By Nick Nitkowski 

When the character of Peacemaker was introduced in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad”, I had no idea who he was at all. But after seeing the movie, he turned out to be a very interesting character and well portrayed by John Cena. And that’s the beauty of James Gunn’s work. He can take unknown characters that are not in any demand by the public and make them likable household names. He did it for the Guardians of the Galaxy, and he did it again for Peacemaker. After the success of Season One, we now have Season Two of “Peacemaker” streaming on HBO Max. Now that it has concluded, how good is this latest beacon of peace?

Much like the first season, this second season was very enjoyable. John Cena once again greatly embodies the character of Peacemaker, and all of his friends are back to add even more humor and even some heart to the story. In this season, Peacemaker discovers a device that allows him to travel to a room filled with multiple doorways that lead to other dimensions and when he discovers one where his brother and father are alive in a happy family environment, Peacemaker is enticed to leave the world he knows behind and stay in this new dimension where everything seems perfect. But Rick Flag Sr., played by Frank Grillo, is keeping a watchful eye on Peacemaker after discovering that Peacemaker killed his son Rick Flag Jr. during the events of “The Suicide Squad”.

This season provides all of the humor and violence galore that you would expect. At first, I was confused when they retconned some elements from Season One and replaced them with elements that fit the current DC universe as it unfolds mainly because I thought, “Hey! You’re already exploring multi-dimensional elements in this season. Why not just have one universe cross over into the other and have the new DCU continue in this new universe?” It only makes sense, right? It wasn’t until we reached episode six that I realized that it would not have worked in this particular story. I still think it could have been worked in somehow. 

A lot of people complained about the new song and dance number for the opening titles of this new season and I was amongst them, but as the show progressed, the song and dance number started to grow on me. By the end of the season, I had a greater appreciation for the song choice. It’s hard to do something as iconic as the first, but over time, you can find appreciation for the new thing while still loving the old.

All of the characters were great. Peacemaker himself obviously carries the show as the title character, but everyone else did a great job, too. Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt was great, especially when she had to play two very different versions of herself. Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo had a lot more heartfelt moments than I was expecting to see this season. Freddie Stroma as Vigilante is still the charmingly weird character we know from the first season. Frank Grillo is good as his recurring role of Rick Flag Sr. although I don’t think his animated depiction in “Creature Commandos” accurately portrayed him with all that grey hair when it’s clearly dark, but I digress. It was interesting seeing him plot against Peacemaker during the show while wondering what his endgame is. Needless to say, all of the actors did a good job in this new season, including some of the new characters.

Overall, if you’re a fan of “Peacemaker” in general, then I think you’re going to enjoy this new season. If you give you what you expect and more. It was engaging and interesting with each passing episode, which made the waiting between episodes strenuous. I’m very much interested in seeing where they go with the story in Season Three. I, for one, am enjoying the current direction of the new DCU, and I look forward to seeing all the new stories coming our way to build it up even more. Peace out!

4 stars