REVIEW: James Gunn aims for bullseye with Peacemaker S2

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review contains spoilers for Peacemaker season 2.

After the release of this summer’s Superman (2025), DC fans all over the world rejoiced. The confusing managerial mess that was the DCEU would no longer haunt their hopes and dreams. The new DCU, led by former Marvel director James Gunn, would be a clean slate, a fresh new beginning.

Despite the clean slate, Gunn couldn’t help but integrate his own projects that were set in the DCEU into the DCU, namely Peacemaker. With his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Gunn has proven himself to have a talent for taking obscure characters and turning them into household names. And yet it was still surprising to see Gunn take one of the most unlikeable characters from The Suicide Squad (not the 2016 David Ayer film), and turn him into a character we can empathize with and relate to. But after Chris Smith’s comedic cameo in Superman, we all wondered how Gunn would continue his story into this new world of pocket dimensions, kaijus, and the rest of the DCU.

Peacemaker season 2 felt like it was less about Peacemaker, but more about the man under the mask: Chris Smith, played by John Cena. The action compared to season 1 is toned down—Chris is barely in costume at all this season, and the intro feels more like an “artsy” interpretive dance sequence compared to the silly routine from season one. Not to say this is a downgrade from season one, far from it. Peacemaker, at its core, is a show about a group of friends, which Gunn has understood from the very beginning.

The 11th Street Kids (Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, Jennifer Holland, and Danielle Brooks hidden behind John Cena) partying on a rooftop. HBO MAX/Erin Sintoes

We see the cowardly John Economos start to stand up for himself, even spitting in the face of the lovable but vexing Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows). We find the badass Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) at the lowest of her lows, going into bars to purposely pick fights with misogynistic biker-bros. We see the sociopathic Adrian Chase (Freddie Stroma) break down into tears after finding out his best friend has left him. And while I felt the plotline with her marriage was rushed, Leotta Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) brings it back with a heart-wrenching speech to Chris in the final episode. Gunn sacrificed aura and hype moments in order to bring out incredible performances and character development.

GROUNDED STORYTELLING IN AN UNREALISTIC SETTING

After Superman, it’s clear Gunn is more interested in exploring the “human” aspect of what makes a superhero. And now at the helm of DC Studios and a TV-MA-rated show, Gunn essentially had free rein to do whatever he wanted: whether it be having an orgy in the first episode, brutally killing Micheal Rooker (Red St. Wild) to a horde of CGI eagles, or having two live band performances in the finale. And yet through all of the ridiculousness, Gunn delivers an emotional rollercoaster of a story.

From the start of season 2, we see a gentler Chris who’s emotionally in touch with himself, unlike his macho, bully demeanor from season 1. But it’s obvious to the viewer that he’s still struggling with the trauma of his past. He isn’t even taken seriously as a hero when he auditions to join the Justice Gang. In an attempt to find reconciliation, his attempts to get closer to Emilia Harcourt are defeated by her “toxic masculinity.” So when Chris finds a portal to another Universe where he’s adored as a hero and by his live brother and father, it’s as if he’s found an escape.

A mural of Earth X’s Top Trio being admired by Chris Smith (John Cena) and Harcourt 2 (Jennifer Holland). HBO MAX/Curtis Bonds Baker

The premise is just brilliant. Everyone’s always imagined how much better our lives would be if the world or our upbringings were different. But the fact is, we are shaped by everything we’ve experienced, good or bad. This is exemplified when we learn that Chris’s alternative self was a drug addict, cheated on his universe’s Harcourt, and was all around likely not a good person. Our Chris endured struggle and pain to become the Chris we know and love, not by living in a lavish house in Nazi Land.

Additionally, Chris’ letter and decision to leave his earth in episode 5 serve as an excellent allegory to suicide. In his letter, he feels that he doesn’t belong on his Earth and leaving behind the portal opener will be beneficial for Harcourt and Economos. But while Chris felt like what he did was the right thing, the 11th Street Kids are hurt by Chris’ decision, giving us a rare scene of Vigilante breaking down in Adebayo’s arms.

