Warning: Some silly spoilers for HBO Max’s Peacemaker follow…
One of the main things gleaned from James Gunn’s work with both the Guardians of the Galaxy films and The Suicide Squad it’s that he loves obscure, often bat*** bizarre comic book characters – with the latter film giving us cannon fodder like Javelin, Savant, Polka-Dot Man, and Weasel.
Given that The Suicide Squad is a part of the DCEU – which also contains the gloomy gravitas of Zack Snyder’s Justice-verse – it’s extremely amusing to see these bozos get swept up into the mix. That’s right, Snyder’s Superman and Batman exist in the same cinematic universe as TDK (R.I.P.).
Gunn’s Peacemaker series on HBO Max is no different, offering up the same R-rated gonzo absurdity that The Suicide Squad delivered, including more goofy-looking body-snatching aliens, heaps more blood spilled in the name of saving the world, and – yup! – ludicrous C-level comic book buffoonery.
Do you really wanna, do you really wanna taste these ridiculous rejects? Let’s take a look at which niche oddballs Gunn has plucked from his catalog of crazies and placed firmly within the current DC movie universe canon.
First up is Vigilante, an empathy-devoid idiot who lives to murder low-level criminals, and also the occasional, accidental innocent person. Portrayed nothing like the nine characters who’ve been Vigilante in the comics, this version of Adrian Chase is a disarmingly charming trailer-park busboy who somehow manages to pull off both psychotic and adorable.
Played by the pretty prince from Bridgerton, Freddie Stroma, Vigilante considers himself to be Peacemaker’s VFF, though the feeling isn’t exactly reciprocated, making ol’ Vige the only guy in this squad of misfits who no one wants to pair up with.
Okay, maybe not in all instances…
Next up is White Dragon, who also went through a few iterations and identities in the comics, though both of the versions Suicide Squad writer John Ostrander created were repugnant, racist s***bags like the one played by Robert Patrick in Peacemaker.
On the show, though, White Dragon is Peacemaker’s father, Auggie Smith, who raised his son under a cruel cloud of white supremacy and wickedness. Auggie’s hairstyle, which can only be described as Third Reich Beaker, is also a new vibe.
Another ferocious foe on the path to peace is Judomaster, played by Nhut Le on the series. As a green-clad, small-statured snack boi of few words, who can whoop your butt lickety-split (unless you’re a van), Judomaster started as the henchman for the alien-possessed Senator Goff and now exists as a weirdo wild card on the show.
In the comics, Judomaster is a legacy name used by three different martial arts superheroes, but here he’s a feisty fighter with no clear allegiance who’d be a highly skilled stealth operative if it weren’t for the occasional crunch of a Cheeto.
And then we’ve got Riddler and Mad Hatter. These two are only mentioned in a conversation about Batman’s “coterie of supervillains,” but that’s still confirmation they exist. Obviously, we knew Joker was in the DCEU but now two more Bat-baddies are on the list.
And no, The Batman’s Riddler, played by Paul Dano, doesn’t count because Matt Reeves’ upcoming Caped Crusader movie isn’t in the DCEU. That is, until we hear otherwise. Or until the franchise pushes its own multiverse buttons with The Flash movie later this year. Anyhow, rest assured if James Gunn had his druthers with Riddler and Mad Hatter, they’d be very very silly.
Another big DC character mentioned – though not until the Peacemaker finale – is Green Arrow. Along with… um… Green Arrow’s particular fan convention proclivities.
And look, Green Arrow is no stranger to live-action DC storytelling. The character obviously anchored the entire Arrow-verse on The CW for almost a decade, but he’s never been present in the DCEU.
Anyhow, given what’s revealed about everyone’s favorite Twilight Sparkle stan here, it’s funny to note that James Gunn debunked a rumor back in fall of 2020 that this series would actually introduce a live-action Green Arrow to the DCEU ranks. Turns out the rumor was… half right?
Also only referenced on Peacemaker is Kite Man, who’s been a long-standing comic book joke until the Harley Quinn animated series recently redeemed him. Okay, he’s still a joke but maybe… less of a joke? More of a jape. Given that he was Poison Ivy’s fiance let’s just call him a gentle jest. On Peacemaker though, he’s an integral part of Peacemaker’s make-up, as his capture garnered our titular wannabe hero his first and possibly only good guy headline. Kite Man, as his name suggests, soars through the sky on a giant kite. Which regular people call hang-gliding, but who are we to kite shame?
Okay, these final few represent some of the dopiest corners of DC, but the show says they exist so – dammit! – they’re in, baby! First up? Doll Man. Ever see a one-millimeter finger? Well, it seems Doll Man’s minuscule digits give Peacemaker the heebie-jeebies! According to our trigger-happy hero, homunculi like Doll Man who can turn small can all get kick rocks. “I don’t like what they’re up to, I don’t like what they f***in’ do,” he vents in Episode 3.
Then there’s Matter-Eater Lad, an alien who, as his name suggests, can chow down on anything considered inedible. Steel bars. Concrete. Papa John’s. He can inhale it all. Peacemaker even saw him devour an entire Wendy’s. Er. Was it, like, one bite at a time? How long did it take? Did the Frosties help wash it down or did they make it harder to swallow? We have Matter-Eating questions.
And then there’s Bat-Mite, whose existence perplexes even Peacemaker… which takes a lot after Starro, the Butterflies, and apparently seeing a dude cram an entire fast-food restaurant down his throat.
“He’s a two-foot-tall interdimensional imp who stans Batman,” Steve Agee’s John Economos explains. Yup, and you thought single-dimensional fandom was terrible. Bat-Mite is what happens when you give magical powers to the person at Comic-Con who walks up to the mic during a Q&A panel and doesn’t really have a question.
And we want so badly for him to become more than just a name drop in the DCEU!
What’s your favorite weird character reveal from Peacemaker? Let’s discuss in the comments!
