With Superman in the books, the time has finally come to see how DC Studios’ rebooted universe will continue with the second season of James Gunn’s John Cena-led TV series, Peacemaker. Even before the show’s release, Peacemaker existed in a unique transitional phase between the old and new DC Universes, leading fans to wonder which elements would carry over and which would be left behind.
The answer to that, as gleaned from trailers and the occasional Gunn interview about its premiere being not safe for work, will have something to do with pocket universes and Peacemaker contending with himself in some capacity. So without further ado, let’s see what Gunn and DC Studios have been cooking up.
During a season one recap that brings us up to speed, noting Christopher Smith, (a.k.a. Peacemaker)’s relatively normal upbringing with his racist father, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick), we’re reminded that his dear old dad has a pocket dimension in his house. Unlike Lex Luthor’s pocket dimension, which he uses as a prison for those who slight him, Auggie (a.k.a. the White Dragon), utilizes it as a storage facility for all his gadgets, including Chris’ many Inspector Gadget-coded helmets. The explosive finale of season one saw Auggie killed, yet still present as a ghost haunting Chris in his pursuit of being recognized as a legitimate superhero. Surely, the show’s focus on pocket dimensions will prove to be a valuable narrative device later this season.
Why focus on the recap, you ask? Well, it’s already done some retconning on the season one finale. Famously, the finale saw the Justice League’s Wonder Woman, Superman, the Flash, and Aquaman show up late as hell to the party. However, Peacemaker season two’s recap is already showing its hand in taking creative liberties, changing how it incorporates its superhero cameos. Now, instead of the Justice League showing up, it’s silhouettes of the Justice Gang’s Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern, with Superman and Supergirl in tow.
Just like the Peacemaker finale, the recap only features Hawkgirl and Green Lantern actors Isabela Merced and Nathan Fillion. Appropriately, they barb back at Chris, with Hawkgirl calling him a meathead and Fillion’s Guy Gardner taking issue with Peacemaker spreading rumors that he’s a puke freak.
From here, the first episode, “The Ties That Grind,” begins with Chris rolling out of bed, awakened by Eagly on a cold winter night. After a reflective glance out his window, Chris quickly punches in a code and stands at the threshold of a pocket dimension doorway, wearing nothing but a shirt and his tighty whities, as he witnesses an aurora borealis light show as whatever cosmic mumbo jumbo morphs into his Peacemaker lair.
Peacemaker’s lair apparently doubles as a communal garbage incinerator; a “crypt-keeping looking” alien guy appears, shrugs off Chris’ “good morning,” incinerates a giant rat, and then waltzes back through another interdimensional door like he strolled right out of Rick and Morty. But we’ve no time for interdimensional pleasantries, because Eagly discovers there’s another door, equipped with the same keypad, as Chris’ inside the pocket universe. What’s more, just outside of it is a pile of off-brand-looking Peacemaker helmets.
After punching in the same door code as his own, Chris stumbles into a well-furnished trophy room with eerie villain music, and something is amiss. This adversarial alternate reality has a newspaper clipping of Chris, his father, and what can only be assumed is his brother in the Evergreen Sentinel, showing them being awarded them the key to the city for being a top superhero trio. To add more credence to his strange discovery, Chris is greeted by an alt-version of his father, who wonders if he’s been sleepwalking again. Chris, overwhelmed by this reunion not being a ghostly haunting of his father like in the season one finale, runs away in terror.
There’s a pocket dimension inside Chris’ home, and it leads to a world where he didn’t kill his dad and wasn’t a raging racist and homophobe (as far as we know). All things weighing on Chris’ mind that he’s, like a man, trying to push down as he drives on the passenger’s side of Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks)’s ride as she tells him about her apparent breakup with her girlfriend.
Instead of blindly parroting Adebayo, he suggests that her ex was probably concerned about her safety. Adebayo counters this by pointing out that Chris seems to think he’s invincible and immune to danger during their missions, despite her concerns about his bravado. Their conversation steers into Chris asking about his crush, Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and whether she has spoken with Adebayo since the season one finale, which saw her hospitalized. Naturally, Chris is only concerned with whether or not Harcourt has talked about him, which she hasn’t. Womp womp.
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