Episode 4 of Peacemaker is out on HBO MAX, and the insanity doesn’t stop! A mild SPOILER ALERT before we go ahead for new fans. With that, let’s go!
We pick up right where we left off, with Peacemaker and team recapping the events of the last episode, Vigilante complaining about his injured toe, and Adebayo feeling guilty about almost killing someone. When the team regroups with Murn, Murn questions Peacemaker’s commitment to the mission to stop the “Butterflies” and tells him to keep Vigilante close since he could be an asset to the team. John straps Judomaster to a couch, and Murn tells Adebayo about Peacemaker’s father, who we find out is a racist supervillain called the “White Dragon”. Murn isn’t pleased that John swapped Peacemaker’s fingerprints with his father’s, btw. Peacemaker and Vigilante have an awkward conversation on the way to Chris’s house, where he gets into a hilarious argument with his neighbor about how Batman’s crime-fighting ways are ineffective! (Some major shade thrown at Batman!) When taking some more helmets, Peacemaker stumbles onto his father’s suit, and he and Vigilante make up with the bromance. (More on Vigilante, later.) While the two are driving to see Chris’s father, Murn is pissed with how things are going with their mission. He charges Adebayo to catch up with the two and try to fix the mess with Chris and his dad.
As Peacemaker catches his father up to speed, his dad is every bit a dick as we think he is! Wanting nothing to do with his son, Peacemaker is left broken. Meanwhile, Abedayo talks to Vigilante and “implies” that everything would be better if Peacemaker’s dad were to die. Vigilante says, “No problem”, and gets himself arrested. Then, the dude blatantly calls out ‘White Dragon’s” racist friends and brutally (and gleefully) beats the shit out of them. Realizing that his life is in danger, “White Dragon” wants to talk to local police about what he knows. Back at their “H.Q” Judomaster breaks free and a street fight with him and Peacemaker ensues. Just then, Adebayo shoots Judomaster in the chest. Clearly shaken, Chris tries to cheer her up but fails as only Peacemaker can. The final moment of this episode details the major members of the story dealing with their own issues; Hardcort picking up Vigilante from jail, Peacemaker getting more info on his father and dealing with his PTSD by killing Rick Flag, Adebayo discovering that Peacemaker was forced to kill a victim as a kid by his father, and Murn being one of the “Butterflies”!
As usual, this episode has the usual ditty jokes and more backstory on Peacemaker’s life. As funny as Cena is as the main character, I do feel like Vigilante and Adebayo are stealing the show! I predict a showdown between Peacemaker and his father will happen down the line, as well. The whole “Alien invasion” is getting kind of played out, though. That’s it for me, post your comments below and till next time fellow blerds!
The first three episodes of Peacemaker are available on HBO, and while I wasn’t initially checking for this (could’ve had a Nightwing Spin-off, but oh well.) it is surprisingly funny. Thanks to director James Gunn, who directed The Suicide Squad, and actor/pro wrestler John Cena, they’ve found their groove in this show. It also breathes life in the DCEU. I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, thanks to the success of the MCU, but it’s nice to have different content out. Plus Orange Is The New Black alum Danielle Brooks is a co-star, so I was gonna watch off that fact, anyways!
The story begins with the Peacemaker recovering after the events of The Suicide Squad, surviving being shot by Bloodsport! Upon being discharged, he goes back to his house and is reunited by his very racist father. It turns out that his father, Auggie Smith, provides Peacemaker a.k.a Chris Smith with his special gear and helmet. Apparently, the dumb-@$$ helmet has unique purposes. One for invisibility, force field, etc. (He could have used that in the movie, but oh well.) Chris is also friends with fellow crime-fighter Vigilante. We learn that the ARGUS techies that assisted the Suicide Squad with killing Starro, back in Corto Maltese. As a sort of punishment, Amanda Waller send two of them to assist Peacemaker with a new assignment, called “Project Butterfly”. We also learn that Waller’s daughter, Leota Adebayo, is engaged and is working for her mom as a favor. Apparently, she has some skills, but we’ve yet to see them in action. After being reminded that he’s still got a bomb in his head and Waller can press it until he fulfills his agreement,(Work for the Government, and get time off his prison sentence.) Peacemaker is enlisted by a character named Clemson Murn. Chris kinda knows something about Murn, but it’s yet to be shown how, or what he knows. Murn’s second in command, Emilia Harcourt, and tech-support John Economos complete the team, as they travel to complete “Operation: Butterfly”!
The raunchy humor, the blood and gore, and John Cena’s performance are all gold, in this show. At first glance, you wouldn’t think that a show based on the Suicide Squad movies would be a hit, especially since they’re linked to the DCEU. (ESPECIALLY since the franchise is getting rebooted. Ugh.) But until the great wipe, enjoy Peacemaker! It is a breath of fresh air, in a world that’s saturated with superhero shows! And I understand that this piece of the DCEU isn’t what some fans have been hoping for. But we can have both grim and gritty material AND fun and light-hearted (if not adult-themed.) content as well. I applaud DC and HBO for giving an unknown character some shine while showing different sides of the DC Extended Universe. Everything that’s happened in the movies still is canon (sadly, not Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but its 2017 trash counterpart. Screw you, Joss Whedon!). So far, ill give Peacemaker an 8 out of 10. Post your thought below, and till next time fellow blerds!
This episode of Young Justice Phantoms continues with the mystic characters getting some shine, Including Zatanna, Zatara, and Dr.Fate, who we learned the last episode is Vandal Savage’s son! We’re also given more flashbacks on how Savage and Klarion the Witch Boy continued to cause chaos throughout history. In the present, Dr. Fate tells Zatanna and the others how they should leave the infighting to the two Lords of Chaos to themselves and then take out whoever wins. He also doubts Zatanna’s new apprentices, as he feels they're not ready. Zatanna disagrees, so Fate puts them to the test. Each of them, Thirteen, Mary Marvel, and Khaled, must face their inner demons to survive and prove their worth.
As the young students struggle to overcome their worst fears, Fate himself is confronted by his physical host, Zatarra (Zatanna’s father.), and begs Fate not to be so strict of his code, especially since Fate has always had allies to help him in times of need. As the mystic students learn to overcome their fear and prove their worth, Fate and Zatanna look on. When they complete their trial, we also witness Klarion and the Child do battle outside Fate’s tower. Klarion boasts that his avatar can handle Child’s, but Child’s avatar Flaw simply breaks the neck of Klarion’s demonic cat. This leaves Klarion without a tether into the physical world. Another subplot is how Beast Boy is still struggling with the death of Conner Kent (Superboy.) While his team, The Outsiders take on missions, Beast Boy is suffering from depression, staying at their base sleeping or attempting to, at least. His friends are worried about him but don’t want to confront him about the subject.
While I do like these types of stories where we see character development, one has to wonder, what is the real main plot of this season. This season of Young Justice appears to have separate storylines that they want to tell, without much connection to them. Hopefully, they tie all of this in, because while entertaining, it’s becoming a bit of a drag to get through these episodes. Post your comments below, and till next time fellow blerds!
