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Superhero movies have conditioned audiences to expect cameo appearances in every single title that comes out. At their best, cameos and guest appearances from other heroes and villains serve to expand the superhero universe and show it to be a place full of different heroes that come and go in and out of each other’s stories. And yet, they can also feel forced, shoehorned in just for the sake of having a cameo or for the sake of reminding consumers of the next product coming down the line.<\/p>\n
Then we have “Peacemaker.” Like “Gen V,” this DC series finds the right balance of telling its own standalone story while being a great transition show in between the new chapters of the main series (between “Superman” movies in the case of “Peacemaker”). When we have big gratuitous cameos, like the Justice League (later the Justice Gang<\/a>), it fits because it was treated as a big joke. Otherwise, whenever the show has shown or name-dropped other DC heroes and villains, it’s helped to make the world of “Pacemaker” feel larger, the story more connected and consequential to the future of the DC Universe \u2014 just look at how clearly the season sets up “Superman: Man of Tomorrow.”<\/a><\/p>\n Indeed, “Peacemaker” season 2 has a unique place in the DC Universe so far in that it is a continuation of the themes of the first season that works as a standalone story separated from the rest of the franchise, all while being a crucial story with big repercussions for the future of the DC Universe. All this is to say, it shouldn’t be surprising that James Gunn snuck in some unexpected cameos in the “Peacemaker” season 2 finale. No, it wasn’t Superman, or Batman, but rather James Gunn himself \u2014 and also the members of Nelson.<\/p>\n