The Suicide Squad spinoff series, Peacemaker has finally arrived on HBO Max and it's not an overstatement to say the show is one of if not the best superhero series on any streaming service today. While Disney Plus has managed to make quite a name for itself for continuing the MCU, HBO Max could have a gold mine on its hands should it continue moving in this direction.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Peacemaker is that the show centers on a character that isn't among the most popular superheroes or villains in the DC universe. The character has gotten his own comics in the past, so he's not a complete unknown, but it's safe to say that those who aren't DC Comics devotees hadn't heard of the man that John Cena has given life to before he made his big-screen appearance in The Suicide Squad. Despite the fact that the character might not be all that well known, the first thing writer and director James Gunn did right is that he didn't make the series an origin story. At least not in the strictest sense of the word.
Peacemaker Jumps Into Things At Just The Right Time
Rather than starting off the series by showing how Peacemaker became Peacemaker, the HBO Max series picks up a few months after where The Suicide Squad left off. Despite being shot and having a building fall on him, the man known as John Smith in his non-super life was relatively untouched, only having to replace a clavicle. Once he gets released from the hospital - but not before he has a hilarious exchange with a janitor about Aquaman - he heads home and is almost immediately thrown back into action by a smaller Argus team hand-picked by Amanda Waller.
It tuns out this is the perfect approach and is handled perfectly by Gunn, despite none of the show's main characters being well known to the average HBO Max watcher. Part of the reason the lack of backstory works so well is because Gunn is able to thread in a bit of backstory as viewers meet the team. For instance, when Peacemaker goes to see his dad, it's not hard to understand why the wanna-be hero turned mass murderer is the way that he is.
The same can be said for the Argus team, who get similar treatment, though obviously not yet as in-depth in the series' first three episodes. Audiences were at least introduced to John Economos and Emilia Harcourt in The Suicide Squad but Clemson Murn and Leota Adebayo are new additions for the HBO Max series. Through three episodes, there's still a lot to learn about all four but they're also already fleshed out characters that obviously have distinct backstories shown in very subtle ways. Harcourt explains why she's so hard-core and cold when she tells Peacemaker a story about being given a glock at a young age. Murn explains to Economos that he's literally never shared an emotion with another person. And for Adebayo, the audience meets her family as she gets ready to do a job she's not well suited for, at first blush.
Where the show really shines is when it introduces characters aren't going to be on screen all that often, but still are more than just cardboard cutouts. When Peacemaker goes to visit his father, he has an exchange with a neighbor that stands out mainly because Gunn took the time for it to be a real conversation. The story often stops and dwells on little side stories and jokes just long enough. It's not trying to move on to the next big action scene too quickly. While most of what happens in these scenes is hilariously unbelievable, they do a fantastic job of painting a picture of the world of Peacemaker.
Dark Comedy Tone Hits Perfection
One big way in which Peacemaker stands out from the other superhero series that have hit in the last few years is that it absolutely is supposed to be a comedy. While Marvel shows like Loki and Hawkeye had humorous moments from time to time, they are in fact, superhero dramas. On the flip side, while Peacemaker has some genuine moments - such as when the titular "hero" can't bring himself to pull the trigger because he believes he might be aiming down the sights at innocents - it is geared to make viewers laugh. And yes, the show is the very definition of a dark comedy. Most of the jokes are buried in incredibly cringeworthy moments.
There's the part where the Asian detective was just called "chopsticks" by Peacemaker's racist father and her response is to angrily call him "fork," followed by her partner being incredulous that she picked such a weak comeback. The delivery allows the entire audience to laugh at the handling of a truly gross moment on the HBO Max show with laughter.
Of course, the grossest and most hilarious moments are when the two "superheroes" in the show, Peacemaker and Vigilante are demonstrating that they are truly broken human beings that don't have any understanding of just how broken they are. Whether it's when the main character is telling a woman he just met that he's so well hung that he used to be called "chimp-arm" or when Vigilante's alter-ego is telling a coworker that he's happy because his imaginary girlfriend is pregnant and then inviting the coworker to an imaginary abortion; there are a ton of laugh out loud moments.
None of the moments are more laugh out loud than when Vigilante catches Peacemaker in a bit of a breakdown and the two then have a two-minute discussion about whether or not Vigilante was exposing himself like Louis C.K. The absolute confusion in the back and forth shows just how well the cast, in particular Freddie Stroma and John Cena play off one another. The comedic timing of the cast, as long as their ability to really bring the action when they want to, and some incredible scripts through the first three episodes of Peacemaker, make this easily the first absolute must-watch show of 2022.
Peacemaker episodes 1-3 are now available on HBO Max.