Peacemaker (2022–)

What is Peacemaker Season 2 About?

Peacemaker Season 2 begins with the jingoistic anti-hero struggling with the fallout from his past actions. He returns home to his father’s workshop, only to discover a doorway to an alternate dimension where he’s a celebrated hero. And to make it even sweeter, this universe’s Emilia Harcourt is smitten with him. Everything is going his way, but does the “best dimension ever” hold a darker side?

Our Honest Peacemaker Season 2 Review

Okay, let’s cut to the chase; we loved the second series of Peacemaker. The original was a strong start, but this one takes it to the next level. DC Comics has historically struggled to compete with the all-conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this series and the recent Superman movie go a long way towards evening the score. 

For starters, the script is better. This series sends John Cena’s antihero into an alternate universe which seems too good to be true, and his adventures are consistently entertaining. The humour is sharper, the action is well executed, and Cena’s performance is terrific. He is charismatic and violent, but he’s also a naturally funny screen presence. He managed to make us laugh just with a few well-timed facial expressions, then had us sympathising with him mere minutes later. Peacemaker Season 2 is great. Watch it as soon as you can find time. 

What Do the Critics Think of Peacemaker Season 2?

Peacemaker Season 2 received near-universal acclaim from professional critics. It was called an improvement over its predecessor, with the cast – especially John Cena – all receiving praise.

• “Anchored by great work from John Cena, Peacemaker’s second season raises its already high bar with a well-judged blend of heart, madness, and an ass-kicking eagle.” – Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine.

• “Gunn adds the sort of gratuitous cartoon violence he’d never get away with working for Marvel and its overlords at Disney. If flying eyeballs are your thing, this is your show.” – Ed Power, Daily Telegraph.

• “‘Peacemaker’ remains a standout in superhero television. … this series doesn’t stray away from its humble beginnings.” – Kaya Shunyata, RogerEbert.com 

• “It all works well enough to prove that Gunn is capable of operating within somewhat different tones, even within the same universe. And no matter what the angle, he’s prioritising comic book fun — a true relief.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence.

• “The gags and gore remain plentiful, but they’re not the dominant takeaways this time. Gunn even finds emotional resonance in the multiverse concept — something Marvel, for all its efforts in that dimension, has so far failed to locate.” – Bob Strauss, The Wrap. 

What Awards and Nominations did Peacemaker Season 2 Receive?

Peacemaker Season 2 has yet to receive any award nominations. The first series was nominated for several, so we imagine it’ll pick up a few of these:

• Best Streaming Action & Adventure Series at The Saturn Awards.
• Best Comedic Performance for John Cena at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. 
• Best Costume Design – Sci-Fi/Fantasy award at the Online Film & Television Association.
• Best Superhero Series, Limited Series, Or Made-For-TV Movie at the Critics Choice Super Awards. 

Peacemaker Season 2 Cast & Crew

Fun Facts About Peacemaker Season 2

• The events of the series take place between Superman (2025) and its sequel, Man Of Tomorrow (2027).

• Frank Grillo previously voiced Rick Flag Sr. in the animated Creature Commandos TV show (2024).

• The Kaiju that Superman fought in Metropolis returns for a brief appearance. 

• Robert Patrick improvised the ear tug in the first episode. 

• There are numerous blink-and-you’ll-miss-it differences between the two universes. For example, there are posters for mispelled rock bands in Chris’s room; Scorpions are named Scorpionz and Hanoi Rocks are spelt Hanoi Roxx. 

Themes of Peacemaker Season 2

Peacemaker season two explores the concept of ‘multiverses.’ The idea has become widespread in the past few years, most notably in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse franchise. Peacemaker series 2 arguably tackles it in the best way. 

It’s handled in a very personal, almost grounded manner. Peacemaker discovers that his alternate universe self has precisely the life he dreams of; he’s a celebrated hero and Emilia is devoted to him, plus his father and brother are still alive. The show grapples with the idea of how he adjusts to this, and whether it really is the perfect world he’s yearned for. 

How Does Peacemaker Season 2 Compare to James Gunn’s Other Work?

The obvious comparison to make here is with the first season of Peacemaker. We loved that show, but as you can probably tell, season 2 is our favourite so far. It has all the whip-crack dialogue and energy of the first series, not to mention the extreme violence and sense of fun. It improves on the writing, though and is consistently entertaining. 

We could see similarities with Gunn’s other work too. The blood and violence recalled his background in horror films like Slither (2006), while the pacing and tone were reminiscent of Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014). 

Iconic Scenes from Watch The Naked Gun (2025) 

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

• This series functions as a ‘soft reboot’ of the franchise. Where the first season was a part of the DC Extended Universe, this one exists within the DC Universe instead. Creator James Gunn originally stated the first series would not be considered canonical, but has since clarified that most of the events occurred and the characters would retain their memories of them.  

• There are numerous references to the Creature Commandos animated series. Aside from Frank Grillo reprising his role, he name-drops the fictional country of Pokolistan and mentions his back injury. This confirms that Creature Commandos is canon with the live-action DCU.

• Kupperberg Park is named for Paul Kupperberg, a writer who worked on the Peacemaker comic books.

• The recap shown before the first episode shows a heavily edited scene from the end of the first series. The Justice Gang replace the Justice League; Aquaman, The Flash, and Wonder Woman are all removed and in their place are Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern, and Supergirl is added as well.

What’s the Soundtrack Like for Peacemaker Season 2?

Peacemaker Season 2 includes a very “James Gunn” soundtrack. The director famously used retro pop and rock songs to great effect in Guardians Of The Galaxy, and he repeats the trick here. Foxy Shazam’s Oh Lord functions as the theme song, while artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Silvertide, Hanoi Rocks, and HEAT also crop up. It’s an entertaining blast of nostalgic fun.

Best Quotes from Peacemaker Season 2

Here are some of the best quotes in the new Naked Gun movie:

• “Why do all my clothes look like the Kardashians’ furniture?” – Peacemaker questions his fashion choices.

• “What kind of man takes advantage of another man’s bird blindness?” – Langston Fleury vents at the injustices of the world.

• “How many manta rays does it take for you to shut the fuck up?” – Peacemaker gets fed up with Adrian Chase’s natural history trivia. This line made one of our developers laugh so hard, we had to stop the episode for him to recover.

• “If I was making a face, then that comes with having a face.” – Langston Fleury makes a fair point.
  

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