Spoiler Warning: Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 8The Peacemaker Season 2 finale has aired, bringing the DCU’s third entry to a close. While it might not have had a major cameo like some expected (though it did feature Lex Luthor one in Episode 6) and the Earth-X storyline was wrapped up in the penultimate episode with a potential tease to return later down the line, Peacemaker’s finale episode of 2025 certainly delivered a satisfying character-centric story. It also planted some exciting new developments for the DCU that hint at the franchise’s future.
From the formation of an iconic organization from the comics to the reveal of what Lex Luthor and Rick Flag Sr. were looking for, setting up an adaptation of an overlooked DC Comic, and a cliffhanger that leaves the fate of the titular hero in question, Peacemaker Season 2 has given fans plenty to think on and look forward to. Gunn has seemingly planted some seeds not just for his upcoming Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, but also possibly unannounced or rumored DC projects. Here are the biggest ways Peacemaker Season 2 sets up the DCU.
The Formation of Checkmate
One of the biggest (but in hindsight, the most obvious) reveals of Peacemaker is the formation of Checkmate, which includes the 11th Street Kids alongside former A.R.G.U.S. agents Sasha Bordeaux, Langston Fleury, and Judomaster. Checkmate first appeared in Action Comics #598 in March 1988 and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Steve Erwin. The organization in the comics is a black-ops military unit that, in many ways, is modeled on Marvel’s Hellfire Club, with key individuals given chess-piece designations. The DCU’s Checkmate appears to be more of a private security firm or investigative agency, working outside official government channels to do good for the world.
The organization’s formation in many ways was hiding in plain sight, as Sasha Bordeaux in DC Comics is an integral member of Checkmate. In addition, Checkmate’s predecessor in the comics was a group called The Agency, formed by Amanda Waller, which is similar to Waller’s daughter, Leota Adebayo, who started her own Security Consulting Agency at the start of Season 2. Worth noting that The Agency also first debuted in Vigilante #36 in 1986, which featured Peacemaker’s first guest appearance in that comic and his association with Vigilante. So, between Bordeaux, Amanda Waller’s daughter starting her own agency, and Vigilante and Peacemaker himself, the clues to Checkmate’s formation were in front of viewers the whole time.
The DCU Is Adapting Salvation’s Run
Before the Checkmate reveal, Peacemaker Season 2 dropped another bombshell earlier that set up the episode’s final moments. It is revealed that Rick Flag Sr. and Lex Luthor’s plan is to send Earth’s metahumans to another dimension, found in the QUC, that they have dubbed “Salvation.” The episode ends on a cliffhanger: Rick Flag Sr., joined by many of Lex Luthor’s henchmen, sends Peacemaker to Salvation as the first test subject as revenge for killing his son, Rick Flag Jr. Peacemaker is left stranded in this dimension with none of his gear and his friends don’t know where he’s disappeared to, setting up a new, exciting future for the character.
The idea of sending prisoners to another planet where they could not escape is actually drawn from an often-overlooked DC storyline called Salvation Run. Written by Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges, with art from Sean Chen, Walden Wong, Joe Bennett, and Belardino Brabo, and published from 2007 to 2008, Salvation Run followed Amanda Waller and Rick Flag Jr.’s decision to capture supervillains and exile them to the distant planet called Cygnus 4019, aka “Salvation.” The storyline actually originated in a concept by Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, and drew inspiration from the British practice of exporting prisoners to Australian penal colonies. It was also eerily similar to a concept Marvel Comics introduced a year earlier in Civil War, in which the heroes of the Pro-Registration side created a prison in the Negative Zone.
The DCU is switching out Amanda Waller for Lex Luthor and Rick Flag Sr. in place of his son. While Salvation Run featured characters like Lex Luthor, the Joker, and many more being sent to Salvation, the DCU might be going for a different route, as Luthor is pulling the strings. It also appears that Salvation has been reimagined from another planet to another dimension, though at one point it is referred to as a “planet.”
