The Ties That Grind
Peacemaker and his team are back after saving the world from the butterflies, but they’ve essentially been disbanded. Now, they are all looking for ways to recover from their lowest points.
Caution spoilers ahead.
Courtesy HBO Max
Team Split Up
The team that worked so well together isn’t together anymore. Peacemaker is trying to find his way into the Justice Gang that was introduced in Superman. It’s clear they aren’t set up well as the interview is in a dingy building and the audio system is not set up well, so Peacemaker hears them making fun of him. Peacemaker leaves in a huff.
Photograph by Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
Meanwhile, the rest of the team is facing their own hardships. Adebayo has no job, because she revealed classified information to the media at the end of season one. She’s living in a motel room because her wife kicked her out of their home. Harcourt has been turned down from every government agency and blames Amanda Waller for blackballing her. And John Economos still works for Argus but has been assigned to surveillance on Peacemaker’s house as a punishment for his work with the others. The only one who seems to be happy is Vigilante who is working at a restaurant as the season begins, but he seems to be the kind of guy who is always happy.
Parallel Universe
While all this is going on, Peacemaker has been making his way into a place where parallel universes meet. He’s letting Eagley fly in there when it’s too cold to take him outside. But when Eagley doesn’t return, he finds the bird at the door of a universe with helmets that look like the ones both he, and his evil, racist father, used as either superheroes or supervillains. He goes in and finds his father alive in this universe which leads him to a deep depression.
Photograph by Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
Eventually, he decides to return to that universe where he finds his father and his brother living happily, along with that universe’s version of him. This tugs at his heartstrings because he killed both his brother and his father in his own timeline: his brother by accident when his father was egging them to fight, and his father on purpose when he accepted his father was responsible for his brother’s death, not him. Still, there’s a lot of love among the family and Peacemaker feels accepted, right up until he’s confronted by that universe’s version of him and they head to where the universes meet to fight each other.
Deadly Consequences
The fight is evenly matched because Peacemaker is fighting Peacemaker, but the one who has a loving relationship with his father and brother is landing some impressive shots. However, the Chris Smith viewers will be following hits a button on his jetpack which causes the other Peacemaker to fly up and impale himself. That version of Peacemaker dies meaning the main version of Peacemaker has now killed his brother, his father and a version of himself.
Photograph by Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
Changes
The first season of Peacemaker was filmed while the DCEU was still trying to make it as a shared universe. The second season started filming after it was announced the DCEU was ending and James Gunn, who created Peacemaker, was heading a new shared universe called the DCU. Peacemaker Season 1 ended with Peacemaker and his team seeing the Justice League of America. That scene was reshot to show the Justice Gang, with David Corensweat’s version of Superman along with Supergirl, Mr. Terrific, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. It helps make season 1 canon in the new DCU, and allows for the Justice Gang to appear in season 2.
Photograph by Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
Viewers also get to see Sean Gunn’s Maxwell Lord who is funding the Justice Gang. Lord is expected to be a big player in the DCU and Sean Gunn, being the brother of DC Studios head James Gunn, is using his connections to land roles. On top of Maxwell Lord, he’s also served as the voice of Weasel and G.I. Robot in Creature Commandos, the first official property of the DCU.
Connections
James Gunn has hinted there will be a person serving as a connective tissue for many of the DCU properties, much like Nick Fury did for the MCU. He says “it’s not who you think it is.” While many have hinted that it’ll be someone played by Sean Gunn, since he’s James’ brother or Emilia Harcourt, since she’s played by James Gunn’s wife, there has already been a connective tissue through the three DCU properties released. Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. has appeared in Creature Commandos, Superman and Peacemaker season 2. I don’t know if he is who Gunn meant, but he’s someone who is not an obvious candidate, so it fits Gunn’s description and could still move easily from property to property like Nick Fury.
Photograph by Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
What’s Next?
It’s a strong start for the second season. Peacemaker is looking for the loving family he never had. Harcourt has only ever worked for the government and needs to find her way out. Economos is connected to Argus and knows that Flag knows that Peacemaker killed Rick Flag Jr. during the events of The Suicide Squad, making it canon to DCU. Economos is turning to Adebayo for help because he knows he’s being watched too and he’s being punished for his connection to Peacemaker. It’ll be interesting to see how they come together to help Peacemaker with every antagonist he faces this season.
Check out Peacemaker on HBO Max.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2025
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