Peacemaker

John Cena was the greatest WWE superstar for over twenty years. But no one can wrestle forever, and as the old saying goes, Father Time is undefeated. With that in mind, Cena has been steadily transitioning to acting for the better part of the last seven years. He’s made a name for himself for not having the ego that fellow wrestler-turned-actor The Rock has had when it comes to choosing roles. He is always up to play a part that makes him the loser or the comedic relief, and his commitment to this has been refreshing. It's also what has led him to his biggest and most prominent role: Peacemaker. First appearing in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, the character and Cena’s commitment to wearing his costume for the press tour led him to become a fan favorite, and to him getting his own spinoff show on HBO. Peacemaker premiered January 13th, 2022, and stars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Frank Grillo.

This group is not a fit right away. Chris is suffering from PTSD of his childhood trauma and from the events in Corto Maltese where he murdered Rick Flag. Adebayo does not fit in with the other black ops agents on the team. She’s untrained and wears chucks to missions, clearly placing her as a civilian amongst special agents. How she even ended up on a mission of this magnitude is a mystery to everyone. She is also dealing with a lot of personal stuff, but she quickly warms up to Chris. Meanwhile, Harcourt and Economos are dealing with the fallout of disobeying Waller on the Corto Maltese job, as they view this job as a punishment. Murn is also not forthcoming with any details, so everyone is in the dark on this job. This ragtag group of misfits and outcasts will have to come together, become heroes, and save the world.

A young Chris and his brother wear chucks in flashbacks that haunt adult Chris every day.

This series highlights Gunn’s ability to take unknown comic book characters and really flesh them out into interesting, deep characters with many layers. Chris Smith was such a generic character for the vast majority of his comic run, so much so that he was largely forgotten after the 1980s. Gunn and Cena have succeeded in turning him into more than he was ever meant to be, making him a complicated anti-hero whose journey is a joy to watch. The supporting characters are also amazing in this show. The way the friendship between Chris and Adebayo develops is a highlight, as is Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante. Everything he says is hilarious and so ridiculously dumb you can’t help but love the murderous idiot. Overall, this is such a fun show with a lot of heart and some pretty great superhero action, so definitely give it a watch.

This may be the greatest opening in TV history.

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