Superman Will Probably Be In Peacemaker — Just Not In The Way You Think
Don’t count out the Man of Steel.
At this point, it’s not if we’re getting a Superman cameo in Peacemaker, but when, as James Gunn has been laying out a breadcrumb trail for Eagly-eyed fans from the very beginning. He admitted to shooting parts of Superman and Peacemaker in the same place at the same time. He revealed that Superman’s digital release was pushed up to prepare audiences for Peacemaker’s new season. He even referred to Peacemaker as a prequel to Man of Tomorrow, the third film in his “Superman Saga.”
There’s clearly more connecting these two projects beyond the Superman cameos in Peacemaker’s Season 1 recap. Superman is now streaming on HBO Max, just a few days before the latest Peacemaker episode. David Corenswet’s Man of Steel will likely play a role... just not one any fan is expecting.
Peacemaker Season 2 is a surprisingly integral part of Gunn’s new DC Universe. What began as a self-contained spin-off is slowly evolving into an adventure with massive repercussions, particularly for DC’s multiverse. Season 2 follows Peacemaker (John Cena) as he discovers a parallel world where his father (Robert Patrick) and older brother (David Denman) are alive, well, and celebrated as heroes. The Peacemaker of this reality is similarly popular: he and his family form a superhero squad known as the Top Trio.
It’s a far cry from his existence in his native universe, and after grappling with his place in the world, Peacemaker chose to start anew. But there’s a sense that something is amiss, setting our hero up for a rude awakening in Episode 6.
Will Superman play a role in Peacemaker’s return to our reality?
While this parallel reality seems perfect, a pervasive fan theory suggests that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The fact that Peacemaker’s dad — a dogged white supremacist in his native universe — is lauded as a protector of peace is the first of many red flags. Every character Peacemaker interacts with in this universe is white, even the background extras; there’s been no sign of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), the former head of A.R.G.U.S., or her daughter Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks).
Leota is supposed to be Peacemaker’s best friend, but that clearly isn’t the case in this reality. Does she even exist in this universe, or has she been purged to enforce the “White Dragon’s” worldview? We’ll likely find out when Adebayo and the rest of Peacemaker’s allies follow him into this other reality, but where does Superman fit into all of this?
Though we haven’t seen much of Peacemaker’s new world, it’s telling that neither Superman nor the Justice Gang have appeared. There’s a chance they don’t exist here: the Top Trio seems to be the only crime-fighting force this reality needs. Gunn could also take a darker approach with Superman’s role in Peacemaker, presenting either a parallel version of the hero imprisoned by the Top Trio, or one whose beliefs are fascist. Then again, it would be strange to see another take on “Dark Superman” in such proximity to Superman, so Corenswet could appear in a more straightforward cameo. Maybe he’s called in to clean up Peacemaker’s mess, as he (sort of) did at the end of Season 1. Maybe Peacemaker will set up the conflict in Man of Tomorrow. Knowing Gunn, Superman’s role in Peacemaker Season 2 is bound to take us by surprise.
