Peacemaker

Peacemaker (2022) is an HBO Max superhero television series created by James Gunn, serving as a spin-off from Gunn’s film The Suicide Squad (2021). It follows Christopher Smith, played by John Cena, a violently self-righteous vigilante who believes peace is worth any cost, including killing anyone who threatens it. The series begins after Smith survives the film’s climactic events, despite being shot by Bloodsport and later rescued from his injuries.

Returning to his home in Evergreen, Pennsylvania, Smith is recruited by Clemson Murn, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, for a covert operation called Project Butterfly. The team includes Leota Adebayo, Murn’s uneasy recruit played by Danielle Brooks; Emilia Harcourt, played by Jennifer Holland; John Economos, played by Steve Agee; and Vigilante, a cheerful but deadly attorney portrayed by Freddie Stroma. Their mission is to stop alien parasites called Butterflies, which possess human hosts and manipulate influential people.

As the investigation expands, the group discovers that the Butterflies are not simply an invading force. Their leader, Goff, seeks refuge on Earth because the species’ home world is failing, while the creatures depend on a mysterious amber liquid known as Butterfly nourishment. The conflict forces Smith to confront his own history, particularly his relationship with his racist, abusive father, Auggie Smith, who operates as the costumed white supremacist Dragon King. Robert Patrick plays Auggie, whose murder frames the series’ early episodes and leaves Smith struggling with guilt, anger, and a damaged idea of masculinity.

Gunn writes and directs several episodes, combining vulgar comedy, superhero action, and an unexpectedly emotional character study. The opening credits feature the cast performing a choreographed dance to Wig Wam’s “Do Ya Wanna Taste It,” a sequence that became one of the show’s signatures. Peacemaker also develops the uneasy friendship between Smith and Vigilante, whose innocent enthusiasm contrasts with his lethal behavior, while Adebayo’s deception gradually threatens the team’s trust. The first season ends with the team defeating the Butterfly threat, Smith killing the Cow, the source of the nourishment, and the surviving members walking away changed. A second season was renewed in February 2022, with Gunn continuing as writer and director for much of it, expanding the character’s place in the broader DC television universe.