Did DC just beat Marvel at their own game? The Disney-owned entertainment juggernaut took over the world with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and following a brief pause with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, branched out into the streaming wars to kick off Phase 4. Shows like WandaVision and Loki were met with acclaim from critics, dedicated fans and casual viewers alike thanks to a blend of comic book entertainment and the kind of longform dramatic storytelling that the series format allows.
But DC, despite having an increasingly messy timeline as far as continuity goes, isn’t far behind, with Peacemaker (a spin-off from James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad) leading an incoming wave of DCEU series. Spin-offs of the upcoming The Batman movie as well as a Justice League Dark series appear to be in development with plenty more on the way. If Peacemaker is any sort of indication, the future of the DCEU looks impressively bright.
Created and written by Gunn, the series follows John Cena’s character from The Suicide Squad following his near-death in the events of the film. With no other choice besides returning to prison, Christopher Smith AKA Peacemaker finds himself drafted into a new dangerous and morally gray mission. His team consists of squad leader Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), John Economos (Steve Agee), and newcomer Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks).
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The mission this time around involves aliens, a giant monster, white supremacists, and human torpedoes, among other things. Naturally, Gunn’s distinct style is all over the series, from its loud and raunchy humor to its prominent soundtrack to its story of a found family made up of questionable individuals. Smith himself comes across as pretty reprehensible by the end of The Suicide Squad, but Gunn takes advantage of it by telling a sort of redemption story for the all-American killer. Smith’s recent actions surprisingly haunt him despite his often steely exterior, and while the series does put a focus on him learning and attempting to grow, it understands that change is a slow process. The uglier sides of the character are still present, but we begin to learn why they’re there to begin with.
Peacemaker draws on a plethora of ideas. It has a darkly comedic take on vigilantism in the same vein as Kick-Ass or Gunn’s own 2010 film Super - there’s even a sociopathic main character straight up called Vigilante played by a scene-stealing Freddie Stroma. Almost everyone on the squad is devoid of any real superpowers or even gadgets besides Peacemaker’s helmet, and it makes the action all the more impressive. You can really feel every hit, every fall, every blow.
The show’s mature rating allows for both over the top violence and outlandish jokes that immediately separate it from the usual Marvel PG-ness. By the end of the first episode, it’s clear that little is being held back as far as R-rated content goes. Peacemaker feels like Gunn really letting loose for the first time in awhile, and his usual brand of weirdly smart juvenile humor is the least restrained its ever been. Sometimes a joke can go on a bit too long (one downside of television is the occasional need to fill time) and not every attempt at topical observations lands as smoothly as it could, but the film's bigger ideas and sillier jokes make up for most of it.
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An extremely capable cast playing complicated, likable and strongly-written characters keeps the series engaging and consistently hilarious. Gunn's penchant for crafting stories about outcasts reluctantly coming together (often to save the planet, or galaxy) and using obscure comic book characters is at some of its strongest here. As much of a learning curve as there likely was for the filmmaker in switching to making television, the longer format really lets his talent for making compelling characters shine.
While everyone gets their chance to shine, at the heart of it all is an astoundingly great performance from Cena. It's easily the best of his career so far. Like all of the latest hits of the golden age of television, Smith is often reprehensible but still garners an exceeding amount of sympathy. Much of that is thanks to Cena's layered performance, making him one of the better anti-heroes as of late.
Of course, it wouldn't be right to not give mention to the series' fabulous use of glam and hair metal. As always with Gunn's work, the soundtrack is essential and even factors into the story, with Smith's love for rocking out acting as both a fun and tragic bit of his character. The show's title sequence, set to Wig Wam's 2010 scorcher 'Do Ya Wanna Taste It', is both a showcase of an awesome song and increasingly hilarious as the cast does an intricately choreographed dance with completely deadpan faces. The extensive playlist features music from acts old and new, from The Cruel Intentions to The Quireboys to Mötley Crüe. It's likely the most metal show on TV right now.
It'll be interesting to see where the show goes now that a second season has been announced, especially considering the ramifications of where the final episode left off. Peacemaker delivers the goods as far comic book antics go, but it also proves to be one of the more creative takes on the material. It's entertainment at its best - it's wacky, intelligent, original, and plenty badass to boot.
'Peacemaker' is streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
