The following contains spoilers for Peacemaker Episode 6 “Murn After Reading.”As HBO Max’sPeacemaker series races toward its conclusion, not only are the answers to questions about the Butterflies increasing, but the Easter eggs are coming less frequently to make sure all of the plot points are being addressed. That makes perfect sense considering most of the main characters are now aware that one of their own is a Butterfly, a large number of Butterflies are after them, and Peacemaker’s father is after them as well. There’s a lot of conflict on the way.
In “Murn After Reading,” there aren’t a ton of Easter eggs for comic book fans, but there are a few for them to catch. There are also quite a few pop culture nods in this episode, just as there have been throughout the series.
Peacemaker Has A Lot Of Superhero Opinions
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
It seems that nearly every episode involves Peacemaker name dropping at least one superhero the audience is familiar with, particularly those who already exist in the DC Extended Universe. He’s previously referenced Aquaman, Superman, and Batman, so he’s making his way through most of the DCEU’s Justice League. In Episode 6, he references two more heroes: Flash and Wonder Woman. The only one he hasn't referenced at this point is Cyborg.
While he doesn’t actually know Wonder Woman, but claims to have locked eyes with her across a party, Peacemaker does maintain that he’s met the Flash and doesn’t particularly like him. The little girl who asks about the Flash, prompting the story, is even wearing a Flash logo tee shirt in the scene.
All Of Those Alien Invasion Nods
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
When Vigilante and Peacemaker try to get the Butterfly leader to talk to them, they wonder about just what the Butterflies are doing on Earth. Neither of them go for the movie trope of the creatures wanting to take over the planet, but instead, list a large number of other traits from alien invasion movies.
Amongst the movies the duo note are Pitch Black, E.T., Alien, and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
The Crimson Avenger
Murn’s man on the inside of the police force is Locke. Locke tries his best to divert attention from Peacemaker and the Project Butterfly team, but it doesn’t entirely work, and that leads him having to eliminate the police officers who witnessed him letting Peacemaker and Vigilante go. When he recounts a false suspect who killed the officers, Locke mentions a white man with red hair, striped shirt, red tie, a mask, and a fedora.
In terms of a pop culture reference, the detectives link that description to the old McDonald’s commercial character the Hamburglar. That’s not the only character that description resembles though. The original Crimson Avenger, who debuted in Detective Comics in 1938 is actually one of the first DC heroes to wear a mask and has been adapted a few times in the nearly 100 years since. He was also one of the founding members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, a team of heroes that has been referenced in CW’s Stargirl series.
Peacemaker’s Diary
The audience knew that Leota planting a diary in Peacemaker’s home would have to come back to bite her eventually. Unfortunately, it’s not just her, but the whole team. The diary features a lot of stories about aliens taking over the government, and with the entire police department now inhabited by Butterflies, it’s being used as a piece of evidence to justify hunting Peacemaker down.
While the few pages that are flipped through are hard to read, it does appear that at least some of the stories of aliens on the pages are based on what Peacemaker actually experienced. One of the pages features a blue creature that resembles what the audience sees of the starfish Starro in The Suicide Squad. That could have been intended to lend some authenticity to Peacemaker’s claims when the diary was unearthed as Amanda Waller originally planned.
Gotham
Gotham is probably the best known city in any DC universe, whether it be comics, movies, or tv. Fans know that’s where Batman lives, and where most of the big name comic book villains make their home. This episode, however, also reveals that Leota and her wife live in Gotham, which does seem like a strange location for someone who seems to want to stay far away from big criminal acts as Gotham is easily one of the most dangerous fictional cities.
The Episode Title
Fans might have clued into the fact that the fake diary would be unearthed in this episode if they paid attention to the title of the episode. “Murn After Reading” is a play on the Coen Brothers movie Burn After Reading.
In the movie, some gym employees mistakenly identify a man’s memoirs as classified government documents and try to use them to make a little extra money. While the process isn’t exactly the same, Peacemaker’s diary stands in for the memoirs.
Peacemaker is available to stream on HBO Max.
