HBO Max’s Peacemaker is continuing full steam ahead in its first season, and each new episode has taken fans’ expectations of the live-action DC universe to new heights. The series chronicles the adventures of Christopher Smith / Peacemaker (John Cena) and his team of unlikely allies, as they try to take down the mystery of Project Butterfly. Along the way, there have been some bizarre references of DC Comics canon, some wonderful character moments, and a conspiracy that has continued to build upon itself. In the series’ fifth episode, that included one of the bloodiest scenes that the show has had yet — and quite possibly one of the weirdest. Spoilers for Episode 5 of Peacemaker, “Monkey Dory”, below! Only look if you want to know!
Videos by ComicBook.com
The episode saw Peacemaker and the rest of his team continuing to investigate Project Butterfly, and discovering the distribution center for the Butterflies’ food source. The attempt to take the facility down quickly grew into a bloody and deadly affair — one that was only escalated with the arrival of Charlie the Gorilla, who was hinted as having escaped the local zoo in Episode 4. The gorilla, which was possessed by a Butterfly, nearly attacked Peacemaker, only to be sawed in the chest with a chainsaw and killed by John Economos (Steve Agee).
The scene — and the big hero moment that occurs for Economos during it — is definitely one of a kind, and also subverts fans’ expectations that the gorilla might have really been one of the more well-known apes in DC canon, whether that be Gorilla Grodd or otherwise. Here are a few reactions to that Peacemaker scene.