The DCU Is Hurting Itself by Omitting a Major DCEU Character From Its Biggest Story

Rebooting an entire franchise is no easy feat. There is so much to consider, from casting decisions that may be too good to let go to deciding which characters would be better off in the scrap heap than on the big screen. The DC Universe, for the most part, does away with every aspect of its predecessor, the DC Extended Universe, wanting to go in a totally different direction. However, there’s one part of the DCEU that makes the transition: James Gunn’s storyline that begins in The Suicide Squad. Peacemaker’s arc didn’t reach its conclusion, so Gunn is running it back with the 11th Street Kids in his new DCU franchise.

Peacemaker Season 2 is diving headfirst into its DCEU connections, bringing Rick Flag back to explore the fallout from his death in The Suicide Squad. A couple of characters still aren’t over the tragic event and place all of the blame at Peacemaker’s feet, but they aren’t the only people who might be dealing with grief. There’s at least one other DCEU character that Peacemaker is ignoring who deserves to go after their pound of flesh before Christopher Smith’s story is all said and done.

Katana Has Rick Flag’s Back in the DCEU

Flag finds himself between a rock and a hard place in Suicide Squad. A.R.G.U.S. knows that a major threat is on the way, so Amanda Waller moves forward with her Task Force X initiative and puts her right-hand man in charge. A trip to Belle Reeve is the first task on the docket, and it proves to be a solid choice because Waller finds more than a few warm bodies to throw at her problem. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), and the rest all get chips put in their heads and get loaded up on a plane heading to Midway City. While they all have to take part in the mission, there’s one character present who doesn’t: Katana. Flag introduces her as his bodyguard, willing to put down any team member who looks at him funny.

Suicide Squad doesn’t explain why Katana is so loyal to Flag, but she clearly views him as a friend, never turning against him despite learning that A.R.G.U.S. is responsible for everything that’s going on in Midway. She even goes as far as to fight the incredibly powerful Enchantress, who is using Flag’s girlfriend’s body to attempt to take over the world. The battle ends in victory for Task Force X, and everyone who took part gets their own kind of reward. Katana, however, disappears after the events of Suicide Squad, failing to make an appearance during its follow-up. That’s understandable, as The Suicide Squad brings in a lot of new faces, but Peacemaker is all about the people Flag leaves behind – a group that should include Katana.

Peacemaker Owes Katana Just as Much as Anyone Else

Peacemaker Season 2 is all about Smith trying to make up for his mistakes. Not everyone is buying the hero act, though. Rick Flag Sr. is hot on Peacemaker’s trail, waiting for him to slip up so he can bring him down. The new head of A.R.G.U.S. is so motivated that he even convinces one of the anti-hero’s best friends, Emilia Harcourt, to turn on him. As the show reveals, Harcourt has her own reasons for joining the cast, as Flag was her only real friend. The two shared a moment before he shipped out for Corto Maltese, with Flag expressing interest in making things with Harcourt official. She didn’t want to start beef with June Moone, so she tabled the idea. Of course, Flag died shortly after, leaving a hole in Harcourt’s heart.

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While adding another layer to Harcourt makes Peacemaker‘s story more interesting, it’s not necessarily the best decision for the franchise as a whole. Gunn wants everyone to understand that the Suicide Squad movies still matter, but it’s hard to accept that when one of the very few characters to have a bond with Flag is nowhere to be found when he’s the center of attention. The best course of action might have been for Flag to reach out to Katana first, bringing her into the fold instead of working with Harcourt, who clearly doesn’t have the same fire burning within her as she did previously. Katana didn’t save the world with Peacemaker, and it would have taken her very little time to drop his head on Flag Sr.’s desk.

Peacemaker Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.

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