PEACEMAKER [HBO Max]

If you’re looking for something wacky and different, Peacemaker fits the bill. Peacemaker is an American television series created by James Gunn for the streaming service HBO Max, based on the DC Comics character Peacemaker. It is the first DC Extended Universe (DCEU) television series and a spin-off from the 2021 film The Suicide Squad. It follows Christopher Smith / Peacemaker as he joins the black ops squad “Project Butterfly”. 

After recovering from the injuries he suffered during the events of The Suicide Squad (2021), Christopher Smith / Peacemaker is forced to join the mysterious A.R.G.U.S. black ops squad “Project Butterfly”, who are on a mission to identify and eliminate parasitic butterfly-like creatures in human form around the United States and the world.

John Cena stars as the title character, reprising his role from The Suicide Squad. Gunn wrote all eight episodes of the series while completing work on The Suicide Squad.  Filming took place in Vancouver, Canada, from January to July 2021, with Gunn directing five of the episodes.

Plenty of action and mayhem result from the missions as Peacemaker and his colleagues take on a menacing, mysterious threat.

Peacemaker premiered on HBO Max on January 13, 2022 with its first three episodes. The rest of the series is being released weekly through February 17. If you enjoyed The Suicide Squad you’ll enjoy the antics and mis-adventures of this band of homicidal misfits. Check out the trailer below. GRADE: B+

19 thoughts on “PEACEMAKER [HBO Max]

  1. Todd Mason

    Haven’t looked at it yet. Comedian Laurie Kilmartin, on Monday’s THE JACKIE [Kashian] AND LAURIE SHOW, complained that the sexual content was too explicit for her teen son (but she is a bit overprotective–the sound guy on their show demurred and suggested that when he was a teen, this kind of thing would be right up his alley, and her response was that Kids Today Aren’t the Free-Range Kids of the 80s and 90s, not quite as persuasive an argument as I think she thinks it is).

    Will check it out.

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  2. Cap'n Bob Napier

    Stilkl waiting for yesterday’s comment to be moderated! All I know of this show is that comic/Kirby fans are incensed! Don’t matter to me, I don’t get premium channels!

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      1. Cap'n Bob Napier

        One of these daays you’ll have to show us a photo of the widder woman! Could it be she’s young and foxy?

  3. patti abbott

    I continue to be astounded at how many shows deal with comic book characters. It can’t be just to attract young boys because if my grandson is any indication, they are mostly playing games online and rarely watch TV. So I guess a lot of older men are fans too. And maybe women? Is there any comic book character left to base a show on or are they all part of a franchise. What does it say about us that we believe the problems of the world can be solved by characters from the DC Comic World or MCU? It really is fascinating. Once only James Bond was out there saving us but now there’s a fleet of saviors. Or not.

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    1. patti abbott

      I guess the increasing need to produce content for all of the streaming channels we now have made this happen. There is a text to use for one thing. It is really interesting. The graphic nature makes imagining it easier too.

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      1. george Post author

        Patti, producing content that people will pay to see continues to be a risky business. Netflix hit the Jackpot with THE SQUID GAME but needs more to keep subscribers happy…and paying.

    2. Byron

      I’d say it’s mostly middle-age men and a big chunk of 20-30 somethings including a fair amount of women. It’s definitely a shockingly huge chunk of the population plus a lot of viewers who just go with the flow and watch this stuff because it’s the big thing right now. From what I can tell, they are not even real comic book fans like the ones I grew up with. This new crowd seems weirdly fetishy but then again almost everyone seems to react that way to pop culture these days, especially television. Not my cup of tea even remotely but I’ve been out of touch with the mainstream since childhood. I have to think this will eventually run its course just as big action movies did at the end of the 90s.

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      1. george Post author

        Byron, MARVEL and DC tapped into an audience that will reliably go see their movies and tune into their TV series. It’s all about the money.

    3. george Post author

      Patti, “saviors” might be too strong a word. Peacemaker is a knucklehead superhero who specializes in destruction. I’m not sure he’s saving anything.

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  4. Todd Mason

    It’s what James Bond and the Impossible Missions Force and Quinn Martin’s vision of the FBI well as all the western heroes and all the local cops, many fantasized about as much as the comics characters. Of course, the MCU, DCU (there are till plenth of Other comics Us to exploit) with nothing ever fimly set in poured concrete, much less stone. (Something also shared with film, folklore, too much of Consensus history, and the like…it shifts to serve the caller of the current tune,)

    Oddly enough, some comics are more sophisticated than most of these films/tv, and more grounded than pretending that our utterly imperfect political leaders are greater than they are or have ever been. You take your succor as you find it. Not fooling one’s self is the goal.

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    1. george Post author

      Todd, I don’t mind watching a MARVEL or DC movie provided it’s entertaining. MARVEL seems to have perfected a formula that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars per movie. DC…not so much.

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  5. Angela

    I wouldn’t watch this if not for Tom, but it’s nice to have something we can both agree on and somewhat enjoy. I like the humor element, which is hard to find these days. And I like the idea of the pet/sidekick eagle. I’m a sucker for animal characters.

    Reply

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