James Gunn’s Superman has kicked off the DCU, and both it and the return of John Cena’s Peacemaker in the upcoming Peacemaker Season 2 might have a different place in the DCU’s timeline than many fans were expecting. Cena’s Peacemaker first appeared in Gunn’s 2021 DCEU movie The Suicide Squad, before headlining his own eponymous series on HBO Max, with the first season arriving in 2022. Cena’s Christopher Smith a.k.a. Peacemaker makes a cameo in Superman, and while his is a quick appearance, it might say more about Peacemaker Season 2 and the DCU than it seems to at face value.
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As a series originating from the DCEU, Peacemaker Season 2 will serve as a bridge of sorts into the DCU, though the details on the two in terms of continuity and characters featured in each remain unclear. With that said, Peacemaker’s appearance in Superman harkens back to his DCEU role in one key way, which might be telling about how the early entries of the DCU are going to unfold.
Peacemaker in Superman Resembles the DCEU Version of the Character
Peacemaker’s cameo in Superman consists of a brief news interview, with John Cena’s Christopher Smith chiding the Man of Steel in typically macho terms. Peacemaker’s appearance also features Cena in full costume in the interview, and despite its brevity, the cameo itself is telling due to the specific design of Cena’s Peacemaker suit. The big takeaway, in that regard, is that the suit is the same design as Peacemaker’s suit seen in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1.
What makes that potentially crucial and telling about the timeline of the DCU’s first couple of movies and shows is that the design differs greatly from the suit worn by the alternate (and presumably DCU-based) Peacemaker seen in the trailer for Peacemaker Season 2. The helmet of the alternate Peacemaker is more compact and far less reflective than Cena’s initial version of the character, while the shirt includes both a darker shade of red and a different eagle insignia on the chest. That could be crucial for determining the place of Peacemaker Season 2 in the DCU, especially when coupled with certain known details about the show’s second season.
Peacemaker Season 2 Is Playing With the Multiverse (& Includes a Very Different Peacemaker)
Peacemaker Season 2 is shaping up to a be a critical juncture point for the DCU, and a lot of that has to do with its direct relationship with the preceding DCEU and Peacemaker’s cinematic origins therein. Peacemaker Season 2’s aforementioned trailer already teased multiverse elements with Christopher Smith meeting a doppelganger of his under unexplained circumstances. Moreover, James Gunn has also stated that Season 2 will explain the continuity relationship between the DCEU and DCU and elements being traded between the two, including the Justice League’s cameo in Season 1 only being canon to the first season.
Further details about Peacemaker Season 2 have also leaked through snippets of a theatrical teaser played before screenings of Superman, which further tease the doorways of DC’s multiverse as a major element of the show. This is especially noticeable in the teaser, mentioning that “there’s another dimension that’s exactly the same as ours”, with Peacemaker himself commenting, “but it’s better!” This is a pretty clear reference to alternate realities as part of the fabric of DC in comics, movies, and television, and paired with Peacemaker’s cameo in Superman, this could point to other possibilities for the show’s second season and the DCU.
Peacemaker’s Superman Cameo Could Indicate a Lot About the DCU’s Introductory Timeline
It’s become quite clear that Peacemaker Season 2 will be a very multiverse-heavy comedic adventure for the silver-helmeted anti-hero, but its timeframe in relation to Superman might be different from what many had initially expected. The fact that Peacemaker is wearing the DCEU version of his suit in his Superman cameo indicates that he is the same version of the character who had previously been seen in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1. That lends credence to the growing fan theory of Cena’s DCEU Peacemaker jumping from one universe to another and swapping places with his DCU counterpart.
In turn, Peacemaker’s Superman cameo also hints at the second season of his show taking place either entirely or partially before the events of Superman. This would provide ample time for Cena’s DCEU Peacemaker to make the switch (and possible assassination) of his DCU doppelganger while retaining his original suit in his new home world. With Gunn placing further emphasis on Peacemaker Season 2 as revealing a great deal about the DCU’s future direction (including a major DC character cameo), it seems likely that the series, along with Peacemaker’s Superman came,o could end up shining a lot more light on the direction of the franchise and Peacemaker’s role in it.
Superman is now playing in theaters, and Peacemaker season two will debut on HBO Max on August 21st.
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image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
