The return of John Cena’s Peacemaker for the fourth time has been a big source of confusion since the villain turned sort-of-anti-hero’s DCU canon survival was announced. Whether he was ever a full DCEU character is up for debate, but like Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, the important point was always that he was set to survive a timeline reset. Where others like Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and almost all of the pre-James Gunn era of DC’s screen universe were cast aside, the former WWE champion made the jump. But all along, James Gunn promised we’d get an explanation.
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In the end, Peacemaker Season 2’s explanation for the DCU canon confusion wasn’t anything like as complex as it could have been. There was a bit of a hand wave and a retcon to Peacemaker Season 1’s controversial Justice League scene. Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller’s cameos as Aquaman and The Flash still may have happened, but they didn’t happen in this universe, where the events immediately after Team Peacemaker’s battle with the butterflies went a different way. And in that change is a huge shockwave that impacts Superman and Supergirl. Warning: The following article contains SPOILERS for Peacemaker Season 2, episode 1.
Peacemaker’s Retcon Makes Superman & Supergirl Justice Gang Members
In James Gunn’s Superman, released to theaters just 6 weeks ago, it was very evident that the Justice Gang consisted of three members and three members only: Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, and Hawkgirl. The Gang and Superman were presented as completely separate entities: one a free-wheeling vigilante, and the others a sort of corporate antithesis. At one point, very memorably, the Gang even took on an interdimensional imp as Superman sat the battle out. It was, in essence, very clear that Superman was not specifically a part of the Justice Gang. Only now, that’s not so firm.
In Gunn’s retcon of the Justice League scene in Peacemaker Season 1, the Justice Gang turn up in their place, with all three original members in place, plus both Superman and Supergirl. Not only does that present a very different image of Supergirl to the one we saw in Superman‘s ending – one of a fully functional, active superhero – but it also suggests Superman may be part of the Gang. Crucially, the flashback shows Danielle Brooks’ Leota Adebayo saying “…I was thinking, like, maybe you could call in the Justice Gang”. Not Superman, Supergirl, and the Justice Gang. Not “some of your superhero contacts”, but specifically the Justice Gang. We were meant to read this scene as both Superman and Supergirl being part of the Justice Gang. Which is a pretty big change to Superman‘s ending.
The Justice Gang Retcon Makes Gunn’s Comments On Superman’s Sequel More Telling
This is perhaps why James Gunn has been so cagey about what the sequel to Superman will actually be. He’s referred to it as the next stage of the “Superman Saga” and has consciously said while there is a follow-up in the works, it’s probably best not to consider it a “straight-up Superman sequel“. Somewhat inevitably, lots of people put two and two together and got World’s Finest as the sequel, in a move hauntingly reminiscent of the DCEU ignoring Man of Steel 2 in favor of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. While Peacemaker‘s new retcon flashback isn’t necessarily evidence that we’re actually getting a Justice Gang movie, it does suggest why it might be best to let go of the idea of another solo Superman project.
If Gunn is invested in teaming Superman up with other heroes – which we already knew thanks to Superman and his DCU world-building agenda – then Superman setting out alone wouldn’t really make sense. We’re not in the MCU here where the “where are the Avengers” question comes around any time a solo hero takes on a global threat: heroes are intertwined as collaborators. Do we genuinely think Superman will be part of the Justice Gang? Probably: there’s no way we’re not getting Gunn’s answer to the Justice League at some point soon. That doesn’t mean it’s not surprising to see them bundled together so seamlessly already.
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