Peacemaker:
The Complete First Season
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2016 director David Ayer brought the most unlikely team to the big screen with Suicide Squad. I loved the film but not everyone did. Thankfully it wasn’t the last we would see of the team and in 2021 Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn stepped in to bring his vision of the bad guys bringing the chaos to the back with The Suicide Squad film. Not long after it was announced that Gunn and John Cena would be developing a new TV series based on his Suicide Squad character aptly titled Peacemaker that co-stars Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Chukwudi Iwuji, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick, but does the show deliver or should the character have been left for dead?
Peacemaker follows a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it! Delving into current world issues through the lens of Super Hero/Super-Villain/world's biggest douchebag, the series extends the world created for The Suicide Squad while bringing to life the soul and wit of Peacemaker and the team.
I can honestly say I was never a fan of this character and while I thought he was hilariously awesome in the film I just didn’t have much interest in this series outside of my usual comic love. Man I am glad I dived in because this series was all kinds of awesome. It is filled with action, laughs, heart and over the top ridiculousness that just works and the majority of that is thanks to Cena himself.
John Cena has fully embraced Peacemaker, even running around doing interviews in the costume and looking to be having the time of his life. He is emboding this character in every way and never shy’s away from poking fun at himself while being both a badass and a buffoon all at once. The expansion to the characters lore peaked my interest in the character and really fleshed him out beyond just being another hero/villain in the universe.
The series also brings in a great cast of characters both old and new from the comics and of course the films. One of my personal favorite comic characters is Vigilante that has been brought into this universe played by Freddie Stroma and while I was initially irritated in the direction they were taking this badass character it ended up being one my favorite aspects of the series. The banter between Peacmaker and Vigilante is some of the funniest moments that works great when they take the turn and showcase their badass action side to showcase everything about them.
This series picks right up after the events of The Suicide Squad and wastes no time hitting the ground running and bringing this strange adventure to the forefront. The whole show captures that comic vibe of the offbeat books that only certain people know about and they seemingly don’t connect to the rest of the universe, but absolutely does. This is its own story and is all over the place in the best way possible and does a great job at not only expanding the Peacmaker mythos, but also more elements of the DC Universe. I can only assume that this will stay fully intact with Gunn running things on the DC creative front and I am ok with that.
The series does a great job holding it down all on its own, but still offers up plenty of fun twists and surprises that will no doubt keep fans happy. This collection offers up all 8 episodes of the first season as well as bonus content including a gag reel and numerous featurettes taking fans behind bringing this character to the small screen and so much more.
Grab your copy of Peacemaker: The Complete First Season available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.