“Peacemaker, which is obviously up for a solo series, has been protecting America at all costs, reminding me of Comedian from Watchmen.”
While I compared Peacemaker to The Comedian in Watchmen in my The Suicide Squad critique, I didn’t know that the Comedian was really the Peacemaker prototype. While I was doing a little research on my Peacemaker writing, I was delighted to find this information. Peacemaker was the most prominent character in The Suicide Squad. It would be quite impressive to get to know the inner face of a man who is capable of doing any kind of intervention with his obsessive fondness for his homeland. The idea was attractive. Although James Gunn wrote the Peacemaker series during the pandemic just because he was bored and did not think it would be accepted, as you can see, here we are. The series has been released and I think it has also joined DC’s rush of successful series.
Let’s briefly touch on the subject… Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker, emerges from prison years later into a world he has never met. The world has changed so much during his stay that he finds it difficult to adapt. Even though the world changes, some things never change. Despite considering retiring from the mercenary service, the duty somehow finds him and he gets back into action once again. Just like in the movie, while watching the actions of the character, who sets out to fight aliens, he experiences with his team, we also focus on his personality.
Chris is someone who was brought up by a psychotic father, infused with patriarchy every day like a drug, is cultured but also a dumbass. As they say, the shell is hard but the inside is like a rabbit, Chris is exactly that. His world, stuck in the old America, finds it difficult to adapt to the new America. The series is creating very good criticism from here. Political correctness, which is one of the issues that bothers me most, is even mocked from time to time, but not too intensely. At least they managed to satisfy me by doing this through Chris, who could never have a good command of the subject. Chris, who does not know the fact that today you have to consider all kinds of ethnic origins even when choosing your words, and that your sentences can be arbitrarily lynched. He has serious problems with that from the very first episode. And these troubles create funny moments.
DC has come to the fore with its series in recent years. No matter how messed up their movies are, the TV shows are still alive and they manage to give that absurd, dark atmosphere that we expect from them. Peacemaker, which hosts a comedy with the taste alike of Doom Patrol, also has one of DC’s most complete culture bombardments. Chris is a very cultured person, no matter how much of a “dry stick” he is. Although he has a problematic personality, he fascinates us with his knowledge throughout the series. But his curiosity about things, can sometimes even cause him trouble which creates action for us.
Most of DC’s series, which I have called successful lately, run with multi-character systems. Although they all have the main character, the abundance of side characters and the fact that they all have different personalities make the series enjoyable. Peacemaker has a variety of characters either. All of them have very opposite personalities and more importantly, most of them have a connection to the DC universe in one way or another. This connection makes the story more enjoyable by linking the past and future series to each other.
Long story short… Peacemaker creates a bucked and absurd production to watch, by putting an old stager hero into a world that even we have trouble getting used to. With its delightful characters, successful action, and a story worth watching, the series delivers everything expected from DC. At the same time, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the direct or indirect connection of the series with other movies and series increases the enjoyment. It’s really hilarious that Chris insults the Justice League characters throughout the series. What’s even funnier is that the characters who have been cursed at by Chris throughout the series show up in the series finale. I think this was a wonderful surprise that no one expected. In this regard, Peacemaker may indeed be one of the most enjoyable and intense works DC has ever done in terms of story and reference.
Cast & Crew
director: James Gunn, Brad Anderson, Jody Hill, Rosemary Rodriguez
writers: James Gunn
starring: John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, Annie Chang
USA | 2022 | 9 EPISODES |