn’t always treated the best by people around her, but despite her differences with Peacemaker, they form a bond.” Could this bond come from the fact that both characters are treated poorly by their teammates? If the first clip is any indication, Peacemaker is going to be the butt of a lot of jokes especially from John Economos (Steve Agee) and Emily Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), the two returning characters from The Suicide Squad.
In The Suicide Squad both Economos and Harcourt were a part of the team that went against Amanda Waller’s orders and helped Task Force X defeat Starro to save the citizens of Corto Maltese. Both characters had relatively small roles in the film so it will be exciting to see them play larger roles in Peacemaker and interact with the titular character. James Gunn has also hinted at another character from The Suicide Squad possibly making an appearance in Peacemaker. Perhaps Amanda Waller, one of the few surviving members of Task Force X, or one of Harcourt and Economos co-workers from The Suicide Squad.