This all eventually culminates in the 11th Street Kids moving Chris out of the alternate dimension and having a heart to heart in the final moments of episode 8. Sitting around him as if they were hosting an intervention, Danielle Brooks delivers a beautiful, emotional monologue telling Chris how much he means to her as a friend. The scene is just masterfully performed and directed. It would also be impossible not to mention the confrontation between Chris and Emilia in the ARGUS room during episode 6, where Chris tries to get Harcourt to open up to him, but the walls she’s built around herself won’t allow her to.

The 11th Street Kids (Steve Agee, Jennifer Holland, and Danielle Brooks) huddled around Chris Smith (John Cena). HBO MAX/Jessica Miglio

SOCIAL COMMENTARY, OR IS REALITY NEARING THE ABSURDITIES OF FICTIONAL FASCISM?

Immediately after Superman released, fans immediately drew parallels between the fictional Jarhanpur-Boravia conflict to the very real Israel-Palestine conflict. While Gunn has denied the connection numerous times, telling Comicbook.com, “When I wrote this the Middle Eastern conflict wasn’t happening. So I tried to do little things to move it away from that, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the Middle East.” It didn’t help that Lex’s pocket dimension mirrored Republican attempts at creating an Alligator Alcatraz for ICE detainees. Perhaps it is possible Gunn wrote and directed a superhero movie that just happened to indirectly reference current societal and political issues. Or perhaps he’s playing coy in an effort to not anger any executives above him. But after watching Peacemaker, I’m beginning to believe the latter.

At the end of episode 6, it’s implied that minorities are kept in a sort of prison or concentration camp in the alternative universe when Keith yells out, “One got out! A Black!” which gave us the legendary scene of Danielle Brooks running away from a horde of Nazis in a suburb. When we see the chase scene continue in episode 7, Judomaster (Nhut Le) saves Adebayo and they escape into shelter. While hiding out, they have an exchange where Adebayo claims, “The sad part is, I’m not so sure this Nazi world is as different from our own world as we wish it was.” I again can’t help but think of the national deployment of ICE around the country to target minorities, as much as Gunn would like to shy away from his work being a commentary of current societal issues.

THE FINALE…

Without a doubt, the most controversial moment on the show has been the finale. Using the money Vigilante “confiscated” from busting a drug ring, the 11th Street Kids create a new agency called Checkmate. But after the feel-good montage with Foxy Shazam’s “Oh Lord” of the 11th Street Kids setting up the building, Rick Flag’s goons capture Chris and throw him into a dimension ARGUS is testing as a metahuman prison. This scene completes Rick Flag Sr.’s revenge arc, while serving as a cliffhanger ending.

I have mixed feelings about this ending. On one hand, the formation of Checkmate with Judomaster, Langston Fleury, and Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez), and the 11th Street Kids is incredibly exciting, especially with the potential significance Checkmate and these characters will serve to the DCU.

On the other hand, Gunn has confirmed that there are no plans for Peacemaker season 3. It makes me wonder if Peacemaker was just “Cinematic Universe Fodder” while Gunn decides to focus on bigger heroes and stories like Superman. While it is likely we may potentially see a show dedicated to the Checkmate agency, nothing has really been confirmed yet in terms of future projects for Peacemaker or Checkmate.

Chris Smith (John Cena) stuck in “Salvation,” the metahuman prison discovered by ARGUS. HBO MAX/Jessica Miglio

As an avid viewer of the Peacemaker podcast, I know Gunn and his cast members love this show way too much for him to use it as anything but fodder, but this finale doesn’t really inspire confidence in that regard.

It’s also difficult to ignore some loose ends and rushed story beats. Episode 7 teased Keith coming back as he angrily writes in pain while being carried on a gurney. As I mentioned earlier, Adebayo’s subplot of her failing marriage felt rushed and underdeveloped. Also, Rick Flag’s sudden fascination in a metahuman super-prison doesn’t really make too much sense.

Ultimately, these past eight weeks of Peacemaker episodes have been exciting. Everyone involved delivered an incredible story that I genuinely hope will reach a satisfying conclusion in the future. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting till 2026 to see what Lanterns and Supergirl have in store for us.