- Peacemaker season 2 makes a big change to its predecessor’s finale
- Fans have long wondered how it would handle a key scene from season 1 episode 8
- Everything else from last season is deemed canon in the DCU
Ever since Peacemaker season 2 was first announced, one big question has plagued fans of the hit HBO Max show: what aspects of its forebear’s story will be treated as canon in the nascent DC Universe (DCU)?
It’s a query that James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, and Peacemaker‘s head writer and occasional director, hasn’t answered as clearly as many fans had hoped. Now, though, this season’s premiere has – and it’s solved a big mystery about how Gunn would handle a cameo-filled scene from last season’s finale, too.
Full spoilers immediately follow for Peacemaker season 2 episode 1, titled ‘The Ties That Grind’. Turn back now if you haven’t seen it yet.
The short answer is: all of season 1 is canon in the DCU. Well, everything except that cameo-stuffed scene, which I’ll get to later.
‘The Ties That Grind’ opens with John Cena’s eponymous anti-hero – real name Chris Smith – answering questions from a class full of kids. It’s a funny and unexpected way to open this season of the DCU Chapter One project, especially when you consider the dichotomy between the the foul-mouthed, substance-abusing titular character and his innocent inquirers.
Anyway, when Smith is asked if he has an origin story, we’re treated to a ‘Previously On…’ montage from one of the best HBO Max shows‘ debut season. That includes clips of his traumatic childhood, joining ‘Project Butterfly’, killing his xenophobic and toxic father, and saving the world from an alien invasion. Cena even provides a voice-over saying “previously on the DCU”, which basically confirms season 1 took place in the DCU instead of its now-defunct forebear, aka the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
It’s the end of this footage-based collage that addresses the multi-cameo scene I’ve been alluding to. That being, the DCEU’s Justice League appearing after Smith and the 11th Street Kids defeat the extraterrestrial Butterflies to stop them taking over planet Earth.
As the 11th Street Kids triumphantly walked away from a job well done in last season’s finale, they were greeted by the Justice League. Admittedly, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ezra Miller’s The Flash are the only actors who actually appear on the screen, but silhouettes of their fellow heroes – Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg – are shown.
Peacemaker 2 retcons this Justice League cameo. Indeed, the ‘previously on…’ segment reveals that sextuplet have been replaced the Justice Gang – i.e. Edi Gathegi’s Mister Terrific (who only appears in silhouette form), Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner/Green Lantern. The trio are also joined by outlines of David Corenswet’s Superman and Milly Alcock’s Supergirl, even though the Kryptonian pair aren’t part of the Justice Gang.
But I digress. Lambasting their belated appearance, Smith greets them in the same way he did the Justice League last season, saying “you’re late, you f*****g d*******s!”. Then, in a very brief scene designed to replace Aquaman and The Flash’s short and semi-amusing exchange from season 1, Hawkgirl and Gardner have a similarly fleeting chat.
So, problem solved, right? As long as you don’t go back and re-watch season 1 episode 8, aka ‘It’s Cow or Never’. Speaking as part of a roundtable interview attended by TechRadar, Gunn admitted that the retooled Justice Gang scene from this season’s premiere won’t replace the Justice League one in the season 1 finale.
“I wish I could do that,” Gunn replied when asked if he’d swap out the Justice League scene for the updated Justice Gang one. “But, I can’t, because it’s too expensive. I think we’d rather spend the money on a few more visual effects shots for Supergirl.
“The other thing is normal people don’t give a s**t about all this canon stuff as intimately [as diehard fans do],” he continued. “They’re just like ‘Oh cool, Peacemaker is in Superman‘ or ‘Oh, it’s Alien and Predator together’. It doesn’t matter if it’s not completely consistent with the past, so I though the simple way was really the best, which is just saying ‘Yeah, this world is a little different’. We know there are other universes, and this is one where everything is exactly the same as what happened in season one, except for the Justice League’s appearance.”
Peacemaker season 2 episode is out now. Read my Peacemaker season 2 release schedule to find out when new entries will arrive, or check out my Peacemaker season 2 review for some clues about what’s to come in episodes 2 through 5.
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