Warning: Major spoilers for the Season 1 finale of “Peacemaker” follow below. Do not read until you’ve seen the episode.
The first season of James Gunn’s HBO Max series “Peacemaker” came to an end on Thursday with the airing of Episode 8, but while the show was largely contained to the world of John Cena’s character, the finale episode featured the series’ biggest DC connection to date.
“Peacemaker” is a continuation of the DC story that Gunn started telling in his 2021 DC film “The Suicide Squad,” which was his R-rated spin on various DC characters. With this HBO Max series – which Gunn wrote and largely directed – the story zeroed in on John Cena’s murderous Peacemaker character as he was enlisted by a group of A.R.G.U.S. agents for a secretive mission.
The mission was eventually revealed to revolve around a group of aliens known as “butterflies” who had taken over control of various humans and threatened the world. In the finale episode, Peacemaker, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) descended upon the butterflies’ secret compound where they stored a giant “cow” – a creature producing food necessary for their survival.
Earlier in the episode, Adebayo asked her mother Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) if she could send in the Justice League for help, a request that was rebuffed. While their mission was ultimately successful, they suffered multiple serious injuries, and as they’re walking away from the destroyed barn that housed the cow, the Justice League finally appears.
“You’re late, you f—king dickheads!” Peacemaker tells Superman, Aquaman, The Flash and Wonder Woman. The faces of the DC heroes are somewhat obscured, and at first it appears that the episode will just skirt by with silhouettes. But as Peacemaker walks by Aquaman, he says, “Go f—k another fish, asshole!” The episode then reveals Jason Momoa reprising his role as Aquaman responding, “I’m so f—king sick of that rumor,” with the camera whipping to Ezra Miller’s Flash who says, “It’s not a rumor.” The Justice League cameo ends with Momoa as Aquaman saying, “F—k you, Barry.”
It’s an extremely R-rated appearance by characters who thus far have been relegated to PG-13 status in the DCEU, and while we don’t see their faces the appearances of Wonder Woman and Superman look eerily similar to Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill. Gadot and Cavill don’t appear to have returned to reprise their characters, but for Superman in particular, fans will likely take note of the fact that the silhouette matches Cavill’s.
It’s unclear when or how Gunn got Momoa and Miller to reprise their characters for a profanity-laden cameo, but it pays off a running joke from throughout the series as Peacemaker is constantly spouting filthy rumors about other superheroes – including Aquaman having sex with fish.
Momoa returns as the DC character this December in the feature film sequel “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” while Miller finally gets his solo movie with “The Flash” in November.
“Peacemaker,” meanwhile, has already been renewed by HBO Max for a second season with Gunn writing and directing all the episodes. Fans will likely have to wait, however, as Gunn is currently in the middle of production on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
