Review: "Peacemaker" is DC''s raunchy, surprising heart

When James Gunn announced that he was writing a spin-off series for Peacemaker—the jingoistic, murderous villain who betrayed everyone in The Suicide Squad—most fans were deeply skeptical. Why dedicate eight episodes to a character whose entire gimmick was being an insufferable jerk? The answer, as it turns out, is that Gunn wanted to craft a violently hilarious, hair-metal-infused therapy session. Peacemaker completely deconstructs its protagonist, peeling back his obnoxious exterior to reveal a deeply traumatized man desperate for the approval of his monstrous, white-supremacist father.

John Cena is the absolute revelation of this show. We knew he had incredible comedic timing, but his dramatic chops are genuinely shocking. Watching Cena cry while playing the piano or grapple with the guilt of his past murders gives the show an emotional weight that most mainstream superhero media entirely lacks. The supporting cast is equally stellar, particularly Danielle Brooks as Adebayo and Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, a sociopathic fanboy who steals every single scene he is in.

The humor is aggressively R-rated, filled with locker-room banter, excessive gore, and absurd visual gags that won't appeal to everyone. Sometimes, Gunn's reliance on juvenile jokes drags out scenes longer than necessary. But beneath the blood and the dick jokes is a sharp critique of blind patriotism and the cycle of toxic masculinity. Throw in the greatest choreographed opening dance credits in television history, and Peacemaker stands as one of the best comic book adaptations of the streaming era.