WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Suicide Squad, now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
Is Peacemaker a prequel or a sequel? The new HBO Max show is a spinoff of the aptly titled The Suicide Squad, for which writer and director James Gunn has promised a high body count. This has led to speculation about the fate of Task Force X’s most bloodthirsty member, played by John Cena, as his death would be an obstacle for the premise of his solo series.
Ultimately, Peacemaker is shot by Bloodsport (Idris Elba), indicating that the spinoff is set before The Suicide Squad. That is, until the movie’s post-credits scene reveals that Peacemaker is still alive. He has been hospitalized and handed over to John Economos (Steve Agee) and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), two of the aides for Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Both Economos and Harcourt are slated to return in the HBO Max series, so it will surely pick up from this moment.
Peacemaker’s shocking survival comes after he tries to murder Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and bury America’s involvement with Project Starfish. His willingness to slaughter anyone threatening his vision of freedom put a bullet in his neck. It also led to the murder of someone he considered “a hero,” Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), who died trying to release the truth behind Starro the Conqueror to the public.
Indeed, Flag used his last words to label his killer “a joke” for the irony of his name. Given that Peacemaker is, as Cena himself put it, “a loud, obnoxious, bro-ey douchebag,” his ego may not allow him to recognize the hypocrisy of championing pacifism as a bloody executioner. The sheer volume of misfortune will nevertheless haunt him while he exists under Waller’s thumb, and if the trend continues, he may yet ponder what Flag was telling him.
On the other hand, Peacemaker’s stubborn adherence to his ideology may position him to replace Flag as Waller’s most dependable asset. He is all too willing to cover up the USA’s murkiest maneuvers overseas to prevent political turmoil back home, which perfectly aligns with Waller’s vision for Task Force X. Gunn, who has also written all eight episodes of Peacemaker, has said that the program will “delve into current world issues,” so it seems likely that the character will continue doing untold damage to foreign nations on America’s behalf.
That is, if Waller can keep a tight grip on him, which is no guarantee given how many rebelled against her in The Suicide Squad. The main reason she placed Economos and Harcourt in charge of Peacemaker was to punish them for helping the Squad save Corto Maltese, after she was knocked unconscious by Flo Crawley (Tinashe Kajese). Coupled with the late Flag’s frustration with being the government’s lackey, it appears that her infamous iron fist is beginning to lose its hold, which could spell disaster with a wildcard like Peacemaker.
His and Waller’s goals have so far aligned, but if he was convinced that she stood in the way of peace, he would not hesitate to take her out as he did Flag. Whether that means going through Waller’s aides to do it, or if they could be convinced to betray her a second time, is less clear. There’s no guarantee that Waller will even appear in the HBO Max spinoff, but her shadow will loom over all the characters, and undoubtedly influence whether Peacemaker will redeem himself or fall further into villainy.
In short, The Suicide Squad provides many avenues for Peacemaker to explore. By saving the “toilet seat” wearing villain from certain death, it has given him a lot to work with or around, including his new minders, the memory of Rick Flag and the bullet wound in his jugular. Exactly how he will continue his bloody quest for peace, and just how many adults or children will die to accomplish it, is something only his own show can answer when it airs next year.
The Suicide Squad is now in theaters and on HBO Max, with Peacemaker premiering on HBO Max in January 2022.
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