Every origin story marinates in wishful thinking that haunts us to the end of our days. For John Cena’s Christopher Smith, the hero known as the Peacemaker, the “what if” list is long. Extending it are names of people he regrets killing — his brother Keith above all — and lingering questions weighing heavily on his soul. What if his abusive father were kinder to him? What if the woman he loves loved him back? What if people in his hometown, Evergreen, saw him as a real hero instead of a clown in a shiny helmet?
Given how violently the world is spiraling, it’s natural to connect to these lonesome yearnings. They’re part of what makes “Peacemaker” the funniest tragedy on TV. The show’s jokes are rude and cleverly sophomoric. Its crusader is a magnificent doofus trying to improve himself. But the world only sees Peacemaker’s mistakes and family history; he’s the son of a white supremacist supervillain.
We can understand, then, why “Peacemaker” opens the door to the potential that a better existence is out there, if Chris Smith can find it. That door simply happens to be an interdimensional portal. Season 1 introduced this otherworldly space as a closet where Chris’ hateful father, Auggie (Robert Patrick), stored his tech, never quite explaining how it got there or how big it is.
With Auggie dead and gone – which also haunts Chris, since he killed him — Peacemaker and his sidekick Eagly have inherited his childhood home and its secrets, including a gateway to a seemingly much better reality.
Countless movies and TV episodes romanticize seeking salvation in alternate universes, while also warning of the consequences that could arise should they be found. The same shabby hero in one dimension might be a slick villain cosplaying as a savior in another, a la “Rick and Morty.” Society might solve one problem only to give rise to others, as seen in “Watchmen.”
(Jessica Miglio/Max) John Cena and Danielle Brooks in “Peacemaker”
The trick to figuring out the truth is accepting nothing at face value and comprehending that what we imagined for ourselves may not be preferable to what’s right in front of us. Still, isn’t the uncertainty seductive?
Not all parallel realities are hypothetical. Millions of us are living in one right now despite sharing a country. Thanks to a misinformation-peddling ecosystem, these folks believe the world beyond their bubble is a dangerous, filthy place overrun by people who don’t think or look like they do. Series creator James Gunn takes aim at that paradigm through “Superman” and its adamant championing of immigrants, multiculturalism and unity. He’s not shy about using his heroes to address our divisive politics.
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Surely Gunn wrote this relatable parallel universe A-plot into “Peacemaker” with an understanding of how potent a proposition it is to viewers these days. Even the sanest among us can visualize how brighter the world would look if last November’s election had gone the other way. The military would not be camped out in Washington, D.C. for no good reason. High-level government positions would be held by qualified, intelligent people instead of second-tier TV personalities. A B-grade actor who used to play “Superman” wouldn’t brag about joining U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The people living in that previously cited other reality probably view those developments as victories. Besides, even if we hadn’t elected an idiotic version of Lex Luthor, the world would be teetering on the brink of disaster in ways we hadn’t pictured. Every supposedly superior universe is packaged with a sinister asterisk; what may be the best dimension ever for some people could be extremely hostile to others.
“Peacemaker” isn’t covering any ground that many other movies and TV shows didn’t stake out first. Being an alumnus of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, home to the Multiverse of Madness, Gunn knows this.
(Curtis Bonds Baker/Max) Jennifer Holland and John Cena in “Peacemaker”
Gunn is so conscious of the trope that he inserts a visual punchline into the “previously on” recap introducing the second season that serves a dual purpose. One reminds us that these eight new episodes are linked to the new DCU era introduced in the latest “Superman.” The other may be less intentional, in that it makes us question the legitimacy of what we’re seeing.
One such scene in the premiere smash cuts between a lonesome Chris sulking by himself at home. He leans into a plate of nose candy and sits up to a bacchanal so over-the-top and lascivious that it looks like he’s hallucinating. Watching the episode reveals whether he is; either way, it is a kind of illusion. Peacemaker is acutely depressed by the thought that everyone but him is having a terrific life. Only now, in a very real way, he has another option.
Most of Peacemaker’s inauspicious circumstances in his prime reality are of his own making. In “The Suicide Squad,” the 2021 movie that precedes the show, Peacemaker kills Rick Flag, a military hero, in the name of “following orders.” Season 2 introduces Flag’s father, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who is the head of the government agency he once served, A.R.G.U.S., which means his old employer is now his biggest problem.
Peacemaker’s teammates Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) aren’t faring much better. Since Adebayo exposed her mother, Amanda Waller, as the architect of a secret organization exploiting prisoners, no intelligence agency will touch them.
(Curtis Bonds Baker/Max) Steve Agee and Tim Meadows in “Peacemaker”
John Economos (Steve Agee) remains employed, but he hates himself somehow even more than he already did. Worse, Flag Sr. has saddled him with a minder, Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows), who is a dangerous combination of high confidence, marginal emotional intelligence and “bird-blindness.”
The only contented team members are the sociopathic Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) and Eagly, mainly because they don’t require much aside from people to hunt.
Even so, placing a supposedly superior world within Peacemaker’s reach, one he didn’t have a hand in improving, can’t end well. Only five of the second season’s eight installments were made available for review, so it is possible there’s a happier ending ahead for Peacemaker, Adebayo, Harcourt, and the rest. But it’s tough to shake the feeling that crossing these boundaries will only generate despair, since that tends to be the outcome of messing with the multiverse. How sad it is that this knowledge doesn’t stop us from constantly aching for what could have been, and how hilarious.
“Peacemaker” premieres at 9 p.m. Thursday, August 21 on HBO Max. New episodes stream weekly.
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