Calling it a planet is a big deal because in the comics, Salvation was revealed to be a planet used by the New Gods of Apokolips, DeSaad, to train members of Darkseid’s army. It is worth noting that Salvation Run was one of the comics building up to Final Crisis, a central DC event that centered on Darkseid and the New Gods. With all that in mind, Salvation might be used to build up to Darkseid as the larger villain of the DCU, though given the character’s association with Zack Snyder’s DCEU, it might be too soon for Gunn to introduce that corner of the DC Universe when there are plenty of untapped potential big bads, like Brainiac, Mongul, Nekron, Trigon, and the Anti-Monitor.
How Does ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Set Up the Future of the DCU?
Both the addition of Salvation and Checkmate set up some rather interesting places for the DCU’s future and could be followed up on in a variety of titles. In the Official Peacemaker Podcast, James Gunn said regarding Salvation’s Run, “Well, that’s where we’re sort of beginning our part of our larger story in the DCU.”
Gunn’s next big DCU title, which he is writing and directing, is Man of Tomorrow, set for release on Jul. 9, 2027. This certainly implies that Man of Tomorrow might center on the United States government targeting its own metahuman population, heroes, villains, and civilians alike, to send them to Salvation. Lex Luthor has already held his own personal prisoners in a pocket dimension, and now the government will, one that’s likely to go over poorly with Superman. Gunn previously hinted that Hawkgirl’s decision to kill the leader of Boravia in Superman would have significant ramifications, so Rick Flag Sr. and Lex Luthor might target her and the rest of the Justice Gang.
How that will factor into the idea of a Superman and Lex Luthor team-up remains a big question. The biggest theory is that Salvation will feature a threat that breaks free and forces Superman and Lex Luthor to unite, which might give credence to the Darkseid fan theory. That would also tie Man of Tomorrow and Peacemaker Season 2 to the animated series Mister Miracle. Adapted from Tom King’s acclaimed 2017 Mister Miracle run, the animated series will feature the titular character, along with other members of the New Gods pantheon like Big Barda and, of course, Darkseid. Mister Miracle‘s status as an official DCU project or potential Elseworlds title is unknown at the moment, but there is now a strong indicator that it might be DCU canon.
As for Checkmate, the most obvious is that there’s a secretly developing series centered on the organization, which might be announced at New York Comic Con, which is taking place the week Peacemaker‘s Season 2 finale airs. Gunn has already said that the characters of Peacemaker would return soon, but maybe not exactly in Season 3, seemingly confirming a Checkmate series is in the works and might have taken the place of the planned Waller series that James Gunn initially announced as part of the DCU. This could also tie in to the rumors of a Mister Terrific series. Mister Terrific, who was a breakout character in Superman, is one of the most prominent members of Checkmate in the comics. A Checkmate series could serve both as a continuation of Peacemaker, including the team going to save him, but also as a Mister Terrific series.
Checkmate, as an organization, can appear in nearly any upcoming DCU project. Sasha Bordeaux is often associated with Batman’s supporting characters, and she could appear in the DCU’s planned Brave and the Bold film. Speaking of Batman, rumors have circulated that two of his villains, Bane and Deathstroke, are getting a team-up film. An odd pairing for sure, but Bane was one of the villains sent to Salvation in the comics. Maybe the Bane and Deathstroke project is a team-up film where the two villains find themselves stranded on Salvation and need to find a way home, one where they discover Peacemaker and team up with him. It could also feature returning roles from other villains, like those glimpsed in The Suicide Squad.
As for Peacemaker, this is likely not the end for him. He and the Salvation dimension could appear in Lanterns, Supergirl, Man of Tomorrow, the Bane and Deathstroke team-up project, or a Checkmate series. His story is far from done, though he will certainly need to fight to survive until someone finds him on Salvation. With Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2, James Gunn has set up plenty of exciting possibilities for his growing DCU. Peacemaker Season 2 is available to stream now on HBO Max.
- Release Date
-
January 13, 2022
- Network
-
HBO Max, Max
-
Christopher Smith / Peacemaker
-
Danielle Brooks
Leota Adebayo
